Blog
Enter comments here:
The Last Days?
About fifty years ago the Christian world went crazy. The Jews were given land in Israel and this was seen as a fulfilment of prophecy. Millions of books were written depicting people disappearing, airplanes crashing to the ground because the pilots disappeared, families broken suddenly when one or more members were gone.
The books, of course, were fiction but they captured the underlying expectations of many of their readers throughout the world. We can look back to it as a time of widespread acceptance that such an event was coming soon.
Now, a half century later, the fervor has died down but many Christians are still waiting for the predicted rapture. They believed then and still believe today that God changed His mind and decided to end the world much sooner than He had originally planned.
Where in Scripture can we find a God so weak and so out of control that He cannot continue as He originally planned? Is it the same God that wrote the names of all His chosen people in His book befpre He made the worlds (Revelation 3:5)? Is it the same God that created the entire universe with the breath of His mouth and sustains it in existence to this day?
Of course not! It cannot be and is not the God of the Bible. So where does this false god come from? He is a character in a fiction story that calls itself a bible. It contains within its pages a complete copy of the King James Bible. It also contains the author’s explanations of what he believes each verse or group of verses mean. In other words, it was a Bible closely joined to a set of explanatory statements, one for each passage.
The concept of a god that changed his mind several times in history comes, not from God’s Word but from the notes that were placed alongside of God’s Word by the highly audacious author of this highly pretentious book. His name was Cyrus Ingersoll Scofield, author of the Scofield Bible, a man that will be seen as one of Christianity’s greatest enemies. [1]
Many Christians today still believe Scofield’s lies. They really believe that God changed His mind, revised His plans and that we are now in the last days. Many were deceived and now, a century later, their descendants are still waiting for Jesus to come and rapture them out pf this world.
The theological error that fed the rapture craze is still very much alive for many Christians today. These highly misled believers don’t believe in the God that Scripture gives us. They believe in the god that Scofield gave us jn the notes he attached to God’s Word in the Scofield-bible. Yes even now, a century later, many of God’s people still believe his horrendous lies. They wait for a rapture that God says cannot come before all the nations are converted to the Christian faith:
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)
How, we must ask ourselves, did this huge failure come about? What deficiency was present that gave Satan such an opportunity to deceive God’s people? Very simply, we were so poorly prepared and so ignorant of God’s Word that we could not recognize the many contradictions of Scripture in what Scofield wrote.
God employs Satan and men like Scofield to test His followers. He shows us our deficiencies and our need to get serious about the study of His Word. As we do so and we learn more, He increases the pressure on us. He knows we have a long way to go and gives us ever more difficult assignments. Scofield’s book was one such lesson and so far, we have done quite poorly in it. We need to learn from it and recover from our failure. We should come away from it stronger and not weaker. We should see from our susceptibility to the Scofield test that we greatly lack a correct understanding of God’s Word.
A proper response is to recognize our failure, ask God’s forgiveness and do all we can to correct the damage we have done. When we do so in heartfelt sincerity, our loving God is ready and willing to forgive our foolish and sinful behavior.
Praise His Name!
[1] For a true picture of Scofield, see: C. I. Scofield: Scoundrel, Shyster, and Scalawag. https://heresyintheheartland.blogspot.com/2014/01/c-i-scofield-scoundrel-shyster-and.html
Hope
There is much false hope and little true hope in the world today. False hope is sought from many sources. True hope is to be found only in God’s Word. God is the Infinite, Eternal, Almighty Creator of all things. He created the entire universe by speaking it into existence. He created this world and all its creatures jn six 24 hour days. He has sustained it centurey after centurey for His purposes.
When we consider the vast universe that surrounds us, billions of stars in this galaxy alone, we are truly humbled. When we consider that some of the stars we can see are not just stars but actually far distant galaxies comprised of billions of stars. Yes, there is a logical structure to the universe that God created with the breath of His mouth.
So the universe consists of stars and galaxies of stars. Might there also be super galaxies each consisting of billions of galaxies? When we consider that the God that created all this is in Himself infinite, it is not at all incredible to think that the universe He created might also be infinite.
The only galaxy visible to the naked eye is Andromeda.[1] The Andromeda Galaxy is about 2.5 million light-years[2] away and is about 200,000 light-years across. It is thought to contain about 400 billion stars. These vast distances and huge numbers convey a sense of how great the universe God that created really is. When we realize that these great distances are as nothing at all to God, It can help us comprehend something of God’s greatness.
Our Bible tells us that this Infinite, Eternal and Almighty God is concerned with such puny creatures as man. Is this unreasonable? Not at all! He is fully able to apply an infinite amount of attention to each of His creatures in all of His universe simultaneously.
What can we His so very weak creatures hope for in the face of such an almighty power? It would seem that we could hope for anything within His will
This great God that created and governs this vast universe gives us, His creatures here on earth, just ten simple commandments to live by and what did we do? We all failed to obey Him. He gives us His Word and His promise and still we fail Him.
God’s will is for the entire world to believe and obey Him. He sent His Son to become a man and die for all that believe in Him but no one believed.
He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell some of us and we believed but still we fail in many ways. He commanded those that believed to spread the good news of salvation to the whole world and here also we failed to obey Him. Instead of obeying God, many of His people believed Satan’s lies and gave up all hope of ever doing what God commanded them to do. How foolish. Does God ever ask the impossible of us? Does He ever need to change His mind? Of course not, He sees the end from the beginning and knows all things.
Wake up child of God. You’ve been drugged by Satan’s poison. These are not the last days. There is an unbelieving world that needs to hear God’s truth. It is waiting for you to do as God commands.
[1] https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question15.html
[2] A light-year is about six trillion miles.
A New World
A new world lies ahead. It’s a much better world than we are in today. It’s a world filled with people that care for each other, as brothers and sisters in close families do today. It’s a world in which everyone you meet is a friend, a world filled with people that selflessly love one another. It’s a world in which all have been born again, worship God in true sincerity and trust Him completely.
When and where you ask, is this world to be found? The Infinite, Eternal God that created all things tells us that it will be here in this world one day:
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)
It will be very different from the world that we live in today. The kingdoms or governments of the world will be done away with and replaced by God’s rule as He resides within the hearts of His people. The situation we have today, in which a few rule and everyone else obeys, will be gone forever.
God’s people will be self-governed, living in families that reside close together in small communities as He commanded:
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2Corinthians 6:14-18)
- No fellowship with unbelievers. Light cannot communicate with darkness
- God’s people are the temple of God. Unbelievers are infidels
- Come out from among the unbelievers and be ye separate says our God
- I will receive you and ye shall be my sons and daughters
As more and more of God’s people obey these commandments, their communities multiply in number and eventually cover the earth. The many civil government entities of today become unnecessary and obsolete. They shrink in size and number and gradually dwindle away.
Eventually unbelief becomes a thing of the past. Very young children are born-again, perhaps without any noticable change whatever. The world is then ready for Jesus’ promised return and return He will in all His glory.
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. (Revelation 22:12,13)
God’s Gifts
God gives three gifts to all His chosen people. He gives them: 1) eternal life, 2) faith, 3) purpose.
Eternal Life
What is this gift? It is the gift of life, eternal life with Christ. It begins immediately, here and now and continues for all eternity in a much better place. God who sees the end from the beginning chose all that would come to believe in Him and receive this huge gift before He made the world.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
So sad, God gave His Son to die for everyone that believed but no one believed. We all failed to recognize this gift of everlasting life. We were so blinded by Satan that we couldn’t see or hear God’s message.
Faith
What did God do then? He gave some of His creatures another gift, the gift of faith, faith to believe and accept the gift of eternal life. To whom did He give this additional gift and what was the criteria for receiving it? The answer is He gives the gift of faith to all that ask for it in true, heartfelt sincerity.
Our faith is not something we give God. It is a gift He gives to us. It is the gift of faith, faith to believe that God sent His Son to become a man and die for the sins of all that believe in Him. We have life through His death on the Cross.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:8-10)
We see here that our salvation is by God’s grace and through faith. Without faith we spend eternity in Hell, not heaven. We see also that even the faith to believe is not our own. It is an additional gift from God. It is not a gift He gives everyone but only those He chose in eternity past.
According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: (Eph. 1:4)
Purpose
What purpose in life does God give to His chosen and so very highly blessed people? We are blessed with the privilege of being His representative’s ln this world. We are the means He has chosen to employ to communicate the good news of His salvation to the world. This is a huge gift, one that can fill our lives with meaning and purpose. We serve God as we go through life joyfully sharing the good news of eternal life with others we know or just meet on occasion.
Yes, the gifts of eternal life and of faith are free, without price, likewise the purpose God gives us to live for is itself yet a third gift. As a reward, we are given the privilege to do work for God. It is work that so rewards its workers that it is actually a great gift disguised as a task.
The purpose that is itself a gift is the privilege to communicate to others the story of God’s great and totally free salvation. It is the good news that Christ came and died on the cross in our place. He, the One that never sinned died in place of sinners like us! He saved us from the death penalty we earned and deserved.
You may ask, how can such a huge privilege be ignored and why do so many of God’s born-again people reject it? It is because they have lost their sense of responsibility to God in His Great Commission:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations .… to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: (Matthew 28:18,19)
Yes, many of God’s people have come to believe that what God commands them to do here is impossible. They reason that He couldn’t have meant what He plainly said. To twist these words, though, to deny what they plainly say, is to destroy the Bible and with it the entire Christian faith!
No, we cannot deny God’s command to His disciples (and to His people today) to make this world a Christian world. The faith has not yet covered the earth as it should have done long ago. It is our God-given responsibility and we cannot just ignore it. Especially so when we consider our own unworthiness and all God does for us.
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)
God tells us here that at a point in time, while the nations (kingdoms) of the world are still in existence as nations, they will have become Christian nations. This is nothing other than a Christian world! It is our assignment, not one that Jesus will do for us.
Wake up sleeping Christian! Your God has given you work to do here and now, work that must be completed, before Jesus returns. Will you be the faithful servant that obeys his Master, or the unfaithful servant that leaves the difficult work for others?
The Root
Today’s world is full of problems: political, financial, societal and more. Did everything go wrong for many different reasons, all at once? Or is there a common root cause for all the problems of the past year? If there is such a root it must be at a fundamental level of society. The only possible root is one that involves the religious faith of the people.
Americans have always been a religious people. They believed in God, some strongly, others not so strongly, and yet others very weakly. Very few held other faiths or were true atheists. Their common faith held the country together since its origin.
This faith, though, took a turn about a century ago. A new Bible, called the “Scofield Bible” was published. It taught in its notes a very different eschatology (doctrine of last things) than was believed previously. It taught that God changed His plans and we are now in the last days. It taught that God would rapture His church (all true believers) very soon and the rest of the world’s people would be lost to Satan and Hell’s fires.
God changed His mind? God reneged on his promises? Stop right there! Who is this that calls God a liar? He should have been set straight immediately by all of God’s people speaking in unison! Sadly though, God’s people were too weak, too biblically ignorant to call the blasphemer down. Instead, this incredibly weak population eagerly devoured the lies he spoke. They didn’t have sufficient knowledge of Scripture themselves and were so enamored with what he promised, they wouldn’t even listen to those that raised criticisms.
The great majority of God’s people believed these lies and now, a half century later, are still waiting for the promised rapture. They, all this time, have neglected to obey God’s command to teach the nations and make the world a Christian world.
Satan, of course, has taken advantage of their neglect and has gained control of the governments of the entire world. God’s people see this, though, not as the consequence of their failure to trust and obey God, but as something God just did. They believe in Scofield’s little god instead of the God of the Bible who never needs to change and never changes His mind.
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6).
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)
So, the common root of our true problems today is not the great strength of Satan’s people but rather the failure of God’s people to obey God. Yes, the loss of our freedom and the loss of our once free country is due to the gross neglect of God’s people themselves. Wake up Christians! As the notable philosopher Pogo said: we have found the enemy and he is us!
The Heavenly Body
Many Christians are uncertain as to what kind of body they will have in heaven. Some seem to think we will have the same kind of body as we have now. Others think we will have wings and bodies like angels but what does God say? Does He say anything at all? Yes, He does in 1 Corinthians 15:35-57:
35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? 36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: 37 And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: 38 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
The Apostle deals here with the resurrection of the dead. The question is the nature of the resurrection body. He begins by pointing out that the thing that comes from a seed is very different from the seed itself. The acorn dies and gives life to the tree that grows from it. The acorn is very different from the oak tree.
He adds that God governs the growth of all seeds as He wills and seems to be saying that our resurrected bodies will be very different from what they are today.
40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
He compares here the differences between stars and planets with the differences between our resurrected bodies and today’s bodies. The resurrected body will be incorruptible and far more glorious than our present corruptible bodies. We now have natural, corruptible bodies. We will have spiritual, incorruptible bodies..
45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
The natural precedes the spiritual and our earthy bodies precede our heavenly bodies. We are now like Adam, earthy. We will be like Christ, heavenly. That which is corruptible cannot become incorruptible. Likewise, flesh and blood, our present bodies, cannot go to heaven.
51 Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:35-57)
When the final trumpet sounds, the dead are raised and everyone is changed. All God’s people are given new, incorruptible and immortal bodies. Death is ended and all go to their eternal destinations, some to glory and others to perdition. To which destination will you go? God is very clear; you must be born again to enter the kingdom of God.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)
Born Again
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. (John 3:1-7)
We see here a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews, whose name was Nicodemus. He said he knew Jesus was from God. He came to Jesus in secret, to ask Him about His power. Jesus answers his question before it is asked saying: you must be born again to see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus, taking the statement literally, declares it to be impossible. Jesus explains saying:
We have here a very basic teaching of Scripture. God tells us that there are two realms, the natural, visible to all and the spiritual, visible only to some. Entry into the kingdom of God isn’t just a matter of signing up. Jesus tells Nicodemus that one must be born again to even see the kingdom of God. Until this extreme transformation is undergone, one is not able to see the spiritual side of reality.
The new birth is spiritual, not physical. It is the introduction of The Holy Spirit within the individual. The person is born once again and now has two spirits within. The old spirit governs life as before and the new Spirit guides. It is God, not the individual, that decides to initiate this process. He gave the gift of faith to all those He choose before He made the worlds (Ephesians 2:8).
The newly born-again adult person is usually very aware of the change within and seeks to understand what it means. At this point he is now very aware of God’s presence and desires to obey Him. He asks questions and studies God’s Word to learn as much as he can about this greater reality. As he does so, his goals and purposes change and come into closer agreement with God’s Word. Some things change rapidly and others more slowly as God’s Word is assimilated and practiced. The days and weeks immediately following the new birth are critical to the progress the individual makes in adjusting to the new norm. The support of fellow believers can be a great asset at this point.
Dear reader, does this describe you? Have you been born again and are the highly blessed recipient of this huge gift? If so, how have you responded? Do you communicate the Gospel message to all you can whenever you can? Does it give you great joy to do so?
If your answer to all these questions is unquestionably yes, you probably are a true child of God and will be with Him for all eternity. If there are any doubts, examine them carefully. True faith changes a person and leaves a distinct mark, one that is remembered for life.
If there are any doubts, don’t lose heart. God is ready and willing to accept any truly sincere plea. If you offer one, He will respond favorably. Your perseverance will show that He wrote your name in His book before He made the world.
Purpose
Are you a born-again Christian? Do you agree with the Apostle Paul who says to live is Christ and to die is gain? (Phil. 1:21) Do you look forward to eternity in heaven? What is your purpose while you’re still in this world? Is it to serve God and do whatever you can to bring in the promise of a Christian world that God says must be realized one day? (Rev. 11:15)
Or have you with so many other true believers been taken in by Satan’s lies? He said that God sometimes makes mistakes and needs to change His mind. But God is perfect and never needs to change His mind as we so often must:
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6)
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Heb. 13:8)
This is just one of the many lies to be found in Scofield’s bible notes. It also says that the Ten Commandments are not for today. It says it was only for the Jews of Old Testament times. But what did Jesus say about God’s Word? He said:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-19)
Not one letter or even the smallest part of a letter will pass from the Law! God’s law will last as long as heaven does. It is forever true and forever in effect!
So who is this man Scofield that intermingles his word with God’s Word? How is it that this presumptuous travesty was so widely accepted by God’s people? It speaks of their lack of respect for God, Himself!
Scofield also said that this world is in its last days and will soon come to an end with most of the people lost and hell-bound. To the contrary, Jesus said that He came and gave His life to save the world, not to send it to hell.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:17)
The world here is a reference to its entire population, not just a small fraction thereof. God tells us very plainly that there will come into existence a world that will be recognized as a Christian world. Anyone who denies this denies God’s Word and all he says is suspect.
So we see that this man Scofield was not God’s servant at all. Rather, we see that he was another agent of Satan. He put Satan’s lies in a book called a Bible. It was an extremely effective ploy. Very many of God’s people were deceived and carried very far astray from the truth.
The world situation today is a consequence of this great deception. God’s people were distracted from doing God’s work and Satan’s people have taken advantage of this lapse. It’s time now to rectify this situation. God is ready to forgive and forget when His people sincerely repent and return to their God-given task, the conversion of the world.
Wake up child of God. An increasingly troubled world is in need of your help. To delay is to deny God, something I’m sure you don’t want to do!
A Confused World
What is wrong with the world and how did it happen? It’s like waking up from a bad dream and discovering it wasn’t a dream at all! How did this once great nation sink so low and become so weak that a very small group could wreak all the havoc of this past year? The answer is that the events of this year were a consequence of a change that began over a century ago.
A very small group of very wealthy and very ruthless individuals decided to take control of this country. To date it has met with a significant degree of success. This tiny group has interfered with the election process and put their agent in the White House. They also now control both houses of Congress. It appears that the coup-deta has been successful so far.
How were so few able to do so much? The answer is that their historical opposition, America’s Christian population, has been neutralized. The great majority of them have believed a lie of Satan that says that God has changed His mind (??) and we are now in the ‘last-days’ of the world. God’s plan for a totally Christian world has been set aside (??) and the great majority of the world’s population will end up in Hell.
These God-appointed defenders of the faith have been deceived and are now doing Satan’s work instead of God’s work. How is this possible? How could they have gone this far off track? The reason for this tragic failure goes back a century or more. God’s people failed to study all of God’s directions and were taken in by Satan’s deception. The evil one prepared a special treat for God’s unsuspecting people. He prepared a Bible known as the Scofield Bible. It had Scofield’s explanatory notes right next to the biblical text. These notes seemed helpful and the ‘Scofield Bible’ became an instant success with an unsuspecting and relatively unlearned Christian population.
Satan now had a tool he never enjoyed before, a Bible with his own explanatory notes added. It took the huge majority of Christians by storm. The last days lie was especially attractive. It meant less work was needed. The entire world population doesn’t need to be converted. Jesus is coming really soon and our work is almost done.
Yes, this was heady stuff that got many of God’s people very excited, but fifty years have passed since this rumor started and He hasn’t come yet. Dear child of God have you been tricked into believing this huge lie? Did you just take for granted that it must be true because so many others, even pastors, believed it? If so, consider what God says about Himself:
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6)
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)
.God sees the end from the beginning and never needs to change His mind. He has commanded us, His chosen people, to make this world a world that believes and obeys Him. He is waiting patiently for us to reject Satan’s temptation and do the work He has commanded us to do:
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
The Greek word translated ‘teach’ here has the sense of ‘make disciples’ rather than just simply teach. Jesus’ purpose was that the new converts become, not just believers but teachers of others. The desired result was a rapid spread of the faith culminating in a truly Christian world. This goal is what led to the explosive growth of Christianity in the early centuries.
Jesus goes on to say:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
To ‘observe’ here is to ‘obey’. The hearers are to obey all Christ’s commandments.
The end result of our obedience to these two verses is a world filled with believers, a world that obeys all Christ’s commandments, a Christian world! One day these instructions will be obeyed and we will see a world that is prepared for the return of its King.
The question before us today is when? When can we expect to see this result? Today’s Christians seem to have forgotten these instructions altogether.
Wake up fellow servants of God. The Lord has given us an assignment and is waiting for His people to get to work and fulfil it. We are well past the time it should have been done, but it’s not too late to repent and obey our God. A glorious future, a Christian world, lies ahead just waiting for us to make it a reality.
A New World
There’s a new world coming. All the craziness of this present world will be no more. The world will become the kind of world Jesus told His disciples (and all true believers) to make:
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Contrary to much of popular opinion, there are not just one but two tasks the Lord gives His true followers here. We are told to:
- Teach, baptize and make disciples of all that believe.
- Teach all the nations to obey all God’s commandments.
The first task responsibilities, to teach and baptize have been recognized and obeyed to some extent. However, due to a mistranslation of the Greek word ‘matheteusate,’ which means ‘make disciples’ and not simply ‘teach,’ the need to make disciples of the converts has been neglected.
The second task here is huge; all the nations of the world are to be taught to obey all God’s Commandments. What sort of obedience would Jesus be looking for here? Would it be just a cursory nod and partial obedience once in a while? Is that all our Lord, the holder of all power in heaven and in earth, commands us here? No indeed! He knows our imperfections and will accept our sincere effort to do the best we can. He will not accept a cursory recognition accompanied by practical disobedience.
God’s purpose in this is not just to save a few souls. It is world-wide obedience from a believing population, a new world indeed! It is a world of renewed creatures, creatures that have been born-again, born of the Spirit. God’s Spirit resides in them and they are entirely new within. They have new hearts, hearts that believe God and desire to serve Him.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (John 3:17)
Many Christians today actually believe that God has changed His mind and is no longer waiting for all His creatures to obey Him. This though contradicts Scripture where we see the impossibility of this:
For I am the LORD, I change not; … (Malachi 3:6)
God never changes His mind. He never needs to. He knows all things and sees the end from the beginning. God is far greater than many Christians seem to believe. He now waits with infinite patience for His sleeping children to wake up and shake off the falsehoods they have been led to believe. There is work to do. Most of the world lies in unbelief and desperately needs to hear the Gospel message. The nations of the world, including the once Christian America, are now governed by Satan’s followers.
Wake up Christian. These are not the end-times and there is much work to do. Your century-long sleep has resulted in great loss. You have been deceived by the evil one and have failed to do the work God assigned you. Christian America is now governed by Satan’s forces. Perhaps sooner than you think true Churches will be closed and persecution of believers will begin.
God tells us that, despite the rise of all this evil, the day will come when all nations will be Christian nations populated by true believers. The Christian faith will be universal and unbelief a rarity. It may be hard to believe today but the God who controls and knows all things says so.
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)
Yes, this glorious day will surely come but only when God’s people shake off Satan’s lies and truly obey Him. When they stop cutting corners and drawing back from full obedience we will see a new world beginning to take shape.