THE PARADOX OF GOD’S “TIME”

“God Almighty,’ Who was, and is, and is to come’.” (Revelation 4:8)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)

“The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who live on the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was, and is not, and will come.” (Revelation 17:8)

LINEAR TIME and CHRONOLOGY

This is, at the very least, a difficult concept to understand. In its simplest form, that is in linear time, one could say that something or someone existed in the past, exists in the present and will exist in the future – either continuously, or inexplicably comes into being, disappears (passes from natural existence), reappears in the present time, passes away again, only to reappear at a  future time.

Imagine standing on an imaginary static point just outside the timeline (the passing of linear time) watching as time passes. You would see the present become the past as it goes by, and the present become the future as it goes also passes by. So, in reality, you are seeing the past and the future, in the present – but one thing at a time and in a straight line.

Now imagine you are floating above time – that is, far above the timeline. Imagine that you can see ‘all time at once’ from your station. Looking down, you can see the past, the present and the future, all occurring at once – simultaneously, but the past being continuously transformed into the present and the present being continuously transformed into the future. This is the paradox of non-linear time.

When God says “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come,” the Almighty”, we are seeing the Omniscient God, continuously present OUTSIDE of time.

This concept is vitally important when trying to understand Biblical eschatology – more specifically the tribulation period (tribulation seals ONE through FIVE), the Great Tribulation (the final SEVEN years of Great Tribulation), Seals SIX and SEVEN, the SEVEN Tribulation Trumpets and the SEVEN Tribulation Bowls of Wrath.

Tribulation Seals ONE through FIVE, in linear time, according to the testimonies and teachings of Jesus, the Apostles Paul, Peter, Timothy and John, began at or around the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus and have continued to occur, intensify and overlap. We are waiting for the breaking of the SIXTH tribulation SEAL (the beginning of the 7 years of Great Tribulation, the Great and Terrible Day of The Lord and the Wrath of The Lamb), in linear time.  At this moment in time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET BLAST, and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other (Matthew 24:30-31).

Following the breaking of the SIXTH Tribulation Judgement Seal, in linear chronological order, we will see the 7^th Seal opened, the sealing of the 144,000 from the tribes of Israel and the multitude before the throne of God. Then the 7 tribulation judgement trumpets are blown, and the 7 judgement bowls of wrath are poured out.

At the end of these things, Jesus (has defeated, is defeating and will continue to defeat) Satan, the Beast and their armies, and they all (have already been cast, are being cast and will continue to be cast) into the eternal lake of fire.

But for the believer, the disciple and follower of Jesus, “He, (Jesus), (has showed, is showing and will continue to show) me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; we will see His face, and His name will be on our foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and we will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate us; and we will (then) reign forever and ever.

And he (has said to me, is saying to me and will say to me), “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.

“And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

From a heavenly perspective – from God’s View, all of this has already occurred, is occurring and shall occur until its completion. But make no mistake, it is already finished, and we are simply living it out in linear time.

SO WHAT?

We are called – no, commanded – to live as if all things are already determined, because they are already determined! We can be made able to live an expectant life, full of hope for our future – and in fact, our past is forgiven, our present is protected, and our future is secured.

We do this by following and obeying the Word of God. We may struggle, and we may suffer, but it is through obedience that we find our joy, our peace and the success that God has promised.

Finally, perhaps you have heard of the flawed theological concept of “already but not yet”.

It holds that believers are actively taking part in the kingdom of God, although the kingdom will not reach its full expression until sometime in the future. We are “already” in the kingdom, but we do “not yet” see it in its glory. The “already but not yet” theology is related to kingdom theology or inaugurated eschatology.

The “already but not yet” paradigm was developed by Princeton theologian Gerhardus Vos early in the 20th century. In the 1950s, George Eldon Ladd, a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, argued that there are two meanings to the kingdom of God: 1) God’s authority and right to rule and 2) the realm in which God exercises His authority. The kingdom, then, is described in Scripture both as a realm presently entered and as one entered the future. Ladd concluded that the kingdom of God is both present and future.

The “already but not yet” theology is popular among the Charismatics, for whom it provides a theological framework for present-day miracles. “Already but not yet” is officially embraced by the Vineyard Church and underpins many of their teachings.

There is a sense in which God’s kingdom is already in force. Hebrews 2:8–9 says, “At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death” (ESV). In this passage, we have a “now” (we see Jesus crowned with glory), and we have a “not yet” (not everything has been subjected to Christ). Jesus is the King, but His kingdom is not yet of this world (see John 18:36).

Also, in 1 John 3:2, we read, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be, has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” Again, we have a “now” (we are the children of God), and we have a “not yet” (our future state). We are children of the King, but we must wait to see exactly what that entails.

Add to this the facts that Romans 8:30 says we are “glorified” and Ephesians 2:6 says we are seated with Christ “in the heavenly realms” as if these were completed acts. We don’t feel very glorified, most of the time, and our surroundings do not much resemble “heavenly realms.” That’s because the present spiritual reality does not yet match up with the future, physical reality. One day, the two will be in sync.

So, there is a biblical basis for the “already but not yet” system of interpretation. The problem comes when this paradigm is used to justify the prosperity gospel, name-it-claim-it teachings, and other heresies. The idea behind these teachings is that Christ’s kingdom is in full operation and that prayer can make it “break through” into our world. Evangelism is thought to “advance the kingdom.” And people are told they never need be sick or poor because the riches of the kingdom are available to them right now.

The Bible never speaks of “advancing the kingdom,” however. The kingdom will come (Luke 11:2). We must receive the kingdom (Mark 10:15). And the kingdom is currently “not of this world” (John 18:36). Jesus’ parables of the kingdom picture it as yeast in dough and a tree growing. In other words, the kingdom is slowly working toward an ultimate fulfillment. It is not sporadically “breaking through” to bring us comfort in this world. (the foregoing paragraphs in italics are from GotQuestion.Org).

NOW, BEWARE:  Matthew 5:19, instructs us, “Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Revelation 22:18-19, also warns, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.”

Our is to trust and obey – there is, simply, no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

The Farmer and His Mules – A Metaphor for Pastors

A beloved and hardworking farmer had only a few animals to help him on his farm. He had a few chickens for eggs, a cow for milk, and a few pigs for meat, and two mules. One was a hefty male-mule, the other was a medium-sized female mule. Additionally, the farmer had to sow seed and grow food for his subsistence.

He worked his two mules pretty much every day, hauling heavy loads, pulling a plow and to pull his buckboard wagon. But the farmer worked the larger male mule especially hard.

The farmer couldn’t afford another mule, and he never mated the two mules because he thought he could not do without both of them for the heavy chores during a pregnancy.

The mules aged. Then one day, the larger male mule sat down and quietly died. He had been overworked.

The female mule brayed in grief for several days. Then the farmer replaced the male with the female for the hard chores and heavy loads. Soon after, she died also.

The farmer now realized that he should have mated the mules and raised up the additional help he would need.

It wasn’t long after, having no help for the hard chores and heavy loads, the farmer also passed away.

The moral?

You should not be so foolish to work your help or yourself to death. Plan ahead and raise up new help while there is time.

 Too many preachers and pastors think they can do it all themselves. They fail to raise up Godly men and women to share the heavy load and chores. Maybe it is a matter of trust or an issue of control. Either way, going it alone is foolish and unbiblical.

 Perhaps the members of the church body expect too much of one man.

 Or, perhaps the ‘farmer who sows the seed’ shouldn’t consider his only help to be a couple of mules?

Either way, it can be just like the story of the farmer and the mules, and it usually has a sad ending.

Why not, instead, take this advice?

Exodus 18:13-16, “Moses sat to judge [the disputes] the people [had with one another], and the people stood around Moses from dawn to dusk. When Moses’ father-in-law saw everything that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone [as a judge] with all the people standing around you from dawn to dusk?” Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to ask [about the will] of God. When they have a dispute they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.”

Jethro Counsels Moses

Exodus 18:17-26, “Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you are doing is not good. You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because the task is too heavy for you [to bear]; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to [b]me; [c]I will advise you, and may God be with you [to confirm my advice]. You shall represent the people before God. You shall bring their disputes and causes to Him. You shall teach them the decrees and laws. You shall show them the way they are to live and the work they are to do. Furthermore, you shall select from all the people competent men who [reverently] fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; you shall place these over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens. They shall judge the people at all times; have them bring every major dispute to you, but let them judge every minor dispute themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you will do this thing and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure [the responsibility], and all these people will also go [back] to their tents in peace.”

“So Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything that he had said. Moses chose able men from all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens [from the highest to the lowest judicial levels]. And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but every minor dispute they judged and decided themselves”. (The Amplified Version)

Try doing it God’s Way – make disciples who make disciples. Let God do the ‘heavy lifting’ through His saints!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

See JESUS CYCLE OF MINISTRY.

See JESUS MODEL FOR MINISTRY.

See THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS FOR MINISTRY

Hey, Christian, Jew, Catholic

(and everyone else):

Please Ask Yourselves

These FOUR GREAT Questions

#1.  Why does Jesus instruct and warn, “Do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ.”

#2.  Why do Jewish Rabbis insist on being called Rabbi (which translates as ‘teacher’)? Why do Catholic Priests insist on being called Father? Why do church pastors and elders insist on being called ‘church leaders’ and like to call others ‘church leaders’?

#3.  Why do the (religious) ordained and (religious) commissioned insist on disobeying the words of Jesus and of the Bible, while telling others to obey Jesus and the Bible?

#4. What do you think?

(The answers to questions #1 through #3 could be because of pride, egoism, narcissism, seeking honor for self, seeking power and lordship over others, self-exaltation. (And, by the way, none of these things should have a place in the Church or in a mature Christian’s life. We can and must work to rid ourselves of these characteristics.)

THE TEXT

Matthew 23:1, “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, verse 2, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. Verse 3. Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them. Verse 4. And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. Verse 5. And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. Verse 6. And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, verse 7, and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by the people. Verse 8. But as for you, do not be called Rabbi (which means teacher); for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. Verse 9. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Verse 10. And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. Verse 11. But the greatest of you shall be your servant. Verse 12. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

When a Christian repeatedly chooses to ignore the Words of Jesus and the Bible, doesn’t it reveal a ‘secretive’ yet deliberate and willing defiance of God? Or is it just pride, arrogance (and maybe even an ignorance of the Bible)?

How embarrassing is it to ‘dress one way’ and act in direct opposition to the claims of one’s ‘attire’ – and, in open view for all to see? (I.e., dress as a Christian and behave as a pagan. Isn’t that like wearing

“The Emperor’s New Clothes?” (<-link)

What is it called when someone claims the authority of their position and to personally ignore or to disobey that same authority for themselves?

(10 Red Flags)

How arrogant and foolish is it to call oneself a Christian “leader” and to stand in judgement of scriptures and in defiance of the Bible by the way they think, speak and behave – then to show their face in public?

Okay, maybe that’s a little too much? I’ll ‘take a breath’ and slow down. Maybe you are not a preacher, pastor, elder or ordained or commissioned by the Church.

Maybe you are just an ordinary, lovable guy or gal who call themselves a Christian. Can these same instructions apply to you?

Would you consider that they could apply to you, IF:

 

• If you expect or demand to be called by a title, but rarely get that recognition?
• If you dress yourself in ways that advertise your life accomplishments? (insignia, patches, gaudy jewelry).
• If you get privately angry with people who will not give you the respect you think you deserve?
• If your possessions advertise your success in subtle or overt ways?
• If you present yourself in loud or flamboyant ways in order ‘let others know that you are a leader’?
• If you find yourself doing or saying things that draw attention to yourself?
• If you love to sit in or near the chair of notables at events?
• If you put heavy expectations on others and feel disdain toward them when they fail to measure up?
• If you do your deeds in secret or are you careful to be noticed by other people (even if you don’t want to admit it).
• If you love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in church?
• If you love the personal greetings as you go about, being recognized as a leader or called ‘pastor’, doctor, professor, or by other ranks or titles by people?

I confess. I am embarrassed to admit that I have done some (or maybe all) of these things in my lifetime. I admit they have probably been a cover for my inadequacies and failures. I admit I was probably tired of being overlooked, marginalized and disrespected. I admit I was tired of being one of the ‘have-nots’ so I would exaggerate, inflate myself, thinking I would look better before others. I admit that my thinking and behavior was erroneous.

Now, by the grace of God, I admit that I no longer wish to be called or known as Teacher or Leader to be recognized by others – and I now recognize we all are brothers and sisters. I admit that the greatest of us shall be a servant.  I admit that ”whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted”.

Please note that I understand that none of us are righteous, in and of ourselves. We all are sinners – saved by God’s grace through our faith in Christ Jesus, and that we need to show one another the same mercy and grace that God shows us. I need to show others the same mercy and grace that God has shown me.

But, we should not and cannot remain comfortable in our sinful ways. We are to bury the ‘old person’ and our old nature and be made a new creature in Christ.

Ours is to be an upside-down and inside-out existence. We are to be ‘in the world’ but not part of this world system and its ways of thinking and behaving. We must understand and realize the consequences for those who would ‘die in their sins’. Therefore, we can and must confess our sins before God, as He is just and faithful to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We should also confess our sins to one another, and pray for one another so that we may be healed.

Please, let’s show understanding and kindness to one another, at the same time encourage one another to good works.

How about you? What do you think?

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

THE GLOBALIST

Is on your doorstep and coming for your house!

Click HERE, or continue reading this up-to-date Fox News op-ed, (designated below in green lettering), as adapted from author Carol Roth’s new book “You Will Own Nothing“, Broadside Books, July 18, 2023).

“(Leftist) Elites want you to own nothing, they even want to take this away. Financial elites in America are busy putting up a white picket fence around the American dream of owning a home.”

Just over a decade ago, you may have taken out a mortgage from a big financial company, but you wouldn’t have to compete with them, or the companies that they have funded, to buy a single-family home. 

But today, the ‘elites’ are trying to get you to rent the American Dream– from them.

Yes, some of the biggest names in finance, like BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world and purveyor of ESG ideals, Blackstone, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, and Capital One, among others, have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into backing companies that purchase single-family homes and rent them back to middle and working-class Americans.

Owning a house has been the defining symbol of that American Dream. There’s a good reason for that—it’s an important asset for creating wealth. If you wanted people to create more wealth, a key path to doing that would be making it easier for them to own a home.

But, the elite in the U.S. and globally don’t want that at all. 

Click here for the Video

That’s why it is no surprise that a recent report from real estate brokerage firm Redfin showed housing affordability hitting a historic low in the United States, with less than a quarter of the homes listed in 2022 considered affordable for the typical US homebuyer.

There are corporations that have bought tens of thousands of single-family properties across the US for the express purpose of renting back the American Dream to you, so that you own nothing and give up your wealth creation opportunities to them.

It’s not just the US, either. In the UK, top British mortgage lender Halifax noted that property was unaffordable for the average buyer in about 80% of towns. In the Netherlands, it has been recently reported that first-time buyers are priced out of more than 96% of the market.

It has been predicted that “you will own nothing…and be happy.”

While the second part of that is no doubt as far as you can get from the truth, the wealthy and the well-connected are working hard on the first part. Hoarding assets and renting them back to you seems to be a big part of their plan.

In the United States, as well as around the globe, owning a home helps individuals and families build wealth. Per the Federal Reserve Board’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances, the home (aka primary residence) was the largest asset owned by dollar amount across all households and across all ethnic groups. More U.S. households have home equity than stocks and mutual funds or retirement accounts (including IRAs, Keogh plans, Thrift Savings Plans, and 401K(k) accounts)!

But the financial, business and political elite, many of whom own one or more mansions themselves, have overseen an epic transfer of wealth from Main Street to the already wealthy and well-connected, which has accelerated at key points over the last decade and a half. 

Click here for the Video

During the Great Recession Financial Crisis, the cronies of the well-connected benefited while the average American was punished. 

While both individuals and financial institutions took on too much risk vis-à-vis housing, their outcomes were starkly different. Individuals lost their homes while financial institutions received a bailout.

The wealthy and well-connected benefitted during the crisis in multiple ways. Some received direct bailouts. Many were given access to cheap capital. The financial institutions were able to foreclose on homes—taking away the wealth of the individual. These homes were flipped to capital-rich buyers who bought up these assets at bargain prices.

Meanwhile, as reported by The New York Times Magazine, “[f]rom 2007 to 2011, 4.7 million households lost homes to foreclosure, and a million more to short sale. Private-equity firms developed new ways to secure credit, enabling them to leverage their equity and acquire an astonishing number of homes.” 

Click here for the Video

Following that, housing was under built, creating an undersupplied market. Then, investors flush with cheap capital from the Fed’s “easy money” policies created a new market: competing with you to own your home.

Single-family houses that individuals and families have bought for decades as a means of creating generational wealth were, for the first time, being bought at scale by big corporations.

This is an entirely new phenomenon. Meaningful institutional money in single-family rentals didn’t exist just over a decade ago! 

Now, there are corporations that have bought tens of thousands of single-family properties across the U.S. for the express purpose of renting the American Dream back to you, so that you own nothing and give up your wealth creation opportunities to them.

They are backed by the financial elite, many of whom are the same people who cavort at Davos at the World Economic Forum’s yearly gathering.

Click here for the Video

These corporate homebuyers are not only driving up prices, but are formidable competitors in other ways. They have the financial ability to make all-cash offers, not relying on a mortgage approval like a typical homebuyer would. These corporations don’t even look at the properties in many cases—why would they; they don’t plan to live there. 

In the fourth quarter of 2021 alone, corporations bought 80,000 homes, which was about 18 percent of all single-family homes sold during that quarter. While not all of those corporate buyers were large corporations (some were small landlords with corporate entities), it is a staggering number and more than 24,000 units higher than the same quarter in the prior year.

And, according to data from CoreLogic, investors purchased an estimated 22% of all US homes in 2022. That’s more than one in every five homes being purchased by an investor.

The investors own something, you own nothing, and they collect the rent on the difference.

This practice, enabled by Fed and government policy, is taking aim directly at the middle and working class. It is hurting younger Americans in their quest to own something. In fact, while millennials make more money on an inflation-adjusted basis than prior generations did at the same age bracket, they are generating less wealth and their hopes to buy their own home and a piece of the American Dream are shrinking.

The investors own something, you own nothing, and they collect the rent on the difference.

Redfin’s deputy chief economist Taylor Marr told The Hill, “Housing affordability is at the lowest level in history, which is widening the wealth gap—especially between generations.” 

It’s the one-two punch of the policy-created asset bubble and transferring wealth creation opportunities to the already wealthy. Regular Americans are priced out of ownership, and they are not happy.

The elite want to come out on top, regardless of the fallout. So, they have now put up a white picket fence as a barrier to you achieving the American Dream.

Whether the “you will own nothing” prediction follows the expectations of the new financial world order or is a directive to help create one, it doesn’t matter much. Being a perpetual renter, rather than a homeowner, is a substantial affront to creating individual and generational wealth.

The elite aren’t stopping at homes. They are buying up land, water rights and more. You must work to own whatever you can, because if the elite own everything, and you own nothing, they will end up effectively owning you.

Carol Roth is a former investment banker, entrepreneur and author of the new book “You Will Own Nothing” Broadside Books (July 18, 2023). Her previous books are “The War on Small Business” and the New York Times bestseller “The Entrepreneur Equation.”

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

(More important reading)

23 Urgent Articles on Globalism, and what you must do about it.

“Follow (Deute) me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Matthew 4:19

Jesus’ words seem pretty straight forward, as He says, “Follow (Deute – dyoo’-the) me”. But what does Jesus mean when He says, “Follow Me”?

When you look deeper into the language and at what Jesus is saying, you find that He uses this form of the Greek word ‘Deute’. Pronounced, ‘dyoo’-the’, only ONE time, and it means come hither! And, it is an exclamatory word and a command which cannot be ignored.

There are thirty-five others times recorded in the New Testament that Jesus uses the Greek word, ‘akoloutheó, which simply means to follow, to accompany or to attend.

By using the word ‘Deute’, Jesus is not making a calm, polite request. He is using an interjection, and an imperative command, “Come here now, and follow Me!”

Jesus, in saying “’Deute’, Come. Follow Me“, is telling His disciples to follow Him closely as if to be upon His back, peering over His shoulder, watching, learning, being closely identified with Jesus.

The reason and purpose for following Jesus in this way is to be identified with and as a disciple of Jesus.

A disciple’s first priority is following Jesus. Everything else is secondary. If Jesus tells them to go, they go. If he tells them to stay, then they stay. They may be like Paul, traveling the world over sharing the good news of Jesus. Or, more likely, they may be like Aquila and Priscilla, tentmakers who served in a local church.

You might be male or female; rich or poor; a preacher, an engineer, or raising children; you might have a variety of skin tones or ethnic backgrounds. But the commitment to follow Jesus, even to the cross, is common to all disciples.

There may be times, when we, as did Peter when he followed Jesus ‘at a distance’ to watch the outcome of the events when Jesus was betrayed by Judas, arrested and led away by Caiaphas, the scribes and high priests. But like Peter, we must confront our fears and confess our failings, and ‘Deute’, follow Him, even to our own cross if necessary.

Discipleship is a term that we often give lip service to. But we often substitute being a fan of Jesus for being a disciple of Jesus. But, as Christians, we are not called to sit in our padded pews, cheering on the worship team and preacher and paying our entrance fee. We are called to be disciples. To give up the life we had and follow Jesus, learning from him and becoming like him.

It is not enough just to evangelize. Bringing a person into a saving relationship with Jesus is just the beginning. We need to teach them to obey what Jesus commanded and to follow him wherever he leads. To be a team player rather than a fan.

And, please, let’s remember: You have to BE ONE to MAKE ONE.

• Matthew 4:19

And He *said to them, “Follow Me (deute = dyoo’-teh), come hither! An exclamatory word),

and I will make you fishers of people.” (Used in this context only ONCE in the N.T.).

• Matthew 8:22

But Jesus *said to him, “Follow Me, (akoloutheó = ak-ol-oo-theh’-o), to follow, accompany, attend), and let the dead bury their own dead.” (Used in this context 35 times in the N.T.)

• Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me (akoloutheó = ak-ol-oo-theh’-o), to follow, accompany, attend).

• Matthew 19:21

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me (akoloutheó = ak-ol-oo-theh’-o), to follow, accompany, attend).”

• John 1:43

The next day He decided to go to Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me (akoloutheó = ak-ol-oo-theh’-o), to follow, accompany, attend).”

• John 10:27

My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me (akoloutheó = ak-ol-oo-theh’-o), to follow, accompany, attend).”

• John 12:26

If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me (akoloutheó = ak-ol-oo-theh’-o), to follow, accompany, attend), and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

This is offered in humility and love. I fail and fall short more often than I admit. I pray for you and humbly ask that you pray for me as we work to serve God and reach this lost and dying world with His Gospel – Truly, Good News.

A recent publication by Zion’s Hope magazine, dated May-June 2023, asks, “Is the Church prepared to encounter the Antichrist before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?” (Zions Hope, by Marvin J. Rosenthal, 1933-2022).

I attended a small Church in Estero, Florida for a number of years, that is, until ‘certain things’ became clear to me. For example, I cannot count the numbers of members at that church who thought (believed) that the Church would be raptured before the appearance of the Antichrist.

When the matter would come up, I pointed out (on numerous occasions), that 2^nd Corinthians 2:1, says, “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, verse 2, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Verse 3. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, verse 4, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.”, only to be met with a blank stare and a denial.

“Naw”, they would say, “I don’t believe that. We will be raptured before that happens”. I would take a Bible and point out the verse to them. Still, a blank stare.

Marvin Rosenthal points out, in his article, “The Scriptures clearly teach that the Antichrist and the GREAT Tribulation (the final seven years of Great Tribulation) will precede the Lord’s coming. The Church should be constantly watching for her Lord’s coming, but fully cognizant of the fact that it is the emergence of the Antichrist which will indicate the Lord’s emergence is near.

“Believers still living at that time will be removed from the earth by rapture before the outpouring of God’s wrath during the Day of the Lord (the trumpets and bowls of the Book of Revelation) , but they will not be exempted from the difficulties associated with the Antichrist.

“If the Church believes she will be out of here before the Antichrist emerges, she will be caught off-guard and unprepared when he appears to deceive the world.”

Please, dear friends, be ready. Stay ready.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PS:   On another, but related matter, among the many reasons my wife and I had to stop attending that church was the denying of the plain language of the Bible in favor of personal opinions. (Please don’t misunderstand. There were many, many times the Word of God was taught accurately and with great sincerity in this church, and many churches like it. But suppose if you were confronted with this scenario: You are dry and very thirsty, on the verge of passing out for lack of water, and someone offered you a cool, clear glass of water – but the unrevealed caveat is that the glass container itself may have previously been contaminated with fecal bacteria – would you drink? You see, it is the “hidden, missing or omitted facts” that creates danger and should create pause.)

It happened that at some point at this church, someone in the congregation found it necessary to begin ‘giving messages in tongues’ during or at the end of a sermon. Another person, then, would dramatically ‘interpret’ these unintelligible sounds. It was almost always the same two people claiming to have this ‘gift’, and they seemed to play off one another. It awed some people in the congregation, the interruption and strange practice annoyed others. Some people didn’t care one way or another, but some left these services permanently.

I pointed out on occasion that the Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 14:23 said, “Therefore if the whole church gathers together and all the people speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are insane?”, some in the congregation would give me a blank stare – there’s always that stare – and would ask, “what are you trying to say?”.

“What am I trying to say”, I would think? “Read it for yourself”, I would think.

Finally, this practice ‘sealed the deal’ for me and we ‘were directed by the Word of God’ to move to another Church: The Word of God proclaims, “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent” (1 Timothy 2:11–12). (also see GotQuestions.Org).

Also, in 1 Corinthians 14:33, we find, “For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints, verse 34, the women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says.”

The clarity of these verses is so loud that it is deafening. It must be deafening because it seems some ‘churches and church people’ can’t (or won’t) hear it.

The church, I refer to, had decided not to just ordain women but to appoint women as co-senior or senior pastors to preach from the pulpit – over men. (Again, 1 Timothy 2:11–12, says “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent”.

(There is a Biblical, spiritual, mental, emotional, physical and social reason for this teaching, but I do not have the time or space to explain it here.)

I have had some people in other churches tell me it is none of my business, when I bring matters like this up for discussion, since I am not a member of ‘their church’.

FIRST-OF-ALL, in response to this, I say, “it is NOT your church. It is Jesus’ Church”, it is His Bride, and you have no right and NO AUTHORITY – none whatsoever – to stand in judgment of scriptures. Your responsibility is to read the Holy Scriptures, understand them, and obey them. (Call this ‘legalism’ if you must. I offer it out of love and concern for the Body of Christ, The Church, and for our spiritual prosperity.)

Finally, I would refer you to hear what pastor and teacher John Piper says in an article (interview) on his website “Desiring God”, which he says this:

“Matthew 7:15: tells us to “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” And the word beware means all of us should be alert, but especially shepherds, to identify not just false teaching, but false teachers, whose ways are subtle. They’re clothing themselves with lamb’s wool, while they are wolves.

“And Paul used the same Greek word for beware, in Acts 20:28–29 when he said, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. . . . I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing them.”

“In order to avoid them (false teachings and false teachers), you have to know who they are. You can’t avoid somebody if you don’t know who they are. This idea of identifying and avoiding shows up in 1 Corinthians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14; 2 Timothy 3:5; 2 John 10. In other words, Christians, and shepherds in particular, should be discerning and alert to behavior and teaching that dishonors Christ and destroys people — and not treat it in a casual or harmless way.

“And then in 1 Timothy 5:19–20, Paul went beyond just “avoid them” to “rebuke them publicly.” So, speaking of elders who persist in error, he said, “Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin” — and that can be sin of false doctrine or sin of evil behavior, anyone who does not accept correction — “rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear.”

I know that this “PS” will not make me popular with some and will probably rub some people the wrong way. It may cost me some acquaintance-ships. If so, I will be saddened by that. But enough is enough. It’s time to speak up and to speak out.

So, what do you think?

“Is the Church prepared to encounter the Antichrist before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?”

(You can leave your comments below).

THE CHRIST:  From the Greek word ‘chrio’; Anointed One or the Chosen One i.e. The Messiah, an epithet of Jesus – Christ.

“For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray”.

If you call yourself a Christian or if you call yourself a church, traditionally and historically, you are associated with the teachings of the Bible and of Jesus.

That has changed. In fact, Jesus, near the end of His earthly ministry, was recorded by Matthew, Luke and Mark, warning that false Messiah’s would come, saying they are the Christ.

Of course, if an individual were saying he is the Christ, he would be easy to spot and therefore avoid. But, when an entire religious denomination, which had been traditionally Christian, is compromised and begins saying in so many words, “I am the Christ” by claiming the moniker of Christianity, teach a totally different Gospel, we have a problem. And, this is exactly what is happening and many have been and are being deceived.

There are many people, today, calling themselves ‘Christians’ but they are not living according to the teachings of and the example set by Jesus. They are living according to their own desires, in their own image. This is called Paganism.

Paganism, via Global-Socialist-Communist-Marxism (GSCM), has reemerged as a dominant world view and a dominant world force. Through this reemergence, a not-so-new rebranding has taken place. GSCM is cloaking itself in traditional ‘Christian language’, look-alike-behaviors and eerily similar sounding doctrines, thus the deception is underway – but for a much different reason than that of Christianity.

FIRST – You can see the professed goals and activities of the Global-Socialist-Communist-Marxism (GSCM), better known as The United Nations and its partners like the World Economic Program and the programs of the Agenda-2030.

The Preamble of the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (Agenda 2030) says, in part:

“This Agenda is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity.

It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom.

We recognize that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

All countries and all stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, will implement this plan. We are resolved to free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want and to heal and secure our planet.

We are determined to take the bold and transformative steps which are urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path.

As we embark on this collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets which we are announcing today demonstrate the scale and ambition of this new universal Agenda. They seek to build on the Millennium Development Goals and complete what these did not achieve. They seek to realize the human rights of all and to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. They are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental.

The Goals and targets will stimulate action over the next fifteen years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet:”

“We are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production, sustainably managing its natural resources and taking urgent action on climate change, so that it can support the needs of the present and future generations.”

The cover story for the 17 sustainable development goals of agenda 2030 is are: (1) No Poverty, (2) Zero Hunger, (3) Good Health and Well-being, (4) Quality Education, (5) Gender Equality, (6) Clean Water and Sanitation, (7) Affordable and Clean Energy, (8) Decent Work and Economic Growth, (9) Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, (10) Reduced Inequality, (11) Sustainable Cities and Communities, (12) Responsible Consumption and Production, (13) Climate Action, (14) Life Below Water, (15) Life On Land, (16) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, (17) Partnerships for the Goals. However, the implementation and management of these ambitious plans require a convergence of governments nations and states into one global entity under the jurisdiction of a board of select officials from various nations. It also requires cooperation and submission by government and the populous of each nation to the dictates of the United Nations agenda 2030 and the World Economic Forum. Contemporary examples of this plan can be witnessed in country such as Argentina, Cuba, China and Brazil. Participation is not optional, and resistance will be costly and futile.

Who would not want to achieve these goals and live in such a Utopian world? Beware. The goals are lofty, but, the methodologies, the implementation and the governing of the world they describe can be likened to the gulags of Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, the reign of terror imposed on China by the notorious Mao Zedong or the racist Hegelian, Karl Marx’s nefarious social construct of Marxism which is responsible for the deaths of upward of 200,000,000 people. They, all, used the same Siren’s song the United Nations is using now, to lure hundreds of millions into the webs of Agenda 2030.

Although grand in scope and scale, I say it is ‘not-so-new’ because The Bible tells of the beginnings of the idea of a One World Government and warns this system is coming again – in the Last Days. “They said, ‘Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.’

“The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

“The LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.” Genesis 11:4-6

DON’T BE DECEIVED

The agenda of this “migration” and Globalism or One World Government is not the stuff of just any book. It is stuff of THE BOOK, that is The Bible.

Genesis chapter 11 gives us the prophecy, the foreshadowing of the coming One World Government.

The Tower of Babel, built around, 2242 B.C., was a post-Flood rebellion against God by Noah’s descendants. As told about in Genesis 11:1-9, it is meant to explain why the world’s peoples speak different languages. According to the account, a united humanity in the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating eastward, comes to the land of Shinar (שִׁנְעָר). There, they agree to build a city and a tower tall enough to reach heaven.

(NOTE: “tall enough to reach to heaven” can be a metaphor for “man reaching to heaven, making himself god, to accomplish his own desires. This is the ‘Utopian dream’ of the Socialist and Communist manifestos; the State being our god – from cradle to grave)

This effort of uniting in a global community has been underway for about 4,200 years, about 100 years after ‘The Flood’, but before Abraham was born.

This is ‘forecast’ or what is Prophesied in the Bible. It is underway, and nearly completed. We should be prepared!

Jesus and His disciples dealt with the same type of deceptions of Gnosticism and Judaism. However, as we have entered These Last Days, we are seeing a culmination of centuries of preparation for the coming false church and the antichrist.

SECONDLY – You can see evidence that the GSMC have the invaded and compromised church by investigating the Word of Faith movement, the Catholic church, the Emergent church, the compromised Nazarene church and the drift of the Presbyterian USA church, the United Methodist church and even many in the Baptist faith and church, among others.

Here is the history of the drift, invasion and compromise of the church:

AD 1 The Church of Jesus Christ, The Body of Christ, had no buildings, little money and no wealth. The Church was a Movement. Jesus said to make disciples; collect no money except to make your journey. The penalty for becoming a Christian was often death. The Church grew exponentially.

A.D. 49 The Church expanded into Greece. The Church became a philosophy to many. The Church grew and size and influence.

A.D. 313 The Church expanded into Rome and it gained recognition. It grew in power and popularity. It obtained wealth, buildings, property and influence. It became an institution.

A.D. 380 The Church expanded into Europe. It was becoming a worldwide phenomenon. It grew in wealth, stature, power and influence. It had become a culture.

1607 The Church reaches America.

1681 The Church became corporate. It had become a business and incorporated. It became regulated by the government.

The Corporate Church grew. It needed money to support growth and expansion, which meant the Corporate Church needed more people.

1777 The state of Virginia granted tax exemption to houses of worship.

1894 The corporate church was granted tax exemptions by the Federal Government.

1954 The Federal Government regulated what a church could and could not say in order to retain tax-exempt status.

The church continued to grow, and in order to attract more people the Corporate Church lowered its membership and doctrinal standards. More people became ‘members’ and gave more money to support more growth.

The Church corporation is complete with leaders, boards and membership and a business model.

Local churches compete against one another for members (customers). The church is selling itself in “three line slogans”.

The Church members now have choices and have become religious consumers. Church people can shop around for the religious brand and standards that best suits them. (2 Timothy 3)

The Leadership (pastors and preachers) have become CEOs, disciples have become church leaders, growing their 501(c)(3) business models.

Record numbers of pastors quitting because of stress, burnout or are being fired by their congregations (some stats say 1500 – 1700 leave “the ministry” each month).

Church debt in America soars; church foreclosures soar.

1968 The church ordains homosexuals as clergy.

1972 The United church of Christ ordains homosexual clergy

2010 The Lutheran church ordains homosexual clergy

2012 The Presbyterian church ordains homosexual clergy

The Episcopal Church in the United States and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) have also allowed ordination of openly gay and lesbian candidates for ministry for some years.

Internationally, churches that have ordained openly lesbian or gay clergy include the Church of Scotland, the Church of England, the Church in Wales, the Church of Sweden, the Church of Norway, the Church of Denmark, the Church of Iceland, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the Evangelical Church in Germany, the Methodist Church in Britain, the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, the United Protestant Church in Belgium, the Swiss Reformed Church, the United Protestant Church of France, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Anglican Church in Canada, the Old Catholic Church, the Czechoslovak Hussite Church and the United Church of Christ in Japan.

2020 The church is losing and has lost influence. The church in 2020 is hemorrhaging members.

2023 Much of the church claiming to be ‘Christian’ is teaching and living a different Gospel than that of Jesus and the Apostles.

If you want to follow the “New World Order” and cling to the fanatical and reach for the  unattainable, then be my guest. But, the end is foretold:

Judgment Before the Great White Throne of God

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.

Then another book was opened, which is the book of life.

And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

There is ONE WAY to life – it is found through salvation by and a relationship with the One True Living God – Jesus the Christ!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young – inviting you to come to Jesus, today.

PS:

WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

 

The odds of 1 to 100, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 is 1 to 10 to the 157th power.

These are the odds against – yes, AGAINST – Jesus Christ having fulfilled just 48 of the over 450 prophecies written about Him.

In order to give you some perspective, electrons are very small objects. They’re smaller than atoms. It would take 2.5 TIMES 10 to the 15th power of them, laid side by side, to make one inch. Even if we counted 250 of these electrons each minute, and counted day and night, it would still take 19 million years just to count a line of electrons one-inch long.  19 MILLION YEARS!

Read that again, please.  Why is that significant?

It is significant because it gives us evidence that the Bible is true and correct when it says that Christ Jesus came to earth and is the Savior of the world.

It gives YOU evidence, if you choose to pay attention, that your life can be eternal with the only LIFE source which gives eternal Peace, Safety, Security, Joy and fulfillment the universe has ever known or ever will know.

Just think about it: It is a scientific and a mathematical impossibility that HAS COME TO PASS!

No odds can defy the REALITY of Jesus Christ.

 

Have you ever heard or thought that? “Everything is a nail to a hammer”? That may be what I have become when it comes to The Mission of the Church, but I hope that is not the case. (before going further, please click on the word, Church, for an accurate Biblical definition and description).

The Church is the Bride of Christ, made up of the children of God – Christians. And, the Church is on a mission.

If I asked YOU, what is the mission of the Church, what would you say?

Here is what some are saying:

The Gospel Coalition says, for the Evangelical, “The mission of the church is the task given by God for the people of God to accomplish in the world. In simplest terms, the mission of the church is the Great Commission.” (Kevin DeYoung, Presbyterian, PCA).

Bible.Org says, for the Evangelicals, “The Church’s Mission Is to Worship God; the chief mission God has given the church is to praise and worship him”. (credit, Gregory Brown, chaplain and professor at Handong Global University and the teaching pastor at Handong International Congregation.)

GotQuestions.Org (a prevalent Reformed view) says, “First, the mission of the church is to make disciples;  

“secondly, the mission of the church is to glorify Christ;

 “thirdly, the mission of the church is to build up the saints;

 “finally, the mission of the church is to know and love Christ so supremely as to represent Him and His values accurately and vividly to the world and serve people’s deepest needs in the way Christ Himself would meet them.

GOD HAS A PLAN AND A PURPOSE

God’s plan and purpose is revealed throughout scriptures. But you will have to step back from a myopic view of the Bible and study the long-view. What I mean is see the entire Bible as a panorama of what God has done and continues to do. The Purpose of God’s Eternal Plan is Perfection.  He is maturing and perfecting His people into His image, ultimately to live in Perfect harmony with Him and with one another, in a New and Perfect heaven and earth. This is not to be confused with the Mission of the Church.

Jesus explained the Mission, set the example, trained His disciples and sent them on His Mission.

Hear what Jesus says:

John 5:17, “But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

John 5:19, “So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.”

John 5:30, “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not My own will but the will of Him who sent me.”

John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

BUILDING AN ARMY

Some say that Jesus has built an ‘army of the cross’. True enough, but it must be kept in the context that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (see Ephesians 6:12).

Jesus called His disciples and trained them in His ways.

Then, He sent them to call others to do the same. From these few,

God has raised up a Christian army of millions who have engaged the Mission.

From these few uneducated, common men, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, Jesus began His Church.

THE EARLY CHURCH WAS A MOVEMENT

From these humble beginnings, in or around A.D. 29 The Church of Jesus Christ, The Body of Christ, had no buildings, little money and no wealth. The Church was a Movement.

Matthew 16:18, says, “And, I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. verse 19. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” verse 20. Then He gave the disciples strict orders that they were to tell no one that He was the Christ. 

Jesus said to make disciples; collect no money except to make your journey. Although the penalty for becoming a Christian was often death. The Church grew exponentially.

A.D. 49. The Church expanded into Greece. The Church became a philosophy to many. The Church grew and size and influence.

A.D. 313.  The Church expanded into Rome and it gained recognition. It grew in power and popularity. It obtained wealth, buildings, property and influence. It became an institution.

A.D. 380.  The Church expanded into Europe. It was becoming a worldwide phenomenon. It grew in wealth, stature, power and influence. It had become a culture.

A.D. 1607.  The Church reaches America.

Era	Estimated Christians
First century	500,000
Second century	2,000,000
Third century	5,000,000
Fourth century	10,000,000
Fifth century	15,000,000
Sixth century	20,000,000
Seventh century	24,000,000
Eighth century	30,000,000
Ninth century	40,000,000
Tenth century	50,000,000
Eleventh century	70,000,000
Twelfth century	80,000,000
Thirteenth century	75,000,000
Fourteenth century	80,000,000
Fifteenth century	100,000,000
Sixteenth century	125,000,000
Seventeenth century	155,000,000
Eighteenth century	200,000,000

 

The year 1900                                   558,000,000 (million)

The year 1970                                    1,216,131,000 (billion)

The year 2000                                  1,988,770,000 (billion)

The year 2023                                   2,604,381,000 (billion)

(reference since 1990 – from Gordon Cromwell University)

Nowadays, however, I see many church slogans, (i.e., their mission statements), that say things like “to know Jesus and to make Him known”, or “Give, Grow, Go”, or “To love Him and to be loved”, all good things. But the practice of these ‘mottos’, or slogans, are reflected in their dearth of making disciples via leading by example.

(Two small examples for you to consider: I was in a ‘discipleship training class’ in a local church and the ‘teacher’ made this remark, at the end of the class: “We are to go and make disciples, but if they don’t come to church they won’t get saved.” This reflects that the real attitude of most Christians is to ‘leave it up to the preacher. Another time in another church, the prevalent answers from a similar class was, “I would, but that is not my gift”. (Both now have declining memberships, which is sad. But is worse is they are not following the example and commandments of Jesus.)

If, by chance, you think or behave like the examples I have given, here is a ‘pin to burst your bubble’: Jesus says to ALL CHRISTIANS, that is, ALL HIS DISCIPLES, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Yes. Perhaps I am guilty of being that hammer, and yes, perhaps I do see all things as the nails that have the calling and the potential of evangelizing the entire world, until He returns – which is perhaps sooner that we might think.

Please listen, dear friends, the ‘glory days’ of America are coming to a rapid end. The safety and sanctuary of living in a predominantly Christian nation are over. If you doubt that or are hanging on to a hope that somehow some preacher or politician is going to lead us to revival, you will be grievously mistaken.

God says, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” Within this call to repentance, also is the inference for obedience to Him and His Word. James has reminded us that “faith without works is dead faith.” In other words, we must not just be hearers of the Word, but doers of the Word, for it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

Let’s pray for one another that we will find the courage, strength and willingness – each one of us as individuals – to join Jesus in the harvest fields, which are indeed ripe for the harvest in these last days!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

There has been so much written about ‘how to have a happy life’, usually written by those who have achieved such a life. But for those who are struggling, it just makes little sense. For those who have lost hope, there is no coming sunrise. It’s all dark and sad and hopeless. This is a dangerous place to be.

To those who are in that dark place, PLEASE LISTEN – ONE MORE TIME, that is, if you can muster the strength. I HAVE LIVED IN THAT DARKNESS, with no idea of how to escape. I wondered how others escaped (or, for that matter, why so many others have never experienced this awful sense of failure and hopelessness). I wondered what I have done to deserve this ? Why and how this could have happened to me?

There were times that I was not sure if I wanted to go on or that I could go on.

THEN I FOUND A WAY. I have since discovered that hundreds of thousands of others, even hundreds of millions of others, have also found this answer and it changed everything. It did not just change things – a little or a lot. It completely and radically changed them for the better!  Then everything around them, and every chance, every circumstance, every situation that might touch their lives followed suit.

PLEASE HEAR ME: THERE IS AN ANSWER. THERE IS HOPE. THERE IS AN ESCAPE TO A BETTER PLACE. But you will have to read this and believe, even if you have to drag yourself there. As weak as you may feel, reach deep and find just one tenth of one ounce of courage (the weight of a mustard seed), this one more time.

This will – if you will – change your life in wonderful ways.

Change won’t seem to come instantly, although you will have been changed in an instant, “in the blink of an eye” as the Bible puts it. You and your life’s trajectory will immediately be put on an upward trend, and the day will come when others will say they don’t recognize you as the person you once were. You, in fact, won’t even recognize that man or woman, boy or girl you used to be. And, nothing will ever be the same again.

The Answer seems to be a secret, since so many people continue to languish in fear-bordering-on-terror, being confined and chained in the dankness of a prison cell of their own making. But it is not a secret. Please hear me: This seems to be a secret only because many of you in bondage don’t want to know.

It is up to the ‘hearer’ to hear. It is up to the observer to see. It is up to you to know.

THINK WITH ME

A man comes from seeming obscurity, quietly enters the world scene, and begins to work miracles. As time goes by, His works are witness by hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands of people, working miracles, saving lives, controlling the elements, reversing death, raising people from the dead, healing broken minds and broken bodies, driving away and defeating the darkness for all who would believe. He won’t accept money, and He rejects recognition and hides from fame. But the world takes notice, and the effects have lasted for over two centuries. He changed the world and redefined how to think.

His Power is still available, and it is waiting to be discovered by you. He will present it to you Himself, but you have to decide to see with your own eyes, hear with your own ears and believe it for yourself.

This “power” as I have called it, is not a nebulous or an ill-defined concept. It is a living Person. The person of Jesus. The Bible tells you that He is saying, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” The Spirit of Jesus lives on and is real and ever present for those who will receive Him and what He has to offer.

He can and is willing to heal your mind, your body and your soul. He can and is willing to raise you up from your bed of sickness and death – whether physical, emotional, spiritual, relational – to restore the things you have missed out on or have lost, and He will create new and wonderful things in your life you previously thought were out of your reach.

You no longer need be chained to that rock of human misery and suffering – which in fact is our exile from God.

He makes but one demand: You must believe.

He extends His Grace of mercy, forgiveness, reconciliation, restoration and promise to all who will believe. Your belief comes in the form of faith, and even this faith is a gift from God to those who choose to believe.

It is by God’s great mercy that we can receive this gift. We are born again to a new life, all because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now – if you choose – you can live with great expectation, and have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

And through your faith, God will protect you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed for all to see.

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead. And even though you must still endure many trials for a little while, these trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So, when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

Sounds too good to be true? You will have to find out for yourself. You have to call on Him, believe Him, trust Him and follow Him. But, it is all up to you.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

PS: I am praying desperately and fervently for you. Reach out to Him. Please.

 

Do you ever have those days (or months) when it seems like everything you do encounters opposition? It is like everything is going against you?

The Bible address matters like these. One real-life story, in particular, is found in the book of First Samuel, chapter seventeen. It is about the battle between a huge man, described as a giant Goliath and a small boy named David.

(There are those who say this did not really happen, but it did happen and the details and outcome are so significant that it has been preserved over the last 2,800 years, serving us several invaluable object lessons for living an effective and victorious life.)

While reading this account in 1^st Samuel, imagine with me if you will, that the

(1) Philistines in this story are the disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures that one may face in life.

(2) Saul and the men of Israel and Judah represent you and your position in life.

(3) David, son of Jesse, represents a type of Christ, our Hope.

1 Samuel 17:1, Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. Verse 2. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. Verse 3. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

Samuel 17:4. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span (9 feet 6 inches tall). Verse 5. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze (121.25 pounds). Verse 6. And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. Verse 7 The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron (14.5 pounds). And his shield-bearer went before him. Verse 8. He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. Verse 9. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” Verse 10. And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.”

Verse 11. When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

Verse 12. Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul, the man was already old and advanced in years.

 Verse 16. For forty days the Philistine came forward and took his stand, morning and evening.

Verse 24. All the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were much afraid.

Verse 26. And David said to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

Verse 32. And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33. And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.”

 Verse 40. Then David took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.

Verse 41. And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. Verse 42. And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. Verse 43. And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. Verse 44. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”

Verse 45. Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Verse 46. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, Verse 47. and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

Verse 48. When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. Verse 49. And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.

Verse 50. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him.

NOTE: This is a real event which also makes for a great metaphor. A metaphor  representing the ‘giants and what appears to be overwhelming threats and troubles’ we may face in our lives. This actual event from the Bible gives us a monumental truth which, when applied, gives us the identical stupendous results in our individual lives. Once again, re-read this story with the 

• Philistines in this story as representing the disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures that you may face in life..

• Saul and the men of Israel representing you and your position(s) in life.
  

• David, son of Jesse, representing a type of Christ, your Hope and salvation in life.

RECAP:

1. Now the ‘Philistines’ gathered their armies for battle, which are those disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures you may face in life.
   1. They gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah. Notice that they are encroaching into your life, into your spaces and areas.
2. And Saul and the men of Israel, which are our lives and our positions in life, were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. We can’t escape these dangers and threats, and we must face off with them.
3. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.
4. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath which are those disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures you may face in life.
   1. whose height was six cubits and a span (9 feet 6 inches tall), and they tower over us and over our lives. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze (121.25 pounds). And he had bronze armor on his legs, and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders. The shaft of his spear was like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron (14.5 pounds). And his shield-bearer went before him, and all our eyes see is defeat even before we begin, and it brings fear and terror.
   2. He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, am I not all of your disappointments, your trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures you may face in life?
5. and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.” I taunt you. I threaten you.
   
   1. When Saul and all Israel, which is your position and place in life, heard these words of the Philistine, you are dismayed and greatly afraid.
   2. For forty days, (with judgments, testing and trials, which will lead to a spiritual truth and a significant change to come forth for Israel), the Philistine comes forward, with all disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures he would have you face, and took his stand, morning and evening.
6. Then David, representing a type of Christ, your Hope and your future, SAID to the men who stood by him, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” David SPEAKS God’s Words which are also our Words.
   1. And David representing a type of Christ, your Hope and your future, said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine”  who is bringing disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures.
   2. Then David took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones, (which in the Hebrew means ‘to build, to fortify, to rebuild’), from the brook and put them in his shepherd’s pouch. His sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine.
   3. And the Philistine bringing disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. And the Philistine spouting disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.”
   4. Then David, son of Jesse, representing our type of Christ, our Hope and your future, said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
   5. When the Philistine bringing disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures arose and came and drew near to meet David who represents a type of Christ and our Hope and future,
   6. David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine who was bringing disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures.
   7. And David, representing a type of Christ, our Hope and our future, put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
   8. So, David, our type of Christ, our Hope, our future and our victory, prevailed over the Philistine’s disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him.

The Philistine’s methods are always taunting threats, weapons of flesh and blood, and the appearance of imposing physical strength.

David’s methods (Christ’s methods) are always the Word of God delivered “into the forehead – ‘between the eyes’, so to speak.

When we are faced with the besetting troubles of the Philistines in life, we must say the words of David, (who was and is a type of Christ), “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine of disappointment, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures, that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

“You (disappointment, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures) come at me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in The Name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

“This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines of disappointments, trials, troubles, hurts, besetting problems, illnesses and failures this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into my hand.”

Hear it. Speak it. Do it, and live!

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

Please note: the results represented in these verses seem to be immediate, but in reality, they are the culmination of long-standing circumstances. So it may be in your life. Your rescue and salvation may occur immediately or it may take considerable time for the results to be manifest. But do not lose heart or turn away. It will come to pass!

Is it God’s Intention to Bless you?​

I believe that one of God’s primary desires is to Bless His own. 

​God’s first and greatest Blessing is the Blessing of Salvation by His Grace though faith in Jesus, His Son.  Then, there are His blessings of love and mercy and prosperity toward those who believe.

Some years ago, I became a serious advocate of God’s intentions to Bless His own people.  That is, God intends to Bless those who seek Him diligently.

Some people just don’t like to hear (or think) that God Blesses people beyond the Greatest of Blessing, that is His Blessing of Salvation through faith in Christ, for those who call upon His name.

But, I say it is true.

I have also been reflecting on what some people have said to me, over these years, regarding the “Blessings of God”. 

Some people have told me “Yeah.  God may have done ‘this or that’ for you or for others, but that does not mean He will do ‘this or that’ for everyone.  You are just making me feel bad saying God will do ‘this or that’ when He hasn’t done it for me.”

It also seems obvious that not everyone who says they believe, are being blessed!  It seems many are suffering some form of trial or tribulation. God allows us, and at times causes us to go through trials and tribulations, but He is always with us IN and THROUGH times of trouble. The Bible teaches us that (1), “Many are the tribulations of the righteous, but He rescues us from them all; (Psalms 34:19). (2), “God makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45). (3), God uses trials and tribulations to conform us to His image. (1 Peter 1:6-9).

We have to remember that God, through His Son, and the use of His judgements, separates us from sin, so that sin does not separate us from Him.

God’s judgment is an extreme act of mercy.  An act of Devine love, justice and mercy.

For an example, look at Adam and Eve.  They were expelled from the Garden of Eden because of their disobedience, sinful attitude and behavior. 

First, God places the blame squarely where it belongs, on Satan.  Look at what God said in casting Adam and Eve from the Garden:

“The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you…” Genesis 3:14

Because Adam and Eve had gained the “knowledge of good and evil” they would now live forever in their fallen condition.  So, God, by His great mercy said,  “Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” — 

“Therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:23-24)

God was showing extreme mercy using extreme methods for extreme circumstances.  God always has a Plan.  God’s plan for humankind was Jesus Christ.  He was our future as our redeemer.  

But, we had to be taught about His great love through various trials.

It is important that we remember that God was not angry with Adam and Eve and God is not angry with you as His child.  God was displeased.  But His anger was, and always will be, toward sin.  This is another of God’s principals which never changes. 

God, through His righteous judgments of “exile and captivity”, separates sin from our lives so sin does not separate us from Him.

(By the way, we as, Christians, must adopt this principal for our lives.  Jesus tells us “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Matthew 6:14-15)

Coincidentally, someone I know who is going through a difficult time, posted verses regarding God’s intended Blessings toward Believers from Jeremiah chapter 29:11, ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”.  I imagine he posted them to remind himself of God’s kind and generous intentions toward all Believers, and perhaps to gain strength and to keep hope alive for his future.

This is a TRUTH from God’s Word, but, it can easily be taken out of context.  And when God’s Word is taken out of context it is usually improperly applied and rarely comes to pass.  Hence, we have an example of how people level unjust criticisms of God’s intention to Bless those who seek Him and to grant them His Favor.

Here is the context these verses: 

Most of Israel has been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s armies and the Jewish people have been taken into captivity and sent to Babylon.  This is a picture of extreme trouble and distress which has come upon the Jewish people and nation because of their sin and rebellion toward God.  God’s principals found in Jeremiah 29, never change.  You and I can and do suffer because of our sinful rebellion toward God, just like Israel.  

Remember, however, that there is a remedy for sin and God’s judgment – and His Name is Jesus!  But also remember that there was a just CAUSE for God’s judgments.

Jeremiah 29:1 ¶  Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

​Verse 2. “(This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.)

Verse 3. “The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying,

Verse 4. “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,

Verse 5. ‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.

Verse 6. ‘Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease.

Verse 7. ‘Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’

Verse 8. “For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream.

Verse 9. ‘For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD.

Verse 10 “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

Verse 11. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Verse 12. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

Verse 13. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Verse 14. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into .’

We can see what happened to Israel.  But, what is God’s intended meaning of this “EXILE” and “CAPTIVITY”? 

NOTE:  This word, “EXILE”, literally means

• “to uncover oneself,

• to be removed from where you have been,

• to be disclosed and discovered,

• to uncover your nakedness,

• to be revealed, to lay bare”.

 
The CAUSE of the EXILE was the people’s sin.

The RESULT of the EXILE was to expose the people’s sin and rebellion.

The REMEDY of this EXILE can be seen in verses TEN through FOURTEEN:  

Jeremiah 29:10  “For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

Verse 11. ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Verse 12. ‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

Verse 13. ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Verse 14. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

God warns his people, however, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream.

Jeremiah 29:9,  ‘For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the LORD.”

God’s intention is to expose their sins and to make them aware of their condition, so they can repent and be restored.  But many of their preachers and prophets were deceiving them.  They were telling them what they wanted to hear.  They were telling them, in essence, that “God loves you too much to love you any less”, regardless of your sinful behavior and rebellion toward God and His laws.  And, while this may sound right, it is only half-true, which is actually a LIE.

The people were conducting their lives based on subtle lies about God’s Law.  They were being taught by false prophets.  THIS IS THE REASON THE PEOPLE OF GOD FELL DEEPER INTO SIN AND REBELLIION and eventually suffered God’s Judgment for correction.

The current condition of the church in America could be considered to be similar.  The preachers (prophets) are using the same words contained in the Bible but they are only “holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.” (2Timothy 3:5)

God warns us, the “New Testament Christians” to beware…

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.” 2 Peter 2:1

“For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.” Jude 1:4

Read these verses from  Jeremiah 29:10-14, again: 

“For thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place.

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’”

Do you want the Blessing of God?  I know I do.

If you are in a difficult situation that is the result of your behavior or for reasons you don’t understand, just accept God’s correction for your “Seventy years”

“Seventy Years” literally and symbolically means

• • • “to take an oath;

    • be a lover of God over being a hater of God. 

    • The number Seven is a number of completion and perfection “ten times over”. 

​

So, the result of your “Seventy Years” of “exile” brings you to ‘swear a perfect and complete oath of love and obedience in your heart’ toward God, ).

Know and have faith that He “will visit you again and He will fulfill His Good Word to you, to bring you back to your place.”

Always have faith; know in your heart that God “know(s) the plans He has for you, and those plans are for your welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope”. That promise never changes.

Then, after your “Seventy Years of exile”, you WILL “call upon Him and go to Him and pray to Him, and He will listen to you when you seek Him with all your heart.  You will find Him and He will restore you”.

Thus says the Lord.

Now, Let’s Go, and Be Blessed.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young