Archive for the ‘Apostasy’ Category

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You Should Have Been There!

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

We participated in an outstanding conference last week-end.  Jay Smith was our speaker.  He is a missionary in London who devotes all his time to study, writing, and lecturing on the differences between Christianity and Islam.  He has had an incredible career, going to Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park, London most Sundays, and exposing the errors of the Koran in debates with many of the greatest scholars and highest political figures in the Islamic world.

 It’s a dangerous assignment, and he gets beat up by angry listeners from time to time.  But he loves Muslims and just keeps coming back to help them find the truth.  Our prayer group prays for him every Saturday when it meets, and has done so for years.

 What a privilege it was to listen to his teaching and ask questions of such an authority.  We had a good turn-out at the Upland Brethren in Christ Church, but there was room for more.  I know thousands of people were aware of the meeting, but most of them did not realize how special it would be to hear his teaching.  I couldn’t help wondering, as I marveled at his knowledge, what “better” things other people had chosen to do. 

Fortunately, if you missed it, you can still get DVDs of the event and take advantage of some 19 free on-line papers that are available at the church website.

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Posted in Apologetics, Apostasy, Islam, Missions, Prayer | No Comments »

What Ever Happened To America?

Friday, October 28th, 2011

A few years ago we could not have imagined how rapidly our beloved country would decline.  Prophecy students have wondered for decades how it could be that the United States will not apparently be a major player in the Bible’s End Times scenario.  Europe is there as a Revived Roman Empire, but with a much weaker composition than ancient Rome.  Ancient biblical lands are still players in the prophetic future. They have modern names: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and others.  But how could the one great “superpower” of our generation be ignored in the struggles of the end of this age?

Look at our nation now. Instead of being a support to the rest of the world during this economic crisis, we have descended into the worst financial condition since at least the Great Depression. Despite endless rhetoric from the politicians and economic experts, we are still in free-fall.  Our investments have declined, our jobs have been given to other nations and our own people are sinking into poverty. 

Our military sacrifices have been undercut by bad governmental decisions. Terrorists are convinced that they will ultimately overcome in this present struggle. We are about to leave Afghanistan and Iraq without improving that part of the world. We can’t keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Our support for Israel is anemic. We have lost the peaceful gains we enjoyed for a little time with Russia.

Why is this happening, and what does it mean for our generation?  Historians assure us that the early greatness of America was a byproduct of our moral and ethical world view.  Our leaders were generally Bible-believing heroes.  Our word was our bond: we kept our promises.  We taught our children what was right and wrong.  We worked hard and were proud of what we produced.  Our churches were valiant for the truth and were faithful to expose evil. 

During the past two generations the church in America has turned from its literal interpretation of the Bible, and has allowed the corrupting influences of secular humanism, the sexual revolution, abortion, and other ungodly beliefs and practices to slowly infiltrate its leadership.  This change is actually one of the main predictions of the End Times.  It is called apostasy, or a “falling away” from the truth.  The Apostle Paul warned…

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.  – 2 Timothy 4:3-4

As a result, at the very time Christians should be most concerned about the rapid fulfillment of End Times predictions, many of them have been anesthetized to the seriousness of their condition.  Therefore, our nation has lost its vitality and is in the process of becoming irrelevant. The Bible did not need to mention our presence because we will have lost our influence. 

Does it have to end this way?  Actually, no!  There is still hope for America. What God promised for believers in the Old Testament would still apply today if we would just turn back to Him and allow him to bring a great redeeming revival! 

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  – 2 Chronicles 7:14

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Posted in Apostasy, Revival, Revived Roman Empire, Terrorism, United States of America | 5 Comments »

The Prophecy Pendulum

Monday, September 19th, 2011

Bible prophecy is full of mysterious things: the four horsemen of the apocalypse, a seven-headed dragon, a lamb that speaks like a dragon, stars falling from the heavens, and many more.  I have studied these mysteries for most of my life.  But there is a new puzzle that has gradually captured my attention in recent years.  It is the question of how the Church of the End Times could be lured into complacency just at the time that the prophecies all begin to materialize right before our eyes.  Many New Testament passages predict a time of apostasy, or “falling away” of the Church. According to Matthew 24:12 the love of most will grow cold in the last phase of this age. 2 Timothy 4:3 predicts this:

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

We are now living in a period of time where every day’s news brings fresh fulfillments of the striking prophecies of the Bible.  But the strange truth is, people do not seem to give the matter much thought.  Hal Lindsey’s book, “The Late Great Planet Earth,” was the best-selling non-fiction prophecy book, and the “Left Behind” series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins was the best-selling fiction series in American history.  Still, the average Christian is not living in anticipation that Jesus’ return is near.

 Trying to understand how there could be a lack of interest in prophecy at a time like this, I have begun to think about it as “The Prophecy Pendulum.”  As we all know, the pendulum of a clock is always swinging.  It is sometimes in the middle, but just as often, it is at the far left of its swing or on the far right. 

On one side of this swinging pendulum there are major events that capture everyone’s attention, such as the rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948, or the dangerous Middle East wars that threaten to escalate into a world-wide conflict.  On the other side, there are promises of peace, or periods of relative prosperity.  Whenever it is possible, Satan will convince people not to think about the End Times.  He knows that when people are focused on the “blessed hope,” they will not be inclined to follow him. The Apostle Peter said that knowledge about God’s future plans would cause us to live a more godly life (2 Peter 3:11-12).

Satan uses fear to convince people to ignore information about an uncertain future.  There is always something wonderful coming up: a wedding, the birth of a child, or maybe a trip to Hawaii. If the Lord does come back, they hope that it won’t be before their next “big event.”  They discover that the best way to avoid hearing bad news would be to go to a church where the pastor never teaches prophecy.  There are whole denominations that won’t touch the subject.  Seeker-sensitive churches seldom teach anything “controversial,” including Bible prophecy.  And many well-intentioned pastors just don’t feel qualified to tackle the topic.

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Posted in Apologetics, Apostasy, Eschatology, Revival, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »

Get Exclusive Content Free!

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Prophecy Central now has a free weekly newsletter. It is a recap of all the “Top Stories” of the past week with links to the original documentation. Best of all, it allows us to include exclusive content and commentary under certain stories.

To receive the newsletter, simply sign up on the home page of Prophecy Central.  All we need is your name and your email address (which we won’t share with others, and you can unsubscribe at any time if you wish).

Here is an example from last week’s newsletter, related to the prediction by Harold Camping that the Rapture will take place on May 21.

More about Harold Camping
Here are some disturbing facts we uncovered from our investigation into Camping’s background and beliefs:

He falsely predicted that the Lord would return on Sept. 6, 1994, and that the Church age ended in that year.
 

He says that the Great Tribulation has been going on for 23 years. (This period began on May 21, 1988).
 

He teaches that every church is apostate, and that people must leave their churches to be saved.

 
He believes that Jesus is Michael the Archangel.
 

He doesn’t stress belief in Jesus for salvation, just repentance for sin.
He believes in annihilation of non-believers – No Hell.

 

Battling Billboards – Beware of false teaching on the websites advertised!

The billboard campaign from Family Radio proclaims:

The Bible Guarantees it
Judgment Day May 21, 3011
Cry mightily unto God – Jonah 3:8

and

He is Coming Again May 21, 2011
The Wise Men Knew
WeCanKNOW.com
Learn the Truth at our Rapture party – May 21-22

Their campaign has given rise to some competing billboards, including one from the American Atheists group, that says:

“The Rapture: You KNOW it’s Nonsense.
2000 Years of “Any Day Now.”
Learn the Truth at our Rapture Party, May 21-22
Atheists.org/oakland

And another New Age eclectic site has erected this billboard:

“Conservatives Cringe, Liberals and Humanists Rejoice
Hear the True Jesus talk about Dec. 12, 2012
Jesus is Here Now and Actively Seeks the 144,000
Hear Jesus Sing the 144,000’s Awakening Song
Hear Jesus Sing on His Own Website www.Merkaba.com

Posted in Apologetics, Apostasy, Fearful Events, Rapture | 2 Comments »

Our Book – 300,000 and Counting

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

The book that Lambert Dolphin and I wrote has had 335,919 readers to date, BUT it is our old (1998) online version, “Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done… The Prayer Offered Most Often Is About to be Answered!”

Someone sent this Email to Lambert:
I’ve been reading your book “Thy Kingdom Come” and really appreciate the hard work you put into this. It seems that with only some updating for current events (I remember asking my self if this was pre-9/11) many would benefit from your explanation of Revelation.

Lambert wrote back:
Thank you very much for your kind words.
Last November Ron Graff and I released a completed updated and revised version of this book. You should find many major changes and updates.
The new book is “Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy.” So far it has had an excellent reception. It is available online at our Prophecy Central store (It is the only product there), or any of the major booksellers. But it takes time to get the word out without a huge advertising budget. Please visit our Facebook page, where we post news about the book’s progress. While you are there, please click “Like.” That helps let other people know about the book.

Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy

Order the Book – Paypal

Posted in Apologetics, Apostasy, Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy, Earthquakes, Egypt, Evangelism, Fearful Events, Gog and Magog, Islam, Israel, Mark of the Beast, Middle East War, New World Order, Peace, Persecution, Plagues, Rapture, Religions, Revival, Revived Roman Empire, Technology, Terrorism | 2 Comments »

Why Jesus Isn’t Likely to Return on May 21st

Thursday, April 21st, 2011
Harold Camping in 2008

Image via Wikipedia

Perhaps you have heard that Harold Camping, General Manager and President of Family Radio, says he has calculated the exact date of the Rapture, based on a complicated formula that stretches 7000 years from Noah’s flood.  The proposed date is May 21 at 6 p.m.  As we reported in Prophecy Central, his listeners have supported the theory, buying billboards and driving scores of Family Radio vehicles in many parts of the country warning people to be ready.

Camping has been wrong before. He predicted the second coming on Sept. 6, 1994, and hundreds of his listeners gathered at an auditorium to wait for the event.

In our ‘Warnings and Cautions’, we stress that no one knows the exact date of Christ’s return. Here is Jesus’ own instruction about this from Matthew 24:32-44.

  “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
    “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
    “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

So, by publicizing a supposed exact date for the Rapture, Camping has made it almost certain that Jesus will not return on that date.  However, millions of Bible-believing Christians do think that He is coming soon, so it is a good idea to be ready all the time!

Our new book, Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy, has detailed information about the Rapture of the Church and the later Glorious Return of Jesus Christ.

Posted in Apostasy, Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy, Evangelism, Rapture | 22 Comments »

Hell Is For Real

Thursday, March 31st, 2011
Rob Bell

Image by feyip via Flickr

The study of prophecy must include what happens to people at the end of their mortal life.  Two books that are very popular right now deal with some of these questions.  One of them is Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back.  It is the delightful story of Todd Burpo, a 3 year-old who apparently went to heaven briefly during an emergency appendectomy.  Little by little, his family discovered that he had experienced many wonderful contacts with Bible personalities and family members whom he had never even known existed.  This heartwarming message is not a Bible study.  It is offered as an account of one boy’s personal experience. It does not contradict orthodox Bible doctrine. 

The other book was just released two days ago, but it caused an enormous theological debate even before its release.  That book is Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, by emergent church pastor Rob Bell.  Conservative Bible scholars are alarmed by Bell’s position that the traditional Christian teaching about hell is mean-spirited and untrue.  The book tries to answer to the question that all of us have: “How could a loving God condemn people to an eternity of torment in hell?”

While thoughtful theologians agree that there may be various levels of punishment for those who rebel against God’s will, Bell apparently thinks that judgment and hell are mostly descriptions of the awful events that happen to people during their lifetime (“hell on earth”). As I read the book, I noticed that he didn’t explain the Great White Throne Judgment.  How could a serious book about hell ignore this passage?

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

Taking Bell’s arguments to their extreme leads to what is known as “universalism,” the belief that people will eventually be drawn by God’s love into his blessing instead of his punishment, even if they do not receive Christ’s offer of salvation during their mortal lifetime. 

The obvious problem with this view is that it is contrary to the clear teaching of Jesus and the rest of the Bible.  Jesus taught more about hell than all the prophets that came before him. Yet he loves sinners more than anyone else has ever loved them, and sacrificed his life for them! His stern warnings about hell are the direct result of his love for the people he came to save.

Bell agrees that God’s love is infinite (thus the title: “Love Wins”), and that salvation is accomplished through the atonement of Jesus’ death. But he thinks that those who respond to God’s love will receive the gift of eternal life even if they don’t know about Jesus.

This issue will undoubtedly create a great debate among Bible scholars in the days to come.  We will follow that debate and post more information in our blog from time to time. 

From the standpoint of Bible prophecy, the acceptance of universalism will make possible a final world-religion.  According to several passages of Scripture, there will be a great apostasy, or “falling away” of Bible-observing Christians (Matthew 24:12; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 4:2-4). Apostate Christianity will then be able to merge with other religions. The final evil one-world government will be supported by a united religion, symbolized by the adulterous woman who rides on the beast in Revelation 17.

For more information about Heaven, Hell, and the End-Times, see our book – Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy.

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Posted in Apologetics, Apostasy, Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy, Evangelism, Missions, Religions | 5 Comments »

Our Book Is Now On Kindle

Monday, March 7th, 2011
Cover of "Kindle Wireless Reading Device,...

Cover via Amazon

We are happy to announce that our new book, Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy, is now available as a digital/electronic book (eBook).  It is already available on Amazon.com for their Kindle reader. And it is scheduled to be released soon by other eBook suppliers like Barnes and Noble for its Nook reader and Apple iBooks for the iPad.

I have been doing most of my reading on the Kindle recently because I can literally have a whole library of books in one convenient device that also lets me pick the size of the font. 

Prophecy students will still want to have the printed book because Connecting the Dots is a reference manual – a notebook of sorts that you can underline and make personal notes in the margins.

However, the Kindle version is better in some ways.  You can set bookmarks to favorite places.  It remembers where you stopped reading and lets you continue quickly. It is lightweight, and as mentioned before, you may choose the font size that suits you best.  It allows you to do a word search through the entire book. And, if you want, you can even have the Kindle read it to you with their text to speech feature that has been enabled for this book!

A great deal of extra work went into this version to enable hundreds of hyperlinks. Each chapter and subtopic in our 12-page Table of Contents is linked. Just click on the topic and the reader takes you to the section you want to read.  Amazingly, the extensive index is also linked.  When you find an entry in the index, you can click on the “page” number and the reader will find the proper section in the book, even though page numbers are not used in eBooks.

Lambert Dolphin and I are blessed to be able to share our passion for Bible prophecy through our book, and it is our prayer that it can be a tool to equip a new generation of Bible students and help stimulate an End-Times revival!

More information about the book is available at Connecting the Dots.

The Kindle version can be downloaded in one minute from Amazon.com

Posted in Apologetics, Apostasy, Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy, Earthquakes, Egypt, Evangelism, Fearful Events, Gog and Magog, Islam, Israel, Mark of the Beast, Middle East War, New World Order, Peace, Persecution, Prayer, Rapture, Revival, Revived Roman Empire, Technology, Terrorism | 1 Comment »

Prophecy Conference in January

Thursday, November 11th, 2010

Solid Ground Church and KKLA will be co-presenters of a major prophecy conference at the Ontario Convention Center on January 14 and 15, 2011.  The theme is “Understanding the End Times: Israel, Islam and Biblical Prophecy.”

Frank Pastore, America’s most popular Christian talk show host will broadcast his program live from the conference on Friday night from 4 to 7 p.m. It is a free event, but love offerings will be received to cover the cost of such an event.  Pre-registration is necessary because, even though we will have a huge meeting space, seating is limited.

The outstanding speaker lineup includes Tim LaHaye, Chuck Missler, David Hocking, Bill Koenig, Gary Kah, Ron Carlson, Jack Hibbs, and Lambert Dolphin.  I will also have the privilege of speaking, not because I belong in such company, but because I am host pastor.

We have a web page devoted to the conference at  http://www.Bible-prophecy.com/conference.  A beautiful poster may be downloaded and printed in any size you want.  Pictures and information about the speakers is included, along with suggestions for hotels in the area that will give a “prophecy conference discount.”

The Friday night program will conclude with a powerful evangelistic message by Jack Hibbs, so be sure to bring your friends who need to hear the Gospel!

If you would like to attend, please block out Friday evening and all day Saturday and don’t forget to pre-register!  There is a special toll-free phone number for this purpose, and KKLA will also have online registration during the month before the event.  The number is 888-974-4242.

Posted in Apostasy, Earthquakes, Fearful Events, Gog and Magog, Islam, Israel, Mark of the Beast, Middle East War, New World Order, Peace, Persecution, Rapture, Revival, Revived Roman Empire, Technology, Terrorism, United States of America | 4 Comments »

Unholy Christianity

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

LOS ANGELES - JANUARY 27: Jael Phelps a membe...
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
Since the escalation of Islamic terrorism, we have often heard that true Muslims do not believe in violence. Why then didn’t so-called moderate Muslims stand up and condemn the atrocities that their radical brothers perpetrated? It has been rare indeed to find an Islamic spiritual leader who will point to passages in the Koran and say publicly that those who practice hate are not true Muslims.

Now we Christians are faced with a similar situation. We have so-called Christians in the news doing things that are completely contrary to the teachings of the Bible, and especially of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What about the Hutaree Christian militia group that planned to kill policemen in the hope that their rebellion would bring down the government. Are they Christian just because they say they are, when everything they stand for is contrary to the teachings of the Prince of Peace?

And what could be a worse representation of Christianity than the hateful picketing and heckling of the perverse Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church at the funerals of servicemen who have died protecting their countrymen?

Here is just one of many places in the Bible that show that these are false Christians:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. – 1 John 4:7-12 (NIV)

Christians everywhere need to rise up and condemn these hateful misrepresentations of our faith. Christian leaders must take a stand against these and other unbiblical practices. If we don’t, we will deserve the persecution that the media and the Devil want to bring against us.


Apostasy – Prophecy Central

Posted in Apostasy, Persecution, Terrorism | 5 Comments »

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