Article from Good News Magazine January/February 2011

An Overview of End-Time Prophecy

There are as many end-time scenarios based to some degree on Bible prophecy as there are prophetic teachers. Is there a singular overview of end-time prophecy that can help protect you from end-time catastrophes?

by Jerold Aust

The Left Behind series is one of the most popular religious book series in recent history. Their fictional theme takes advantage of a culture hungry to escape prophesied catastrophic events. 
The series started in 1995 with the release of Left Behind: A Novel of the Earth's Last Days, a fictional book about what supposedly happens on earth after believers are raptured away prior to Jesus Christ's second coming. The series, written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, eventually stretched to 16 novels, of which 65 million copies have been sold.
Ironically, those who believe in the Left Behind concept—supporters of the rapture theory—may well find themselves confused and wondering as the true biblical end-time events unfold.
Why? Because Jesus Christ's outline of end-time prophecies does not include a secret rapture. His return will be obvious, preceded by heavenly signs, a global earthquake, worldwide volcanic activity and angels sounding trumpets with supernatural piercing blasts. Christ will not sneak back to this earth; He will return in great shining glory and well-deserved honor.
Jesus Himself said of His return, "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30, emphasis added throughout).
Jesus revealed that everyone throughout the planet will see Him coming back to earth. The hidden rapture theory contradicts this, saying He will take away the elect earlier and secretly. Don't you believe it.
When you know the overview of end-time prophecy, you will know the truth about the major events that precede Christ's return, including how God will protect His true servants—and it's not through a secret rapture (Revelation 12:13-17). To learn more about this doctrine, download the free reprints "The Rapture—A Popular but False Doctrine" and "Have You Been Misled by the Rapture Theory?"
Bible prophecy comes from God alone. "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20, New International Version).
The best way to gain a proper overview of end-time prophecies is to let the Bible speak for itself.

What is prophecy?

Prophecy is sometimes described as history written in advance. God foresaw many trends and events to come—in part because He perfectly understands what people will do in given circumstances and also because He guides and directs some circumstances.
To some extent, prophecy is God's advance warnings against ongoing human sin. Since sin harms us and can destroy us, God proclaims prophetic warnings to get the attention of human beings. Prophesied punishments are the results brought on by human beings. God wants to spare humankind, not destroy us.
Most people assume that prophetic warnings against human beings come from a vengeful God who cannot tolerate a weak and disobedient humanity. They reason that since God is holy and all-powerful and we aren't, and since we can never make ourselves holy, then God loses patience with our pathetic state and punishes us—perhaps even unfairly.
But that is not why God proclaims end-time prophecies. This is a false notion from the god of this world, Satan the devil, who has deceived humankind about God in many ways. As long as he can keep humanity blind to the true God's intentions, he can remain in his place as "the god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4).
People need to realize that Satan, who was "a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44), wants all of mankind dead—forever. At the very end of this age of human misrule, Satan will attempt to destroy all humanity through two great military forces that will converge on Jerusalem to make war against the returning Christ, the Messiah (Revelation 16:14; 19:11-21; 14:14-20).
Prophecy shows that God is ultimately in charge, that He has a plan for humankind's future, and that human life has a great purpose. God's will is to save, not destroy, mankind.
Prophecy shows that God pleads with those who resist Him and that He will reward those who honor Him.

Prophecy's misunderstood purpose

Let's consider, then, the purpose of prophecy.
People from time immemorial have wanted to know the future, mostly for their personal benefit. For example, Jesus' disciples wanted to know what signs would precede His return. "Tell us," they asked, "when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3). Human beings want to know what's coming, if for no other reason than their personal protection.
Though people want to know the what, when and where of prophecy—good of itself—this is not the primary purpose of prophecy. The purpose of prophecy, rather, is to help people evaluate their personal conduct in light of God's Word—before the prophesied circumstances come to pass. Without the warnings and fulfillments of prophecy, humanity would have no reason to question and stop its self-indulgent path to self-destruction.
If people read and heed God's warnings, they could look to Him to protect them during the coming days of the Great Tribulation and His wrathful just judgment against the tyrants of this world. As Jesus said, "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial [the Great Tribulation, see Matthew 24:21-22] which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth" (Revelation 3:10).
God is merciful and loving. His Word is full of warnings to sinning human beings to get them to turn from sin and avoid its painful and inevitable consequences. God derives no pleasure from the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11). He also promises to reward, bless and protect those who follow His will (Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

The backstory of prophecy

The Bible gives the backstory of prophecy in Deuteronomy 28. This chapter shows the blessings and curses that automatically follow from either obeying or rejecting God's laws. These laws are spiritual (Romans 7:14) and apply regardless of whether one knows about them or not (Romans 2:12). God promises to bless everyone who honors Him and, alternatively, He allows curses to come on those who dishonor Him. Understanding this fundamental aspect of God's laws is foundational to understanding prophecy. 
This one chapter, Deuteronomy 28, is pivotal to all prophecies. Know this chapter and you will know the purpose of prophecy. Again, the purpose of prophecy is to help human beings to turn from their sins and seek God for His blessings.
Many Bible stories validate this backstory of prophecy, but few highlight it better than the story of Judah and Babylon. For many years God warned the kingdom of Judah not to follow the way of her kinsmen, the neighboring kingdom of Israel.
Israel's sins brought about its own demise, just as foretold in Deuteronomy 28:15. Eventually God allowed the cruel nation of Assyria to conquer and carry Israel away from its homeland in two massive deportations—in 733 and 722 B.C.
Nearly a century later, God gave Judah a righteous king, Josiah, as a last-ditch hope to save the Jewish nation from imminent captivity (2 Chronicles 34:1, 26-28). God also sent the prophets Jeremiah, Zephaniah and Habakkuk. Sadly, after Josiah's untimely death the people of Judah quickly returned to their sinful ways, like a washed hog that wallows in its slop and a dog that returns to its vomit (2 Peter 2:22). Like Israel, they, too, were invaded and taken away into captivity.
Again, the purpose of prophecy is to motivate people to question their conduct in light of clear Bible teachings. That applies to all people, whether they profess Christianity or not. Some will heed the warnings of God's end-time prophecies, and many will remain ignorant of them.
Jesus said that He spoke to the religious types of His day in parables because they refused to honor and obey Him:
"I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn [back to God in repentance], so that I should heal them'" (Matthew 13:13-15).
Strong end-time prophecies are like shots across the bows of rudderless societal ships, adrift on a sea of humanism, cast about by materialism. If there were no prophecy, and especially no end-time prophecies, humankind would have no one to challenge its dangerous drift into self-destruction.

An overview of end-time prophecy

The Bible gives an overview of end-time prophecy. Details are scattered throughout Scripture.
Jesus Christ Himself gave an overview of end-time prophecy shortly before His crucifixion. In it He foretold end-time events or the end of the age of human self-rule under the influence of Satan.

He shared with His disciples the major signs of the end of this age. Major events of His prophecy—recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21—correspond to the seals of the book of Revelation. Once Christ opens a seal (Revelation 6:1), it remains open to the very time of the end of human rule and Christ's return.
For a more detailed guide to the major end-time prophecies, download or request our free booklets The Book of Revelation Unveiled, You Can Understand Bible Prophecy, The Middle East in Bible Prophecy and Are We Living in the Time of the End?
The first seal, in Revelation 6:2 and corresponding to Matthew 24:4-5, signifies the emergence, spread and domination of a false Christianity, which began shortly after Jesus' resurrection and the beginning of the New Testament Church. This false Christianity is a religious mixture derived partly from the Bible and partly from nonbiblical beliefs and traditions originating in ancient pagan religion.
We know that this counterfeit Christianity began in the first century because a number of the New Testament writers spoke of it (Acts 20:16-17, 28-31; 2 Corinthians 11:4, 13-15; Jude 3-4; 1 John 2:18-19; 1 John 4:1). This false religious system, which the apostle Paul labeled "the mystery of lawlessness," continues to the end, where it plays a major role in end-time deception leading up to Christ's return (2 Thessalonians 2:7-12).
The second seal, in Revelation 6:3-4 and corresponding to Matthew 24:6-7, reveals that there will be "wars and rumors of wars." Though there have always been wars and rumors of wars, Jesus said they would continue to the end and escalate into a final bloodbath that will take the lives of no less than a third of mankind (Revelation 9:15-16).
The great final conflict, which Scripture describes as "the battle of that great day of God Almighty" (Revelation 16:14), does not take place at the infamous Armageddon (the hill of Megiddo in northern Israel), where great military forces gather (Revelation 16:14, 16), but near Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:1-4, 12-14). Conditions will be so dangerous that if Christ didn't intervene in human affairs, no flesh would be saved alive (Matthew 24:21-22).
The third seal, in Revelation 6:5-6 and corresponding to Matthew 24:7, shows that the earth will be plagued with major famines, starvation and hunger. While there have always been famines in various regions, as time goes on they will grow worse and worse. Famines follow hard on the heels of war. Multiple millions will die from starvation.
The fourth seal, in Revelation 6:7-8 and corresponding to the next sign in Matthew 24:7, reveals that the world will be plagued by deadly diseases and terrible disasters. Famine, of course, leads to diseases. And both flow from man-made carnages and natural catastrophes. Widespread pandemics will decimate large populations, as the bubonic plague did in the 14th century, when it killed a third of the population of Europe, Russia, China, and cities on associated
trade routes. 
The fifth seal, in Revelation 6:9-11 and corresponding to Matthew 24:9-12, represents great persecution and martyrdom of God's true and faithful servants. Persecution is the lot of God's saints. As Jesus Himself said, "A servant is not greater than his master, if they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you" (John 15:20). Paul similarly wrote, "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12).
Persecution of God's people has been a fact of life throughout the ages, but it will increase in the time of the end. In times of societal turmoil, it's common to seek a scapegoat. As in earlier times, religious authorities will find in true Christians a convenient group on which to fix the blame.
This commences the time of the Great Tribulation. Other passages reveal that the intensifying persecution will extend to not just Christians but to the physical descendants of ancient Israel. The Israelite peoples will experience terrible devastation from enemies at this time, as prophesied in Deuteronomy 28 (see our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy).
The sixth seal of Revelation 6:12-17 corresponds with Matthew 24:29. Both describe terrifying signs in the sky—the sun and the moon darkened—and what appear to be meteor strikes on the earth. This introduces the time of God's wrath (Revelation 11:18; 14:10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1; 19:15), what Scripture also calls "the day of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 5:2; Malachi 4:5). This leads directly into Jesus Christ's climactic second coming.
All these major prophetic events lead to and are a part of the very end time, referred to by such terms as the last days, latter days, last times, latter times and the Day of the Lord (see "Just What Is the End Time?").

Real-time events and end-time prophecy

Not all prophecies are understandable today, but they all will become clear in the future as geopolitical and technological changes transpire. Who could see the advancement of communications through the vehicle of the computer and Internet? Still, God promises to reveal the future to His faithful people sent out to proclaim His truth: "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).
And God has indeed revealed to His followers a few end-time conditions that must be in place before Christ Jesus returns. These conditions have been met only within the last century.
• First, the real possibility of human annihilation must exist.
Humankind now has the ability to wipe out human life through nuclear warheads. That prospect already exists with the United States and Russia; and Britain, France, China, India, and Israel also have sizable nuclear arsenals. Especially dangerous is the development of nuclear weapons by unstable states like Pakistan and North Korea, possibly soon to be joined by Iran.
Jesus said of the time of the end: "It will be a time of great distress; there has never been such a time from the beginning of the world until now, and will never be again. If that time of troubles were not cut short, no living thing could survive; but for the sake of God's chosen it will be cut short" (Matthew 24:21-22; New English Bible).
Humankind has always fought wars, but until recently we've never had the ability to exterminate every human being from the earth. Since 1945 and the detonation of the first atomic bombs, followed by even more destructive hydrogen bombs, humanity now has the ability to destroy all human life many times over.
Jesus Christ must intervene to save humankind from itself—from self-annihilation!
• Second, a Jewish nation must be in place and in control of Jerusalem for some end-time prophecies to be fulfilled.
This was not possible before 1948, when the modern state of Israel was born—something thought impossible over preceding centuries.

The Jews' culture and religion has survived major periods when they were dominated or defeated by Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. Noted 19th-century historian Heinrich Graetz said, "A nation . . . which has witnessed the rise and decay of the most ancient empires, and which still continues to hold its place in the present day, deserves . . . the closest attention" (History of the Jews, 1895, p. 705).
The French emperor Napoleon, when passing near a synagogue and hearing Jews weeping inside, remarked, "A people that longs so much for its city and its temple are bound to restore them one day!"
Jesus prophesied that as the end time approached, the Jews would once again control Jerusalem and the "holy place." Later Jesus said the holy place would be desecrated with the abomination of desolation, as the prophet Daniel had earlier written about (Matthew 24:15-16).
The Jews today control Jerusalem. After the Six-Day War in 1967, when the Jews took possession of Jerusalem, they allowed the Arab Muslims to continue to control the Temple Mount. Since 1989, some Israelis have begun to prepare for the building of a new temple or "holy place." Periodically devout Jews have attempted to place the first stone, but to no avail. The conditions of Jesus' prophecy are partially in place, but more must change before prophesied events can proceed.
• Third, a final revival of a major European geopolitical power must come to pass.
A final revival of the ancient Roman Empire, foretold in the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation, must surface. Daniel 2:40-44 shows that a kingdom of iron, fourth in succession from ancient Babylon, would rule until the end time. That can apply only to the ancient Roman Empire and its 10 revivals, the last seven of which were influenced by the Roman church (compare Revelation 17).
At the end time 10 "kings" or rulers align themselves in a final world superpower that Scripture calls "the beast," led by a powerful dictator also called the Beast (verses 12-13). The time setting of this prophecy is clear from the fact that these 10 rulers "will make war with the Lamb"—the returning Jesus Christ—"and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings" (verse 14).
Only Europe can fill this role. Only Europe and the Roman church have worked together throughout the previous revivals of the ancient Holy Roman Empire. No other kingdom or continent can boast of such a 1,500-year-long relationship.
Newsweek journalist Michael Elliot reported that "in January 1957, six nations signed a treaty on the site of the ancient Roman Capitol, and brought into being the European Economic Community" (Newsweek, Jan. 29, 1996). Paul-Henri Spaak, the then Belgian foreign minister, said of that time, "Do you think that we have laid the first stone of a new Roman Empire?" His aide recalled, "We felt very strongly we were Romans that day" (ibid.).

How can end-time prophecy help you?

The Left Behind series of fictional novels cannot provide true prophetic insight to the end times. Only God can. 
God provides end-time prophecies to cause a self-willed humanity to return to Him. He wants us to repent and fulfill our potential to be His children forever! He wants us to follow Him and to share the good news of Christ's return and the Kingdom of God with others. Though, as we have seen, Christians will be persecuted and martyred in the end time, God has a plan to protect many of those who turn to Him from the terrible prophetic events to come. 
To many of those who watch world news in light of end-time Bible prophecy, who are alert to their spiritual condition and who pray continually to draw close to Him, God offers protection in these coming perilous times (Luke 21:29-36). As we saw earlier in Deuteronomy 28, we can obey God and be blessed now and, more importantly, in the life to come.
Satan's avowed purpose is to destroy humanity. He thinks that he can destroy all human beings through the Great Tribulation before Jesus Christ can intervene to save us. Though billions will die (to be resurrected later in God's plan), many millions will remain alive to begin a new life, rebuilding the waste places and living in a new global Garden of Eden under the reign of Jesus Christ on earth (Ezekiel 36:33-35).
Bible prophecies are God's blueprint to save humanity from itself. These end-time prophecies can help deliver you and your family from the terrible times to come—if you will heed them now.  GN

Article from Good News Magazine January/February 2011

Is the Bible Still Relevant?

In this modern world, are the Scriptures worth reading?

by Jeremy Lallier

I don't think our parents ever really saw our generation coming. They grew up in a world where people stretched a dollar as far as they could, and when something ripped, they put a patch on it and kept going. Most of their parents or grandparents remember living through the Great Depression, where just having anything, no matter how old, was a big deal.

The pace of change

But us? We're a different breed. We tear through technology and clothes like bags of potato chips. A five-yearold computer may as well be an ancient pottery shard. While you were busy blinking, everything owned by everyone else just got sleeker, faster and more expensive. Most cell phones today could outperform the first computer I ever remember using.
It was my family's old Packard Bell, which I'm just now discovering was ranked by PC World as the worst manufactured PC of all time. But we still liked it, at the time. I think if I had to go back and use it now, I'd be pulling my hair out—because today, it would be like entering a horse-drawn carriage in a stock-car race.
And that's pretty much our world in a nutshell—outdated in months, obsolete in a few years. The concept of a decade becomes roughly equivalent to ancient history.
So when someone points out that parts of the Bible are almost 31⁄2 millennia old, it's no surprise that my head has a slight bit of difficulty grappling with those numbers.
The word millennium is Latin in origin and refers (I am convinced) to the length of time that passes during one of those family road trips that involve you being stuck between your brother and sister in the back seat with your feet on that stupid little hump when your sister won't stop poking you and "Mom, she's not staying on her side, and I have to go to the bathroom, and are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet?" or, in simpler terms, "a thousand years."
Almost 3,500 years old. How can anything that ancient possibly have any relevance today?
It can't, a lot of people will tell you. They'll say that the Bible is just like my old Packard Bell—useful once upon a time, but now nothing more than an outmoded relic of a bygone era. Society has changed since then, and so has what defines right and wrong.
They'll tell you this as their loveless marriages collapse into petty disputes, as their circle of friends dwindles because of their tendency to bend the truth and stab backs, as their bodies are wracked with the effects of sexually transmitted diseases or substance abuse, as their credit card bills swallow their bank accounts whole—as their lives self destruct.

Unchanging constants

The argument almost makes sense on the surface. After all, everything changes, doesn't it? Societal values shift across distance and time. What was acceptable dress in 14th-century Japan would likely be frowned upon in a 21st-century American business meeting. So it only makes sense that right and wrong, like all things societal, would change as a culture does.
But truth is not a suit. It is not an outfit to be mixed and matched, discarded and replaced to keep in step with the latest trends. It's an unchanging constant unaltered by time or culture.
Imagine a man about to walk off a cliff. A panicked crowd of friends behind him screams warnings, begging him not to do it. The man pauses in midstride and turns around. "Don't worry!" he tells them. "I don't believe in gravity. It's an archaic idea that just doesn't fit into my personal worldview." With that, he takes his final step over the edge.
Do you think gravity will be paying particular attention to the man's worldview?
One's personal thoughts and feelings on the physical forces in nature are pretty irrelevant. Gravity will continue to hold the matter of the universe together, regardless of your opinion on its necessity. You might disagree with the laws of inertia, but a falling object can still give you a nasty bruise if it hits you. You can't systematically wish away aspects of the universe just because you don't agree with them. They're still there, and whether or not you believe in them, they're still going to interact with you—like gravity pulling a man down a cliff.
Since the physical laws of this existence are unchanging, why would the spiritual laws be any different?

Essential guidelines of eternal value

What the Bible offers is a guidebook to interactions—with people, with things, with life in general. Rather than leave you to figure out the spiritual equivalent of walking off a cliff on your own, the Word of God lays out all the principles you'll ever need to make the important decisions in your life. In its pages, you'll find a thorough examination of what makes for a good decision and what makes for a terrible one.
The Bible deals with questions like:
What do you do when you're faced with an interpersonal conflict? (See Matthew 5:23-24; 18:15-17.)
How should you treat the most important relationships in your life? (See Ephesians 5:22-33; 6:1-4.)
How can you put your foot down on an issue and still show compassion? (See Luke 17:3; Proverbs 10:12.)
It also deals with character traits worth developing (1 Corinthians 13:4- 8; 2 Peter 1:5-8), habits worth avoiding (Proverbs 6:9-19), friends worth having (Proverbs 27:17; Ecclesiastes 4:9-10) and maybe a thousand other things essential to getting the most out of this life—and the next. Study its words for a lifetime, and you won't stop uncovering wisdom until your final breath.
Sure, it's old. But old doesn't automatically mean obsolete, contrary to everything our culture would have us believe. Friction is old too, but you don't see it being replaced by anything. (Which is great, because I'm not big on perpetual motion as a way of life.)
So, is the Bible still relevant after all these years? Here's the thing: It is, and we could tell you all about why until the cows come home. But you're not going to really believe us until you prove it to yourself, which you can do one of two ways. You can follow the Bible's words and reap the benefits, or you can ignore them and suffer the consequences.
Either way, you'll find the answer. (For a quick guide to some of the most relevant relationship tips, read or request Making Life Work). GN

Paul Enns Devotional book

Living the New Testament: Daily Readings from Matthew to Revelation (Paperback)

By 

Paul P Enns

  (Author)

Living the New Testament: Daily Readings from Matthew to Revelation Book Description

The twenty-seven books of the New Testament present the life and teachings of Jesus, the history of the early church, and instruction for believers throughout the ages. Studying these books not only provides a greater understanding of Jesus Christ, but are the primary source for inspiration and direction in the Christian life.
"Living the New Testament" offers a concise explanation of key biblical passages from Matthew to Revelation as well as practical applications for living out the truths and teachings of Jesus. Beginning with a selected Scripture passage, each daily reading encourages and stimulates spiritual growth and ends with an inspirational thought to ponder throughout the day. Writing in his classic accessible style that readers came to love in "Approaching God," pastor, teacher, and theologian Paul Enns delivers an easy-to-read devotional that will challenge, instruct, and encourage readers' walks with God.

Book Details

Title:	Living the New Testament: Daily Readings from Matthew to Revelation
Publisher:	Kregel Publications
Author:	Paul P Enns
Edition:	Paperback
Language:	English
ISBN:	0825425360
EAN:	9780825425363
No. of Pages:	384
Publish Date:	2010-10-8
Binding:	Paperback

Article from Good News Magazine January/February 2011

Jesus' Warning to "Watch"—Just What Did He Mean?

Jesus and the apostles exhort us to actively "watch"! We need to understand all that they meant and the wide-ranging implications. Our survival and salvation could depend on that understanding and action!

by Don Hooser

The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, "Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong" (1 Corinthians 16:13). The rest of the verse is clear, but what does "watch" mean?
Paul wasn't telling us to be passive spectators—of entertainment or anything else. He meant something far different.
This article focuses on New Testament scriptures with the verb "watch"—important scriptures that are often misunderstood, ignored and neglected.
How important is it that we "watch"? Consider this: The biblical command to watch is several times coupled with the command to pray. Is prayer important? Extremely so! And so is the command to watch!

Watch means to stay wide awake

When the New Testament commands us to "watch," it is usually the translation of one of two Greek words (gregoreuo and agrupneo), which have similar meanings—to "stay awake" and to "be sleepless." They are usually meant in the metaphorical and spiritual sense—to be vigilant and on guard, fully awake, aware, alert and intently focused—with several applications and implications.
In Matthew 26:37-40, the meaning of "watch" is primarily physical. Jesus was chiding the disciples for not remaining awake during the hour preceding His arrest.
But what Jesus next said to Peter had a deeper, spiritual meaning: "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing [i.e., intentions are good], but the flesh [mere human willpower] is weak'" (Matthew 26:41).
It is spiritual watching coupled with prayer that gives one the strength to survive temptations and difficult situations.
"Awake to righteousness, and do not sin" (1 Corinthians 15:34). Being awake is equated with righteousness and not sinning. Paul was writing to the church at Corinth, which shows that even true Christians can be spiritually asleep to varying degrees.
Paul also wrote: "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed" (Romans 13:11, emphasis added throughout).
In other words, the closer we draw to the second coming of Christ, the more urgent it is that we awake out of spiritual sleep! Indeed, we have entered the fearful end-time years that are the grand climax of human civilization. If ever there was a time to pay attention and get prepared, it is now!
Furthermore, none of us knows when he or she will die. Being spiritually prepared for the end of life should be our top priority.

Watching means properly using our minds

God gave us marvelous minds to use—to study, learn, observe, analyze, judge and think.
Life is time. To waste time is to waste life. Many people are mentally lazy—wasting a tragic amount of time on the trivial and temporal, mundane and materialistic. Many squander countless hours vegetating in front of their TV or computer seeking only to be entertained.
Real readers are becoming rare. A society becomes shallow and superficial when most citizens rely too much on pictures
and images rather than words. In-depth learning requires language.
It is quite significant that God's true religion is based on spoken and written messages that were compiled into what we call the Bible. God's people are to be "people of the Book." In contrast, most pagan religions emphasize images, idols, symbols and rituals.
You see, God wants His people to zealously read and study, to think and meditate. He wants us to be well-informed regarding the major geopolitical, cultural and spiritual issues and events of our time. God deplores ignorance, indifference and being "dull of hearing" (Hebrews 5:11).
This is where the Bible comes in, providing the essential framework for a godly worldview. The Bible is God's divine revelation of absolute truth, which is just as relevant today as it ever was.
Because of this, the Bible should be the prism, lens and filter by which we can accurately perceive and judge all other information. It enables us to develop a godly worldview—the framework and foundation by which we can accurately interpret all that is going on in the world. We can then understand our confusing world scene with amazing clarity, sense and logic!
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees for their hard-hearted mind-set. If they had not had evil attitudes and had believed the Scriptures, they would have been able to "discern the signs of the times" and to realize the Messiah had come (Matthew 16:1-3).

We need knowledge of end-time prophecy

To know where to focus our attention, we particularly need to know the Bible prophecies of the end time, especially the prophecies surrounding the second coming of Christ.
We are to "eagerly wait for" Christ's return, not just passively wait around (Hebrews 9:28). Jesus was emphatic that His followers should hope for His return, expect His return and pray for His return! In addition, our enthusiastic anticipation and excitement will intensify as we see more and more world events fulfilling Bible prophecies—especially those that point to the increasing nearness of Christ's return.
Note the watching, waiting, anticipation and preparedness in the following passage: "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching" (Luke 12:35-36).
Jesus concluded His message by saying, "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (verse 40).
Much later, Jesus echoed that point: "Behold, I am coming as a thief [meaning suddenly and unexpectedly]. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame" (Revelation 16:15). Wearing garments, especially white raiment, symbolizes a good spiritual condition (Revelation 3:1-5, 18). We must not be caught undressed—unprepared.

Christ's all-important end-time prophecy

Jesus gave a crucial end-time prophecy shortly before His crucifixion, recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. It's valuable to study this prophecy often.
Jesus' disciples wanted to know what to watch for. "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3).
Significantly, the very first thing that Jesus responded with was a somber warning of what to watch out for: "Take heed that no one deceives you" (verse 4). Sadly, many are deceived. Many who call themselves Christians are deceived into thinking that Christ will not literally return to the earth, even though He repeatedly promised He would, or that He will return in some manner different from what He told us.
In the rest of the chapter, Jesus answers their questions by revealing the future key trends and conditions for which it would be critically important to watch.
Jesus then urged His disciples to "watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into" (verses 42-43).
After Jesus' resurrection, He again said, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority" (Acts 1:7). However, in spite of Jesus' statements, countless people have foolishly tried to predict the time of His second coming. It is because we don't know the timing that we must keep watching.
Continuing in Matthew 24, Jesus said, "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect" (verse 44) Watching reminds us and motivates us to remain ready. That's the main idea!
Shortly after, Jesus warns of the temptation to think, "My master is staying away a long time" (verse 48, New International Version). When a person thinks he has more than enough time to get ready, he is seriously tempted to let down spiritually (see verses 49-51).
The parable of the 10 virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) emphasizes staying spiritually prepared and ready. Keeping one's lamp filled with oil represents staying close to God and staying filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus concluded the parable by saying, "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" (verse 13).

Watching, praying, staying sober and watching out for enemies

In Mark's and Luke's accounts of Jesus Christ's prophecy, we see that Jesus connected watching with praying. There is much to pray about regarding the present and the future. Watching helps our praying, and praying helps our watching.
Mark records Jesus saying: "Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time [of Christ's coming] is. It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch" (Mark 13:33-34; see also verses 35-37).
Christ was quite emphatic here in commanding us to do four things:
1. Take heed to what He had just said.
2. Watch for the signs He had outlined.
3. Pray regularly and earnestly so that we stay close to God.
4. Keep doing God's work!
In Luke's account, Jesus tells us that "when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near" (Luke 21:31). Then He warns about not letting "that Day come on you unexpectedly" (verse 34).
Jesus concludes by saying, "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man" (Luke 21:36).
"All these things" refers to all that is recorded in this chapter, including the "great distress in the land and wrath upon this people" (Luke 21:23). Mark uses the term "tribulation" and Matthew says "great tribulation" (Matthew 24:21).
Of course, Jesus did not mean that we are to only focus our prayers on our own survival and salvation. He meant that if we keep watching our spiritual condition and world events and praying for the Kingdom of God and for all that God tells us to pray about, we will be changing, repenting and accepting Christ's sacrifice and help. Then we will be accounted worthy to escape the end-time tribulation and to be with Christ in His Kingdom!
Paul urged that we pray "for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence" (1 Timothy 2:1-2). This implies that we know who our leaders are and what issues might impact our lives and our freedoms to worship God and carry out His work.
You can learn more about the connection between watching and praying in Ephesians 6:18, Colossians 4:2 and 1 Peter 4:7.
And watching is sometimes connected with staying spiritually sober, meaning sober-minded (1 Thessalonians 5:6-8; 2 Timothy 4:5; 1 Peter 1:13; 4:7; 5:8). This includes staying alert to our own spiritual condition, as mentioned.
Some scriptures about watching emphasize watching out for spiritual dangers and enemies such as "savage wolves," deceivers who want to take advantage of God's "flock" of followers (Acts 20:29-31).
Peter warns us, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Staying aware of the powerful behind-the-scenes role of Satan and his demons enables us to understand the atrocious evil and madness of this world. It also enables us to "resist" them (James 4:7).

Mistaken attitudes that entrap Christians

In light of the above, we see that in addition to concern we should have in personally drawing close to God and over what is happening in God's Church, we are clearly also to watch, listen and read to keep up with world news, events, conditions and trends.
In doing so, we should focus on news that is significant rather than sensational. Let your knowledge of end-time prophecy guide you in your selections. If you're quite busy, and many of us are, still make "watching" a high priority and dedicate time for it.
In spite of Jesus' command, many Christians don't stay well informed. Why? We can name several reasons.
Some feel that paying serious attention to news is not "spiritual" enough. But true spirituality is based on obeying our Master, Jesus Christ, who commanded us to watch!
Some people ignore news because it's mostly bad news that interferes with feeling happy and comfortable. But that's choosing escapism over facing reality and obeying Christ's command to "deny" yourself (Luke 9:23). We are not to selfishly shut our eyes and hearts to the suffering of others, becoming indifferent, complacent or fatalistic.
People get depressed when they feel helpless. But by watching and praying, we are strengthened. We can help others to understand what's happening, plus we are more effective helpers with God's work in other ways!
A Christlike attitude is one of sympathy, empathy and compassion for your fellow countrymen and for all humanity. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). If we grieve for others, God will comfort us in this life and much more in the next life.
Our God-ordained responsibility is to watch and pray. Ignorance comes from ignoring, and God does not want us to be ignorant and "in darkness" (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10). Our Master and role model Jesus Christ certainly understood the issues, politics and personalities of His day. We should do likewise.
At the same time, we must avoid the mistake of going to the other extreme—studying world affairs, history and even conspiracy theories more than the Bible. Without a sound understanding of God's Word and a dedication to live by it, little else matters.

Will you become one of God's watchmen?

God called the prophet Ezekiel to be a "watchman" to the nation of Israel to warn them to repent of their wicked ways or else suffer dire consequences (Ezekiel 3:17; 33:7). God told Ezekiel that He would hold him accountable—that if he didn't warn the people he would share the guilt for their suffering (33:1-6).
So this is another application of Christ's command to "watch." He means for us to act as watchmen! How can we best do that?
First, we must strive to be "the light of the world" by being a godly example for others to follow (Matthew 5:14).
Second, we must study the Bible so that when people ask us important questions, we'll be prepared to give them biblical answers (1 Peter 3:15). Also we should stay well-informed regarding world affairs so we'll be able to help them understand those events from a biblical perspective.
Third, we must learn how God is using His Church to "go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16:15, NIV). We should learn how we can support and be a part of that great collective commission of "preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God" (Mark 1:14).
The role of the Church has some similarity to the role of the Old Testament prophets. They taught the godly standards of good versus evil, the promise of God's blessings on those who do right, and the warning of God's punishments on those who do wrong.
The word gospel means good news, and the true gospel includes the wonderful news that Jesus Christ will soon return to give us true peace on earth! And before that, God will give forgiveness and protection to those who repent of their sins and make the commitment to obey and serve Him.
Jesus told us to regularly pray to God, "Your kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10). How can we convince others of the urgent need for God's Kingdom if we can't explain what's wrong with the present world?
This magazine is part of the Church's effort to be God's watchman to the world. With each issue, some of the articles bring up-to-date reports on significant world events and trends and explain how they tie in with the Bible prophecies of the end time. We are glad you are reading and learning.
Keep watching! Perhaps the best summary of this subject is this sobering warning from Jesus Christ in Mark 13:35-37: "Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"  GN

Article from Good News Magazine

The Book That Changed the World

In its 400-year history, the King James Version has been the most printed and the most influential of all Bible translations. Commissioned by England's King James I, this Bible translation produced in 1611 transformed English life and culture. Several billion copies have been published. What makes this book so unique?

by John Ross Schroeder

The Bible remains the most fundamental book gracing our Western civilization. Along with the works of William Shakespeare, the King James Version played an important role in the formation of the English language itself. As author Alan Thomas put it, "No book has had greater influence on the English language" (Great Books and Book Collectors, 1988, p. 110). The KJV has repeatedly been referred to as "the noblest monument of English prose."
Even today, the King James Bible very much remains part of our collective cultural thinking. Elegantly written and also the most poetic and rhythmic of all biblical translations, the King James Version holds an exclusive status in our literary history.
Wrote the conservative British theologian Michael Nazir-Ali: "Without that [biblical] tradition, it is impossible to understand the language, the literature, the art or even the science of our civilisation. It provides the grand themes in art and literature: of virtue and vice, atonement and repentance, resurrection and immortality. It has inspired the best and most accessible architecture. It undergirds and safeguards our constitutional and legal tradition" ("A Cure for Our National Amnesia," Standpoint, November 2010).
Still monumental in the English-speaking world, the King James Version stands at the very heart of our cultural and even our governmental legacy. After all, English common law was originally founded on biblical principles, mainly due to the efforts of pioneer statesmen like the early English ruler Alfred the Great (849-899). In 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama took the oath of office on the same copy of the King James Bible that Abraham Lincoln had used nearly 150 years before in 1861.

Celebrations in America and Britain

Officially, the English-speaking world celebrates the King James Version's 400th anniversary on May 2, 2011. In Britain this year's festivities have been described as being "of biblical proportions." About 70 anniversary events have been planned.
There will be an exhibition at St. John's College in Cambridge. Other celebratory events will occur from Aberdeen, Scotland, to Plymouth in the southwest part of England—including reading marathons, lectures, conferences and even concerts. Already, BBC Radio 4, with a U.K.-wide listening audience, is presenting regular readings from various books in the King James Version.
Oxford University Press (publishers of the KJV since the 17th century) will sponsor the printing of a special 1,520-page quadricentennial edition.
Not to be outdone, the Americans will hold celebrations at the Dunham Bible Museum in Houston, Texas. Other events will take place in Kentucky, Louisiana and other Bible Belt states. Also a special conference at Ohio State University in Columbus will highlight the enduring literary legacy and influence of the King James Version on noted writers like the early 20th-century Southern novelist William Faulkner.
But why such national celebrations in the English-speaking world? Let's briefly summarize the background to see how and why this book has played a monumental role in history.

The struggle to translate the Bible into English

In the centuries before the English language began to form and take hold in Britain, the Bible could not be read by most ordinary people anywhere in the world. Until around A.D. 400, only those fluent in Hebrew or Greek could read Scripture. When the first Latin translation was completed in 405, it stood as the official version for the next thousand years.
But as time passed after the fall of the Roman Empire, fewer and fewer people could read or understand Latin. And the dominant religious leadership, the Catholic authorities, tightly controlled the common people's access to the Bible, effectively preventing people from reading it. This was the sad state of affairs for many centuries.
The modern world owes a great debt to early Bible translators like John Wycliffe, the philosopher and theologian who gave the British people God's Word in the English language during the 1380s. Wycliffe's Bible, translated from Latin, proved very popular. However, heresy-hunting religious authorities eventually banned his translation.
Several courageous men went through severe trials—often risking their lives—to bring us the Holy Scriptures in English. Some had to flee their homes and countries to bring you the Bible. Others gave the supreme sacrifice, dying as martyrs to translate and spread the Scriptures.

Tyndale's enormous contribution to the King James Bible

One translator in particular stands above the others. William Tyndale, who lived in the early 1500s, was the first to translate the Bible into English directly from its original languages of Hebrew and Greek.
David Daniell, the leading Tyndale scholar of our modern age, wrote: "William Tyndale gave us our English Bible. The sages assembled by King James to prepare the Authorised Version of 1611, so often praised for unlikely corporate inspiration, took over Tyndale's work. [Nearly] nine-tenths of the Authorised Version's New Testament is Tyndale's" (William Tyndale: A Biography, 1994, p. 1). In his autobiography the late movie actor Charlton Heston (star of Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments and El Cid) marveled that a committee could produce such a monumental classic as the King James Version.
Although the KJV's skilled team of translators must be accorded due credit for their own monumental contribution, Brian Moynahan, William Tyndale's most recent biographer, wrote: "A complete analysis of the Authorised Version [KJV] . . . was made in 1998. It shows that Tyndale's words account for 84 per cent of the New Testament and 75.8 per cent of the Old Testament books he translated" (William Tyndale: If God Spare My Life, 2003, p. 1).
But well before any thorough, painstaking analytical study had ever been done, the noted British Greek expert and Bible scholar F.F. Bruce commented on the work of the compilers of the King James Version: "All the existing English versions lay before the translators . . . But the abiding influence of one man in particular may be traced throughout great portions of their work, and that man was William Tyndale" (The Books and the Parchments, 1984, p. 221).
Tyndale's English version was a Bible translation born in European exile. Persecution by Catholic bishops in England required that he cross the English Channel in 1524 to accomplish the 12-year task. A written prohibition, composed by British clergy in 1408, "forbade anyone to translate, or even read, any parts of vernacular versions of the Bible, without express episcopal permission"—which was adamantly refused to Tyndale by Cuthbert Tunstall, bishop of London, during the summer of 1523 (Daniell, Tyndale's New Testament, 1995, p. xxix).

Men died to bring you the Book

In May of 1535, the authorities finally cornered and arrested the elusive Tyndale, halting his goal of translating the entire Bible into English from the original biblical languages. Even while Tyndale endured the most horrendous conditions in a dreadful prison near Brussels, Belgium, he requested a Hebrew grammar book so he could continue translating the Old Testament.
On Oct. 6, 1536, he was bound to a stake, strangled and burned. His final prayer was for God to open the eyes of the king of England.
The religious establishment cruelly martyred the man who some scholars believe—in his mastery of the English rhythm, phrasing and styling—has never been equaled as a Bible translator. F.F. Bruce caught the spirit of his genius: "Tyndale, working under the white heat of potential martyrdom, rises at times to a poetic glow, transcending the style of the original Greek" (The Books and the Parchments, 1950 edition, p. 13).
  
Bruce summarized the disheartening circumstances: "Tyndale died a martyr's death, vilified by authorities in church and state in England. Nothing was too bad to say about the translation. Thousands of copies were seized on entering the country and publicly burned" (The Books and the Parchments, 1984, p. 216).
Yet, paradoxically, Tyndale's final prayer was answered only months later when the English-language translation was finally accepted by the crown. "Within months of Tyndale's martyrdom, a complete English Bible, two-thirds of it Tyndale's work, and licensed by Henry VIII, was circulating in Britain" (Daniell, The English Bible, p. 157).
What a debt we owe to those who paid with their lives to give us the Word of God!

The Bible's value to us today

The sufferings and sacrifices of men like Tyndale, Wycliffe and the translators of the King James Bible force us to confront a profound question: Will we honor their efforts, or will we let the moral teachings of Scripture slip through our fingers and finally fall to the ground?
What we view on television, see in movies, listen to on the radio and find on the Internet is often contemptuous of traditional biblical values. The behavior and conduct of the English-speaking peoples who once prized the Bible leaves a lot to be desired.
Michael Nazir-Ali observed in the same article quoted earlier: "So many of the precious freedoms that we value today, the fair treatment of workers and the care of those in need, arise from values given to us by the Judaeo-Christian tradition. These values, however, are grounded in the moral and spiritual vision of this tradition. It cannot by any means be taken for granted that these values will survive for long if the tradition itself is jettisoned.
"The prophetic trajectory in the Bible, confirmed by the teaching of Jesus Himself, is self-critical, relentlessly pointing out the shortcomings of society, of ruler and ruled and placing before them God's demand for justice and compassion . . . The tradition itself is necessary for bringing a critique to bear on contemporary cultural mores rather than simply capitulating to them" (emphasis added).

What are you going to do?

The basic problem confronting us today is not the same one that faced William Tyndale in the early part of the 16th century. If you had lived back then, unless you read and understood the Latin language, you simply could not read the Scriptures. Bible reading and study was the sole prerogative of priests and the highly educated class.
Today God's Word has become ever more available in many translations. Commentaries, concordances, dictionaries, atlases and other Bible helps are all on the market in abundance. Available both in print and on the Internet, knowledge about the Holy Scriptures has mushroomed beyond all expectation. Undreamed of 500 years ago, the widespread availability of all types of biblical knowledge staggers the mind.
Yet there is precious little understanding of God's Word today. One well-known radio teacher used to urge his listeners again and again: "Blow the dust off your Bible!" While the Bible is a perennial best seller, many fail to open it up and read it!
Are you willing to blow the dust off your own Bible? Are you willing to study and live by what it says? The publishers of The Good News provide a vast array of biblical instruction, all free for the asking. We offer 33 free booklets, a 12-lesson Bible Study Course, an online Bible reading program, online study guides, dozens of reprint articles, back issues of our various publications and more. These are all freely available on our website.
As a college chancellor once said to incoming students, "There is a gold mine of valuable knowledge here, but you have to do the digging." We hope you will join us in digging away to uncover the precious eternal truths of God's Word! GN

Jerry Bridges

The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges (Book Review)

May 11, 2010

By Haydee 

 

God calls us to a life of holiness. In His Word, He said: Be holy, for I am holy. Is it really possible to achieve a holy life amidst the sinfulness of man and the depravity of this world? Is holiness only God’s initiative or with man’s effort and responsibility? In the 25^th anniversary of The Pursuit of Holiness, author Jerry Bridges continues to teach on the importance of pursuing, not attaining, holiness. It is a lifelong journey of obeying God and at the same time exerting effort and taking responsibility for ourselves. The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges is considered a Christian classic impacting hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life benefiting from this gem of literature. Even John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, J. I. Packer, and John Piper highly endorsed The Pursuit of Holiness which sold one million copies to date.
Jerry Bridges is a world-renowned Christian author and conference speaker. He is the author of about a dozen books including The Gospel For Real Life, Holiness Day By Day (devotional) which has been awarded the 2009 ECPA Christian Book Award, and The Discipline of Grace, similar award in 1995. Since 1955, Jerry Bridges served The Navigators and currently functions as a resource person for the Navigators University Students Ministry in America.
The Pursuit of Holiness is the kind of book that not only adds to your knowledge but more than that, it has the power and anointing to change you from within. You will have a clear distinction between good and evil and will be motivated to choose life over death, right from wrong, obedience over victory, holiness from sinfulness. After laying the foundations for pursuing holiness, Jerry Bridges shares practical insights on how to live a holy life in practical ways. It will be impossible to pursue holiness without the working of the Holy Spirit that will enable you to align your desires, will, and entire being up into the instructions of God and His Word.
The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges is available in softcover and audio cds and can be used in conjunction with its study guide.
The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges and other Christian books are available in our Christian bookstore or wherever books are sold.

Billy Grahams message

February 1, 2011 - One day I went for a walk to meditate. As I watched a bird sitting alone on a fencepost, I thought about a passage of Scripture found in the 102nd Psalm: “I am like a pelican of the wilderness: I am like an owl of the desert. I lie awake, and am like a sparrow alone on the housetop” (Psalm 102:6-7).

Loneliness has never been a respecter of persons. The world’s greatest artists, writers and composers, kings and queens, carpenters and plumbers have experienced loneliness.

by Billy Graham

Are you lonely? There are many lonely people today. Loneliness is one of the supreme problems of modern society. But when you are with Christ, you have Jesus as your Lord and companion.
Jesus came to a man who was lonely and sick and paralyzed. For 38 years the man had sat in the same spot, lonely and tired, without a friend. This bundle of loneliness and human pain had been buffeted by the surging tides of thousands of people, but Jesus singled him out. He became the man’s friend, and He healed him (John 5:1-9). Jesus will become your friend if you will let Him.
Loneliness has an inner dimension. It is a thirst of the spirit, and the roots of loneliness are within each of us. A poll revealed that fear and loneliness can take over a child’s life when a parent suddenly vanishes from the scene—whether a mother or a father, whether from divorce or death—and the child crumbles.
So, first, there is the loneliness of sorrow. The older I get, the more funerals I attend as friends die. Jesus wept at the funeral of a friend. On that occasion He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). Think of the hope in that statement. Spiritually we will never die. If we come to Christ, we will be alive with Him forever.
If you died right now, would you go to Heaven? Are you sure that your sins have been forgiven? You say, “Well, I’m not sure I’m a sinner.” The Bible says, “All have sinned” (Romans 3:23). We are all guilty before God, and we are facing judgment and hell.
But in Christ is the promise of a new life, forgiveness of sins, a chance to start over. He said we are to be born again (John 3:7). If you come to Christ, you can be born again spiritually and start life over, as though you had never committed a sin.

The Loneliness of Sin

Second, there is the loneliness of sin because a deeper and more basic root of much loneliness is isolation from God. You may be isolated from God—you may go to church, you may have your name on a church roll, you may have been baptized and confirmed in the church—but you really don’t know Christ. You don’t have His life, joy, peace or the forgiveness that He offers.
Loneliness began in the Garden of Eden, when man and woman made a terrible choice. They chose to turn from God. They went their own way. Sin entered that beautiful garden, and sin was given to the next generation and the next and the next, down to you and me. We all have the disease of sin, and it is a fatal disease. Nobody ever escapes the judgment of the disease of sin. So the roots of loneliness were planted in the human soul and have been inherited by every individual ever since.
In that garden God went looking for Adam. He knew where Adam was, but He wanted Adam to know where He was. He said, “Adam, where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). And Adam was trying to hide from God because he already had eaten the fruit of the tree. But Adam couldn’t hide from God.
Loneliness has never been a respecter of persons. The world’s greatest artists, writers and composers, kings and queens, carpenters and plumbers have experienced loneliness.
John 13 records the events surrounding the Last Supper and Jesus’ betrayal by Judas. The Scripture says that Judas “went out immediately. And it was night” (John 13:30). No one ever went away from Jesus but that it was “night” for that person.
Perhaps you once knew the fellowship of God’s people, and you had peace with God. But perhaps you have backslidden; you have turned away from God. There was a time when you meant business with God, but now your heart has grown cold toward spiritual things. You have been pulled away by other people, other things, other gods and other pleasures that you know are wrong.
You, too, went out from the presence of God, and you have found that it is night out there. You don’t have fellowship with believers. Yet you don’t feel at home in the world where you are living, either.

Do You Need God's Love in Your Life?

Follow the Steps to Peace online to learn about Jesus or recommit your life to Him.
No loneliness is quite so bitter as the loneliness of a person who claims with his mouth that he knows Christ, but deep in his heart he knows he doesn’t. Are you straddling the fence, trying to put one foot in God’s Kingdom and keep one foot in the world’s kingdom? Sin makes us lonely because it separates us from God.
It was never God’s intention for you to be lonely. Hundreds of surveys prove that our society has not made us better adjusted or happier people. We may have fleeting moments of sensual satisfaction, but these can create bitterness and the loss of a sense of pleasure that no psychiatrist can cure. The Bible says that “The wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt” (Isaiah 57:20).

The Loneliness of Jesus

Third, there is the loneliness that Jesus experienced. He spent much time in the company of the lonely and the outcast. Remember the woman at the well? She was a lonely woman. She had had several husbands—no satisfaction, no peace, no joy. When she came to draw water, Jesus talked to her, forgave her and made her a new person. She went into the village of Sychar and told all the people, “Here is someone who knows all about me; come and see him” (Cf. John 4:29). And they all went out to see Jesus.
Jesus knew loneliness. The Bible says, “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). Even though great crowds had surrounded Him at times, Jesus was alone. Scripture says, “All the disciples forsook Him and fled” (Matthew 26:56). The crowds who had shouted, “Hosanna” (Matthew 21:9), now shouted, “Crucify him, crucify him!” (Luke 23:21).
On the cross, Jesus was dying for you and for me. God was laying on Him all of our sins, our judgment and our hell. Jesus said, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). In that terrible moment something mysterious happened. No theologian can explain it. Jesus took our sins, our judgment, our hell, the penalty that we deserve for our sins. He alone had to bear that pain on the cross.
He became guilty of all the sins of the entire world. He experienced ultimate loneliness as He died for you and me. How can anyone turn away from Jesus when they see Him dying on that cross? How can anyone reject Him, when He offers forgiveness? He offers new life. He offers peace and joy and friendship, so that we need never be lonely again.
Jesus suffered for us. Jesus was lonely for us. Through His death Jesus Christ dealt with the primary cause of human loneliness—separation from God.

The Loneliness of Death

Fourth, there is the loneliness of death and judgment. I remember when my mother was dying. She had a joy and a peace. We never went into her room that we didn’t leave with the feeling that she had ministered to us. Even when she had been in a coma and awakened one night, she quoted Scripture. The nurse said that she never saw such a look on anyone else’s face. Then she fell back into her coma and went into eternity. There is a great difference, even in the last hour of life, between those who know Christ and those who don’t know Him.

The Loneliness of Christianity

Fifth, there is the loneliness of deciding for Christ. I am not going to tell you that it is easy to follow Christ. It is not. Jesus said, “If you are not willing to deny self and take up your cross and follow Me, you can’t be My disciple” (Cf. Matthew 16:24). Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to go with Christ all the way to the cross?
In the midst of it all is His peace, His joy, His friendship, His forgiveness and His promise, and the hope that He offers for the future.
Our reaction to loneliness is often to deal with the symptoms rather than the cause. We become involved in pleasures, parties, good times or sex. We become involved in our work. We throw ourselves into the social whirl.
Any attempt to deal with sin without conversion is like struggling in quicksand. How many people today are trying to save themselves but can’t? If you have come to the end of your rope, turn your life over to Christ. Let Him bear your burdens, help you solve your problems, direct and lead you in your life. Jesus Christ restores our most fundamental relationship in life: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20). But you have to make this decision alone.
The psalmist who wrote about the pelican and the owl said, “O my soul, why be so gloomy and discouraged? Trust in God. I shall yet praise him for his wondrous help. He will make me smile again, for he is my God” (Cf. Psalm 42:5). Often loneliness is God’s way of letting us know that it is time to reach out. Reach out to the cross and say, “Lord, I open my heart and my life to You. I commit myself to You.”