Living Journey

In my last post I specifically mentioned “Prophetic Trends” … Well, one of the trends which may well lead into a “Mega-event” is famine.

What does the bible say about famine?

There are two types of famine mentioned in the bible. One is the most obvious and that is a famine of food.

One example of biblical famine which lasted seven years during the time of Joshua was a global famine. According to the bible everyone on the face of the earth was affected by a desperate lack of food. I find this famine interesting because it speaks about the people of the earth going to Joshua for grain/food. Joshua is a typology of a Messiah/Christlike figure and it is only he who has the storehouse of food. The seven years could be a type of tribulation period called Jacobs Trouble.

Gen 41:56-57 And the famine was over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the store-houses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine was sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was sore in all the earth.

Famine is usually a judgment from God and it is a time to call out to God, this call comes from the faithful.

2Ch 20:9 If evil shall come upon us, whether sword, judgment, or pestilence and famine, we shall stand before this house and before You, for Your name is in this house, and shall cry to You out of our distress, and You shall hear and save.

Famine was so bad at one point that the bible says that woman boiled their own children for food…

Lam 4:9-10 They that are slain with the sword are better than they that are slain with hunger; For these pine away, stricken through, for want of the fruits of the field. The hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children; They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Jer 19:9 And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters; and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend, in the siege and in the distress, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their life, shall distress them.

This was literally fulfilled when Jerusalem was captured by the Romans. Although this was literally fulfilled, it serves as a type for us to understand and learn from, it could also be a capitulated prophecy of sorts. Why did this happen? Why did God send such a famine to His people? Remember that whatever the Israelites went through in their documented history shows us a similar future for the unrepentant Church who has become part of the Harlot Church.

He did this because they were unfaithful to His Word and they were worshipping other gods.

Jer 19:35 You shall say, (God is telling Jeremiah to say the following) ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind.

As I read this scripture I was struck with the word “Tingle”, everyone who hears about this terrible judgment will have their ears tingling. I wondered what the Hebrew meaning of tingle was…

צלל

tsâlal

tsaw-lal’

A primitive root (rather identical with H6749 through the idea of vibration); to tinkle, that is, rattle together (as the ears in reddening with shame, or the teeth in chattering with fear): - quiver, tingle.

This is in stark contrast to another scripture which speaks about false prophets tickling the ears which will happen in the last days…

2Ti 4:2-4 preach the Word, be urgent in season, out of season, convict, warn, encourage with all long-suffering and teaching. For a time will be when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own lusts, they will heap up to themselves teachers tickling (itching) the ear; and they will turn away the ear from the truth and will be turned aside to myths.

having itching ears; always desirous of new things, as the Athenians of old; or loving to have their ears scratched and tickled with smooth things; that are pleasing and agreeable to natural men, and carnal minds; as the purity of human nature, the power of man’s free will, the excellency of his righteousness, and the merit of his works, and the like; see Isa 30:9. Now, this being the case, should not discourage, but rather animate the ministers of the Gospel to preach it; for should they desist, in all likelihood the Gospel would soon be gone. (John Gill expository)

The warning here is to be diligent and preach the Word of God because there will be a time when sound doctrine will not be welcomed. It will be shunned.

There is a worldwide famine happening that many are not aware of. This article called “The Silent Famine” states that…

According to the Telegraph, “the World Bank said this week that the price of staple foods has risen by 80 per cent in the past three years.” 80%, people! And why is that? Partially because of “bad weather”, rising demand and maybe, just maybe, those walloping gasoline prices no one seems very interested to be putting the heat on government leaders to address.

Notice how bad things are becoming, as detailed in the Telegraph article:

For consumers in wealthy nations such as Britain soaring prices are squeezing household finances and keeping inflation up. But for developing nations they can lead to malnutrition and social disruption.

Clearly the prophecy written in Revelation 6:5-6 which says… And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine…may come to pass in our lifetime!

While there are false prophets – mainly in the rich Western countries – tickling people’s ears, the world faces a global food famine.

A teacher that I respect once said…whatever you see happening in the material world is actually happening in the spiritual one too, or words to that effect.

So yes… there is a global food famine; but there is a famine of another kind. This food famine is just a reflection of something else, something much, much deeper.

There is a famine of the Word of God that is prophesied in Amos, and the bible says that the following will happen…

Amo 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord Jehovah, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Jehovah.

In this scripture God is amplifying a more grievous famine which is the hearing of the Word of God. In this scripture God is speaking of the false prophets who tickle the ears!

A famine in the land - The most grievous of all famines, a famine of the words of Jehovah; a time in which no prophet should appear, no spiritual counsellor, no faithful reprover, none any longer who would point out the way of salvation, or would assure them of the mercy of God on their repentance and return to him. This is the severest of God’s judgments on this side the worm that never dieth, and the fire that is never quenched. (Clarke)

As the world chooses to be deaf to the Word of God and His warnings which should bring about repentance, He has warned us that He is going to send the world a powerful delusion to those who do not love the Word of God. This choice of deafness will end up with people becoming wilfully blind and deaf. He sends a famine — both kinds — one of food, and one of the hearing of the Word of God. They are both related to one another. It is a wakeup call for the world to come to repentance! NOW , may be the only time you actually hear Him. Today may be your last day which could be a decisive factor for your eternal life. Have you prepared yourself for eternity? Today you may have open ears still, but that will not last forever!

Can you hear Him?

2Th 2:10-11 …those who refused to love the truth that would save them. For this reason, God will send them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie.

It is most interesting to me is that Christ is the “Word” manifest (see John 1:14) and he spoke about His body being the bread of life. Clearly we are to know His Word because it is Him! We are to eat of it and be fully satisfied. After all He did say that He is the bread of life… please open your ears to this scripture…

Joh 6:35 … “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never become hungry, and the one who believes in me will never become thirsty.

Are you hungry and don’t even know it?

The other day I posted a video on the rebuilding of the “Third Temple“. This led to someone (Vince) commenting on prophecy and the importance of it in these days that are fast leading up to the return of Christ. (See HERE for all of my other posts concerning the coming of the Third Temple)

Obviously, there are those who deem prophecy to be of little or no importance, Rick Warren being one of them, see HERE. It makes me wonder if people like the Rick Warren’s of the world have ever read the bible for all its worth, as so much of it is written to show us how God is interacting with people and events even during our time. Prophecy deals with countries, governments and end time events.

Have you ever wondered why it is that the middle-east is the most volatile place on the earth? If you have asked this question then you can find the answer in the Bible. Within its pages are key events that point to the culmination of God’s promises to His people. His Word is being fulfilled even while you are reading this. But you may wonder how to begin to even know where to start with biblical prophecy.

I have just come across a website called “Prophecy Watch” and it has some very basic and easy to read articles that outline biblical prophetic concepts that are relevant for us today. The articles are not that long at all, and give you a basic understanding about current events that point to prophetic trends and mega-events. These articles are written by Phillip Goodman. Phillip Goodman is speaking at a conference with other well known experts in this field, Dave Hunt, Roger Oakland are the two that I am most familiar with.

One article from the website “Prophecy Watch” is called Trends and Mega-Events and is well worth the read if you are a new student to biblical prophecy and have difficulty in knowing where on earth to start. Eschatology is the study of end time events and it shapes our understanding of certain key biblical concepts such as kingdom building and even so far as political Christian dominion. Understanding the different eschatological views is important for us today as we have reached a time of unification of sorts and are now in a very real position of being able to build a global government and religious system.

This article talks about the differences between “Trends” and “Mega-events”…

The key to assessing the Signs of the Last Days is to view history over the long haul— to look at the total scope, or the whole panorama, of historical events. By doing that we can discern TRENDS. We must then look at world events in two ways.

The first is to become aware of “Trends.”

The second is to watch for relevant “Mega-events.”

Trends tell us more about the fulfillment of Bible Prophecy than the isolated, daily events many prophecy writers whip up into a frenzy of articles and books. For example, in the Mid East, the daily peace, no-peace cycle may drive one to Biblical boredom, but the fact is that they confirm a consistent pattern, or trend, that precisely parallels that which is described in Bible prophecy— The Mid East will be the focal point of the last days, with the central focus being on Israel and Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.

~~~

A prophetic Mega-event is an event of such magnitude that it sends shock waves around the planet and propels the Trends of prophecy forward in quantum leaps!

Why are Mega-events so significant? These “super-episodes” of history not only make big-print headlines, but they actually accelerate the trend-lines of prophecy in leaps and bounds down the path of fulfillment. Hasn’t the 9-11 tragedy put the U.S. (and other countries) on a fast track toward global regulation?

Other articles like “Dividing the Land of Isreal” and “Temple Mount Violence” are worth reading for those who are new to biblical prophecy.

You can find all of his articles HERE if you want to learn more. They are very well written, they are basic and are very easy to understand.

When I did a search for “Phillip Goodman” it brought me to this other called “Rapture Ready” which has some interesting articles on end time events. I have only taken a cursory look, so I ask that you measure everything against scripture.

I’ve just read something from a website that pretty much stood out for me. Firstly it addresses the Calvinist - Arminian debate and then it speaks about the dangers of Arminian theology when taken to its extreme. The article speaks about the dangers of humanism found in hard Arminian theology. Could we call this Hyper-Arminianism?

I have often wondered why this ‘Social Gospel’ has taken off in such a big way, especially in the west, and this article may have hit the nail on the head. Well, for me it did anyway. Please note that I do not always agree with every link that I use in my posts, but rather glean contents that I see as informative and perhaps in some cases may answer a nagging question that I may have. The article called ‘The Triumph of Arminianism (and Its Dangers)’ says…

Face it, Arminianism is simply more logical. It makes sense to the person on the street. And today’s church is scrambling to make sense to unbelievers. We want to sound sensible, logical, rational, enlightened, fair. Arminianism is so much more appealing to worldly people.Thus, many Calvinist churches customize worship services, communication styles, architecture, and music, to fit the worldly customers. But they also adapt their theology by quietly creeping away from the “right end” of the theological continuum and drifting over toward Arminianism. The truth of the matter is, they are embarrassed by Calvinistic theology. They have found it offensive to the “customers.” The Arminian approach to theology is simply a more “seeker sensitive.”

Sounds familiar doesn’t it? Then goes on to say that pragmatism may well be one of the negatives in Arminian circles…

We Arminians tend to put too much emphasis on man and his decisions, and not enough on God and the gospel. Sometimes we are tempted to act as if God is helpless without us and our work. We lean toward pragmatism and are constantly looking for “what works best” as if methodology were more important than the message. Since we believe that all men can be saved, we tend to assume that if they aren’t saved, we have not packaged the invitation (or the message) right. We especially love management, leadership, programs, marketing, and research data. We tend to focus more on the “potential convert” than on the eternal gospel. Arminianism easily leans toward a NIKE mentality—”Just do it.”[…]Humanists have a sovereign man and an inactive God. Arminians lean toward the humanist end of this continuum and thus are always in danger of becoming humanists

I definitely had an “Aha” moment when I read this.

Is it little wonder then to see such scholarly work from the Calvinist side everywhere on the Internet to counter the Hyper-Arminian view? Every action has an equal an opposite reaction. Is it little wonder that the Arminian side - if heavily leaning towards humanism and pragmatism - finds itself is a sea of secular reasoning and logic instead of using the Word of God to give a defence? Haven’t we noticed recently that all the doctrines that are pivotal to ‘Biblical Christianity’ have been criticised and questioned - like atonement, regeneration, justification by faith and repentance? Charles Finney is dead, but his views are finding there way back into the evangelical Church big time. Are we seeing a rehash of Hyper-Arminianism, if there is such a word? Read Charles Finney’s views and you be the judge.

As for me, I prefer to think that I am closer to the Wesleyan-Arminian side of things, a hair’s breadth away from Calvin.

I have read enough to realise that the Emer move is full of mainly middle-class white men. So much so that the Emer themselves are asking… why is this so?

However, what disturbed me about Catalyst (and conferences like it) is that the majority of the people who attend these conferences are all white males (goatees, glasses, and jeans). Catalyst had over 10,000 people there, and I would guess that 95% were white (Caucasians), and part of the so called, “EMERGING CHURCH” movement. I can only respond to this by asking, “WHY?” Is the “EMERGING CHURCH” movement a “WHITE THING.” @On the Way

I too have been puzzled by this and not because I am female.

The question why does the Emer movement appeal more to the white middle-class male seems a fair one and an honest one at that. A move of God should be unisex, super-cultural as well as breaking any social-economic barrier. A move of God should bring us to our knees, asking for forgiveness first off!

I came across something today that may shed a bit of light. Or it may be completely irrelevant, but I just wanted to blog my thoughts on it. It was a post about ‘The Kingdom of Emergent Theology’. It actually spoke about this particular theology having a predecessor called ‘liberal postmillennialism’…

It is helpful to know that the Christian community has been down this trail before. Emergent eschatology is by-and-large identical to liberal postmillennialism which flourished prior to the mid-twentieth century. In general postmillennialism is the view that Christ will return after the millennium, or the kingdom age, which is presently on earth.

Theological liberal postmillennialism shares some of the same optimism as its conservative counterparts but directs its attention to social enhancement of the planet.

Liberal postmillennialism focuses on societal transformation rather than personal conversion. Their “social gospel” sees the saving of society from social evil as the great purpose of the church. The mission of the church is not to preach the gospel to sinners in need of God’s great salvation, but rather, to liberate mankind from poverty, racism, disease, war and all kinds of injustice. @The Kingdom of Emergent Theology

What was also said was this…

Maybe the emergent leaders are right, maybe the world is getting better and better and, if we Christians would just get more involved, eventually earth will be like heaven.

Could it be that white men are so blinded by their own world construct - their being successful, and rulers of the free world etcetera - that they really do think that the world is getting better and better? Are they the ones wearing the rose coloured glasses while struggling to even think outside their own world construct? In effect saying… well, if it’s this good for me, then you can have it too, sounds a bit like the prosperity gospel to me, but with a lot of conversation thrown in. Are they just having a great conversation in the mirror to self? No offence guys!

Perhaps the reason that it is filled with white-middle class males is that it fails to attract those who haven’t got it so good. Is this why it is a white male dominated movement? I am using generalisations I know. But the Emer crowd has noticed this themselves. Should they look deeper than their own conversations and start looking towards their theology? Is ‘theology’ really such a dirty word? Surely they must see something doesn’t quite add up?

The kingdom, while already here, will progressively become like heaven as we attend to the social ills and needs around us. Tomorrow looks bright and the day after that looks brighter still.

I actually wonder if this move is so westernised that it will fail to move past the western borders in any great way. All this talk about being culturally relevant seems completely irrelevant to the persecuted church in China, Iran, India, Egypt, Ethiopia etc,. The only thing that the persecuted church covets is the need to be held up in prayer.

It is worth noting that the postmillennial system, which was nonexistent in the early days of church history, was originally systematized by liberal Unitarian minister Daniel Whitby (1638-1726). His system grew legs due partly to the optimism of the age, but lost steam when the two world wars of the twentieth century shattered dreams of the world progressively improving.

Since that time a more realistic understanding of human development has set in and most recognize that the earth is not only not moving toward utopia but is more likely closer to annihilation.

I wonder if this move will fizzle if things start to rock the boat. I wonder if this phenomenon will be examined more as time goes on? Time will tell I guess.

Joh 18:36  Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

Where does the Emer camp sit with eschatology? Is it all about the NOW, and not so much about the near Future?

Well according to ‘The Big Event‘ the Kingdom of God goes something like this…

Imagine a world… A new vision for God’s Kingdom on earth

The kingdom of God is here and now

So what is their general understanding of the Kingdom of God?

[...]a consensus by both emerging and emergent leaders is expressed by Sherry and Geoff Maddock: “Our principle (sic) desire is to see God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. We believe this happens when God’s people are renewed around God’s mission of love and justice in the world.”[1] The conversation apparently views the kingdom as being on earth now but progressively becoming like the kingdom in heaven as Christians live missionally on earth.

Such an understanding of the kingdom of God is obviously at odds with premillennialism,[...]

[1]Sherry Maddock and Geoff Maddock, “An Ever-Renewed Adventure of Faith, An Emergent Manifesto of Hope, p. 80.
@The Kingdom of Emergent Theology – Part 1 by Gary E Gilley

I venture to guess that those other Christians (you know who you are!!!) that dare think along the lines of dispensationalism and premillenialism will be criticised in one way or another.

In fact some may say that premillenialism is a theology that didn’t start until John Darby. But here is something of interest…

“One of [John] Bunyan’s contemporaries, Benjamin Keach, an illustrious predecessor of Spurgeon in the pastorate, has left a very full confession of his views on this point. He was brought to trial Oct. 8th, 1664, on two charges of Anabaptism and Millenarianism. As he stood before Lord Chief justice Hide, the representative of the [Church of England], he was summoned first to answer for his ‘damnable doctrine’ concerning baptism; which, being disposed of, the second article of indictment was taken up, viz., that he held ‘that the saints shall reign with Christ a thousand years.’ The judge pronounced this ‘an old heresy, which was cast out of the church a thousand years ago, and was likewise condemned by the Council of Constance five years afer, and hath lain dead ever since, till now this rascal hath revived it.’ He was condemned and sent to the pillory.” Taken from a review in The Sword and the Trowel (October, 1891, p. 581)

Hmmmm, perhaps premillenialism is not that new after all!

Related Articles

• History and Premillennialism Part I (The Early Church) Gary E Gilley
  
• Eschatology in Church History by Michael J. Vlach, Ph.D.

By the way… I have just added a website to my theology blogroll called ‘Theological Studies’, it looks pretty informative. And here is another one called ‘Think of These Things‘ by Gary E Gilley, not actually a blog but it has some interesting things on it.

Ecology - the New Salvation Message?

These days, moralisers find it easier to make people feel guilty about their impact on the environment than about committing one of the seven deadly sins. Not surprisingly, many religious institutions are busy reinventing themselves by promoting ecological virtues and preaching against the eco-sins of polluters. ‘In search of eco-salvation’ by Frank Furedi

In the above article Furedi suggests that the Church has lost a lost of its ground because of the closer scrutiny passed by the world in cases where it really needed to be examined, like child abuse etcetera. This is most definately and unfortunately needed. The protection of children must always be of paramount importance, and how a church, any church, can protect any paedophilia priest/s by way of a document called Criminales Solicitacciones (PDF File) that the current Pope as Cardinal Joseph Radzinger drafted up before his election into the abomination of Church Head is beyond any reasonable human understanding…

One consequence of the erosion of religious authority was that the church became exposed to the critical scrutiny of the public. A dramatic manifestation of the loss of religious authority is the spate of child abuse scandals that have incriminated church leaders. In many places Catholic officials were forced to respond to the public’s mistrust of their conduct by banning priests from any private contact with children.

But many questions remain.

1. What are the consequences when the Church and State begin to blur the edges of separation - which of course is happening in the West today?
2. Should they be blurred at all, as society will have a major impact on the Church and will be judged by society’s ever changing standards?
3. Are those standards God’s standards?
4. Should society and culture which is always changing be given such a position to examine or even govern over the Church or vice versa?
5. Could this lead to key doctrinal changes within the Church, doctrines that the Church has held as foundational and fundamental to the truth of the Word of God?
6. Could this lead to the message of salvation being watered down or pushed aside altogether as a new political agenda takes precedence over what could be considered an archaic message of separation and division?

Let me make one point very clear, I am not talking about the Church being exempt from unlawful actions against children. But what I am saying is this … as the Church succumbs to the world of politics on both sides of the fence - those being the left and right - who can be sure that the Church will come away untainted by our ever changing world?

The Church does have to be separate from the world - but it is also to be the salt of it - the bible says this and it warns us to keep ourselves separate from this world because of this very reason. Can the Church remain salt if it continues with its political prowess and will there begin to be a compromise of the very message of salvation because of today’s current societal political climate? I thought that the following was an interesting thing to ponder… read it and ask yourself, how is this kind of Christ, this new christ, being promoted by the new reformers. Is this christ the one of eternal salvation, or one that is more concerned with the kingdom here on earth?

Forced on to the defensive and sensitive to the charge of being out of touch with public concerns, Western religions have looked for new ways of rebuilding their authority. As I have argued elsewhere, some church officials attempted to associate themselves with the authority enjoyed by psychology and therapy and reinvented themselves as counsellors and therapists (2). As the former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey noted, ‘Christ the Saviour is becoming Christ the counsellor’.In recent years, some in the church have sought to gain the public’s ear through the greening of traditional doctrines, and Christ the Saviour is fast becoming Christ the environmental activist. Western society is continually in search of rituals and symbols through which moral probity can be affirmed. It appears that, for many church leaders, the project of saving the planet offers more opportunities for reconstituting rituals and symbols than the saving of souls. ‘In search of eco-salvation‘ By Frank Furedi.

If this is the case, and I believe it is, then the salvation message of the Church has indeed changed into … Christ the Greenie - the world welcomes you!Why is this new message becoming more and more vocal today? Because it is a lot more friendly for one, and it is perceived as being the moral message that anyone of any religious persuasion can relate too. It is certainly a message that does not divide. A very unified message that can involve every nation, tongue and culture…

The appeal of eco-spirituality to so many different religions is a testimony to the powerful influence that environmentalism exercises over contemporary culture. At a time when traditional institutions find it difficult to connect with popular concerns, environmentalism is still able to transmit ideas about human responsibility through appealing to a sense of right and wrong. That is why the authors of children’s books and school officials also use environmentalism as a vehicle for socialising youngsters.However, eco-spirituality cannot really compensate for the loss of traditional moral authority. Indeed the very embrace of the environmentalist agenda can only accelerate the decline of institutions that cannot give meaning to the religious doctrines on which they were founded. The shift away from God towards nature inevitably leads to a world where the pronouncements of environmentalist experts trump those of the priesthood. It will be interesting to see what will remain of traditional religion as prophecy and revelation is displaced by computerised climate models.

Oooo Oooo, I know. How’s about we not even talk about prophecy and revelation! Then nones the wiser, right?I reckon there are quite a few people of influence out there already very uncomfortable with that kind of ridiculous religious talk!Shhhhh … mum’s the Word then!