Nov 3, 2008
Who Are You?
The Bible warns that deception will be a serious problem in the last days.
Jesus said the advent of false prophets is a key sign of the end of the age.
“For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. …and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people” (Matthew 24:5, 11).
“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time” (Matthew 24:24-25).
I’m always looking for simple ways to deal with common problems. I found a good tool from a very unlikely source. In Acts chapter 19, a group identified as the vagabond Jews saw how the apostles were able to cast out demons in the name of Jesus. They decided to perform exorcisms by saying, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth” (Acts 19:13).
I guess this ploy worked for a while--that is, until they ran into a demon who decided to hold his ground. “One day the evil spirit answered them, 'Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?' Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding” (Acts 19:15-16, NIV).
The demonic spirit was smart to ask “Who are you?” When these men could not provide a valid answer, the demon knew they lacked the authority to cast him out.
It should be obvious to anyone with a discerning spirit that there are more false Christs operating today than during any time in history. People are very willing to masquerade as the truth. Rapture Ready has repeatedly been the victim of deception. Here are three examples that stand out:
In May of last year, I received an email from Phil Goodman of Thy Kingdom Come Ministries informing us of a message he had received from a woman who claimed to be affiliated with Rapture Ready. She wrote about how RR had helped them with the cost of the Tulsa prophecy conference and said we would like to continue to do so in the future. This was all true up to the point she said we are now operating under a new name. When I saw her name at the bottom of the note, I instantly knew why this woman was making such a bold move. She had worked on our message board, and had somehow gotten the crazy idea that the members were her personal property. Phil handled the situation in such a biblical manner, he made me think of writing this article. He basically said, "I know Terry James and I know Todd Strandberg, but who are you?"
The second example is a problem we had with a cyber-squatter. These are people who use the name or likeness of well-known sites for their own purposes. Several months ago, I received an angry email from someone who accused us of promoting teachings that were at odds with the biblical truth. When I asked her where this material could be found, she pointed me to a site that someone had designed to look just like RR. We contacted the site’s owner and threatened to sic our lawyer friend on him if he didn’t remove this bogus clone from the net.
The third example had to do with our RR news page. An atheist decided to have fun with Christians by creating a news page that looked like a legitimate news organization. He would write and post news story about how the government was about to take grievous steps to impinge upon the rights of believers. He then sent this garbage out to Christian sites in the hopes they would fall for his ploy. Several did, and we even had one of his stories get posted on our news page. Because there are so many sites with zero credibility, we only accept news from well-established media outlets.
I constantly use the “who are you?” test in dealing with people who come to me with an outline that tries to reinvent the field of prophecy. I don’t think the problem lies in finding truth hidden in the Word of God. I think the real problem is long-established truth being replaced by new, erroneous teachings. I don’t trust any man’s word apart from Scripture, but I believe that God has blessed us with several men who have proved themselves as champions of the faith. When someone unknown comes along with a new teaching, I simply ask, "Who are you to stand up against men like Dwight Pentecost, John Darby, Clarence Larkin, Charles Ryrie, John Walvoord, and Salem Kirban?
Until the day Jesus takes us home, we should test every teaching against what the Bible says. Not one article on this site should be given a free pass. If you can’t find it in the Good Book, cast it out.
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8).
-- Todd
American Elections and Mid-East War and Peace
The United States stands upon the brink of entering uncharted territory in many areas of national movement into the future. Economy is one such area. America’s momentum--generated by credit and market crises even before the 2008 elections are tallied--pushes the nation toward a destiny the experts talk about but seem unable to comprehend, much less predict.
Uncertainty about petroleum and the end game for that critical commodity has for the moment left the forefront of national and international crises. But, don’t be lulled into thinking we’ve heard the last of extremely troubling energy prices that are tied up to that finite resource. America, the most dependent of all national oil-dependent entities, is but a Middle East crisis away from suffering problems even greater than the oil crisis of a couple of months ago.
Both matters are, of course, inextricably tied to one another. The petroleum crisis, mixed in with the monetary/credit fiscal affairs of all nations, means unprecedented global solutions are forthcoming–are already on their way, as a matter of fact. The resolution, or at least rational ways of dealing with this new global paradigm upon the brink of which America stands, almost certainly revolves around whether there is war or peace in the Middle East.
According to the last fiscal quarter statistics, with America’s Gross National Product (GNP) down 3.4% and consumer spending moving downward because of loss of confidence in job security and other economic realities or perceived realities, the nation could be in recession even now. European economic experts in some quarters say that some parts of Europe are definitely in recession. Business and consumers alike are looking to what the future holds with regard to projected economic circumstances and financial instrumentalities that might be employed to bring forth brighter prospects. When the gurus of global economics look at potential Mid-East turmoil, one thing stands out: There must be peace in the region for the world’s economy to get better, and stay better.
There is, by any rational account, enough blame to go around on how the U.S., thus the industrialized world, got into this mess. President George W. Bush’s dismal popularity statistics at this late hour of his administration demonstrate that the buck stops on the president’s desk. But there are, in the electorates' view, apparently many bucks to go around because Congress, dominated during the Bush Administration longer by the Democratic Party than by the Republican Party, has a popularity rating much more dismal than the president's. Clearly, the entire government is held accountable by the public.
The voter who wants to discern what is best for America in a geopolitical sense should look at the nation Israel. That nation, though tiny, is nonetheless a powerhouse that, despite the deluding voices that claim Israel is the problem in the Middle East, maintains the balance and stability that keep the region from boiling into total war. America’s alliance with the Jewish state is critical in helping maintain a perhaps uncomfortable, but working, stabilization.
Israel’s enemies are legendary for taking advantage of perceived weakness. Anyone who denies that just doesn’t know anything about the history of Mid-East war and peace and are sadly deluded–or are lying. And this brings up the critical nature of the American election during this presidential election year.
It is absolutely crucial to have a president and a working congressional bipartisanship that remain allied in an unyielding way to Israel.
Does this mean that Israel is never wrong? No, of course not. However, in matters of the Jewish state’s security –its right to exist--America must never relent. To do so would certainly bring on war. And Israel, despite its split leadership, has collectively vowed, “Never again!”
God, of course, is Israel’s ultimate Protector. There will never cease to be an Israel, from here to eternity. But, the Lord uses human offices to work in His dealings with mankind for the most part. Thus, America has been used to ally with Israel since its modern birth in 1948.
A president who moves America away from Israel would be disastrous. Such would be calamitous in the human alliance sense, but it would be much more so in the sense of violating the place in His plan that God has determined for the United States as the world moves into prophecy yet future. America’s desertion of Israel in any way whatever would be violation of Genesis 12:3.
Europeans, despite their jealousies of U.S. leadership and other antagonisms for America, understand at the top levels of leadership the importance of this presidential election for the world.
“JERUSALEM, Israel - French President Nicholas Sarkozy remains leery of Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama's stance on Iran, according to reports received by the Israeli government.
In closed forums in France, Sarkozy called Obama's statements on Iran ‘utterly immature’ and ‘formulations empty of all content.’
During Obama's July visit to France, Sarkozy reportedly told the Democratic candidate that it would be ‘very problematic’ if the U.S. changes its policy toward Iran.
Sarkozy is also concerned that if elected, Obama would attempt to ‘arrogantly’ override the U.N. Security Council's position by making good on his promise to open direct dialogue with Iran without preconditions.
Since their meeting, Sarkozy has continued to express disappointment with Obama's stance on Iran, saying that it's ‘not crystallized,’ and 'many issues' remain open…” ("Sarkozy Wary of Obama's Iranian Stance," CBNNews.com, 10/28/08).
Every week I receive emails castigating me for concerning myself and Rapture Ready with political issues--with this presidential election. By insinuating ourselves into this earthly process of governing, Todd and I are–so the arguments go—becoming part of the humanistic drive that will enslave mankind under Antichrist.
We consider our concern for who is elected our leaders a matter of occupying until our Lord calls us to himself, either through death or, we prayerfully hope, in the rapture. We are convinced by God’s Word that, like each one who reads this and is a born-again member of God’s family, we are to serve as royal ambassadors while here. We are to be salt and light to an ever-darkening world.
Giving the Gospel message is the Christian’s number-one priority, of course. But, Jesus said in His Great Commission that we should teach whatever He taught while we go through this life. Part of the Lord’s teaching was to show the way for the world to live righteously under God’s rules--rules that Jesus Christ fulfilled on the cross. The Lord of heaven sets up nations and their leaders, the Bible tells us, and He brings them down. He wants us involved.
He commanded us to bless Israel. We will thereby be blessed by God. We are to stand for not shedding the blood of innocents. We are to uphold God’s prescription for the marriage relationship. We are to fight against the evils of this world. Sometimes that means fighting evil physically through the courts–through the political process, as well as through the spiritual warfare given in Ephesians 6.
As a matter of fact, dealing physically or literally, and dealing spiritually with God’s prescription for life on Planet Earth are not mutually exclusive. We must be involved; God demands it!
--Terry
