Gathering for Peace or War? :: By Terry James

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles, Terry James

To Bible prophecy observers of the warp speed toward bringing Mideast peace (to use a Donald Trump term, as in the “warp-speed” development of a vaccine for COVID), the many nations’ sudden jumping upon the peace bandwagon should constitute a clear signal: that prophetic stage-setting has experienced Heaven stepping on the end-times accelerator.

One development in this regard is almost breathtaking in its import. I refer to the US president singlehandedly setting up the Board of Peace.

This move to establish such a board, with practically little-to-no argumentation and debate from the world leaders who usually set their collective jaws against anything and everything, especially that involving Israel, is beyond astonishing. It is a supernatural turn of events, I believe. The following somewhat gives a look into that turn:

TONY Blair and Donald Trump will jointly govern Gaza on a Board of Peace under the President’s plan to end the bloodshed and secure the release of all hostages.

The IDF would withdraw from Gaza and commit not to annex the strip if both Israel and Hamas sign the 20-point plan unveiled today…

Mr. Blair, 72, was the first world leader named on the new transitional body to run Gaza apart, which Trump will chair.

This evening, Blair hailed the plan as offering “the best chance of ending two years of war, misery and suffering.”

The former Labour leader and Middle East envoy is expected to take charge of the day-to-day running of the new board, which will eventually hand power back to peace-loving Palestinians. (“Tony Blair to Be on Board of Peace to Run Gaza Strip as Trump Announces Plan to End War & See Hostages Released,” The Sun)

The “cry for peace and safety” takes on a whole new end-times direction when considering that such a Board of Peace is established with the enthusiastic agreement of the nations involved.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Pakistan said they welcomed Trump’s “leadership and his sincere efforts to end the war in Gaza.”

They said they were ready to engage with the US to finalise and implement the agreement, which they said should lead to a “two-state solution, under which Gaza is fully integrated with the West Bank in a Palestinian state.”

European Council President Antonio Costa said he was “encouraged by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s positive response” to the proposal. He added, “all parties must seize this moment to give peace a genuine chance”…

French President Emmanuel Macron said: “France stands ready to contribute” to the efforts to end the war and release hostages.

“These elements must pave the way for in-depth discussions with all relevant partners to build a lasting peace in the region, based on the two-state solution.” (“Leaders in Middle East and Europe Welcome Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan,” BBC)

And it is the conclusion of Macron that should explain the enthusiasm for the Board of Peace and this peace plan.

The two-state solution is what the world of anti-God, Israel-hating UN nations—and especially Mideast states—have longed to implement.

This effort to divide God’s land has been a millennia-long quest, inspired and influenced by the father of lies, Satan, who has attempted at every juncture to cause God’s promise to Israel—that it will be His nation forever—to be broken.

The leadership of these nations believes this peace effort can be the wedge to bring Israel down—thus the enthusiasm to leap aboard this Trump plan. These, I believe, sense a real possibility of at last bringing about a two-state solution to the wars in the region–wars that, in the nuclear age, threaten worldwide catastrophe.

But those who understand the things involving Israel know the gathering of nations at the end of the age will bring a far different result than the elimination of God’s chosen people.

The nations, so hostile to Israel for so long, are gathering–ostensibly for peace-making. But despite our president’s best intentions, the gathering is taking place for far different purposes.

Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum wrote about truth and the great end-times pressures Israel will experience, as well as the result of such cursing of Israel the world of nations will in turn suffer at Armageddon:

This passage describing the gathering of the armies of the nations is more or less viewed from man’s perspective. From man’s standpoint, it is merely a military gathering called together by the Antichrist. The first is in Joel 3:9-11:

“Proclaim ye this among the nations; prepare war; stir up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Haste ye, and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah.”

God’s viewpoint is one of mockery. The nations are mockingly encouraged to go ahead and turn their farming equipment into weapons of war. As for those who are weak, let them persuade themselves and pretend that they are strong. Because while Satan and the Antichrist have their purpose for gathering the armies, that of destroying the Jews, God has His own very different purpose for permitting this gathering to take place.

This taunting of the gathering of the nations is also portrayed in Psalm 2:1-6:

“Why do the nations rage,
And the peoples meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the rulers take counsel together,
Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying,
Let us break their bonds asunder,
And cast away their cords from us,
He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh:
The Lord will have then in derision. Then will he speak unto them in his wrath,
And vex them in his sore displeasure:
Yet I have set my king
Upon my holy hill of Zion.”

The gathering of the nations is presented as a gathering against God the Father and His Anointed, that is, the Messiah Jesus. By seeking to destroy the Jews, Satan is also seeking to break the cords of God’s control of the world. How foolish! Then God is portrayed as sitting in the heavens and laughing, because He will soon have these nations in confusion. (“The Campaign of Armageddon and the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah,” Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, ThM, PhD, Ariel Ministries)

Already we see the nations gathering. Ultimately, they are gathering for war, not peace.

Preaching for Profit :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR10 Category:General Articles, Sean Gooding

2 Corinthians 2:17

“For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.”

1 Corinthians 9:18-19

“What then is my reward? That in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not use up my rights in preaching it. Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.”

1 Timothy 5:17-18

Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, ‘Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,’ and, ‘The worker is worthy of his wages.’”

There is an epidemic of money-chasing that has crept into too many churches over the last few decades. The ‘church’ has become a very profitable business, and there are a lot of men and women who have become very wealthy doing ‘The Lord’s Work.’ Many churches are huge organizations that produce millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars. They have multiple campuses that can stretch over continents and across entire nations. Groups like Elevation and others have multiple campuses and even have campuses here in the Toronto, Ontario area. ‘Churches’ like Hillsong actually transcend continents, stretching from Australia to Europe to North America.

These organizations are often top-down ‘ministries’ that often begin with the best of intentions but soon become so big that compromise is inevitable. Fame, money, fortune, influence, and expansion become more important than truth.

Pastors can become dictators, and the church begins to take on their identity and not the identity of Christ. Doctrine becomes watered down, they begin to be viewed through more progressive eyes, and things, stances, and truth are re-interpreted to fit the culture and not to promote the righteousness of God. These churches, not all, but many, become man-centric and not God centric. They want to please man rather than God. Soon, the goal is to get bigger, not more Christ-like, and there is still the assumption in our churches that if one is getting bigger, if people are joining and investing, then God is in it and He must be blessing them. Jesus, on the other hand, left us this warning in the book of Revelation, 3:17-20,

“17Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. 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.”

This local church here was so wealthy that they did not need Jesus. They had grown so big they no longer needed Him. Look in verse 17: they ‘have need of nothing.’. What a sad testimony of how our churches’ world is in 2025. Most of our churches have no need, yes, sadly, not even of Jesus. We can go about the ‘business’ just fine without Jesus involved. Yes, we use His name and we invoke His power, BUT in truth, it is merely ceremonial. The drive for more money has crept in, and the god of too many churches is growth. Too many will compromise for numbers in the pew.

Now, there is nothing wrong with money, and if you can build a large, Godly, doctrinally sound ministry without compromise and without dismissing Jesus, then more power to you. There is nothing wrong with a church paying a pastor and paying them well. The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 5 that pastors have a right to be paid from the church that they serve. If a church is not able to pay a pastor a decent salary, they should be willing to let him work a secular job to be able to care for his family. But no pastor should bleed his local church dry financially. I have had to work a secular job for the vast majority of my years in ministry. I do not begrudge that one can work full-time, and I am not sure that I would. It may be better if our church could hire another guy and his family, and we also work a secular job to be able to have a team and ministry partner.

There are countless examples of men and, increasingly now, women who obviously do ministry for the money. They have incorporated so much pomp and excess into the services and even into the sermons that it is all about entertainment and certainly not about glorifying God or edifying His people. It should be enough to open the Bible and expound from a passage without fanfare, without fireworks, and without compromise so as to bring glory to God and growth to His people.

Now, does a church need money? Yes, it does. Can ministry be done without money? No, it cannot. But what we learn from Revelation 3:17-20 is that when we put God first, when we make sure that what we are doing is not just right but God ordained, then God will provide the riches for said endeavors. But like many Christians, a lot of churches want to be self-willed and self-powered and self-funded; you see, they see dependence on God as a weakness.

The Bible teaches that total dependence on God is actual wealth; God’s hand is not shortened. I have countless stories of missionaries who have seen God provide in the craziest ways for the needs on the field and personally. God met big needs and small needs, He met immediate needs and long-term goal needs. God did it; God got the glory. These men and their families will never be rich as the world counts richness; they may never be known as the richest persons in the world, but they are rich in Christ. He provides ALL of their needs.

Preach for the glory of God. Preach for the building of the Lord’s people. Shepherd the flock that God has given you, and if you end up pastoring thousands, rejoice. If you end up pastoring hundreds, rejoice, and if you end up pastoring a handful, rejoice. God put you where you are for His glory and to show you His power. The money will come; God is not poor. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your might. Please don’t fall in love with money. Jesus is coming soon, and judgment, we are told, begins with the preachers first.

James 3:1

“My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
70 Victoria Street, Elora, Ontario