Roughly 200 Christian leaders gathered at West Houston Bible Church on Monday through Wednesday (March 6-8) for the annual Chafer Theological Seminary Pastors’ Conference.

The theme this year was “Critical Issues for Understanding the Old Testament Text.” The keynote speakers were Dr. Randall Price (president, World of the Bible Ministries), Dr. Douglas Petrovich (professor, Brookes Bible College), and Henry Smith (Associates for Biblical Research).

Price dealt first with the history of the Old Testament text and then gave two presentations on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Petrovich focused on textual variants and chronology in the Hebrew Bible, including the date of the Exodus. Smith began with the “Transmission and Preservation of Scripture,” then addressed some specific issues in Genesis.

In comparison with other conferences that I attend, this one is truly the most like visiting a seminary module. The topics chosen are intended to augment and complement the education that Chafer students are receiving.

Dr. Andy Woods, president of Chafer Theological Seminary, provided his annual report on the school, which was really an exposition of the school’s seven distinctives. He referred to these as “non-negotiables.” They are:

• Scripture’s Original Languages
• Consistent Literal Method of Interpretation
• Dispensational Theology
• Full Counsel of God’s Word
• Sufficiency of the Scriptures
• Biblically Informed Comprehensive Worldview
• Freeness of God’s Grace

The school’s key verse is 2 Tim. 2:2, which governed Woods’ presentation.

He also touched on Acts 20:26-27, where the Apostle Paul prophesied regarding challenges that would confront the church in the ensuing centuries. He called this text “an explanation as to why we have Chafer Theological Seminary.” It states:

“Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”

“The preacher or teacher is accountable—not just for what they say, but what they don’t say,” Woods stated. “Our goal at Chafer Seminary is to produce—not so much preachers—but verse-by-verse teachers of the Word of God. Your ministry can only be as deep as your preparation.”

Woods emphasized how necessary he believes Chafer Seminary is in today’s world—as witnessed by the conditions found in so many churches. He stated: “The number one email I receive is, ‘Can you tell us of a Bible-believing church where we live?'”

Woods said, “The truth of the matter is, we have a lot of churches—but we don’t have a lot of churches that are teaching the kind of things our school is promoting.”

On the positive side, however—at least for the students’ sake—Woods stated: “We have more churches interested in our graduates than we have graduates.”

Woods gave this challenge to the audience: “Who is going to teach your church and your children? As you wrestle with that question, now we see the need for Chafer Seminary,” he stated.

“We believe God has raised up this school,” added Woods. “There has to be a training institution of some kind, somewhere, to prepare people to fulfill these ministries so that this famine across the land can be satisfied.”

Missionary James Myers also spoke three times in the evening sessions, on New Testament topics.

Chafer Seminary is named for Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer. It was founded in 1993 and currently has more than 80 students. Information on programs and other resources can be found at Chafer.edu.

The Chafer Pastors’ Conference is free for attendees and exhibitors as a ministry of West Houston Bible Church, under the leadership of Dr. Robert Dean, who serves as pastor. All of the presentations (from this year, as well as previous years) can be viewed at DeanBibleMinistries.org/Conferences. Many of them are at least on the level of seminary classes and would prove very useful for research.

There were more than 150 additional people watching the conference by live stream this week, beyond those who attended in person.

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Paul J. Scharf (M.A., M.Div., Faith Baptist Theological Seminary) is a church ministries representative for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, based in Columbus, WI, and serving in the Midwest. For more information on his ministry, visit sermonaudio.com/pscharf or foi.org/scharf, or email pscharf@foi.org.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.

If you happen to read this commentary and have not received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, I would urge you to continue reading and consider the “Special Message” that I have included for you at the end of this commentary.

Setting the backdrop

The world is unraveling in a major way, to the extent that even the general population has begun to awaken to it. I don’t believe any of this attention to secular “awakening” will accomplish anything lasting. It will only serve to be a delaying action. Most human-sourced “solutions” do not address the core issue, which is spiritual.

In a strange sort of dichotomy, the “woke” are now in most positions of power and governance, yet they are not even remotely related to those who are just beginning to constitute the “awakened.”

There is much emphasis on “conservativism.” Countless articles, websites, and activities point out this “awakening” in secular terms (protests, lawsuits, legal actions, etc.), but “conservatism” is not the answer. Things have gone far beyond any effort to recover those values.

It is the erosion of Bible-based values that has brought about the loss of conservatism.

There is plenty of “spiritual” activity going on right now, but not of the kind that can help the world’s cataclysmic self-destruction.

It is not the Spirit of God that is prevalent today in so many people, but the spirit of demonic influence.

This has become obvious by virtue of the state of human conduct and lack of reason that has “taken over” the world.

It is a good thing (depending on their motives) that secular efforts to resist evil are happening. I just don’t believe it is in time to be able to overcome the evil that has been incrementally growing in the world and has infiltrated governments, institutions such as schools and colleges, and the Church, which has now, largely become the “church.”

We must remember that the True Church is Bible-believing, Christ-centered, Christ-honoring people and not an institution, denomination, or building.

Many solidly Christian websites and blogs do point out the “core issue” quite boldly, to their credit, but many others are too focused on human solutions and do not fully grasp God’s plans for the future.

The solution that God will bring about does indeed involve human participation, but only as far as that participation harmonizes with the pre-tribulation and pre-millennial plans that He has made clear in the Scriptures and where He will permit those human actions to further His plans.

Jesus Christ is in control of all current as well as future events. All judgment has been given to Him by God the Father by His own authority.

“so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).

There is a marked characteristic of this present-day evil activity that is growing rapidly (an insanity within all the depravity), that God warned of in the Psalms written so many centuries ago, yet just as applicable as ever.

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psalm 14:1).

There are more than enough human laws and ordinances that have long been in existence that could have been employed by humans to stop this degradation.

Lawlessness has become much too embedded in human governments, and in the agencies within them, for attempted “reforms” to be a viable solution. Existing laws are simply ignored, and new ones will be as well.

Evil has run unchecked for far too long, and God’s Word is never wrong.

“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13).

2 Timothy 3:1-5 is a passage worth reading and rereading, as its ongoing fulfillment is a sobering reminder that reality is Truth from God’s perspective.

It is in your Bible if you have one. If you do not, perhaps you should acquire one. It could save your life.

Most people just want to live their lives peacefully and go about their business without a constant undercurrent of “something’s just not right” and/or “how can you plan for the future?” influencing their every thought.

Sadly, in a large majority of cases, going about their business and living their lives does not include a relationship with the Living God through Jesus Christ.

It is essentially just existing.

A sense of impending disaster is now entrenched in life for the unbeliever, and that is as intended by the Lord in order to bring about an understanding that there is no hope in human solutions to a spiritual problem.

By stark contrast, there is a sense of impending joy and a blessed hope of rescue for the True Christian, also as intended by God Almighty, the Father of Truth, for those who love Him.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone. It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age, as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:11-14). Emphasis added by me.

Believers and followers of Jesus Christ who (specifically) have been paying attention to these current events in terms of the Bible and, in particular, the prophetic Scriptures, are conscious of the fact that – as our beloved sister Jan Markell of Olive Tree Ministries has so aptly expressed – “Things are not falling apart; they are coming together.”

Now to the crux of this commentary.

We will focus on the below Scriptures, all of which are from the New King James Bible. In each case, I have added emphasis to the words within the passages that are the subject of this discussion.

“But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows” (Mark 13:7-8).

“But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.’ Then He said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven'” (Luke 21:9-11).

“And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:6-8).

Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines the word “must” in all three passages as: “Necessary” (as in binding).

In other words, as I understand it, God’s Word has made it to be a legal requirement.

When we, as believers, witness the level of depravity in the present day, we might ask ourselves, “Why does God allow this to happen?”

We ask it not as questioning God’s character, which we know is unassailable, but because we are so saddened that it is happening at all. We love Him, and we trust Him, but we also have an intellect that is constantly functioning. God is, of course, fully cognizant of this, as He makes clear:

“Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD” (Isaiah 1:18a).

We know that God is Sovereign over all creation, and He could stop this depravity with just a thought or word.

But we also know that he will not stop this evil and set things right until the Lord Jesus is revealed in His fullness and Power when He does indeed return, as we who long for His appearing have been promised.

So, why MUST these things occur? Why MUST all this evil be permitted?

Well, we don’t really know on the nuts-and-bolts level. Speaking for myself, I don’t think I can fully comprehend why all these things must happen.

I do know for certain that I must trust the Lord, and I willingly do. Perhaps trusting the Lord is a part of His reason for permitting these things.

We also know His promise if we study His ENTIRE Word, and that includes the Book of Revelation, which promises many things, but there are two that apply especially to this discussion.

“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Rev 1:3).

“Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’ And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son'” (Revelation 21:5-7).

The MUST is very significant. It implies that God has decreed it to be allowed for a specific purpose. He has done this before, as described to Moses.

“But in the fourth generation they [the Hebrews] shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Genesis 15:16). [added by me]

It also signifies that God is indeed in full control of the future, as the word “shall,” a non-negotiable, indicates.

The point is that God is Sovereign, Holy, Righteous, and Perfect. He will bring about all He has promised, as one of my most favorite and encouraging Scripture passages makes clear:

“Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'” (Isaiah 46:9-10).

He can be fully and completely trusted, as already fulfilled prophecy has made clear.

The special message I promised you

For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no hope or peace in your life:

You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.

It requires that you come before God on His terms.

And, what are His terms according to His Word?

• Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
• Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
• That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
• To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
• Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross.
• To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.

God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him, under His terms, that will be refused.

• No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
• No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
• Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.

If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.

“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).

There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. There are only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.

The answers are in the Word of God—The Bible. If you ask God, with all your heart, He will hear you.

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

Pro Salvator Vigilans

To contact me: canoeman96@gmail.com