Introduction

One of the things I really enjoy doing with the ministry the Lord has blessed me with is answering questions of believers and unbelievers alike. The questions people have never cease to amaze me; most I have never even considered myself.

This QFTBOC (Questions From the Body of Christ) series are articles from these questions I have received and will be in a question and response format.

If you or someone you know has a question pertaining to the Word of God – theology, difficult passages, eschatology, etc. – I would really like to hear from you.

If I end up using your question, and you would like to have your name and/or place of residence listed on the question in the article, please specify with your submitted question; otherwise, if I use your question, it will be listed as “Anonymous.”

Regardless, I will make every attempt to answer every person’s questions in a response to the emails I receive. Depending on volume, it may be a little while until you hear back from me, but my intention is to respond to all inquiries.

Other articles in this series are: QFTBOC: Civil Disobedience and Patriotism, QFTBOC: Memory – Fully Retained or Total Reset?, QFTBOC: Psalm 91, Protection, & God’s Will, QFTBOC: God’s Chastisement of His Children, QFTBOC: What’s Satan’s Problem?, QFTBOC: Can We Know Another’s Salvation?, QFTBOC: Childbirth Purification & Christ, QFTBOC: Biblical Slavery, and QFTBOC: Peter & John at the Palace of the High Priest

Question

Hi, Mark!

I appreciate your writings to help explain to us the work and plans of our omnipotent and holy Lord God.

I am overwhelmed by grief over the apparent number of people who are happily deceived and unashamedly on their way to eternal damnation.

I am surrounded by loved ones and strangers who are nihilists, paganists, false teachers, Mormons, Catholics, or dedicated to a worldly misunderstanding of what is really going on.

I personally know Jesus Christ as my merciful Savior and holy Lord. I am not a Calvinist, but I do believe in predestination.

How do you recommend that we Christians live in this dark and dying world?

Carrie Bentley

Arcata, CA

Response

Hi Carrie!

Thanks so much for your email and kind words. I truly appreciate it!

Your question is excellent, and I’m certain that most truly born-again Christians are experiencing this same grief and concern as they look around at the condition of the world and those within their own sphere of influence.

I want to assure you that what you are experiencing is quite natural. We live in a dark world that can seem overwhelming at times. But we should expect this, as we live in the last days. So, while this can be very concerning to us, it should also be very exciting! Our Lord is coming back soon!!

To begin with, I’m suggesting two other past articles that may help the believer to better understand our role in these end times and to reassure the child of God that they are in the Lord’s will as they move on in their journey on earth for Him.

The first is for the believer: Answering the Call of The Great Commission.

The second was written mainly for the unbeliever: Why Am I Here and What Is It All About? This article can be very helpful to the believer, also in reaching out to the unbeliever, either by printing it out or sharing via email to unbelievers.

The reason I’m pointing this out is because this truly is why our Lord has us on the earth at this exciting – yet disturbing – time in history. That is, to share with a lost a dying world the gospel of Jesus Christ in an effort to save them from the wrath to come and an eternity without Him. This, after all, is God’s will.

Like you, I understand God’s sovereignty, election, and predestination, as well as man’s responsibility and free will in coming to Christ by grace through faith. “The Lord… is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). Both are true — even though it can be a little difficult to wrap our finite minds around. And it is this free will and human responsibility in coming to God that we must be promoting in every person we come into contact with – using love, grace, and truth – as we witness to them for our Lord and Savior in an attempt to lead them to Christ.

Your grief – our grief – for the lost is a great sign! We recognize the unbeliever’s destiny apart from Christ and, once we comprehend this, we must move out in faith and love to warn them. But often, fear gets in our way.

No Fear

Fear is not depression and/or grief; but fear can result in depression and/or grief. Therefore, we must defeat fear, relying solely on the Holy Spirit of God!

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

When we have God’s power and love, we can move mountains with the faith He gives to us as we serve Him. There truly is nothing to fear, for:

“If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31b).

The absence of fear is peace or shalom. Jesus said:

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).

Paul echoes this shalom to the Philippians:

“Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

When God’s “peace… which passeth all understanding… keeps [our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus,” then the sky’s the limit when it comes to fulfilling His perfect will as revealed in His Holy Scriptures. Namely, growing Christ’s Kingdom.

Abiding in Christ

Walking with Christ is walking in Christ:

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love” (John 15:7-9).

His power, His strength, His love, and His mission for us is to “bear much fruit.” For Jesus said:

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

We, as Christ’s servants who abide in Him, have His Holy Spirit. Therefore, we have the fruit of His Spirit, which is:

“… love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance:” (Galatians 5:22-23).

Occupying Until He Comes

In the parable of the pounds, Christ’s illustration clarifies our duties as His servants:

“He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:12-13).

The “ten pounds” in Luke are equivalent to the “talents” in Matthew 25:14-30. In both cases, the Lord has given His servants “talents” or gifts that enable the believer to produce fruit for His Kingdom. Truly amazing that the Creator of the universe desires to use such tarnished vessels as ourselves and has entrusted us with such an important and life-changing responsibility as leading others to Christ Himself!

Until we die – or the Lord takes us home in the rapture – we must abide in Him and carry out His Great Commission, which is His will for our lives.

Stay Focused on Christ and Preach the Gospel

Honestly, if we desire God’s will – and we all should – we have to share the gospel with a dark, dying, and lost world.

“And he [Jesus] said unto them [His disciples], Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

Here is where our fear and grief will dissipate: when we consider the lost. If we are witnessing, preaching the gospel, and pointing others to Christ, then I guarantee our grief will flee away. We are doing our part for Christ’s Kingdom. We are fulfilling the will of God.

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:13-16).

Our example to others – saved and unsaved – can have eternal consequences. For the saved, we energize and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ and edify them with our words and actions. For the unsaved, they see what we have – peace, love, joy, and contentment. And we can be sure that they want that too! This often opens the door for conversations and sharing. But we must never be content in this process only – we have to often make the first moves, and that can be as simple as asking a question: “What do you think is going to happen to us when we die?”

The gospel of Christ is so simple that a child can understand it.

“And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:2-3).

“How shall they believe in Him of Whom they have not heard?”

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:13-15).

Let’s be the Lord’s feet “that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

Standing Firm Against the Enemy

Lastly – and most importantly, while living in this wicked world – we must know who our enemy is and put on the whole armor of God found in Ephesians 6:10-18:

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Thankfully, we don’t have to be strong in ourselves, but “in the Lord, and the power of His might!”

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Always remember that the lost are not our enemy – Satan and his demonic horde are.

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”

Jesus Christ is our truth, and He is our righteousness. Remember, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

“And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”

We are to be at peace with all men – saved and lost.

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

When we stand strong in the faith of the Son of God, we are able to stand against the enemy of our souls, and through Christ, we are to prevail.

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”

Our Lord and Savior’s salvation, and His indwelling Spirit, is made manifestly powerful by His glorious Word. Every child of God needs the Word of God every day! To have the Word of God present in our lives, we must know the Word of God. We must study the Scriptures every day; this, the child of God must never overlook.

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Pray always for everything and in everything and, most importantly, for everyone! Be that intercessor for your brothers and sisters in Christ and keep the lost forever on your heart and in your prayers.

“The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” (Psalm 118:6).

Death is nothing less than a new beginning of life eternal with our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Now that’s something not to fear!

Conclusion

So, please, don’t be discouraged or grieved in these unsettling times. But be bold for Christ and excited that He thought you worthy to live in these last of the last days, and share the love of Christ with people who so desperately need to know Him.

“Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” and “love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).

May the Lord grant us all his love, peace, and joy as we go through these dark days together, just before the Lord calls His church home to be with Him forever!

Thanks again for your email and kind words!

May the Lord richly bless you and yours as you continue to bless others through Him and for Him. Keep reaching the lost for Christ, as I don’t think we have much time left.

I wanted to leave the reader with the words of Carrie – which she shared with me in our conversations together – that I really believe to be of great importance. Carrie said:

“Having dealt with depression myself, I believe that other readers that would resonate with this question need to be reminded – as I do – that living the true Christian life isn’t about how we feel or how comfortable we are with Who God is or how He does things. We are instead to learn as much as we can about His holiness, His omnipotence, His amazing grace, and His relentless love, and realize we can trust Him completely in all things and in all circumstances.”

Well said, my sister in Christ! Well said!

Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!

➢ Email: mab10666@yahoo.com

➢ If you have not given your life to Jesus Christ and are seeking answers about God, Jesus Christ, the gospel, and salvation, please email me at mab10666@yahoo.com for information.

➢ I am still taking questions for the Questions from the Body of Christ series. If you or someone you know has a question pertaining to the Word of God – theology, difficult passages, eschatology, etc. – I would really like to hear from you.

➢ A listing of past articles may be found at my Article Listings on Rapture Ready or my Home Page on FaithWriters.

A primer for beginners/A reminder for waverers

(with editing help from a sister in Christ, Lynda Janzen)

The Future Is Now:

I watch this world with a great degree of sadness. Shortly, it is to pass into what the Bible tells us is ‘The Day of Wrath.’ This is to be an extended period of great tribulation. Many millions are to be lost. Among them will be many of my own relatives and friends. Jesus warned of this time as He told his apostles both the type of events that would occur and how terrible they would be.

I’m not a spectator. Saved as I am by the atoning grace of my Savior, Jesus Messiah (and familiar with his Word), the difficulty for me and all believers is how to live ‘in’ this world but, conversely, not be a part of it as we live our lives in and for Christ.

Having ended our own lives of denial and given ourselves to God through Jesus, believers are instructed to wait patiently, remaining faithful to God until the time comes that He suddenly calls us home. We believe that this time, well-known as the ‘Rapture’ or ‘Snatching Away,’ is also imminent. And relevant Scripture teaches that it is to immediately precede the commencement of the ‘Day of Wrath.’

The sign of its imminency is to be the appearance of a man who will become, for a short time, ruler of the world. He is referred to as ‘Anti-Christ.’ Before this, our sudden disappearance will occur.

The world will not see this rapturous event where the faithful church of Jesus is suddenly taken, nor will they hear the preceding trumpet blast and the shout of Jesus that calls us to meet him in the clouds.

On the other hand, the tribulation that is shortly to fall upon this world will be experienced, felt and heard by all who remain. It is a last ‘wake-up call’ for people to repent their lives of sin and call upon the name of Jesus directly, seeking the forgiveness of God.

It will prove very difficult, almost impossible, for millions who are committed to their lives of spiritual blindness – that which denies the part that God plays in all our lives – to open themselves to repentance through Jesus and be saved from eternal death.

If I were a cynic, I might well adopt an attitude of bemusement. Cynicism appears to sit well upon the shoulders of deniers. Believers, however, tend not to be among the bemused; we are simply horrified that the world has reached this point where, so obviously, it is virtually out of control.

Do you remember those once-popular giant Spinning Top toys? As they lost momentum, they began to wobble, finally falling over. So spins this world – toward its Biblically prophesied destruction.

This is to be the cost of denial of God. Where once existed His glorification, expressed in worshipful adoration, it is now, conspicuous by its absence, replaced if anything by outright derision. As the Creator of all things, God is legally entitled to be praised and glorified because, in terms that a lawyer would readily understand, He ‘owns’ the title deeds to the real estate of Earth. Biblically, it is referred to as ‘His footstool.’

As the world succumbed to spiritual blindness, the community of those who previously had been ‘content’ to be known as Christian dramatically decreased as denial increased proportionally. These days, it is almost ‘fashionable’ to declare yourself part of the millennial ‘new age’ and even express antagonism towards God. This is made much easier when you have a visible target. We who have remained faithful present that target. The bulls-eye lies equally between our collective shoulder blades. The world hates us with a vengeance, and our brothers and sisters are increasingly being slaughtered throughout the world or are abducted and taken into slavery.

The signposts that readily identify this lost generation of God deniers can be observed by the gratuitous nature of their self-indulgence. Almost with impunity, it is a generation that pursues a lifestyle of depravity at both individual and corporate levels of community life. And it attracts the worship of dubious celebrity, even of families whose extravagant lifestyle personifies this perpetual lust for self-gratification.

It reminds me of an old burlesque tune, ‘Whatever Lola wants – Lola gets!’ It could well become the mantra of this generation. That is precisely why God has caused to be prophesied that this world is to meet a similar fate to that befalling the pre-flood world. It is to vanish, along with all its supporting infrastructure that is necessary to feed its vociferous appetites.

The tools the ‘lost’ apply to both achieve and maintain the perpetual self-lovefest of their existence were once reserved almost exclusively for despotic king-emperors and, more lately, crime syndicates. Now, they are the knives and forks used by all levels of society/ government/ bureaucracies and even law enforcement and military services. These include manipulation of the truth, blatant exercise of power, and a sea of corruption that controls the destiny of millions. These ends are achieved through the tactics of sexual blackmail, coercion, character assassination (with its subsequent ruin of personal and professional reputation), sexual abuse, and even the murder of innocents.

‘Whistleblowers’ have a remarkable history of ‘premature’ death through alleged suicides and ‘car accidents.’ These people are deadly serious, and any threat to their lifestyle or plans is not tolerated in any form.

Running parallel with the latter is the present desire of ‘our’ scientific and medical intelligentsia to redesign man. This state of spiritual blindness has made mankind oblivious of the fact that he (speaking in the plurality of both sexes) now lives in the closing minutes of an age that is destined to perish. In denying such an inevitability, man consigns such ‘hysteria’ to the wastebasket of harmful conjecture and myth.

In applying a relevant title for this series, after some discussion with my sister in Christ, Lynda Janzen (a new writer to R/R herself), we agreed that ‘Eyes Wide-Closed’ might fit pretty well. And I am mindful of the comments of Jesus in Matthew 6:22-24 and again at 13:15 (NKJ).

The Lamp of the Body:

6:22-24: “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”

6:13:15: “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, So that I should heal them.”

When Jesus speaks of eyes and light, He means all people should keep their eyes on God alone because the eyes are the windows to the soul. If your eyes have become clouded with the evil presently pervading this world with an unceasing tsunami of depravity, it is as if your eyes have become like plantation shutters. They have been adjusted to filter out the soft glow of goodness, yet the blades are pre-set to admit the blinding glare of evil.

Jesus told His disciples that God would sweep this world away as He did the evil of the previous one. He destroyed it with a global, cataclysmic flood, sparing only faithful Noah and his immediate extended family, immediate descendants of Enoch. This man of God, like Noah, existed near the beginning of ‘pre-Flood’ history. So, even in that fallen world, destined to be swept away, we find a man known for friendship with God. We do not know much about the life of Enoch, but we do know that “after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years!”

The ‘pre-flood’ world had become a cesspool of sinful depravity. And it had become peopled by the hybrid offspring of the fallen angels whose brief had been to watch over mankind. Instead, the angels bred with the women of mankind and blatantly denied God. It was at that point (saving His precious remnant through Noah by instructing him to build the Ark) that God brought the Flood upon the Earth and swept that polluted age to oblivion.

Those of us presently given to God through Jesus believe that mankind has reached the point where (equaling the evil of the pre-Flood world) we will shortly surpass it! Our belief is entirely Bible-based.

Spiritual blindness has, of late, led this world to believe that man-induced ‘Climate Change’ has caused premature over-heating of the Earth through a build-up of Carbon Dioxide. Allegedly, that is attributable to our lifestyle and excessive misuse of resources. Some proponents of this theory even believe that without radical steps, we may have doomed our planet.

Advocated by the rich and powerful, those radical steps include ‘forcible’ population control as absolutely essential to ‘save the planet.’ These measures come under the heading of ‘eugenics.’ And they are being planned to include total control over personal property and assets, total control of farming, food production and food stocks, including water. They advocate restriction of meat-producing animals, a vegetable diet, euthanasia of the aged, and full-term abortion. The latter has recently seen its vile supporters advocate post-natal ‘abortion’ up to three years of age. That, of course, would be legalized murder.

Alternatively, Bible-based believers, through their faith in Jesus Messiah (having closely studied the comments of our Savior that deal with the destruction of this age), are convinced that what has actually doomed this world is the sin of the denial of God. The manner of its destruction is painstakingly set out throughout the Bible.

“Sorry, Greta, my dear; your parents sold you a donkey!”

The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy about the perils that were to fall upon this world in the last days that would lead toward its destruction. And this, because of man’s denial of God. Nowhere did Paul see fit to opine the destruction of the planet through Carbon-Dioxide pollution. Maybe it was an oversight, do you think?

Bible-centered believers are convinced that the Bible must be read and understood literally as far as possible. Notwithstanding, when Jesus spoke deliberately in parables, He always subsequently clarified their meanings to his apostles.

There are many, many passages of Scripture that describe the ‘last days’ of the age. Moreover, they specifically give us the ‘word pictures’ that Jesus spoke of to His apostles to help them understand the perils God had destined to fall upon the world. Suffice it to say that this world, known to us as the ‘church age,’ is swiftly passing. And within its present form, this, ‘the church age,’ will never return to the earth. The earth, however, will, under the kingship of Jesus, be renewed and repopulated.

I’m quoting extensively from the New King James Bible. Hopefully, this more modern language version may assist readers not particularly familiar with the Bible.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”

Want a little proof? Try watching some of these atrocious ‘reality’ shows, if you can stomach them. They deliberately set out to expose the worst characteristics of human nature as they push the participants into the revelation of their more ‘natural’ instincts. In them, we get an insightful view of the real world on show.

THE PLANET EARTH:

God created this wonderful planet we know as ‘Earth.’ He placed it precisely in orbit to spin upon its axis within a universe of other planetary bodies.

As hard as it is to comprehend that, we have to go further. The little universe in which the Earth resides occupies an incalculably small area of what we know as ‘Space.’ And Space itself is incalculable, so much so that astronomers have gazed in awe at it for thousands of years.

How God relates to the whole is totally beyond me, as it is also to most believers. We simply are not aware of His impact beyond the Universe nor of the extent of his power. On Earth, we know He is unconstrained. And many believers are of the opinion that this applies across Space.

Are there, then, any constraints upon His power outside the Universe we are convinced he created?

The intellectual ‘giants’ of Earth’s human occupants pondered these questions for generations. And convicted by (no, I do not mean convinced in this illustration) the limits of the World’s science and technology, they concluded that ‘it could not possibly be; therefore, ‘He’ could not possibly be.’ Better then to consign the whole ‘God’ deal to the myths, fables and race memories of peoples who have constructed some sort of religious hocus pocus to validate their faith.

Currently, the Jesuit astronomers are at the forefront of this very hypothesis.

Yet, we possess a series of texts recording both the eternal existence of God and the work of His hand. They tell us of a supreme being whose power is indeed limitless. So much so that, having created Earth itself from the firmaments He brought into existence, God then placed a number of other planets (none of which have yet been determined to contain life forms) in almost co-aligned orbit.

And so, our Earth spins upon its axis in a small universe in this ‘corner’ of that which science calls The Solar System. It consists of our realm – Earth, the moon, the sun, and the other planets and their moons.

The Solar System is a minute part of the Milky Way Galaxy, and there are, supposedly, billions of galaxies in the Universe. Created by His hand, according to His expressed will, God then began to create upon ‘our’ planet life forms of the most diverse description. And abundantly so.

Moreover, we are taught that the Creation of planet Earth and all the life forms thereon were not simply confined to a capricious act of His will. Within His own divinity, God created by design for a specific purpose. And it pleased Him to do so. We are told that it pleased God so much that He took pleasure in His handiwork as each step was concluded unto His own satisfaction.

And at the conclusion of the sixth day, God is recorded as gazing upon all that He had done and saying that ‘it was good.’ In other words, He was well-pleased with His own handiwork, as is even the lowliest craftsman whose skill delivers that one-off in a lifetime of superlative achievement.

There is nothing unusual about God’s satisfaction with His creation. Particularly as it pertains to His ultimate creation – man.

Maranatha! (Come Lord, come)

Denis Bowden

denisjbowden@gmail.com

Part I will conclude with (b) The Consistency of God.