General Articles

An Encounter :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: by RR10

1 Timothy 4: 1-2

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron.”

As many of you know, the Pope died this last week. The world is awash with Catholicism as the Pope lies in state awaiting his interment. Not too long ago, over Christmas at my in-laws’ home, I was put in the place to explain salvation to a predominantly Catholic family. They admit that Jesus is God, they are sorry for their sins, they believe in the resurrection, and yet so many are lost. The ‘beliefs’ are crowded out by idolatry, the rosary, the Eucharist, child baptism,’ revering a man as God, allowing the ‘church’ to alter and at times hide the Word of God from the people… I could go on, but you know the truth if you are an oft reader of this website and the work that is offered.

Yesterday, I was at a men’s fellowship with the men in the church I pastor. We were at Tim Horton’s, a popular coffee chain here in Canada. We had a devotion and were chatting when a man, Mike, came in and began to hand out very obvious Catholic tracts and artifacts. One of the men pointed out that I was a pastor, and Mike launched into his story.

He told me that he had met Jesus face to face when he was sixteen. He had died, and when he was dead, he was in a place where Jesus was, and Satan as well. He submitted to Jesus, and he revived and has been serving the Lord ever since. I asked him if he had confessed his sins and trusted Jesus as his Savior, and he said yes. But then he began to account that he prays the rosary many times per day, he knew that Mary prayed for him daily, and in one truly riveting story, told me that he had rented a movie about the Shrine of Fatima, a Catholic shrine in Portugal and that when he had tried multiple times to turn the movie off, it would not turn off, and so he watched it twice. He was convinced, as are many Catholics, that Mary was and is sinless and that she ascended just like Jesus.

This where I jumped in and began to speak. One of my brothers later remarked that I had remained calm even as he got more and more agitated. I asked him if Mary could have died for his sins and he said ‘no.’ Only Jesus could. I began then to ask simply what verse could he show me that states that Mary was sinless? We have many verses that either state or infer that Jesus is sinless. Of course, he could not, using that the angel had addressed her as ‘blessed.’ This is the same word used in ‘The Beatitudes’; it simply means spiritually happy. A joy that is out of this world.

Mary, that was, should have been spiritually overjoyed because God had chosen her to bring his only begotten Son into the world. If Mary was sinless as they claim, then she could have been our substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. As well, so could have been her father, and his father, and so on, as the father has to be sinless so as to pass on sinlessness to the child. Thus, ALL of Mary’s siblings from the same father would have been sinless.

You see, the Bible is a consistent book all the way through. The only way for a child to be sinless is for the father to be sinless. Jesus is sinless because His Father is Sinless, NOT his mother. In Romans 5:12-18, we are told about the sin nature and Adam.

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

“(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”

If Mary were sinless, she could have been a sacrifice for sins, and Jesus would not be the ONLY way. And this is how the idolatry creeps into the Catholic doctrine.

Again, Mike talked about Mary praying for him, and I asked him to point out the scripture that states that she does; he could not. He mentioned many other things, and all I kept asking was, “Please point out the scripture that supports that belief.” He had none; not one. This was the same kind of encounter that Jesus had with the religious sects of His day: they looked and sounded pious, they believed in Yahweh, and some of them were even looking for the Messiah, but they had so polluted the true scriptures that they were blind to the Messiah standing within their midst.

Sadly, there are countless Mikes out there. They have had a spiritual experience and think they met Jesus, but they don’t know Him. Once you try to introduce them to the real Jesus, they cannot get their heads around Him. They can’t find any scriptures to align with what they experienced and what they saw; but what they saw changed their lives, and they are so hard to talk to. What they felt overrides what the Bible says, and they are caught in darkness. There are millions like this and not just in Catholicism; many Baptists grew up in church, teach Sunday school, and on and on, but they have never come to know Jesus as their Messiah.

Jesus is the only way! If you have Jesus, you have all, and if not, you have nothing.

Peter warns us to be sure in 2 Peter 1:10-19:

“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”

God bless you,

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

 

 

 

Rapture Missed: Consequences for Non-Raptured, Part 1 :: By Wilfred Hahn

Published on: by RR10

The Hebrews were to be “a light for the Gentiles” (Isaiah 49:6; Deuteronomy 4:6).

They failed abysmally, and there was a heavy consequence. They were dispersed across the globe … punished and despised, and that has occurred to this day.

However, a worldwide evangelization by the Jews will yet occur, but not without supernatural help. One hundred forty-four thousand men who are redeemed from the earth (Revelation 14:3)—selected and sealed (protected) by God (Revelation 7:4)—will go about this mandate before the end of the first half of the Tribulation.

But possibly, even more so than the Jews, the Church (the greatest recipient of grace to date) has failed. How so? Among many shortcomings, it has neglected to teach and preserve the Rapture Doctrine—the great, blessed hope of the Church: “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13; cf. Romans 8:24).

This has brought much tragedy these past two millennia. And, the worst fallout of this mortal oversight is yet to come. The coming devastation falling upon many people in the Tribulation would be entirely indescribable due to its scale were it not detailed in the Scriptures. People beyond number will be slaughtered … which otherwise would not need to have happened, as we will explain.

As applied to the Hebrews, the Church too has been tasked as a light to the world (Matthew 5:14). Yes, Christ is in charge of building His Church (Matthew 16:18). Yet when He returns, He will find little faith on Earth (Luke 18:8). The great shock is that so few saints will be in the Church … this already being the case today.

But, is it balanced to say that the Church’s shortcomings are greater than those of the Jews? The reader may judge this question for themselves at the conclusion of this series. However, surely the list of Scriptural derelictions is long—among many, Replacement Theology; “Best Life Here and Now” Theology; Prosperity Gospel; and, as mentioned, the robbing of the “great hope.” All of these distortions have little to do with the Rapture and are spiritually deadly. The fact of the matter is that both the Hebrews and the Church failed many times, requiring necessary interventions (and dispensations) by God. The Rapture counts as one of these for the Church, as well as the First Resurrection for the Tribulational Christians.

Consider this statement carefully: The saints of the Tribulation are a number “that no one could count” (Revelation 7:9). Here the Bible is referring to earthdwellers in the first half of the Tribulation period, who come to acknowledge Christ and refuse to bow to the Beast. They become Christians … literally, so to speak, just under the wire. They are distinct and not part of the Church, as it has already been raptured away at this point. These Tribulational Christians will ALL be killed (as we will yet prove).

To confirm, the text from Revelation 7:9 clearly establishes that it is actually those who are saved (and slaughtered) in the first half of the Tribulation period that are beyond number.

By comparison, those that earlier ascend in the Rapture are not without number. They are a smaller group … namely, stragglers … as there is little faith on Earth at this time. This account parallels Christ’s words to the Philadelphian church. It is weak (small in population). However, Christ says that “since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (Revelation 3:10). This verse anticipates the Rapture.

Just how many candidates qualifying for the Rapture are there today? It would be impossible to estimate. Only Jesus Christ can know the answer. But, if we are allowed to hazard an opinion, it would be to say that whatever their number, it will be surprisingly low.

In any case, the failure to teach the imminent expectation of the Rapture will lead to the greatest human and demonic atrocities and suffering of all time.

The consequences will be horrific, to put it flatly. How so? All who become followers of Christ after the Rapture, who refuse to bow to the Beast and ignore the lure of economic security, will be pursued, pilloried, persecuted, and made to perish. All who turn to Christ will die and be martyred! This will happen to many people … most likely countless more than would have been the case had the Church taught the Rapture with the Gospel.

Would it be too extreme to draw this conclusion? All those who did not bow to the Beast—these, the souls of those who will be “slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained” (Revelation 6:9)—may carry a grudge against the Church. They could have been raptured had they known ahead of time … had they been evangelized earlier and taught the expectation of an imminent Rapture.

But, are we correct that all Christians will die in the Tribulation period (specifically, in the first half)? There is opposition and questioning of this position. Can we know with certainty that all Tribulational Saints will be martyred? We make the case that this indeed happens … we believe, beyond doubt.

In doing so, we discover that this proof provides an indisputable, doctrinal anchor for placing the occurrence of the Rapture event in a pre-Tribulation time frame.

Why Are the Saints Overcome?

Allow us to first address one other question before launching into the proofs of total Martyrdom. We read about a situation in the Bible where the “holy ones” are given over to be defeated by the Antichrist, the latter also known as the “little horn.” This statement is found in the 7th chapter of Daniel. He tells us: “As I watched, this horn [the ‘little horn’] was waging war against the ‘holy ones’ and defeating them” (verse 21). Again, not to miss this, it says “defeating them.” We may wonder why this is allowed to happen to the “holy ones,” as it would be considered unjust. It would seem unconscionable that God will allow “holy ones” to be overcome by the devil during that time. Here again, the proof of this action is indisputable.

Any lingering doubt of this occurrence is quickly dispelled, as this defeat of the “holy ones” is described at least five more times in the Bible.

A few verses later (Daniel 7:25), it states that the Antichrist “will speak against the Most High and oppress his ‘holy ones’ […] The ‘holy ones’ will be delivered into his [the Antichrist’s] hands for a time, times and half a time.” Here we learn that this ordeal faced by the “holy ones” will last three and a half years in the Tribulation Period.

But that’s not all. There are yet additional and similar prophecies in the book of Daniel, which state that the “holy ones” would be overcome. A later vision of Daniel that was interpreted by an angel informs us that “[…] he [the Antichrist] will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the ‘holy ones’” (Daniel 8:24).

Lastly, in Daniel 12:7 it says again: “It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the ‘holy ones’ has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”

We see here that even though the “holy ones” are said to be “mighty,” they will be destroyed.

Crucially, the above-mentioned statements from Daniel in the Old Testament all align with prophecies written in the Book of Revelation … this in the New Testament.

There, we read that “people worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, ‘Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?’” (Rev 13:4). “It [the beast] was given power to wage war against God’s ‘holy ones’ and to conquer them […]” (verse 7).

These are the exact same words that Daniel wrote centuries earlier. These “holy ones” mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments are the same identity. Daniel and John the Revelator are in perfect alignment. The Beast’s supremacy cannot be in doubt.

Also, the two passages agree on the time period over which the defeat of the “holy ones” will take place—42 months; a “time, times and half a time”; three and a half years. This same period is mentioned both by Daniel and Apostle John. Given these confirming references from both Testaments, there can be no doubt. For a period of 3 1/2 years (in our interpretation, this must be in the first half of the Tribulation period), the “holy ones” are going to fall prey to the Antichrist.

They will not only be defeated, but also the Bible says they will be destroyed (Daniel 8:24). A plain interpretation would therefore suggest that ALL are destroyed, a perspective which aligns perfectly with proofs from the New Testament.

Just who are the “holy ones”?

We will identify them in the next part of this series.

***

Wilfred J. Hahn is a global economist/strategist. Formerly a top-ranked global analyst, research director for a major Wall Street investment bank, and head of Canada’s largest global investment operation, his writings focus on the endtime roles of money, economics and globalization. He has been quoted around the world and his writings reproduced in numerous other publications and languages. His 2002 book The Endtime Money Snare: How to live free accurately anticipated and prepared its readers for the Global Financial Crisis. A following book, Global Financial Apocalypse Prophesied: Preserving true riches in an age of deception and trouble, looks further into the prophetic future.

Do you have questions or other perspectives? You can contact Wilfred at: staff@eternalvalue.com. Please note that for reasons of volume and investment securities regulation, he cannot give financial advice.