In The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien said:

“All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.”

In William Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice we read:

“All that glisters is not gold;

Often have you heard that told:

Many a man his life hath sold

But my outside to behold:

Gilded tombs do worms enfold.

Had you been as wise as bold,

Young in limbs, in judgement old

Your answer had not been inscroll’d

Fare you well, your suit is cold.”

And then there was Geoffrey Chaucer who gave two early English versions:

“But all thing which that schyneth as gold / Ne is no gold, as I have herd it told,” and “Hyt is not al golde that glareth.”

Apparently this well-known saying, “All that glitters is not gold” originated in the 12th century and may have even dated back to Aesop according to Wikipedia.

When reading Chaucer’s versions, I want to scratch my head and go, “UH?” This in turn reminds me of the KJV only Bible thumpers who insist we read only the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible because it’s the only one approved by God, according to them. They never use anything but the originalKing James Version (KJV) of the Bible, so they say. The facts are; if they actually had the original King James Version (KJV) of the Bible, they wouldn’t be able to read it, let alone understand what it is saying. Anyway, that’s another subject. Let’s talk about “All that glitters is not gold.”

I have never panned for gold and assume not many of you have either. Regardless, when we study the process and listen to those who have, we learn that there are two types of gold to be found; true gold, and what is called “fools gold.” Fools gold is actually pyrite. True gold is rather dull, while pyrite reflects considerably more light. True gold equates to wealth. Not so with pyrite.

Many people over the years have dug up pyrite, thinking it was gold, but the joke was on them, when they found out it was just fools gold. I can see them now dashing into the Assayer’s office bubbling over with excitement thinking they have struck it rich, but then feeling like a fool when the Assayer informs them it’s just pyrite. No wonder they call it fools gold. One would certainly feel like a fool.

How many are going to feel like a fool when standing before God at the judgment because they think they have the real thing, and He tells them they just have a pocket full of lies. That’s what fools gold is you know. It’s dressed up to look like the real thing, but it’s just a lie. We fall for it, and become just another fool.

Those without Christ who expect to enter Heaven with anything other than God’s grace through His Son Jesus have nothing to present but the work of a fool. Unless we are wrapped in the cloak of God’s righteousness our destination will be 180 degrees in the other direction. Only the saving blood of Jesus Christ upon the cross can provide entrance into our Heavenly home. Only that empty grave assures our destination. It is all about what He has done for us, not what we can do for ourselves or for Him. The work of Jesus Christ is pure gold. Anything else is fools gold.

How many will stand before God thinking all their sparkly good deeds will out-weigh the bad? How many glittering excuses will there be that will come from the mouths of fools? Will we hold our shiny pyrite before God expecting entrance? If so, we may hear from Him:

“For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:2-3

When Jesus came the first time to provide a way for us to be saved from our sins, He did not come in kingly robes and with a marching band. He came as the pure gold of Heaven to die for us. Read the remainder of Isaiah chapter 53. Only in Him is there true wealth and happiness.

Satan throws every enticement he can at mankind to prevent us from finding that which provides true spiritual wealth and happiness. Our very first parents discovered this when they chose to eat of the forbidden fruit. (By the way, nowhere in the Bible does it say the forbidden fruit was an apple.)

Even today most people seek wealth and happiness in areas that will never supply what they so desperately need.

Another thing to consider is all the garbage Satan throws at us that looks good (for a while), sounds good (for a while) and feels good (for a while).

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 2 Peter 5:8 (NASB)

Whether it be spiritually or materially related, test everything against God’s Word. The Bible is our Assayer’s office.

Many people, including Christians, in our modern society may be in violation of God’s commands and think they’re living a “saintly” life because everyone “thinks this way, therefore it’s politically correct.” Don’t take someone’s word that this or that is okay. If you are a Christian, be a diligent student of the Bible, not just a casual once in a blue moon, if ever, reader of the Word. Only God speaks the Truth all the time, and His Word is final.

With enough persuasion, most any activity or belief may look good under the right circumstances, but is it? Is it true gold, or is it fools gold?

 

Grant Phillips

We in this country have been mightily blessed, and our blessings have come from the one supreme God, the God of Israel and the Church; our Creator. No nation in history has received material blessings on the scale we have enjoyed since our founding in 1776; not Assyria, Egypt, Babylon, Medo/Persia, Greece, nor Rome. We have enjoyed the luxuries of materialism that others could not even dream of or imagine. Even today, our poor are wealthy in the eyes of others.

However, those blessings will soon be history and nothing more than a memory.

Those who are in tune with Bible prophecy know this to be true. Our greatest blessing of all, our freedom, is slipping right through our finger tips, and most of our citizens don’t even know it. While we enjoy a relaxing dip in the coastal waters, enjoying the sun’s rays upon our faces, we are unaware of the sharks already in the water, just inches away. Our fate is upon us, and we’re blind to it.

How can this be you say? The question isn’t surprising. As I’ve already said, most feel we are fail-proof.

“There will always be another day like yesterday. Our economy may be wobbly, but we survived the 30s didn’t we? We’ll be okay.”

“Militarily, there is no power on earth that could stand against us.” Perhaps, except for two problems: (1) We are falling apart from within, and (2) there is a Heavenly power greater than any earthly power, including our military.

But wait a minute you say, “I don’t believe in a Heavenly power, and we can fix our military.” It doesn’t matter what we believe. God says He is the God of all flesh. Therefore, all of us whether we believe in Him or not, will answer to Him.

“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me?” (Emphasis mine) Jeremiah 32:27 NLT

We may “Imagine” there is no Heaven, and choose to “Do It My Way,” but that is from a “dreamer” who will fail.

Every powerful nation in history, at one time or another thought they were invincible. So it is no surprise that so many of us think nothing will ever harm our comfort zone of living. So I repeat, our days are numbered, and our comfort zone will be no more.

“The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, would not have believed that the adversary and the enemy should have entered into the gates of Jerusalem.” Lamentations 4:12 NLT

Are our gates more holy than those of Jerusalem? I think not. Some of us even think that because we give lip service to God, He would never allow misfortune to come upon us as a nation. There will not only be “misfortune,” but out-right terror and extreme hardship are coming our way. We will be brought to our knees amidst suffering.

Every time Israel “crossed the line” with God, they suffered punishment. Are we any better than Israel; the “apple of His eye?”

“Then the LORD said to me, “Now tell them, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink from this cup of my anger. Get drunk and vomit; fall to rise no more, for I am sending terrible wars against you.’ And if they refuse to accept the cup, tell them, ‘The LORD of Heaven’s Armies says: You have no choice but to drink from it. I have begun to punish Jerusalem, the city that bears my name. Now should I let you go unpunished? No, you will not escape disaster. I will call for war against all the nations of the earth. I, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!’” Jeremiah 25:29 NLT

The God of Heaven has blessed us in the past because we were a Christian nation, establishing our laws upon His holy laws; the Ten Commandments. He blessed us because our political and religious leaders honored Him. We honored Him as a nation and in our churches, but today that is not so. Today, even most of our churches are bastions of Satan, as are our political offices. Our churches proclaim God, but live for Satan. Our leadership, politically and religiously, is corrupt to the core.

“For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, They have wandered as blind men in the streets, they have polluted themselves with blood, so that men could not touch their garments.” Lamentations 4:13-14 NLT

Judgment is our reward. Of Israel’s 490 years, seven remain. This seven year period is commonly known as the Tribulation. When it begins, the Church will be gone, and then hell will be released upon the earth. This period is specifically for Israel and its purpose is “to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.”

“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.” Daniel 9:24 NLT

This period on earth will be so horrible every person on earth will die except for the grace of God.

“And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Matthew 24:22 NLT

There are no signs for the Rapture; none. All signs provided to us from God’s Word announce the coming Tribulation, and they are like shadows looming before us, constantly getting closer and closer. When will this happen? The Rapture must occur first, but when? I don’t know, and would be a fool to guess. But listen, I would also be a fool to ignore the signs, because Jesus said that when they “begin to happen” His coming is near.

“So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!” Luke 21:28 NLT

Now keep in mind that this verse is referring to His Second Coming at the end of the seven years of Tribulation. That would be a minimum of seven years after the Rapture takes place.

Is there any hope for us as a nation? In my opinion, I do not believe there is any hope for our survival as we know it. However as individuals, there is hope, and it rests in Jesus Christ. As Christians we look for His return at the Rapture.

If you are not a Christian, put your hope in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, as your Savior and Lord. If we put our faith in Him, He will take us to this Heaven that many do not believe exists, and He will do so by either our physical death or an event known as the Rapture. When we know Him then physically die, we are immediately with Him in Heaven.

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8.

If we are still here when He comes for us at the Rapture, we will immediately meet Him in the clouds and be transported to Heaven.

“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17

I realize this is a very depressing and gloomy article if you do not know Jesus as Savior and Lord. Knowing Him though gives us hope as sure as God’s Word, and you can’t get any better than that. Knowing Him should encourage us to spread the Word that Jesus is returning soon. Don’t try to set dates, because we don’t know that. We do know He is coming, and we are to be looking for Him and telling others.

Grant Phillips