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The International Prophetic Voice for the Endtimes

USA Pr o ph ec yPat r i o t i sm Gl o bal M yst er y

Baby l o nPg. 44

The International Prophetic Voice for the Endtimes

FEBRUARY 2008$4.75

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

GODs PURPOSEFORTHECHURCHPg. 16

10 En d t imeSig n s f o rHeat h en sPg. 26

M ONEY: ENDS & TRENDS

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7The Leading of theEternal GodBy Marcel Malgo

The Go od Shepherd lets His sheep lie d ow n in

green pa stures and leads them beside still

wat ers to resto re or refresh their souls.The Lord

only wants w hat is best for His ow n, but it is not

for our sakes that He leads us in paths of

righteousness it is so that His name is

glorified for His names sake.

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30

And the Lord TurnedBy Eri ch Fischer

Midnight CallFEBRUARY 2008

4 Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Arno FroeseHOSEA 14:4

16 Special Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Dr.Ron J.Bigalke Jr.GODS PURPOSE FOR THE CHURCH - PARTI

24 Money:Ends & Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Wilfred HahnTEN ENDTIME SIGNS FOR HEATHENS - PARTI

44 Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . By Arno FroeseUSA PROPHECY...PATRIOTISM...GLOBAL MYSTERY BABYLON

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4 M I D N I G H T C A L L

I w ill heal their backsliding,I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him

(Hosea 14:4).

E D I T O R S N O T E

B y A r n o F r o e s e

1

Our study in the propheticbook of Hosea concludesthis month. The books of

Hosea and Amos are primarily di-rected toward the rebellious ten tribesof Israel. But as I have mentioned sev-

eral times during this study, these propheticpronouncements are not directed solely to-wards Israel, but they include the kingdomof Judah and the Gentile world.

Hosea is the first book of the 12 MinorProphets only the book of Zechariah islonger in length. But the message in bothbooks, as well as in all of the other

prophetic books, contains a stern warn-ing, an invitation to repent and return tothe God of Israel, and a revelation ofGods unspeakable grace expressed in thewords we cited in the introduction: Iwill heal their backsliding, I will lovethem freely.

The Hebrew Bible and several othertranslations begin chapter 14 with the lastverse of chapter 13: Samaria shall becomedesolate; for she hath rebelled against her

God: they shall fall by the sword: their in-fants shall be dashed in pieces, and theirwomen with child shall be ripped up. It

may seem like this word was added as anafterthought, but I dont believe that is thecase because Samaria attempted to sup-plant Jerusalem. In other words, it becamean imitation and as such, it was a horren-dous sin against the God of Israel. Weknow that Israel was judged when Assyriaconquered the land: the cities were de-stroyed, the people were killed and theremnant was carried into captivity.

The most powerful expression of bru-

tality is exhibited in the following words,their infants shall be dashed in pieces.This is significant because when you re-move the infants from the equation thenthat nation will no doubt perish. Evenworse, the threat of their pregnant womenbeing ripped up indicates the absence ofmercy. This is an utterly hopeless situa-tion for any nation.

We must note that this threat was ad-dressed to Samaria. The text does not say

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FEBRUARY 2008 5

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STATEMENT OF FAITHWE BELIEVE in the divine inspiration of the whole Bible andtherewith the infallibility of the Holy Scripture which is God s

Word, a nd in the eternal Triune God : Father, Son and Ho ly Spirit.

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the Word of God.

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The Prophetic Voice for the Endtimes PRINTED IN 12 LANGUAGES

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1

Israel or the 10-tribe kingdom but focuses directly upon Samaria becausethose people who were dedicated to Samaria and had accepted the rebel-lion against Gods order became one with the idolatry in Samaria.

The word Samaria can be translated in English as watch mountain.Thus, we have another example of man's tendency toward imitation. Thereal mountain upon which Jerusalem is located is identified in Psalm 2:6:Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for mybones are vexed. The psalmist describes the time that is and was when allthe nations of the world opposed and will oppose the Anointed One.

The admonition to repent is repeated: O Israel, return unto the LORDthy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. Take with you words, andturn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us gra-ciously: so will we render the calves of our lips (Hosea 14:1-2).

The Tanakh translates this verse in the following way: Forgive all guiltand accept what is good; instead of bulls we will pay the offering of ourlip. This verse indicates true repentance no more relying on the sacri-fice of bulls, but on our confession of faith.

Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will wesay any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fa-therless findeth mercy (verse 3). The remnant of 10-tribe Israel recog-nized that nothing would help no mil itary power and none of the idolsthey had worshiped in the past. I f we, too, would only take this importantwarning to heart and stop worshiping the idols of our modern times. Ofcourse, they are not the idols we see pictured in books or find replicas of

in museums; our idols are our possessions, achievements, our nation, ourmil itary our idols are anything that takes away Gods rightful place inour lives. It is time that we search our heart, for the Holy Spirit sti ll con-victs and there is sti ll time to repent.

Lets consider the Apostle Paul, a man who had many reasons to trust in theflesh. In fact, he wrote: if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof hemight trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Is-rael, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, aPharisee (Philippians 3:4-5).

Israel was a nation above all others. He came from the tribe of Benjamin, thefirst to be integrated into the tribe of Judah. He was a Hebrew the people to

whom God spoke. He was a Pharisee, although they were negatively presentedin the New Testament. I dont think there are many people who could say theywere touching the righteousness which is of the law blameless. Yet in spite ofall these perks, the Apostle Paul had little use for his societal position: Yeadoubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge ofChrist Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and docount them but dung, that I may win Christ (verse 8). When compared withthe knowledge of Christ, he counted these advantages as dung.

In summary, recognition of ones own corrupt nature will lead to the gate ofgrace: I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger isturned away from him. I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily,

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B y A r n o F r o e s eE D I T O R S N O T E

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and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall spread, and hisbeauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. They thatdwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and

grow as the vine: the scent thereof [shall be] as the wine of Lebanon(Hosea 14:4-7). Grace will break through and become effective to thosewho humble themselves, recognize their failures and cast themselves atthe mercy of the God of Israel.

Ephraim is addressed once again. That name represents not only thetr ibe of Judah but the 10-tri be rebellious kingdom of Israel: Ephraimshall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, andobserved him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found(verse 8).

Finally, the book of Hosea concludes with two questions and three an-swers: Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, andhe shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shallwalk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein (verse 9). Wisdomwill lead to the recognition of the mighty ways of the Lord; it will causeone to walk in it , and it wi ll spur on the reali zation that rebell ion againstthe Lord wil l lead to doom.

Discovering Israel Tour and Prophecy CongressPlease take note of the two-page itinerary we have included in this issue

with a schedule of the daily activities planned for our 4-15 May 2008 tour to

the Promised Land. Keep in mind that this tour is limited to 45 participants.Also, the price of $2,869 includes airfare, taxes, security charges and fees,three meals a day, tips, taxes and customs. Reserve your spot on this specialtour by calling 800-845-2420, weekdays from 8 a.m. -5 p.m.

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FEBRUARY 2008 7

B Y M A R C E L M A L G O

It is fo r H is n a m e s s a k e t h a t t h e Lo r d le a d s H is

o w n in t h e p a t h s o f rig h t e o u s n e s s .

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He leadeth me in the paths ofrighteousness for his namessake (Psalm 23:3).

The Good Shepherd lets His sheep

lie down in green pastures and leadsthem beside still waters to restore or re-fresh their souls. The Lord only wantswhat is best for His own, but it is notfor our sakes that He leads us in pathsof righteousness it is so that Hisname is glorified for His names sake.Everything we have received from ourLord and everything the Good Shep-herd is to us and has done for us is ulti-mately glorifying to His unique greatname. Therefore, all the good things wereceive from the Lord are not primarilyfor our own sakes but for His namessake. In other words, we are bestowedwith so many heavenly gifts becausethey serve to bring glory to the name ofour great God!

It is true; Jesus died for us, l iberatedus and saved us. But as true and won-derful as that is, however, Jesus Christ

did not only become the Lamb of Godfor us, but first and foremost He laiddown His life in obedience to the willof His Father in heaven for His namessake. Because God was robbed of Hisglory, He saw no other way than tosend Hi s beloved Son into the world torestore to His name the honor it wasdue. At the creati on of man, the triuneGod said, Let us make man in our im-age, after our likenessSo God cre-

ated man in his own image, in theimage of God created he him; maleand female created he them (Genesis1:26-27). It continually impresses methat God created man in His own glo-rious image. But Adam and Eve obeyedthe voice of the tempter and disobeyedthe only commandment that God hadgiven them and fell into sin (compareGenesis 2:16-17 and 3:1ff). As a result,the image of God that He had put into

man was marred and spoil ed and a ter-rible shadow was cast on the gloriousrelationship between God and man.

What did God have to do them? He

had to restore His glory, but it tookplace first for His names sake, and sec-ond in order to save fallen man. Evenborn-again Christians can be so one-sided in their thinking that they tendto ignore this fact.

Of course the words of John 3:16 re-main true: For God so loved theworld, that he gave his only begottenSon, that whosoever believeth in himshould not perish, but have everl asti nglife. What love is He talking abouthere? He is referring to the love thatthe Creator has for His beloved cre-ation, which has suffered ever sincethe fall of man. We sometimes speak ofthe love of God as though it had onlybecome active at Calvary. Yet it is thesame love that reached its full devel-opment when God created man in Hisown image. What infinite love! What

an extraordinarily extravagant act itwas when God created man!

This is why the act of redemptionon Calvarys cross was about therestoration of Gods glory. The victoryof the Lamb of God at Calvary was pri-marily a victory for the heavenly Fa-ther for His names sake.

God spoke to His covenant peoplethrough the prophet Isaiah: thou hastwearied me with thine iniquites (Isa-

iah 43:24). But this verse is directl yfollowed by a glorious statement: I,even I, am he that blotteth out thytransgressions for mine own sake, andwill not remember thy sins (verse25). Why does the Lord say here thatHe will blot out Israel s transgressions?For His own sake! This is the way it istoday with all the other spiritual gifts.We receive them first because ourgreat God is praised through them.


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We are led in paths of righteousnessbecause it is about God, and it takesplace for His names sake, so that He willbe glorified. People who lived under theOld Covenant were aware of this truth.

Unto thy nam e g ive g lory

Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us,but unto thy name give glory, for thymercy, and for thy t ruths sake (Psalm115:1). Also in Ezekiel 36:22, whichdeals with the redemption of Israel, thepromise of a new heart and a blessedland, the Lord said, I will not do thisfor your sakes, O house of Israel, butfor mine holy names sake Or thinkabout Daniel, who repented for hispeople and prayed, O Lord, hear; OLord, forgive; for thine own sake, O myGod; for thy city and thy people are

called by thy name (Daniel 9:19). Wefind the same words in Jeremiahsprayer of repentance, O Lord, thoughour iniquities testify against us, dothou it for thy names sake (Jeremiah14:7).

This is also how it is with the GoodShepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, wholaid down His life for His sheep (John10:11). He leads those who belong toHim in paths of righteousness so that He

is glorified.How greatly the Father in heaven is

glorified when He is really able to leadHis children, and when we are willing tobe led by Him! When it becomes appar-ent in the life of a child of God that theGood Shepherd holds the reins in Hishands and He is able to lead him inpaths of righteousness, the result is theglorious praise that belongs to the holyname of our Lord.

The pa ths of righteous nes s

I believe there are four ways on thepaths of righteousness in our lives:

1.The way of goodness and truth2.The way of wisdom3.The straight and narrow way4.The way of l ife

1. The way of goodness and truth.All the ways of the Lord can be de-

scribed as good and true: All the pathsof the Lord are mercy and truth untosuch as keep his covenant and his testi-monies (Psalm 25:10).

All of the ways in which the Lordleads His own, whatever they may looklike, are ways of mercy and truth; Hismotives are never negative. On the con-trary, behind all the ways in the life of achild of God, even the difficult ways, arethe best intents of the Lord, full of

C O V E R S T O R Y

FEBRUARY 2008 9

It is true; Jesu s died for u s, l iberated u s an d saved u s. Bu t as tru e an d won derfu l as th a t is,

h owever, Jesu s Ch rist did n ot on ly becom e the Lam b of God for u s, bu t first an d forem ost

He la id down His life in o bedien ce to th e will of His Fath er in h eaven for His n a m es sa ke.

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mercy, truth, faithfulness and grace. Itis what the Lord promises His own inJeremiah 29:11: For I know thethoughts that I think toward you, saith

the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not ofevil, to give you an expected end. Itcan be very comforting to know thisand believe it because this promisegives us His peace in many a storm inour lives.

But the Lords ways are only ways ofblessing for those who keep Hiscovenant and His testimonies: All thepaths of the Lord are mercy and truthunto such as keep his covenant and histestimonies (Psalm 25:10). Only thosewho have the key (such as keep hiscovenant and his testimonies) to thedoor (all the paths of the Lord aremercy and truth ) and use it, will expe-rience the goodness, truth, faithfulnessand mercy of the Lord.

2. The way of wisdom. We readabout this way in Proverbs 4:11: Ihave taught thee in the way of wis-dom; I have led thee in right paths.

Personal guidance is sometimes a dif-ficult thing for a Christian to accept,and we often ask what is the wisething for us to do. Even as chil dren ofGod, we often come to a crossroadand ask ourselves which way the Lordwants us to go. We wanted a clear an-swer to some questions in our lives,but the answer never came. These de-cisions are surely some of the mostdifficult times in our lives. In spite ofthis, a Christian may experienceGods guidance in vari ous ways. I t is afact that the Lord wants to guide us inthe way of wisdom and lead us inright paths. In other words, God willalways give His children clear guid-ance.


Only those wh o h ave the key ( su ch a s keep h is covena n t an d h is test im on ies)

to th e door ( a l l th e pa ths of the Lord are m ercy an d t ru th ) an d u se it , wil lexperien ce th e goodn ess, t ru th , fa i thfuln ess a n d m ercy of th e Lord.

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C O V E R S T O R Y

Wherein lays the prob-lem, then? Many of us aretoo complicated in our faithlives. Sometimes we broodtoo long over a certain mat-ter in which we lack clarityat the moment instead ofsimply adhering in faith tothe Word of God. It is notprimarily about our experi-encing Gods guidance, butwhether we uncondition-ally believe in Scripture,which promise us wisdom,insight, guidance and lead-ership at the right time. Wecan leave the ultimate re-sult, when the Lord gives usthe necessary guidance atthe right time, to Him. But we can com-

pletely rely on Him to give us this guid-ance at the right time and according toHis plan.

When the Good Shepherd leads us inpaths of righteousness for His namessake this also means that He wants toteach us in the way of wisdom and leadus in right paths. The Good ShepherdHimself guarantees that of him are yein Christ Jesus, who of God is madeunto us wisdom, and righteousness, and

sanctification, and redemption (1Corinthians 10:30).

Our Savior, the Good Shepherd, iswisdom in person. So God has madeHim wisdom to whoever has come intocontact with Jesus. This again meansthat a way out of every blind alley isguaranteed. Here it is only about thequestion of faith. Do we really believethat we will receive everything we needfor our lives in and through Christ, or

do we doubt it? What does faith mean

here in practical terms? It means that welet the Good Shepherd teach us in theway of wisdom without any reservation.To believe means to be free of strivingourselves and to let ourselves fall intothe open hands of the Lord. The GoodShepherd wants to bring His sheep tothe point where we have complete trustin Him and follow Him blindly. JesusChrist is Wisdom in person, who raisedher voice even in the Old Testament:

Doth no t w isdom cry? And und erstand -

ing put forth her voice? She stande th in the

top of high places, by the w ay in the places

of the paths.She crieth at the g ates,a t the

entry of the city, at the coming in at the

doo rs. Unto you,O men, I call; and my voice

is to the sons of ma n. O ye simple, under-

stand w isdom:and ye fools,be ye o f under-

standing heart. Hear; for I will speak of

excellent things; and the opening of my

lips shall be right thing s (Proverb s 8:1-6).

FEBRUARY 2008 11

Th e Good Sheph erd wa n ts to br ing His sheep to th e point where we h a ve com plete

tru st in Him a n d follow Him bl indly. Jesu s Ch rist is Wisdom in person , wh o ra ised

h er voice even in the Old Testam en t .

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Let me say it again. This is not primar-ily about whether we really experienceGods leading visibly and clearly, butwhether we believe in the unconditional

leading of the Good Shepherd in ourlives. Take this to heart in childlike faith:if the Good Shepherd leads us in paths ofrighteousness for His names sake, thenHe will teach us the way of wisdom andlead us in right paths. In the epistle ofJames we read these glorious words ofcomfort: If any of you lack wisdom, lethim ask of God, that giveth to all menliberally, and upbraideth not; and it shallbe given him (James 1:5).

3. The straight and narrow way. Dowe always take the straight and narrowway? Christians can claim the promiserecorded by the prophet Isaiah: The wayof the just is uprightness: thou, most up-right, dost weigh the path of the just(Isaiah 26:7). The Revised Standard Ver-sion translates this verse in the followingway: The path of the righteous is level;O upright One, you make the way of the

righteous smooth. That sounds wonder-ful, but how can we know that the wayhas been made smooth before us?

It is often the fact that we walk onuneven and diffi cult paths. This is be-cause we do not walk by faith but bysight, and we continually look at thedifficulties instead of laying every-thing into the hands of the GoodShepherd. Those who continually fo-cus on the rough places and obstacles

in their path will fall. Have you fallenin a puddle when you were desper-ately trying to avoid it? Why is that?Because we can become so fixated onsomething that we lose our balanceout of sheer concentration on themand tread right in the middle of thepuddle. The same is true in the spiri-tual sphere. If we continually look atthe inexplicable things in our lives wewil l fall over and over again. When we

look away in faith, however, and leaveeverything in Jesus hands, we willfind our ways become smooth. Inother words, if the Good Shepherd

leads us in paths of righteousness forHis names sake, we will find that thepaths are often uneven and difficult,but these ways will become smoothand straight when we walk i n faith be-side the Good Shepherd. Then we willexperience that He makes the way of thejust level.

It is and remains a wonderful fact thatthose who look away from the inexplica-ble things in life and look to Jesus willfind that their way becomes smooth andstraight. Even the Psalmist had learnedto look away from his troubles and focushis eyes on the Lord. He testified, Theylooked unto him, and were lightened:and their faces were not ashamed(Psalm 34:5). In another place he wrote,I have set the Lord always before me:because he is at my right hand, I shallnot be moved. Therefore my heart is

glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my fleshalso shall rest in hope (Psalm 16:8-9).So how can our way become smooth andstraight? How can we become a happyand well-balanced Christian? By notonly walking beside the Good Shepherd(because he is at my right hand),but continually looking to Him: I haveset the Lord always before me. Whenwe practice this, we will find that ourheart is glad and we will not be put to

shame. In other words, we will not stum-ble over the uneven places in our life andcome to fall (which would be very bit-ter), but go on our way through life re-joicing, in spite of the many unevenplaces, obstacles and things that couldcause us to stumble.

This truth from the Old Testament isconfirmed in the letter to the Hebrewsand surrounded by the following words:Let us lay aside every weight, and the

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sin which doth so easily beset us, and letus run with patience the race that is setbefore us, looking unto Jesus the authorand finisher of our faith (Hebrews12:1-2). Our fight of faith is not in fear-fully trying not to fall on account of theuneven way, but in continually havingour eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, the Heroand Victor of Calvary, the Risen Lord.Only this attitude of faith will lead toour often uneven way through life be-coming smooth and straight. The fol-lowing are three texts from the Psalmsand a verse from the New Testament:

Mine eyes are ever toward theLord; for he shall pluck my feet out ofthe net (Psalm 25:15).

Behold, as the eyes of servantslook unto the hand of their masters, andas the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of

her mistress; so our eyes wait upon theLord our God, until that he have mercyupon us (Psalm 123:2).

But mine eyes are unto thee, OGod the Lord (Psalm 141:8).

When they had lifted up theireyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only(Matthew 17:8).

May we, from this moment on, gothrough our lives undaunted by its un-evenness but look unto Jesus, the Au-

thor and Finisher of our faith.4. The way of life. Even the

Psalmist prayed confidently, Thouwilt shew me the path of life: in thypresence is fullness of joy; at thy righthand there are pleasures for evermore(Psalm 16:11). From these words wesee that this was not just about anearthly path but much more. ThePsalmist wrote: In thy presence isfullness of joy, and At thy hand there

are pleasures for evermore. He istalking about the eternal joy that allthe blood-bought ones will one dayhave with their Good Shepherd.

Some people may be asking, Didthe people in the Old Testament havean eternal hope? Yes, they did, andnot only the above-quoted Psalmistbut even Job, who in his great suffer-ing exclaimed: And though after myskin worms destroy this body, yet inmy flesh shall I see God: whom I shallsee for myself, and mine eyes shall be-hold, and not another (Job 19:26-27).Here he is talking about an eternalhope that could not be more glorious.

Returning to Psalm 16:11, we read,Thou wilt shew me the path of l ifeand immediately afterwards he writesof eternal pleasures, which means

every path on which the Good Shep-herd leads us for His names sake is al-ways about eternity. Or, to put it inother words, every path that we treadhere on earth as the Lords way, everypath that we tread because He has toldus to tread it, has the glorious goal ofthe eternal dwelling place in heaven.Children of God have a wonderfulhope! Every day that we consciouslyspend with the Lord in our earthly

bodies, however fragile and shaky theymay be, brings us nearer to the goal:every hour that we live leads us to-wards heaven. But the path of the justis as the shining light, that shinethmore and more unto the perfect day.(Proverbs 4:18). The perfect day is aprophetic expression for that whichwill come the eternal, heavenlyhomeland. And the obedient believerwho has been made just through

FEBRUARY 2008 13

C O V E R S T O R Y

Even th e Psalm ist prayed con fident ly, Th ou wil t sh ew m e the pa th of l i fe : in th y

presen ce is fu l lness of joy; a t thy r igh t h an d th ere are pleasu res for everm ore

( P sa l m 1 6 :1 1 ) .

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Althou gh i t was da rk a n d difficul t to row becau se of the

stron g win d tha t wh ipped up th e wa ves, th e Lord h elped

th em reach ed th eir dest in a t ion , th e vi l la ge of Ca per-

n au m wh ere Je su s l ived a t th a t t im e a p i c tu re of t he

h ea ven ly pla ce where th e Lord Jesus lives no w.

Christ goes on his way daily with theLord unto the perfect day. That meansuntil he is with his Savior at last. Andevery day that he walks with his Good

Shepherd and Lord allows him to expe-rience and enjoy a little more heavenlylight. This is why his path is as theshining light, that shines more andmore.

The w a y of eternity

The paths of righteousness on whichthe Good Shepherd wants to lead Hisown for His names sake leads continu-ally heavenward. We have a propheticpicture of this in John 6:16-18 (orMatthew 14:22-23 or Mark 6:45-52). Je-sus, the Good Shepherd, commandedHis disciples to get into a boat and torow over the Sea of Galilee to Caper-naum. Although it was dark and very dif-ficult to row because of the strong windthat whipped up the waves, the Lordhelped them reach their destination, thevillage of Capernaum where Jesus lived

at that time a picture of the heavenlyplace where the Lord Jesus lives now. Sochildren of God may know that whateverhappens we are always on our way home

where the Good Shepherd lives, weshould meditate much more on thiswonderful truth so that with Paul, wecan conclude: For our light afflictions,which is but for a moment, worketh forus a far more exceeding and eternalweight of glory; while we look not at thethings which are seen, but at the thingswhich are not seen: for the things whichare seen are temporal; but the thingswhich are not seen are eternal (2Corinthians 4:17-18).

David addressed the Lord in Psalm119:35: Make me to go in the path ofthy commandments; for therein do I de-light. When we need to know the will ofthe Lord so that we can walk in the wayof His holy will, then say to the GoodShepherd, Lord, I want to be led in thepaths of righteousness for I delight inthem. MC

Capernaum view of sunset over theSea of Galilee

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FEBRUARY 2008 15

Although these bugs have beenaround for thousands of years, thenew strains that have evolved have

been caused by our own careless mistakes from the overuse of antibiotics to theuse of antibiotics in our meats, to patientswho either do not take their prescribeddose of antibiotics or do not take all ofthem for the number of days they weresupposed to.

MRSA Methicillin Resistant Staphlo-coccus Aureus came on the scene about ayear ago and evolved into a nosocomial in-fection that was acquired in the hospital or

clinics outside of the hospital setting. Theinfection became known as community ac-quired MRSA. I am sad to say that the pri-mary means of its transmission inhospitals and nursing homes is becausesome caregivers and other medical person-nel do not wash their hands between see-ing patients.

The Center for Disease Control and Pre-vention (CDC) estimates that 18,650 peo-ple died from MRSA in the United States in

2005.A government study released in October

2007 reported that each day more bacteriabecame resistant to our current antibioticsand we have no effective antibiotic to fightthese superbugs.

Following this report, healthcare ex-perts listed specific actions that societymust take to help slow down the spreadand development of antibiotic resistantbacteria. First, infection control in hospi-

tals must be better managed. This meansall caregivers must wash their hands afterseeing each patient. Second, enforcingappropriate use of antibiotics, whichmeans not using them for viral infectionssuch as the common cold. Third, thecommunity must also wash their handsfrequently.

This past August, the U.S. Centers forMedicare and Medicaid, drafted new rulesindicating that the government programwill no longer pay hospitals for the costs oftreating conditions that could reasonablyhave been prevented, such as hospital-ac-

quired infections.Still, pharmaceutical companies must de-

velop new and effective antibiotics to winthe battle against superbugs such as kleb-siella, acinetobacter, and pseudomonas,which are resistant to nearly all of our pre-sent antibiotics. Another effective tool thecommunity can use is liquid hand sanitizersthat contain alcohol. Germs are spread bycontact with the hands, therefore, I would Ilike to add my own personal suggestion:

Avoid shaking hands! Instead, gently bumpfists with the other person the way someathlete's do. If we dont learn from our mis-takes, well just keep repeating them. We arein a medical crisis, and I am sure the bioter-rorists wil l use this to their advantage.

The wise man sees trouble coming, andsteps aside. The fool keeps walking and isdestroyed: The way of a fool is right in hisown eyes: but he that hearkeneth untocounsel is wise (Proverbs 12:15).

Dr. John Cionci is a

Philadelphia native and

graduate of Central

High School, University

of Pennsylvania, and

Philadelphia College of

Osteopathic Medicine.

He is a member of the

American OsteopathicAssoc iation and Chair

of the AIDS Assoc iation.

Dr. Cionci has been a

practicing physician

since 1950.

H E A L T H W I S E

Dr. Joh n Cionci 536 Fort Wa shing to n Ave., Fort Wa shing to n, PA 19034

What is MRSA?B y D r . J o h n C i o n c i

MC

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B Y D R . R O N J . B I G A L K E J R .

PART I

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FEBRUARY 2008 17

If the significant disagreements re-garding general eschatology (i.e. Rap-ture, Tribulation, Second Coming,Millennium) among evangelicals is notdue to a lack of clarity in Scripture, butexist primarily because of ones usage ordisregard of a consistent and literal in-terpretation of biblical prophecy, thencertainly differences arise in regards tounderstanding the purpose of God forthe Church. Scripture does teach thatthe Old Testament promises made withnational Israel wil l be fulfi lled with a fu-ture, regenerate, national Israel. Since Is-rael and the Church are distinct entities,there is no sense in which the latter canfulfill promises to the former (unless, ofcourse, one wrongly assumes priority ofthe New Testament, resulting in the

meaning of the promises in their originalcontext being changed or reinterpretedso that they were not unconditional oreternal). God has a specific purpose forthe Church that is to be distinguishedfrom His plans and purposes for regen-erate national Israel. Those purposes af-fect the relationship of Israel to thebiblical covenants, and the relationshipof the Church to the Tribulation (seven-tieth week of Daniel), Second Coming,

and Millennium. Prior, however, to un-derstanding the specifics of the futurefor Israel and the Church, it is necessaryto understand the identity and meaningof the word church. What is theChurch? Willimon provided an answer.

I do not exist as a Christian save by the

call of God. For that ma tter, neither did Is-

rael exist as Gods people except by Gods

choice. Likew ise, the church is not church

except tha t God wills it to be so.

There is somet hing a miss in the de fini-

tion of t he church as a voluntary associa-

tion of b elievers.The church d oes not exist

because some religiously enlightened peo-

ple have decided to voluntarily associate

with one another to advance the study of

Jesus. The cha lleng e of biblical faith is not

Do you ag ree? or Do you feel? but Will

you join up?

Like Pa ul (Acts 9:1-31), like the Gent iles

(Acts 15:14; Roma ns 9-11), like Israel, we are

called tog ether by God. You did not

choo se me, I chose you (John 15:16) is a

word both humbling and comforting to

the individua l believer and to the church as

a w hole. The church b eg ins, like faith itself,

not w ith pious individuals, but w ith God, a

God w ho chooses to deal with us as a peo-

ple, a fa mily, a na tion.1

TH E M EANIN G OF TH E WORDCH URCH 2

Although the English word churchis opulent in meaning, and used quitecommonly and extensively, the biblicalmeaning is often misunderstood. Theterm has been used in reference to abuilding (whether a cathedral or store-front), corporation with tax-exempt sta-tus, denomination, national or state

church, people who meet together cor-porately in obedience to biblical com-mands, religion generally ( i.e. separationof church and state), and the universalBody of Christ. The word church is ac-tually only vaguely related to the con-cept of the Greek word ekklesiaused inthe New Testament.

The Eng lish term church, along with the

Scottish w ord kirkand German Kirche,is de-

rived from the Greek kuriakon, which is the

God ha s a specific purpose for th e Ch u rch th at is to be dist ingu ished from His plan s an d pu rposes forregenera te na tiona l Israel . Th ose purposes affect the relat ion ship of Isra el to the biblical coven an ts,an d the re la t ionship of th e Ch u rch to th e Tr ibula t ion ( sevent ie th week of Dan iel ) , Second Com ing,

a n d Mi ll enn ium .

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T h e d o c t r in e o f t h e C h u r c h i s n o t b a s ed u p o n t h e E n g l is h w o r d , bu t r a t h e r u p o n t h e G r ee k wo r d

ekklesiatha t i s used 114 t imes in the New Testament ( three in Mat thews Gospe l , 23 in Acts , 62in P a u l s le t te r s , s ix in n on -Pa u l ine l e tt e r s, a n d 20 in Re vela t ion ) .

neuter adjective of kurios, Lord, and

means, belonging to the Lord. Kuriakon

occurs only tw ice in the New Testament,

neither time with reference to the church

as commo nly used tod ay. In 1 Corinthians

11:20 it refers to the Lords Supper and in

Revelat ion 1:10 to the Lord s Day.

Its applicat ion to the church stems from

its use by early Christians for the place

where they met together, denoting it as a

place belong ing to God , or Gods house.3

Usag e Pr i o r t o t h e N ewTest amen t

The doctrine of the Church is notbased upon the English word, but ratherupon the Greek word ekklesia that isused 114 times in the New Testament(three in Matthews Gospel, 23 in Acts,62 in Pauls letters, six in non-Pauline

letters, and 20 in Revelation).There are w ords w hose et ymolog y it is

interesting to watch, as they are trans-

formed and consecrated by the Christian

churchwords that the church did not in-

vent but has employed in a loftier sense

than t he wo rld ha s ever used them. The

very word by which the church is named is

a key example of this type of transforma-

tion. For we have ekklesia in three distinct

stag es of meaning the secular,t he Jew-

ish,and the Christian. 4

The Greek wo rd in the New Testament

for the English word churchis ekklesia. It is

derived from the verb ekkaleo, a com-

pound of ek, out , and kaleo, to call or

summon, which together mean to call

out. While often this etymolog ical mean-

ing is used to support the biblical doctrine

of the church as a peo ple called out, sepa-

rated from the w orld by God, the usage of

this term both in secular Greek and the

Greek New Testament, w hich provides t he

ba ckground for the New Testament lan-

guag e, does not lend support to this doc-

trine from the w ord ekklesiaitself.5

Usag e in Cl assic a l Gr eekAlthough ekklesiawas used of the for-

mal Greek assembly (legislature), it wasused as reference to any assembly re-gardless of who was included or how itwas instituted. The classical Greek usageis used in only one passage of the NewTestament (Acts 19:32, 39, 41). Ekklesia,as demonstrated by the common under-standing in the Acts passage, was abroad term which did not have religiousconnotations. It merely referred to an as-sembly but is never once used absolutelyof the people who composed the assem-bly.

Usag e i n t h e Gr eek Ol dTest amen t

An investigation of the Septuagint

[Greek Old Testam ent ] use o f the w ord

ekklesia includes a consideration of the He-

brew w ords qahal and edhah(the two prin-

cipal Hebrew words for gathering or

assembly) along with the related use of

the Greek sunagoge to translate these

words.

Both edhah and qahalrefer to an as-

sembly or ga thering, yet ekklesiais never

used to t ranslate edhah.6

The two Hebrew words that refer toan assembly or gathering are qahaland edah. At times these words appearsynonymous. However, the translatorsof the Septuagint differentiated qahaland edah. For instance, the Septuagintnever uses ekklesiato translate edah,rather, it will translate qahalas ekklesia.7

GODs PURPOSEFORTHECHURCH

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FEBRUARY 2008 19

The translators used sunagoge to trans-late qahal.8Although qahal and edahdidnot [have] a technical meaning in theHebrew Old Testament, the differentia-tion in the Septuagint led to a technicalmeaning in the New Testament as thesynagogue and the Church.

Discussion of the use of ekklesiainthe Septuagint carries significance notonly to the study of any biblical passage,but also to understanding a distinctionbetween Israel and the Church. For in-stance, ekklesiain the Septuagint wasnever used to connote a spiritual veritythat would be free of spatial andearthly confines. The simple meaningof ekklesiais an assembly. There is ab-solutely no factual basis for attemptsto find the Church, as defined in the

New Testament, referenced in the OldTestament on the basis of the usage ofekklesia. The New Testament ad-vanced and gave technical meaning tothe usage of ekklesia.9

Matthews use of ekklesiawas a ref-erence to the natural Jewish mindsetof an assembly; it is even possible(although not likely) that Matthewwas referr ing to a Jewish assemblyas the synagogue in 18:17. Trench re-

ferred to the classic case of usage de-termining meaning of ekklesia. Itwas not without due reason that ourLord (Matthew 16:18; 18:17) and HisApostles claimed this, as the noblerword, to designate the new society ofwhich He was the Founder, being as itwas a society knit together by theclosest spiritual bonds, and altogetherindependent of space. 10 The follow-ing quote also demonstrates the na-

tional Jewish understanding of theword.

The word [ekklesia] occur about 100

times in the LXX. . . . When there is a Heb.

Eq uivalent, it is almost alwa ys qahal . . . In

the LXX [ekklesia]is a wholly secular term;it

means assembly, whet her in the sense of

assembling or of those a ssembled The

real point is who assembles, or who consti-tutes the assembly. 11

Usag e i n t h e N ew Test amen tRefinement and transformation from

a generic (non-technical) term into atechnical term both unique and rich inmeaning awaited usage in the New Tes-tament. There are only two verses, Acts7:38 and Hebrews 2:12, which useekkle-sia as a reference to Israel such as used

in the Septuagint.12 It is possible, but notlikely, that Matthew 18:17 is also a refer-ence to a Jewish gathering such as thesynagogue.13

Usage determines meaning and theNew Testament clearly uses ekklesiain amanner that distinguishes it from bothits Greek and Old Testament signifi-cance.14 There is a significant reason forthe New Testament usage of ekklesiaasopposed to sunagoge.

Discussion of the u se of ekklesia in the Septuagint carries significance not only to the study of anybib lica l pa ssage , bu t a lso to u n derstan ding a d ist inc t ion be tween Israe l and the Chu rch . For ins tan ce ,ekklesia in th e Septu agin t was never u sed to con n ote a spiri tu al verity tha t would be free of spatial

an d ear th ly conf in es.

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This distinction resulted in th e cho ice of

ekklesiaby Christ (Mat thew 16:18; 18:17)

and His apostles as the more noble of the

two words.It designated the new society of

which Jesus was the founder, being as it

was a society knit together by the closest

spiritual bonds and altogether indepen-

dent of space. 15

The determined opposition of theJewish religious leaders could be a rea-son why the New Testament never usedsunagoge as reference to the Church.16

Customarily the concept of the church

has focused on the universal and local

church. Sometimes, erroneously, the cate-

gories are stated a s invisible and visible. But

even universal and local do not seem to

cover all the face ts of the concept . Universal

serves well as a label for the bo dy o f Christ,

whether on earth or in heaven (Hebrews

12:23). But loca l need s further defining.How loca l is the church?

Apparently we need more than the cus-

tomary tw ofold organization o f the church

universal and local. (1) There is the uni-

versal church all believers in heaven or

on earth. (2) There is the visible church lo-

cal churches in various areas, especially

those I am a cqua inted w ith. (3) There is the

local church the particular a ssembly with

w hich I have my primary and sustained rela-

tion. Every believer actually belong s to all

these three aspects of the church, and 1

Corinthians 10:32 applies to any of them

with w hich he has contact any time.17

Usag e N o t Fo u n d i n t h e

N ew Test a m en t

The New Testament concept of theChurch i s never used of a building,18 aparticular denomination (Baptist,Lutheran, Presbyterian) or of a territo-

rial church (e.g. Church of England, Ro-man Catholic Church),19 or of the king-dom of God (or the kingdom ofheaven).20 The Church is never desig-nated as Israel. Though it has been com-mon for some Christians to reference theChurch as the new Israel, a concor-dance study in the New Testament willdemonstrate contrariwise. In each of the66 occurrences of the word Israel inthe New Testament, the term alwaysrefers to the Jewish people.21 Both theChurch and Israel have special relation-ships with God, but they must be distin-guished. The distinction between Israeland the Church is the natural result ofinterpreting the Bible historically andgrammatically (i.e. literal, plain interpre-tation). One must interpret the words ofthe Bible in their normal or plain mean-

ing. The opposite would be a spiritualiz-ing (allegorizing) of the biblical text. Dr.Charles Ryrie wrote,

Use of the words Israel and church

show s clearly tha t in the New Testament

national Israel continues with her own

promises and that the church is never

eq uated with a so-called new Israel but is

carefully and continually distinguished as a

separate w ork of God in this age. 22

Since Israel and the Church are dis-

tinct entities, the unfulfilled propheciesto Israel of both blessing and curse havenot been transferred to the Church. In-deed, as the cursings to Israel were ful-filled literally, so will the futurerestoration blessings be fulfilled literally.

D EFIN I TION S OF N EW

TESTAM EN T EKKLESIAClassic definitions of the Church

are particularly deficient in terms of

The dist inction between Israel and the Church is the natural result of interpreting the Bible historicallyan d gram m at ica l ly ( i . e. l itera l , p la in in te rpreta t ion) . One m u st in te rpre t th e words of th e Bib le in the i rn orm al or p la in m ean ing . The opposi te would be a sp i r itua l iz ing ( a l legor izing) of the b ib l ica l tex t .

PROPHETICTIMING &THEM ILLENNIUM

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FEBRUARY 2008 21

New Testament theology. Definitionsof the universal Church and the localchurch are often stated separately, andto the exclusion of either the universalor l ocal church.

The cat ho lic o r universal church,

w hich is invisible, consists of the w hole

num b er o f the e lect . . . . The vis ib le

church,w hich is also ca tholic or universal

under the Gospel, consists of all those

throughout the world that profess the

true religion, tog ether with their chil-

dren. . . . (Westminster Confess ion o f

Fa ith, Chapt er XXV).

The church is a comp an y of visible

saints, called and separated from the

wo rld b y the Word and Spirit of God, to

the visible profession of the faith of the

Gospel; being b aptized into that fai th

(Baptist Confession of Faith, ArticleXXXIII).

The World Book Dictionary ex-presses contemporary misunderstand-ing of the word church biblicallyand theologically (some of the defini-tions are entirely inconsistent wi th theNew Testament).

1. a b uilding fo r public Christian w or-

ship or religious services. 2. public wo r-

ship of God in a church. 3a. Usually,

Church. a g roup of persons with the

same religious beliefs and under the

same au thorit y ; denom ina tion . b . that

portion of th e w hole bod y of believers in

Christ, or of one d enomination of t hese,

which belongs to a particular country,

nation, state, or city.4. a locally organized

unit of a group of Christians for religious

se rvice s; co ng re g a tio n. 5. Usua lly, t he

Church, all Christians; the w hole body of

believers in Christ collectively. 6. Also,

Church, the organization of a church; ec-

clesiastical auth ority or power as embo d-

ied in the clergy and historically

constituting one of the three estates. 7.

the profession of a clergyman. 8a. any re-

ligious body other than Christian; a no n-

Chris tian creed or congregat ion. b . a

building for public worship or religiousservices of such a bod y. 9. any building,

group, or orga nization like a church.23

There is a minimum of 80 and asmany as 100 descriptive terms usedwith reference to the Church in theNew Testament. Therefore, the essen-tial elements for defining the Churchmust incorporate the identity andfunction of the Church.

The na ture of t he chu rch is far to o

broad to be exhausted in the meaning of

the one word ekklesia. To d escrib e its

manifold mea ning t he New Testa ment

writers employed numerous descriptive

expressions. They explained the concept

of the church both in literal terms and in

rich met ap horical de scriptions. This rich-

ness of description precludes a narrow

concept of the church and wa rns against

mag nification of one aspect to the d isre-

ga rd of others. 24

The Ch u rch is n o t th e consequen ce of h u m an organ iza t ion; ra ther, it is bu i l t u pon th e fou n da t ion of the a postles an d proph e ts . Fur therm ore , th e Ch u rch is Gods workm an ship ( Ephesian s 2 :10) , c rea tedin a ccordan ce wi th His ete rn a l pu rpose in Chr is t (1 :4) so God m ay dem on stra te the exceedin g r iches

of His grace ( 2:7). 25

Title: Saint PaulWriting His Epistles

Artist:Valentin deBoulogne or NicolasTournier

Year: about 16century

Museum: BlafferFoundation Collec-tion, Houston, TX.

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Essen t i a l El em en t s o f

a Def i n i t i o n

Theologically, only one Church ex-ists as regards the Body of Christ uni-versally (1 Corinthians 12:12-27;

Ephesians 4:4-6). The reason is thatChristians are currently fellow citizensand saints of the household of God. TheChurch is not the consequence of humanorganization; rather, it is built upon thefoundation of the apostles and prophets.Furthermore, the Church is Gods work-manship (Ephesians 2:10), created in ac-cordance with His eternal purpose inChrist (1:4) so God may demonstrate theexceeding riches of His grace (2:7).25

The Church is invisible only as regardsthose of the Body who are already pre-sent with the Lord. The local gatheringof believers in the service of Christ is as apart of the universal Church. It is essen-tial to understand the universal and lo-calized elements for a completeunderstanding of the New Testamentdoctrine of the Church. Accordingly, theplural, churches, is used in the NewTestament as a description of multiple

assemblies in a city orterritory. Those whoare Christians bygrace through faith inChrist alone are ex-pected to be membersof both the universaland local church.

The Church in-cludes all, and only,those who have beenregenerated (bornagain). The new birthby the Holy Spirit re-sults in faith and re-

pentance in the completed redemptivework of Christ and union with Christand with fellow believers (Acts 2:47;20:28). The Church is unique to this age(dispensation). The origin of the Church

was still future in Matthew 16:18. Mem-bers are placed into the Body of Christthrough the baptism of the Holy Spir it (1Corinthians 12:13). After His resurrec-tion, Christ said the baptizing work ofthe Holy Spiri t was sti ll future (Acts 1:4-5). The Church excludes believers of theOld Testament and those who trust inChrist for salvation after the Church hasbeen raptured.

Unity of believers in a local church

(community) is only a part, not all, ofthe universal Church. The local churchis a voluntary assembly of Christians andis the sphere where the Holy Spiri t mani-fests His gifting and edifying whichmakes Christ known to a lost world. Thelocal church should be a microcosm ofthe unity and purity that is reality of theuniversal Church. The universal Churchis instructed to evangelize/disciple,serve, teach, and worship, but the ex-

PROPHETICTIMING &THEM ILLENNIUM

Unity of believers in a local ch u rch ( com m u n ity) is on ly a pa rt , n ot a l l , of the u n iversal Chu rch. Thelocal chu rch is a volun tary assem bly of Ch rist ian s an d is th e sphere where the Holy Spiri t m an ifestsHis gift ing a n d edifying which m akes Christ known to a lost world.

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FEBRUARY 2008 23

pression of this instruction is fulfilled bythe local assembly through the empow-ering of the Holy Spirit. The ordinancesof baptism and the Lords Supper are notthe exclusive privilege of the localchurch, but are universal expressions ofthe believers identity with and remem-brance of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:41; 8:36-38; 18:8; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

The Church is the regenerate of thisage, both in heaven and on earth, whohave been redeemed by grace throughfaith in the finished work of Christ, andare united with Him and each other bythe baptizing work of the Holy Spirit,and who assemble voluntarily in any lo-cal community for the express purposeof edification, making disciples, worship,and administration of the ordinances.The Church has a holy calling distinctfrom Israel, as this is evident from an un-

derstanding of the foundation and originof the Church.

ENDNOTES1 William H.Willimon,Whats Right with t he Church(San

Francisco: Harper &Row, 1985), 36.

2 The outline that follows is adapted primarily from

P.T.OBrien, Church, in Dictionary of Paul and His Let-

ters, eds. Gerald F. Hawtho rne,Ralph P. Martin,a nd

Daniel G. Reid (Dow ners Grove: InterVarsity,1993),

123-31;a nd, Dr. Ken Hanna ,Theology 405(unpub-

lished class not es, Dallas Theolog ical Seminary, Sum-

mer 2000), 1-8.

3 Ro bert L. Sa ucy,The Church in Gods Program

(Chicago : Moody, 1972), 11.

4 Richard Chenevix Trench,Synonyms of t he New Testa-

ment (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989; reprint,Peab ody,

MA: Hendrickson , 2000), 17.

5 Saucy,Church in Gods Program, 11-12.

6 Radmacher,Nature of t he Church(1972;reprint,

Hayesville, NC:Schoett le,1996), 123, 127.

7 The t ransla tion o f qahalas ekklesiais not exclusive

since qahal is translated in the Septuag int with

approximately 7 ot her Greek wo rds.It is even trans-

lated 25 times as sunagoge.Therefore,qahal was

used quite broad ly as an assembly or gathe ring in

the Old Testa ment .

8 From Exodus to Proverbs,the Septuagint translates

edah approximately 130 times as sunagoge.

9 Acts 7:38 and Hebrews 2:12 are the only New Testa-

ment passages which use ekklesiaas a reference to

Israel similar to that found in the Septuagint.

10 Trench ,Synonyms, 4.Indeed, Trench even demon-

strated t he religious leaders oppo sition to the fact

that the New Testament never used sunagogeto

describe t he Church (Ibid., 5).

11 Karl Ludwig Schmidt,ejkklhsiva,in Theological Dic-

tionary of the New Testament,10 vols.,ed.Gerhard Kit-

tel, trans.Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids:

Eerdman s, 1964-76), 3:527.

12 Saucy,Church in Gods Program,13.13 Ra dm acher,Nature of t he Church, 139-42.

14 Ib id .,132.

15 Trench,Synonyms,19.

16 Ibid.,19-20;Radmacher,Natu re of the Church,140.

17 Charles C.Ryrie,Basic Theology (Whea to n: Victo r,

1986), 395.

18 Ra dm acher,Nature of t he Church,161.

19 Ibid .,162;Saucy,Church in Gods Program,18.

20 Ra dm acher,Nature of t he Church, 168; Ryrie,Basic

Theo log y,399.

21 Pa ul En ns,The Moody Handbook of Theology

(Chicago:Moody,1989),352.

22 Charles C.Ryrie,Dispensationalism,rev.ed.(Chicago:

Moody,1995),129.

23 World Book Dictionary, version 2.0.1 (The Sof tw are

MacKiev Compa ny,2005).

24 Saucy,Church in Gods Program ,19.

25 Geoffrey W.Bromiley,Church, in The Interna tional

Standard Bible Encyclopedia, rev.ed.,4 vols.,gen.ed.

idem (Grand Rapids: Eerdma ns, 1979-84), 1:693.

26 Ryrie,Basic Theology,395.

MC

The Chu rch h as a h oly call in g dist inct from Israel , as this is evident from an u n derstan ding of th efoun da t ion an d or ig in of the Chu rch .

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M ON EY: EN D S & T R EN D S $

For more perspectives and resources on world economic and financial trends of interest to Christians,visit

Wilfreds website http://www.eterna lvalue.comfor ad ditional resources and subscribe to the free

newsletterEternal Value Review:World Review and Market Monitor.

Ten Endtime Signs for HeathensPart I

B y W i l f r e d H a h n

D

o certain signs only re-late to the Jews or dothey also apply to the

times of the Gentiles and thedispensation of the Church? Isthere a distinction between ac-tual prophetic fulf il lment of cer-

tain events and the conditions orprocesses that must take place beforethese can actually occur?

These questions are surely the sub-ject of important study and discussions.But the practical focus for the Christianis relatively straightforward. We are to

be watching looking to His coming recognizing the season beingprepared in season and out of season

(2 Timothy 4:2).Yet, the sad reality is that only a very

small portion of those who call them-selves Christians today believe that theLord Jesus Christ will soon return orthat the very last of the last day events,namely the Tribulation Period, is fastapproaching. The paradox of this situa-tion is this: Christians, the very peoplethat possess the Bible and its prophe-cies, represent most of the scoffers who

What are the signs of the last days and the Lords coming? These are among

the most contested questions in Christianity, even among evangelicals who

believe in a pre-millennial return of Jesus Christ and a pretribulational Rapture.

Even among this latter group of believers which is a sm all minority in

Christianity these days one hears of schisms and breaking of fellowship

over these signs of the Lords com ing or the related question of w hether

prophecy is being fulfilled in our day.

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$Ten Endtime Signs for Heathens Part I

protest, saying: Where is this cominghe promised? Ever since our fathersdied, everything goes on as it has since

the beginning of creation (2 Peter3:4). This attitude itself is a propheticsign of the last-days season. Christasked, [ ] when the Son of Mancomes, will he find faith on the earth?(Luke 18:8)

This situation is really more incredi-ble than it seems. Why? Because onedoesnt have to be a Bible-readingChristian to recognize that the world isheading for troubles and that many oftodays trends are simply not sustain-able. If Christians stand accused of ig-noring the Bible and obvious worldtrends and events today, would thennon-Christians have any excuse for ig-norance? No.

The Secula r Observer o f t he Wo rld

Any analyst or person, in the course ofresearching world developments, must be

struck with the many monumental, non-sustainable changes that are underfoot onthe globe today. Of course, the Bible-be-lieving analyst will quickly recognize thatall of these factors are in alignment withBible prophecy, even if not mentionedspecifically. To them, it is a compellingconclusion that the last-day events of theTribulation are fast approaching.

Yet, even the secular, non-Bible-be-lieving analyst must conclude that dire

times are ahead, if the present courseof the world is not soon changed.Many world trends on the scene todayare not sustainable. In other words,they either point to an end or majorworld-wide dislocations that certainlycould be apocalyptic in scale. To provethat the evidence is available for all tosee, lets take the perspective of a non-Christian and do a bit of commonsense analysis.

Lets put on our analysts hat and at-tempt some forecasts, just as any policyor economics specialist would. Doingso, we of course will realize that fore-casting is a treacherous endeavor at thebest of times. By interpreting the ap-pearance of the sky (Matthew 16:2) inno way are we attempting to prophesy.Thats the domain of the Bible prophets.In any case, Prophecy is not given toenable us to prophesy, quoting SirRobert Anderson. We are simply wish-ing to show that the last-day season

should be sensed by the entire world.With that, in no particular order, lets

review ten such possible indicators.1. Skewing of Wealth between Rich

and PoorThe chasm between the worlds rich

and its poor continues to widen. Theonly major debate that concerns thistopic has to do with its cause. Recently,the International Monetary Fund (IMF)profiled an in-depth study titled Glob-

alization and Inequality,observing thatinequality has risen in all but the low-income country aggregates over thepast two decades. Of greater momentis a ground-breaking report entitledThe Worldwide Distribution of House-hold Wealth, which was released inDecember 2006 as this was the firstever wealth survey of the entire world.Its conclusions were much more sober-ing than had been previously indicated

James

prophecy

found in Jam es

5:1-6, N ow,

listen your rich

pe ople you

have hoarded

w ealth in the

last days,

which speaks

of a huge

wealthinequalities in

the last days,

surely fits o ur

t ime.

FEBRUARY 2008 25

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by other studies that only surveyed in-come. James prophecy found in James5:1-6, Now, listen your rich people you have hoarded wealth in the lastdays, which speaks of huge wealth in-equalities in the last days, surely fitsour t ime.

Secular analysts would surely won-der where these trends are heading. Atthe present rate of this development,any one of two outcomes, or both,could occur either a world con-trolled by small cabal of rich overlordsor anarchy and societal breakdown. Itwould not be overstating the case to saythat todays wealth imbalances in theworld exceed that during the late stagesof the past Roman Empire. It is not a

positive outlook.2. Islam, Europe and the Catholic

ChurchIn 2006, Pope Benedict XVI faced

quite a backlash from Muslims in re-sponse to a quote that he used in aspeech: Show me just what Muham-mad brought that was new and thereyou will find things only evil and inhu-man, It raises the question of whethera major clash lies ahead between Islam

and Europe. Also that year, Libyanleader Muammar Al-Qadhafi, said Wehave 50 million Muslims in Europe.

There are signs that Allah wi l l grant Is-lam victory in Europe withoutswords, without guns, without con-quests. The fifty million Muslims ofEurope will turn it into a Muslim con-ti nent within a few decades.

Some prophecy scholars in factthink that Islam will be part of aworld-wide religious ecumenicism atsome point in the future. This, how-ever, seems unlikely. True Islam doesnot compromise and never has, otherthan for short-term advantage. In fact,Arabs (Islam, after all is an Arab reli-gion) cannot even agree among them-selves, a characteristic that the Bibleitself documents. The Bible says of Ish-mael, the father of the Arabs He willbe a wild donkey of a man; his handwill be against everyone and everyoneshand against him, and he will live in

hosti l it y toward all his brothers (Gen-esis 16:12). If Islam does not becomepart of the Babylon the Great, Motherof Prostitutes, we have anotherdilemma that will be sure to heightenin the next 10 to 20 years.

Al-Qadhafis comment points to adynamic that our secular observerwould not miss. Arab and Islamic pop-ulations are growing much faster thanthat of Europe and the rest of the

world. Compared to overall world pop-ulation growth of 1.2%, the averagegrowth of Middle Eastern countries is1.7% while the European Unionsgrowth rate is only 0.1%. Today, it i sestimated that there are approximately1.5 bi l li on Musli ms in the world versus1.2 billion Roman Catholics and per-haps a total of two billion people thatbroadly identify themselves as Chris-tians. If present trends are any indica-

The Bible

says of

shm ael, theather of the

Arabs He w ill

be a w ild

donkey of a

m an; his

hand will be

against

everyone and

everyones

hand ag ainst

him , and he

will live in

hostility

ow ard a ll his

brothers

Genesis

16:12).


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$Ten Endtime Signs for Heathens Part I

tion, to the secular analyst it is in-evitable that Europe or a broader num-ber of Christian countries will either

clash with Islam or become sub-servient to it. However, the Prostituteshown in Revelation 17 is not sub-servient, but rather sits as a queen(Revelation 18:7) and rules over thekings of the earth (Revelation 17:18).Therefore, by deduction, we couldconclude that the Prostitute must bealready here or emerge in the very nearfuture. In view of world populationgrowth rate trends that we have justreviewed, in perhaps one or twodecades, she may no longer have theundisputed posit ion of where she sitsas an uncontested queen upon worl daffairs. By deduction, this suggeststhat Tribulation events must begin tounfold before that time.

3. Materialism and FinancialPyramiding

Seen over history, western society

(now also including much of the rest ofthe world) has been living in the 5 Pil-lars of P window for only a very brieftime. These 5 Pillars stand for Petro-leum, Penicillin, Population, Produc-tivity and Pyramiding, the five majorfactors behind todays endtime moder-nity. This 5 Pillar window amounts to atime/space of only a century or so, afraction of mankinds sojourn on earth.Mankind has become exceedingly

proud of its recent achievements. Theyhave contributed to a fertile breedingground giving rise to humanism,mankinds confidence and self-determi-nation without God. Yet it is over-looked that all 5 Pillars are subject toreversal. For example, mankind mayyet lose the battle with microbes (resis-tance to antibiotics) and the Age of Oilwill pass (perhaps sooner than ex-pected).

However, none of these factors aremore vulnerable than the last two of the5P list Productivity and Pyramiding.

These relate to the economic and finan-cial explosion over this period, involvingglobalization, technology, the increas-ingly invasive role of money, and the un-stable system of monetarism. It hascreated a lustrous, intoxicating appari-tion of wealth albeit mostly falsewealth. While the advance of technologyitself likely will not be lost, the huge fi-nancial colossus that has emerged in re-cent years is extremely vulnerable to

collapse. Even secular analysts can seethis. One does not need the Bible to un-derstand this, though the Scripturessurely are in line with this view. Giventhe greed, corruption and rapaciousnessthat are part of this trend, it is only a mat-ter of time. In fact, this collapse may al-ready have started. It can happen quicklyand suddenly.

Just how long can the worlds shakyfinancialization boom last? While it is

FEBRUARY 2008 27

These re late

to the

e co n o m ic a n df inancia l

exp los ion o ver

th is per iod ,

involving

global izat ion,

techno logy,

the

increasingly

invasive role

o f m oney, and

the unstab le

sys te m o f

m one ta r ism . It

has c rea ted a

lustrous,

in toxicat ing

app ar it ion o fwe a lth

a lbe i t m os t ly

fa lse w ea l th .

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The discovery

of p enic ill in,

and thedeve lopm ent

of antibiotics

w hich it

spawned, had

a rem arkable

m pact upon

modern

civilization. For

his and o ther

reasons,

death rates

dropped

sharply and

ifespans

ncreased

significantly

over the lastcentury.


impossible to be preciseabout such matters, thecurrent pace of develop-

ments cannot continueindefinitely. Simple mathe-matics and classical mon-etary theory prove thisview. The rate of changesin financial developmentsand debt are just too astound-ing. For example, consider thatin the space of the last ten yearsalone, total world f inancial value hasrisen by a factor of ten times. Is thissustainable? And, if not, what wi ll bethe ultimate outcome?

Actuall y, of all the Ten EndtimeSigns for Heathens, this one is the mostimminent. Whil e it is possible that theworld monetary authoriti es and gov-ernments can buy some time by way oftemporary manipulations, i t remainsvery possible that the worldwide finan-cial problems that began to unravel as

of July 2007 are in fact, the start of thedeteriorating conditions that wil l cul-minate in the final disasters in theTribulation Period.The sad truth, how-ever, is that while many non-Christiananalysts can see the writing on the wall,a large part of North American Chris-tianity remains deluded, clinging on totheir prosperity theology and the ideathat God will not judge the materialismand greed that are the very underpin-

nings of our society.4. Diseases, Pandemics, BiodiversityOne of the 5 Pillars of P was repre-

sented by penicillin. The discovery ofpenicillin, and the development of an-tibiotics which it spawned, had a re-markable impact upon moderncivilization. For this and other reasons,death rates dropped sharply and lifes-pans increased significantly over thelast century. For example, in 1900, the

average life expectancy atbirth of a male in America was

only 48 years. Today? A male

can expect to live to an age ofover 75 years. That has

been a welcome trend.But can i t continue?

There are some dis-turbing developments that

suggest that the advances ofmedicine with respect to germs

and microbes may only be tempo-rary. One of these is the emergence ofthe superbug bacteria that have mu-tated to become resistant to multipletypes of antibiotics. Infectious diseasephysicians are becoming increasinglyalarmed that the development of newantibiotics will lose pace with thisthreat. They have good reason for theirconcerns. For one, pharmaceuticalcompanies are falling behind in the de-velopment of new antibiotics. Secondly,antibiotic resistance spreads fast. To

provide an example, consider this ob-servation from a study by the Food andDrug Administration:

Between 1979 and 1987, [] only0.02 percent of pneumococcus strainsinfecting a large number of patientssurveyed by the national Centers forDisease Control and Prevention werepenicil l in-resistant. [ ] . Today, 6.6percent of pneumococcus strains are re-sistant, according to a report in the

June 15, 1994.There are other developments in

biology, biodiversity, nanotechnology etc. that are cause for concernand point to possible severe challengesahead. Here can also be included thatthe rising vulnerability that arisesfrom genetic engineering and pan-demics. A common sense analyst ob-serving all of these trends can onlyconclude that the rising risks in this re-

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FEBRUARY 2008 29

$Ten Endtime Signs for Heathens - Part I

spect point to certain disastrous outcomessomeday.

5. Israel & Jews in the World

Even if our secular analyst did notknow that the worlds time line circum-navigates around the Jews and that theywere destined all to return to their originalhomeland, they would surely draw a fewnotable observations about the Jews.Without a doubt, they must be a specialpeople.

For one, it would have been noticedthat for the first time in over 2,500 years,the majority of the worlds Jews now livein Israel. That is a recent bellwether. Upuntil 2006 or so, most Jews still lived inthe US. (See Midnight Callissues of No-vember and December 2007 for a broaderdiscussion of this condition.) An under-standing of probabilit ies and world historywould further highlight the significance ofJewish developments in the world today.What people has ever been restored totheir homeland after 2,500 years? In fact,

what people has ever survived that longwith their identity intact once they havelost their country? What probabilities aredefied by the fact that Hebrew, a languagethat fell out of common usage, would againbecome a spoken language?

We can conclude that the non-religiousanalyst would be amazed at such develop-ments, thinking them beyond reasonableprobability. Yet, amazingly, there are peo-ple who do have knowledge of the Bible

and its prophecies that still believe thatthe modern day events surrounding theworld and the Jews are nothing more thancircumstantial!

ENDNOTES1 In Part II, we will conclude with the f inal Five End-

time Signs for Heathens, proving that mankind,

wh ether Bible-believing o r not, has no excuse to

be igno rant of t he signs of th e times.For since the

creation o f the w orld Gods invisible qualities

His eternal pow er and d ivine na ture have

clearly seen, being understood from what has

been made,so that men are without excuse

(Romans 1:20).

2 Sir Ro b ert An de rso n, The Coming Prince,Kregel Clas-

sics, Grand Rapids, Reprinted 1957,pg . 271.

3 World Economic Outl ook, Septembe r 2007. Chapter4:Globalization and Inequality.

4 World Institute for Development Economics

Resea rch, UN Universit y (UNU-Wider).

5 The passage or ig inally appeared in the Dialogue

Held With A Certa in Persian, th e Wort hy Moute r-

izes,in Anakara o f Galat ia[3], written in 1391 as an

expression o f the views of th e Byzantine emperor

Manuel II Paleolog us, one o f the last Christian

rulers before th e Fall of Constan tinople to the Mus-

lim Otto man Empire,on such issues as forced con-

version, holy war,a nd the relationship betw een

faith and reason.

6 Speech by Libyan leader Muammar Al-Qadhafi ,

w hich a ired o n Al-Ja zeera TV on April 10,2006.

7 World Bank,World Development Indicators Data-

ba se, 2006 stat istics.

8 http://ww w.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005140.html.

9 Ric ki Le w is, P h.D., The Rise of Anti bio ti c-Resistan t

Infections, US Foo d a nd Drug Administration.

Accessed htt p://ww w.fda .go v/fda c/feat ures/

795_antibio.html,Decemb er 1, 2007.

For one, i t

w ou ld have

been no t i cedtha t fo r the

f irst t im e in

over 2 ,500

ye a rs , the

m ajor ity o f the

w or ld s Jews

no w live in

Israe l. Tha t is

a recen t

bel lwether . Up

unt i l 2006 or

so , m o s t Je ws

sti l l l ived in

the US.

MC

Skyscrapers inTel Aviv

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B y E r i c h F i s c h e r


A n d P e t e r s a id ,

M a n , I kn o w n o t

w h a t t h o u s a y e s t .

A n d im m e d ia t e ly,

w h ile h e y e t s p a ke ,

t h e c o c k c re w . A n d

t h e Lo rd t u rn e d , a n d

lo o k e d u p o n P e t e r. A n d

P e t e r re m e m b e r e d th e

w o rd o f t h e Lo rd , h o w h e

h a d s a id u n t o h im , Be fo re

t h e c o c k c ro w , t h o u s h a lt

d e n y m e t h r ic e . A n d P e t e r

w e n t o u t , a n d w e p t b it te r ly

(Lu ke 2 2 : 6 0 - 6 2 ).

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Peter warmed himself inthe courtyard and de-clared he did not know

Jesus or belong to Him. Whenhe was asked about his rela-tionship with Jesus for thethird time, he angrily denied it:Man, I know not what thousayest. Three events tookplace at this moment:

1. The rooster crowedwhile Peter was still speaking.

2. At the moment when therooster crowed, Jesus, who hadbeen condemned in the mean-time, came out into the court-yard and turned to look atPeter. Perhaps Peter was so concernedabout his denial that the crowing of the

rooster alone did not wake him from hisspiritual sleep. Even the Lord turning to-wards him would not have had any effectif another thing had not also happened.Was it a word, a gesture, a call or even asermon? No!

3. It was and this is the third ele-ment the silent, penetrating look Jesusgave him. Jesus looked into the eyes ofthe fallen disciple: And the Lord turned,and looked upon Peter.

This look struck the fallen disciple likea flash of lightning. It produced a miraclein his soul, and nothing has changedabout this up until the present day. Thosewhom Jesus looks upon with His pene-trating eyes will immediately see their lostcondition. The Psalmist expresses the in-describable power in the eyes of theAlmighty with the words, He looketh onthe earth, and it trembleth (Psalm104:32). Even when His eyes broke in

death on the cross, they moved hearts andturned lions into lambs. He made the Ro-

man centurion, who was famil iar with thecruel method of execution by crucifixion,realize, Truly this man was the Son ofGod (Mark 15:39).

Let us return, however, to the court-yard where Peter looked into the Saviorseyes. Neither the roosters crow nor Jesusphysical turning to look at him couldshake Peter to the core, but the look itselfpenetrated the depths of his heart.

Let us consider the situation in which

Jesus found Himself, and afterwards thatof His disciple. In Jesus look we see:

His car in g loveThe caring love of our Lord is tremen-

dous. Let us remember that the Lord hadjust come out of the palace of justice. Per-haps He was even thrown out: Then theydid spit in his face, and buffeted him; andothers smote him with the palms of theirhands (Matthew 26:67). The Holy One

An d t h e Lo r d Tu r n ed ...

Even when His eyes broke in death on the cross, they moved hearts and turned lionsinto lambs. He made the Roman centurion, who w as familiar with the cruel method of

execution by crucifixion, realize, Truly this man was the Son of God (Mark 15:39).

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bore all this. And now He stands in thecourtyard, bound, with open wounds andHis head covered in blood. What does Hethink about now? Does He replay theevents that just took place? Does He con-

sider the physical pain He must have beenin? No. His thoughts are with the onewho had just denied Him.

It is quite natural that our thoughts arefull of our own suffering when we are inpain. The graver a disease is, and weshould remember this when we visit peo-ple who are ill, the smaller the worldaround the patient becomes. Many a suf-ferer is so deep in pain and sorrow that healmost has to be torn out of this condition

by force. How different it was with Jesus!Even as the Son of God, He was still trueman, with human feelings, but He did notthink about Himself. He thought aboutPeter. Although He had just been mocked,tortured and assaulted, His thoughts werewith His disciple. The Lord turned andlooked at him as though nothing had hap-pened, as though He Himself was not aman who was condemned to death andPeter was not a failure.

Our Lord always has His eye on His lit-tle flock, independent of whether He is onHis earthly way to the cross or in heavenlyglory. His eyes are always on those whomHe redeemed and made righteous beforeGod through the shedding of His holyblood and life on the cross. He did notbring this sacrifice out of duty but out ofmercy and love. Even now, from heavenHe continually has His eye on those whofollow Him in truth. Even David knewthis, The eyes of the Lord are upon therighteous, and his ears are open unto theircry (Psalm 34:15). And the Lordturned Jesus has not lost sight of anyof us. He looks at us and knows ourthoughts, hears our words and sees ourdeeds.

Forgetting His own situation and Hispain, Jesus turned and looked at Peter. Atthis moment we see...

His in con ceiva ble gra ceIt is clear from John 18:15 that not only

Peter followed the Lord but also anotherdisciple. This other disciple was ac-quainted wi

02 Feb 2008

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