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Prophe-Zine Issue 085
PropheZine #85
Oct. 1, 1999
Bob Lally Publisher
Mimi Nila Senior Editor
Rick Woodcock Asst. Editor
Abraham George Asst. Editor
Lori Eldridge Asst. Editor
Bob Ippolito Asst. Editor
ARTICLES
David Wilkerson..........Will There Be A Depression?
Peter Eng.......................SATAN PREYS . . . JESUS PRAYS!
COMMENTARIES
Berit Kjos.....................Bewitched by Harry Potter
Bob Ippolito...................Reality Check On Y2k
Mark Eastman, MD ...Email from a Skeptic: Why Does God Allow Evil?
POEMS
Lori Fiechter.........................A Prayer for the Lost
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Hi Everyone!
This is a GREAT newsletter if I say so myself!
I was reading Matthew 24 the other evening with my wife to study the "beginning of Sorrows" or "Birth Pangs". We were discussing all the natural disasters from Hurricanes to Tornadoes to Earthquakes that have been occurring ON TOP OF EACH OTHER all over the world. North Carolina (one of the states in the United States) has been called an 18,000 square mile cesspool because of the rains from Hurricane Floyd. Floating carcusses (human and animal), human waste and parts of homes and buildings just floating around. Major Hurricane, then tornadoes and then another 8 inches of rain! They are predicting an unprecidented outbreak of disease carrying mosquitoes!
I mentioned that the only thing we haven't seen is a Volvanic eruption! 2 days later announcements from Ecuador came through that one of their volcanoes is about to go off! My wife just looked at me and I smiled! Birth Pangs anyone?
In all of this God tells us , "Hey, Don't worry! Have no fear - I am your Lord and will protect you. Go about doing my will!" Ok, I paraphrased a bit but we know that we are not to be afraid when we hear of wars and rumors of wars and ethnic group fighting ethnic group. In fact, it just proves that the Bible is right! Be encouraged to know that the end is near. No more tears or suffering, no more depression, crime, worries, fear.....
May the Lord quickly return and find you in His will!
Bob Lally
bob@prophezine.com
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| Will There Be A Depression?
| By David Wilkerson
|
There is a "survival panic" gripping this nation. Some economic experts warn Americans to flee the cities, buy a home or acreage in the country, hoard a supply of dried foods and ammunition, lay away a stash of gold or diamonds, and get ready for a terrifying depression. At this very moment, economic gloom is covering the nation like a dark, foreboding cloud. Unemployment is spreading, and, in some parts of the country, it is nearly as bad as it was during the depression of the 1930's.
Everywhere I travel now, people ask me, "David, where is our nation headed? Is this the economic storm you warned about in your VISION book back in 1973? Are we going to have another great depression? What do you hear from the Lord about the present problem?"
Those who read my books and other publications know that I warned of a false economic boom that would be followed by a severe economic recession - and that was said when many others were predicting a collapse in 1973. We have experienced that false economic boom, and now a recession is raging throughout the land. Daily, I receive requests from people to update the message of THE VISION.
Let me begin by saying this: Even though I was one of the first of those warning Americans to prepare for an economic storm, the purpose of my warnings was to awaken children of God to His faithfulness in hard times. The theme of my message of warning has always been, "God has everything under control." Never have I suggested people should take the matter of survival in their own hands.
Tragically, too many Christians are living in fear, as if everything was out of control. They worry that an influx of foreigners will cause further unemployment and that spies are being imported with the refugees. They worry that the nation is falling apart -spiritually, economically, and morally. They worry that the economy will collapse, that anarchy will break out and make our cities uninhabitable, that food will become scarce, that inflation will spin out of control, that their children will be left to face a world of total chaos.
Here is my message about current events!
The Fear Of Impending Calamities Can Do More Damage Than The Calamities Themselves!
The Bible says, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7).
Will there be a depression soon? Is this the economic storm so many ministers and economists have been warning of? Will the present recession turn into a deep, long depression? Or, is this another short-lived adjustment of the economy?
Frankly, I don't know! And neither does any other human on earth. The economists are giving us terribly conflicting forecasts. So-called "prophets" are sending out all kinds of confusing warnings. Let me list a few of the recent warnings that have been sent to my office by self-proclaimed "prophets."
Last year, hundreds of worried Christians wrote to me about a prophecy by a South American prophetess that most of Florida would be inundated by a tidal wave. Many Christians slipped out of Florida on the predicted date on a so - called "vacation" - just in case the lady was right. Florida is still with us!
Nine months ago, two sincere Lutheran charismatic gentlemen sent out warnings that a major earthquake would shake the Chicago area - that Russians would land in New York and invade the land, etc., etc. I was shocked by the numbers of Christians who were taken in by these so-called prophecies. Chicago still stands -the Russsians have not invaded.
A "prophet" from Texas told me in no uncertain terms that I must warn the nation that Jesus was coming at noon April 7, 1980. The deadline passed and the good brother is, no doubt, busy getting a new date.
Various groups around the nation are predicting that America will soon be overtaken by calamities - except in certain "safety zones. They warn other Christians to join them in these safety zones to save themselves from earthquakes, famine, enemy armies, and other horrible disasters. Of course, you are expected to sell all you have and bring the proceeds with you to their safety zones.
It is so sad, because most of these who preach such a message are sincere - and they mean well. But their messages are unscriptural, and they are in error.
Christians today must not heed any fearful message that is not balanced by God's promise to protect and keep, anywhere, at any time.
No human on earth knows when, how, or where God will send judgment. The times and seasons are all in His hands. God has dealt with me personally about using dates, names, or places; and, when I disobey God on this matter, I end up speculating, rather than truly prophesying. All true prophecy must offer hope and comfort to God's people who live by faith.
There are some predictions that are contrary to the Word of God. For example, California simply cannot "break off and fall into the Pacific." No matter how powerful an earthquake there may be on the West Coast, the boundaries are secure. The Bible says, "He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end" (Job 26:10).
That sounds to me like a contract that is good until this earth is dissolved. The Bible also says,"...who shut up the sea with doors... And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?" (Job 38:8,11)
Where do you live? In an earthquake zone, maybe near a fault line? Do you live in a city that could one day be strangled by wildcat Teamsters' strikes? Do you live in a sprawling suburb that seems less secure as the days go by? Do you live in a crowded apartment - not a blade of grass or a cow in sight? No food stored up? No gold bars or coins to hedge against inflation? No garden to raise your own food? No country hideaway? No place to hide if anarchy breaks out? Nothing to fall back on if the economy collapses? Nothing to live on if you lose your job? Do you feel left out when others around you boast about their plans for the future?
Don't panic! You have all you need if you will believe in our Lord's promise of protection. Every child of God has an ironclad contract of survival. The more I read the words of Jesus, the more I believe He is asking for our childlike trust in Him - to keep us safe in every situation.
My advice is to stay put and quit listening to voices that speak warnings contrary to Scripture. "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace..." (1 Corinthians 14:33). Paul refused to use dates or set times and seasons in relation to prophecy. "But the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you" (1 Thessalonians 5:1). Paul went on to say that Christ works "as a thief in the night... moving unexpectedly... when least expected."
Jesus also warned against moving in panic when false prophecies go forth in the land. He said, "Wherefore if they say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not" (Matthew 24:26). Christ warned us to not believe men or women who claim a secret revelation about when and where Christ will strike with the lightning of judgment.
"Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken" (Proverbs 3:25,26).
2. Get Your Own Direction From God About The Future!
Don't depend on David Wilkerson to tell you about the future. If you are a child of God, you can hear from Him just as well as I do! Don't depend on Jim Baker of PTL or Pat Robertson of 700 Club. Don't depend on someone you believe has a gift of prophecy to tell you about the future.
I was saddened a few years ago when ministers told me I ruined their building programs by my message of warning in THE VISION. One wrote to me and said, "My board vetoed our church building program because they think you predicted a depression." Thousands of others read THE VISION and threw it down in anger. The trouble was, they didn't take time to read my message to the Christian at the back of the book that "God has everything under control!"
I have businessmen contact me from all over the world, including bankers and industrialists, as far away as Japan. Even Jewish businessmen want my advice about the future. I don't give anybody any advice! I say to Christians, "You know the Lord as well as I do. Go to Him; He will not keep you in darkness. He will show you what to do, specifically, for your own needs."
I admit I have been wrong at times. I've been overzealous and, at times, have unknowingly slipped off into speculation. None of my books are infallible. They are honestly sincere, but they are not the Gospel. I am sure they contain mistakes, and no Christian should plan his life or future by what I or any other minister says. Obey the Word, yes. But, at the same time, learn to hear from God on your own. To have a "shepherd" direct your future plan is totally unscriptural and dangerous.
I don't mind telling you what I think is happening at present. This is not inspired - it is not a prophecy - it is only what I personally believe will happen. I am less concerned about the present economic downturn than I was in 1973. I don't think this is the big recession, yet - and the economy may well come back by the end of the year. We could yet see a quick turnaround and another false boom. I don't know. This is only what I believe - and I could be dead wrong. But if the economy does come back, I think God's people should be clearly warned by what we are seeing now - and use the false boom time to get everything in order. We know now how quickly a depression could be upon us. Could it be that God is telling us all to realize how fragile material things are and that we must get back to real values?
Also, if God shakes this land much more with a deep and long recession, all this emphasis on prosperity preaching and materialistic faith will come to naught.
Such ministers will face the censure of thousands of disillusioned Christians who are not prepared for suffering and difficult times. Somehow, God will force us back to humility, simplicity, and a zeal for missions.
If you are spending time on your knees in the secret closet of prayer, you are not worried about the future. God is doing a most wonderful thing for those who have turned to Him in simple faith and childlike prayer, looking for guidance. He is sending a revival of personal guidance. Do you need direction right now? Building plans? Business expansion? Questions about your next move? Personal problems? God can and will tell you what to do - when to do it - and how to do it!
He delights in directing our step. God always gives specific directions to those who are willing to obey Him and who believe He is concerned about every detail of life.
I know there will be some who write to me and say, "David, who am I to believe? There are so many conflicting predictions and prophecies - and they all seem to come from men and women who appear to be very godly. Who are we to believe?"
You are to believe only what the Holy Spirit confirms to be the truth to your own heart, as you test it by the Word of God and diligent prayer. Actually, it is getting pretty ridiculous - with so many predicting so many conflicting things. All the more reason for each believer to be in contact with the Lord, personally. The praying Christian can listen to all these warnings, examine each one, accept what is worthwhile and be unmoved by all the rest. All true messages from God's throne will be confirmed individually to each praying Christian.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths"
(Proverbs 3:5,6).
"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye" (Psalm 32:8).
"I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins [heart or mind] also instruct me in the night seasons" (Psalm 16:7).
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3. God Has Emergency Plans For Every Believer During Crisis Times!
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No matter how unsettled the world becomes, God's people can relax and keep their joy flowing, because our Lord has promised special protection when it is most needed.
Didn't God have an emergency plan for the children of Israel during the worldwide famine? He sent Joseph ahead to Egypt, promoted him to prime minister, filled the warehouses with enough grain to last out the famine - then transported his people within walking distance of those storehouses and fed them to the full all through the raging famine.
Didn't God have emergency plans for Elijah? While his nation reeled under the impact of an economic collapse and food was scare because of severe famine - and a wicked king had a ransom on his head - God put His emergency plan for Elijah into effect. He hid him by a quiet brook and fed him by having a bird deliver his food. The survival plan also included a mysterious barrel of grain that never ran out.
What about Noah? What a detailed survival plan God had for him and his family! An ark - floating him and his family safely above all the death and destruction of a worldwide flood.
And Lot? God actually sent angels to personally pull him and his children out of the doomed city of Sodom.
God's hands were tied until Lot was safely out of the suburbs. It was more than a loss of his job, more than a collapse of the economy, more than a downfall of the government - it was total annihilation of his society.
But Lot was delivered safely.
Paul proved God's emergency contingencies over and again! This apostle was shipwrecked, chased by thieves, imprisoned, accused of treason, plotted against by assassins - yet, in every crisis, God had a contingency plan for deliverance. Only when God determined his race was over did He call in His last contingency plan. He called him to his resurrection.
We, too, have an emergency plan for survival - designed specifically for each believer, Let there be no question about it. God will see us through every crisis. There is no crisis that Satan can throw against the children of God that can bring them down. Not depression, not famine, not a loss of job, not sickness or suffering of any kind. God will deliver His children with a high and mighty hand. There is not
one single reason to fear.
In 1973 I wrote the following message in "THE VISION."
This message is just as relevant today, as it was then.
It is the theme of my writings and my ministry - "God has everything under control!" The message of the Bible to all true believers is:
"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28).
Men's hearts are failing them for fear over the things happening to this earth. People are hoarding up, saving up, and getting ready for the coming worldwide recession. Even devout Christians are getting caught up in this wave of fear and anxiety about the future. People are afraid the ship is sinking. Mankind is yearning for security, and it has led to an epidemic of "grabbing" for houses, land, money, and guaranteed income.
Does it all sound scary? Is the truth frightening? One thing is certain - everything appears to be falling apart, as far as the natural eye can discern. Even the most doubtful person on earth must, in his honest moments, admit that something apocalyptic is taking place in the world.
Along with the vision of calamities, God gave me a very special message of hope for all true believers. I desperately questioned God about all the things I saw coming. I asked Him to show me how Christians could do all they have to do in a limited time when so many were forsaking and going into hiding. How can Christians keep fear Out of their hearts? How can they face all the news reports and anticipate all the calamities and disasters without being afraid for their homes and children? Do they abdicate and turn this old world over to the devil and let him have his way? Do they pay off all their bills, salt away some reserves in the bank, then just try to ride it all out - hoping that a better day will come? Do they buy a farm or a piece of land and flee to the country - hoping they can escape the coming tragedies? Do they let their motivation die and surrender to fear? Do they abandon all their dreams and ambitions and become as hermits looking for truth?
Dear friend, hear what the Holy Spirit spoke to me. Just five little words, but so powerful that they awakened in me a glorious new hope and faith. Those five little words are: God has everything under control.
That is right - everything is under control! You and I, and everything that touches us, are under His control. It's true! No matter how things look in this drunken world, all things are still working together for good to everyone who loves God and are the called according to His purpose [Rom. 8:28].
Let the dollar fall. Let depression or recession come with its unemployment and fear. Let pollution and inflation come. Let there be wars and rumors of wars. Let the fabric of society disintegrate. Let mankind go to the drunken brink of disaster. For the true child of God, everything is still under control! It really doesn't matter - nothing can harm those who abide under the shelter of His almighty wings. The shadow of the Almighty is bigger than any fearful shadow this age can project. God's children need fear no evil. His children will never beg for bread, and He will supply every true need up to the very last minute of time.
God has not promised to keep His children from suffering. He has not promised to keep us from facing an hour of need. We have no promise of world peace, tranquility, security, or continuous financial well-being. We are promised peace and security of soul and mind - the supernatural provision for every true need - and assurance that we would never have to beg for bread. God would rather we all come to the place Paul the apostle came to when he said,
"Having food and raiment let us be therewith content"
(1 Timothy 6:8).
The future looks evil and foreboding. But David said in the Psalms, "I will fear no evil" [Psa. 23:4]. This is the message for believers today. The future is also under His control, so we need not fear. God has it all preprogrammed. He knows the exact moment Christ will return. The final tribulation, the judgment, and the battle of Armageddon are all on His calendar. The God who controls all of heaven and earth said:
"The nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance:
"...All nations before him are as nothing;... less than nothing" (Isaiah 40:15, 17).
God wants us to keep working until the return of Christ. That means simply that we are to work as though the end will never come, and live as though it were coming tomorrow.
God is still counting the very hairs on our heads. He is still counting the sparrows that fall. He is still hearing petitions before they are asked. He is still answering before being called. He is still giving abundantly more than we can ask or think. So why be afraid?
Prepared Christians, wake up! Everything is under control, and God is at work! He is saving, healing, baptising, and getting His house in order. To fear is to blaspheme. We are commanded to encourage ourselves in the Lord and to begin to sing and rejoice as we see the final hour approach. Do I hear someone ask, "But how can I rejoice when I see this old sin-cursed world falling apart?" My answer is the Bible answer:
"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain... waiting the redemption" (Romans 8:22,23).
A woman in labor may scream because of pain; yet, in her heart, she rejoices because of the fact of new birth.
The kingdom of God is coming. The kingdom of Satan is falling. So the Christian can, wifh confidence, say:
God has everything under control!
Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.
COPYRIGHT/REPRODUCTION LIMITATIONS:
This data file is the sole property of World Challenge. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain the copyright notice [i.e., "Copyright (c) 1999 by World Challenge"]. This data file may not be used without the permission World Challenge for resale or the enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its content with the exception of a few brief quotations.
Please give the following source credit: Copyright (c) 1999 by World Challenge, Lindale, Texas, USA.
This material is solely for personal use and is not to be posted publicly on other web pages. The Lorain County Free-Net Chapel holds exclusive rights from World Challenge, Inc. to publicly post these messages on its web page. You are free to download, copy, print and distribute this material, so long as you do not post it on a different Internet site. You may, however, link this site to reference these messages.
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| Encouragement when Severely Tested
| SATAN PREYS . . . JESUS PRAYS!
| by Peter Eng
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Recent months and weeks unleashed on us a series of global troubles. Let us start with El Nino, go on to Saddam Insane's biological weapons of mass destruction, to the currency crash in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, (to a lesser extent Singapore,) to the hysteria leading to more currency runs in Korea, and who knows who is next. In the stock market, Hang Seng crashed, followed by FTSE, then by Dow Jones.
Global trouble concerns us when it produces personal pain. I am not sure what hurt you feel more: the problem of global warming or personal financial losses, loneliness, bad turns of events in a row, a fractured relationship with a loved one, and loss of personal freedom? In short, global trouble may be big, but it is personal pain that cries out for our immediate attention.
It is this personal pain I want to address in this article, without in any way implying that global troubles are not important.
We have neither ability nor resources to handle global troubles. And sometimes the call to noble sacrifice cannot be heard when we are in pain. We should keep before us those in need despite our own needs.
I have had a series of bad turns in recent months, matching personal pain with global trouble. There were so many of these troubles that I decided to pray about them. Yes, it finally dawned on me that apart from the spiritual and the noble, my prayers should also include the mundane and the ordinary.
SATAN PREYS
Many of our troubles are not more than the ground cursed from the fall of Adam and Eve. But from time to time, Satan singles us out for his special attention. I suspect the time has come for us to heed the warning and assurance Jesus gave to Simon Peter.
"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32).
These words were spoken on the night Jesus was arrested to be crucified. Judas had gone to betray Jesus. With the arrest of Jesus, the disciples will go through the most severe shock in their lives. But in this turmoil, there is a spiritual dimension.
The trouble they face is physical, but the cause is spiritual.
The Greek for the clause, "Satan has asked to sift you like wheat" takes the plural 'you'. Satan asked God for permission to torment the disciples. They will be crushed. Satan, possibly like in the case of Job (Job 1), asked God to give him leave to torment Jesus' disciples. Through this, wheat will be sifted out, and the chaff blown away. Perhaps Satan told God, "Let me crush your disciples and shift them like wheat, to see if they are indeed wheat of chaff." The past few weeks had been bad ones for some of you and for me too. I suspect that the multiplied troubles in many of our lives are more than coincidence, or 'bad luck' as the world calls it. I had such a bad run that I thought, "We are facing so many difficulties it is abnormal. We are either doing something really wrong, or we are doing something right and Satan has been given permission to sift us like wheat." Perhaps it is neither. Perhaps it is simply the case of the devil picking on us when we are vulnerable. Do you sometimes feel as though you are crushed and sifted? Do burdens become so great that the right and noble things seem far away and the need to relieve pain or loneliness is near and desperate? Especially when calamity befalls us not due to our own neglect. Perhaps, Satan has been given permission to sift you like wheat.
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does" (James 1:2-8).
I find it hard to "consider it pure joy" when I face "trials of many kinds." What I feel is not "pure joy" but misery. While I
know in my mind and believe with all my heart that God has not abandoned me, I still feel miserable. I write to all who like me are frail in faith. In view of this, James reminds us that the trials we face are for growing our faith. IT IS PRECISELY BECAUSE WE PLACE OUR FAITH IN GOD THAT WE FACE TRIALS. AND THESE TRIALS, WHATEVER THEY MAY MEAN TO ANOTHER PERSON, ARE THERE TO INCREASE OUR COMMITMENT TO GOD. When we go through trials, one misery is our inability to discern either the purpose or the duration of the trial. If we know where our trials are going to lead us, it will help us accept the trial with greater cheer; even if we do not find it possible to consider it "pure joy." In view of such humanness in us, James instructs us to ask God for wisdom. NOT JUST ANY WISDOM, BUT WISDOM TO WEATHER THE TRIALS, AND WISDOM TO LOOK TO THE GOODNESS OF GOD EVEN WHEN WE ARE UNABLE TO LOOK BEYOND THE TRIALS.
JESUS PRAYS
Now, we see the words of Jesus to Peter and the words of the Holy Spirit through James merge into a unified exhortation.
James says we should ask, and not doubt. Jesus told Simon that he prayed for Simon that his faith may not fail. The key to all this is prayer. When we feel God farthest from us, it is time to pray. Pray for deliverance. Pray for strength. God knows we need both. So why be shy to pray for both? Above that, James reminds us to pray for wisdom.
In his conversation with Peter, our Lord told him that he, the Son of God who became the Son of Man, is praying for Peter. In Hebrews, we are told that we all have a high priest, Jesus Christ, who intercedes for us.
There is one grammatical feature I wish to draw your attention. Jesus said that Satan has asked to sift you (plural in Greek), but he told Peter, "But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail." This time the Greek takes the singular 'you'.
Jesus told Peter that he did not just pray for all the disciples, but he prayed for Peter by name. WHEN JESUS INTERCEDES FOR US, IT IS NOT A GENERAL CALL FOR HELP BUT A SPECIFIC INTERCESSION FOR OUR TROUBLES.
Peter was sifted by Satan - severely. He denied our Lord three times. Jesus knew that Peter would fall. But that would not be the end. Peter like the others (with the exception of John) fled in fear. "And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers" Jesus told him.
PETER COULD NOT SEE HIS OWN FAILURE. BUT JESUS COULD. PETER COULD NOT LOVE HIMSELF FOR HIS OWN FAILURE. BUT JESUS LOVED HIM IN SPITE OF HIS FAILURE. PETER THOUGHT HE COULD NO LONGER SERVE JESUS WHEN HE FELL. BUT JESUS TOLD HIM THREE TIMES TO FEED JESUS' SHEEP. PETER COULD NOT SEE THE PIT AND FELL IN. JESUS SHOWED HIM THE HEIGHTS.
When Jesus hung on the cross, he bore our sins. The face of the Father turned from him. At the cross of Christ, he who knew no sin became sin for us. Jesus suffered separation from God the Father, so we will never need suffer separation. In agony, Jesus cried out, "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me!" This separation and cry he suffered so we may never have to utter that cry nor suffer that separation. WE PRAY In times of trouble, we must cling on to the Lord all the more. Often, when I am too depressed to even open the Bible and read (yes, it happens to me too), I sing. Scripture songs, hymns, and choruses will come to my lips as I cry out to God.
For the first time in my life I could not do it. The bad throat I had stayed with me for a long time. (It was only this last week that I could sing again.) So in my troubles I could not even sing to God. Through this, I went on my knees and prayed to the Lord. For my troubles and for those of you who also go through trials. It is good for me to bear your burdens in prayer to the Lord, and for me to pray with my family so they too learn to bear the burdens of others. It is also good that you shared your trials with me while I went through trials, for then, I can call out to the Lord on your behalf with the same passion I have for my trouble, knowing that your trials are no less.
Many moments are spent talking to God. Many more moments are spent just on my knees with groanings that cannot be uttered, as the Spirit makes intercession. At last, I can say the dark cloud has lifted. The sun now shines through again.
(Ironically, it is really dark at this time of the year. The sun sets at about 3.30 p.m. Sometimes, it is dark the whole day, and the lights are perpetually on.) Through the gloom of despair, God has once again been faithful.
It has been a long time since I experienced trouble in this way. I have enjoyed so much blessing from the Lord that I no longer know what it means to be troubled on every side. In all these, I felt the turning point was when I started writing back and asking you all to pray for me. For a time, I tried to be strong for after all, it is my calling to bear your burden and not your calling to bear mine.
When I was at my wit's end, I asked for your prayers. The Lord has heard your prayers. Your prayer is powerful and effective. Your intercession has brought the Lord's protection upon us and strengthened us.
As a nation, and as individuals, we have been blessed with much. I have forgotten the urgent heart cry to God, and the sweetness deliverance brings. In recent weeks, I experienced that all over again. Trials brought me pain. But your prayers opened the gates of heaven. The word of God makes no mistake when it tells us: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, let us count it all joy when we face trials. We will also count it all joy to uphold each other in prayer. From: The Antioch Letter - Vol 4.49 MITA NO. 177/02/96
If you have been blessed by this article, please feel free to distribute this original UNEDITED version freely, provided it is for NON-COMMERCIAL purposes only and due credit is accorded to the author.
Rev. Peter Eng graduated with Bachelor in Theology (1979), Master of Divinity (1985),and Master of Theology (1986) [Grace Seminary, Indiana, USA]. He has planted and pastored churches in Singapore, Malaysia, and the USA. He also served as adjunct lecturer at the Biblical Graduate School of Theology, Singapore. Rev. Peter Eng is now on study leave from his Church (Antioch B-P Church), but continues to minister in writing. He is pursuing his Ph. D in the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. His dissertation is in Lukan studies.
If you have any questions regarding this article, you can contact him at eys@abdn.ac.uk For a FREE subscription by email write to corn1414@mailhost.net
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Prophezine Commentaries
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REALITY CHECK on Y2K
Bob Ippolito
dated 8/25/1999
As we approach our last four months until the Year 2000 rollover, the following scenario seems to be developing:
According to COMPUTERWORLD (8/11/99), a recent Cap Gemini survey of information technology executives at 161 U.S. companies and agencies reports that "Only 48% of the organizations polled expect to have all of their mission-critical systems prepared, and 16% don't expect at least half of their most important systems to be ready."!
According to Nikkei Market Access and Nikkei Computer (8/13/99), "About 60% of large businesses in Japan expect troubles in their systems".
The Times of India reports (8/16/99) that "Large swathes of Asia will pull the plug seconds before the dawn of 2000-stopping planes, trains, and even weapons systems - to combat the computer-crippling millennium bug."
The Courier News reports (8/26/99) - that the heads of the U.S.'s ATM networks are writing reassuring sermons for uses in churches to "help debunk parishioners' fears of a Year 2000 catastrophe".
The bankers are discouraging people from taking out cash. No wonder! The Federal Reserve has only printed up an emergency stash of 200 billion dollars to satisfy a perceived need for some cash by the American people. By contrast, the Bank of Japan alone has printed up a reserve of 330 billion for one bank! The Federal Reserve and the U.S. banking system must be in a state of panic that their system of numbers in computers only works when the public has confidence in their system. If the public loses some of that confidence, then the system won't work, and they know it. So they need to make the public look foolish to want their own money, in order to protect their system. They will try to make it look like WE broke OUR system by wanting to hold some of OUR money which we entrusted to THEM. This sounds more like strong-arming and intimidation.
Within the U.S.
In the United States, much money has been spent, huge efforts are at work, and great progress has been made to remediate Y2K bug related problems in the critical systems of Banks, most large corporations and agencies of the Federal Government. Much of the progress is also due, in large part, to the attention and pressure that has been brought to bear on the issue by those alert people who have been uncharitably and unappreciatively called "alarmists" by a society that had been allowing its leaders and captains of industry to fall asleep at the helm. The Y2K alarm was a necessary "wake-up call" to avoid or minimize the chaos that has been fast approaching with an immovable deadline.
Because of this progress, the U.S. will probably not "shut down" during the Dec 31, 1999 to Jan 1, 2000 rollover.
In spite of this progress, there are many hidden problems that will begin to become obvious and increasingly serious as the year progresses. Y2K has never been an issue of the compliance of any one computer, but it is a concern and a potential threat in view of our 'just in time' inventory, high precision, highly interconnected, computerized World.
It has never been a question of "will anyone get done in time", but has always been a certainty that not everyone will get done in time. The fix has always been simple. But for especially large and old computers, remediation should have begun many years ago. For those that did not, there simply isn't enough time to do it properly or thoroughly. This has been well known by those who intimately understand the task.
It has never been a question of getting most of it or 95% of it done, but that in the world of the computer, 95% is not good enough. Nor is 99%, for that matter. How would you like to be in the 1% who had their account 100%
erased?
It has never been only an issue of "fixing and testing certainty" before the rollover, but also, of the additional uncertainty of what will happen with inaccessible embedded chips and their effect on systems, which can only be known after the actual rollover. Even with a calculated failure rate of only 0.04% for these chips, when considering the estimated 50 BILLION that are out there, this still calculates out to about 20 MILLION failures. But "which ones" and "where are they"?
· Federal Agencies and the Military have been self-reporting on their progress, and have been criticized by the GAO for definitions and procedures.
· Some of the Federal Agencies and the Military have been meeting their own self-assigned progress target dates by simply dropping numbers of "critical systems" off of the "critical systems" lists.
· What about the "non-critical" systems? How much will these systems cause services to be curtailed? And which services?
· State Agencies are farther behind than are the Federal Agencies.
· Municipalities and Utilities are farther behind than the States.
· Many are reporting that they will get their faulty code repaired in time, but all along it has been known that they also needed to begin exhaustively testing their completed fixes a year in advance, and have the fixes certified by outside experts. Few, if any, have accomplished this. The Social Security Administration was the first to start remediation back in 1989 and isn't 100%
done; most other agencies only started one to three years ago, yet are making incredible claims of miraculous progress.
· Many small to medium size businesses will simply opt to go out of business.
· Many tests that have been done have only been partial (like the FAA on three cities' systems) or "staged" (like the NERC, to guarantee a positive result rather than to really "test" the system).
· Estimates on repair costs keep rising (Bloomberg News 8/20/99). If they are all (as they claim) "almost done", then why are the cost estimates still rising?
Very little of what can fail will show up during the rollover; most of the disruptions will be the result of systemic failures and cascading effects of disruptions in the supply chains. That's why they are called "chains". You only have to break one link in order to break the whole chain.
Outside of the U.S.:
Although many countries like England, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others are making reasonable progress, others like Germany and France are behind because they started late. Many other countries and areas like China, Russia, Italy, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, Central America and even entire continents like Africa and South America have been doing next to nothing to repair their systems. These areas may be facing major disruptions in the form of power outages, bank runs, communications breakdowns and supply shortages.
Although some countries are less computerized than others, most do have Banks, Airlines, Communications, Utilities, Military, etc., and these are computerized and linked to the rest of the World's systems. Only 25% to 30%
of the nations of the World will be well prepared; that is, those who are going to have significant problems, will outnumber those who don't, by a factor of 3 or 4 to one!
The Affect on the U.S.
The disruptions in these areas will arrive on the shores of the U.S. in the form of supply -chain breakdowns and shortages in imported food, oil and manufactured goods as we are the World's largest "consumer" nation, running a record Trade Deficit. Some of these effects will not be felt immediately after the rollover, but they WILL find their way to us.As an example, a stoppage in the flow of oil or coal deliveries can bring any U.S.-based, energy-gobbling, electricity-producing utility to its knees just as easily as would an uncorrected Y2K bug.
The State Department will begin issuing travel advisories in September for U.S. Citizens about which countries to avoid. The U.S. Government will consider evacuating American Citizens from countries with widespread failures. Each U.S. Ambassador will make that decision.
We surely live in a Global, International Economy and we cannot escape unscathed. We are not in this alone; it is Community Earth and those who 'think' they are prepared can be brought down by those who definitely are not prepared.
Special note to Bible-believing Christians:
It has never been a Y2K issue, but a Tribulation issue. The World stands on the brink of the onset of the events prophesied in the Book of Revelation, and the Y2K problems will seem tame by comparison. But they may be the "time of sorrows" that will usher us into Tribulation and The Great Tribulation.
Spiritual and physical preparation would simply be wise. If you see or hear a storm coming, take heed.
Bob Ippolito - Asst. Editor - Prophezine
Founder and editor - The Watchman's Trumpet -
http://pages.prodigy.net/hippolytus
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Bewitched by Harry Potter
by Berit Kjos <crossroad.to>
"You're famous, Harry Potter."
It's true! This prophetic remark in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the first in a seven-book series on popular witchcraft, was fulfilled in record time. The first three books hit the world - schools, libraries, and the New York Times best-sellers list - like a spiritual tidal wave, breaking down barriers to the secret and forbidden mysteries of the ages and captivating children around the world.
Just look around. You can spot some of the committed Hogwarts fans by the purple thunderbolt stickers on their foreheads. This mark bonds them to Harry, an embattled student wizard with amazing powers and an enticingly scary destiny.
Harry, like other students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry travels back and forth between two worlds: the mystical world of magic and the mundane world of muggles - those boring, blinded, and biased humans who either don't believe in the world of witches or who despise it as evil. Harry's cruel aunt and uncle fit the last category. And, from Harry's point of view, so would you if you see witchcraft as dangerous and demonic.
The skinny, green-eyed kid with glasses and a thunder-bolt scar under a shock of unruly black hair makes a sympathetic hero. Orphaned at age one, Harry mysteriously survived a murderous assault by the wicked wizard Lord Voldemort. This scary villain, whom more timid wizards dare only refer to as "Who Must Not Be Named," killed Harry's parents. When he tried but failed to kill their one-year-old baby, Voldemort lost much of his power. The thunderbolt scar on Harry's forehead marks his peculiar psychic strength and triumph over evil.
For the next ten years, Harry lives a miserable muggle life in his uncle's London home, constantly tormented by his cruel guardians and a spoiled bully of a cousin. But on his eleventh birthday everything changes. He discovers that he is a wizard of great fame, someone who once conquered death and crippled a devilish foe. Even better, he receives an acceptance to Hogwarts - a coveted boarding school for aspiring wizards.
The haunted grounds of Hogwarts may be out-of-this-world, but with its blend of earthly familiarity and practical magic, it has captivated more than seven million minds. Adults and children alike have, in their imagination, followed Harry through that mystical veil between ordinary reality and occult fantasy. Most find it hard to put the book down once they start it, and when finished, many read it again and again. Immersed in this mystical world of spiritual forces, they feel Harry's struggles and share his fears. They sit with him through his classes on Potions, Spells, Transformation ("turning something into something else") and Divination, and, like him, learn some tricks of the old Craft. They sense the pain of his miserable return visits to London, and they soar with him above the earth on a magical and magnificent broomstick.
Delightfully gruesome images and scary creatures become part of their memory, for the author, Joanne K. Rowling, knows how to make her characters come alive in a reader's mind. "Oh, but it's just fantasy," you may argue. "We were raised on scary tales. It can't hurt."
Actually it's not that simple. The stories and the times have changed, making the new generation of children far more vulnerable to deception than we were. Consider some of the changes:
1. Different times and culture. Unlike most children today, their parents and grandparents were raised in a culture that was, at least outwardly, based on Biblical values. Whether they were Christian or not, they usually accepted traditional moral and spiritual boundaries. Even the old fairy tales I heard as a child in Norway tended to reinforce this Christian worldview or paradigm. The good hero would win over evil forces without using "good" magic to overcome evil magic. Social activities didn't include Ouija Boards, Seances, and an assortment of popular occult role-playing games. Nor did friends, schools or Girl Scouts tempt children to alter their consciousness and invoke the presence of an "animal spirit" or "wise person." Occult experimentation was not an option.
Today children learn their values and world view from a variety of sources. The entertainment industry is one of the most persuasive agents of cultural awareness, and it usually teaches global and occult values, since that's what their global market buys. In fact, children have become so familiar with profanity, occultism, and explicit sex, that they barely notice - just as in Old Testament days: "They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to return. . . . No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush." (Jeremiah 8:5,12)
2. Different type of fantasy. Books, movies, games, and television all involve the imagination, and the specific fantasy directs the child's imagination. In other words, the imaginary scenes and images in books and movies are not neutral.
As with guided imagery, the child's feelings and responses are manipulated by the author's view and values. For example, the stories and books children read in the classroom are usually selected or approved by each state because their message teaches the new global values, and because they provide useful discussion topics for the manipulative consensus process. "Good stories capture the heart, mind, and imagination and are an important way to transmit values," writes Louise Derman-Sparks in the influential Anti-Bias Curriculum: Tools for Empowering Young Children, which is full of classsroom strategies for eroding traditional boundaries and teaching the new spirituality.
Books such as the Harry Potters series fit, because they reinforce the global and occult perspective. Page after exciting page brings the reader into the timeless battle between good and evil, then trains them to see the opposing forces from a pagan, not a Biblical perspective. In this mystical realm, "good" occult spirits are naturally pitted against bad occult spirits, just as in pagan cultures where frightened victims would offer sacrifices to "benevolent" spirits who could help ward off evil curses and other threats. Few readers realize that from the Biblical perspective, all occult forces are dangerous. But today, it seems more tolerant and exciting to believe this illusion than to oppose the lies. The words of Old Testament prophet Isaiah ring as true now as they did over 2000 years ago: "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil...." (Isaiah 5:20)
3. Different purpose. Children don't read Harry Potter merely to reach the conclusion and resolve the suspense. Many read the books over and over because they delight in identifying with the "good" characters in this newly discovered world. They build memories based on felt experiences in an occult virtual reality, and they are desentitized to the danger. The talent and knowledge of the author makes this seductive world all the more believable.
Just ponder these bits of Hogwarts theology:
Professor Snape who taught Potions: "I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses...." 1
* A Centaur's views on astrology - "We have sworn not to set ourselves against the heaven. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets? ....Or have the planets not let you in on that secret?" 2
* "He is with me wherever I go," said Quirrell quietly, referring to Voldmort. "I met him when I traveled around the world. A foolish young man I was then, full of ridiculous ideas about good and evil. Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was. There is no good and evil , there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.... Since then, I have served him faithfully." 3
Headmaster Dumbledore: "To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." 4
* Hagrid, the grounds-keeper at Hogwarts, telling Harry about the strange power that saved his life, "Happened when a powerful, evil curse touches you - didn't work on you, and that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he [Voldemort] decided ter kill 'em, no one except you..." 5 [Harry seems almost Christ-like, doesn't he, with his wound or mark, his psychic powers, and his victory over death and Voldemort.]
Once introduced to spiritism, astrology, palmistry, shape-shifting, time-travel (the third book) and the latest version of popular occultism, many crave more. They can easily find it. In their neighborhoods and schools, our children are surrounded by peers who are fascinated by occult empowerment and would love to share their fun discoveries. Few children have the Biblical knowledge or discernment needed to evaluate good and evil or to resist such threats to their faith.
4. Different kind of classroom. It's not surprising that Harry has suddenly soared to the peaks of popularity in schools across the country. His story fits right into the international program for multicultural education. The envisioned global community calls for a common set of values which excludes traditional beliefs as intolerant and narrow - just as the Harry Potter books show. The Biblical God simply doesn't fit into his world of wizards, witches, and other gods.
Feminist writer Naomi Goldenberg knows that well. In her book, Changing of the Gods, she predicts that "God is going to change....We, women are going to bring an end to God. We will change the world so much that He won't fit in anymore." She and other radical feminists must appreciate Ms Rowling's part in this process.
Of course, God will never change. But people, beliefs, and cultures do. And some changes, such as today's cultural shift away from loving God to hating His truths, have occurred a multitude of times. The words Jesus spoke to His followers long ago now fit our times: "If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. . . . because they do not know Him who sent Me."
(John 15:20-21)
5. A different education system. UNESCO's "lifelong learning," now being implemented through Goals 2000, takes education far beyond the boundaries of the classroom. Its goal is socialization and preparation for a global workforce. Everyone - in homes, schools, and workplace - must be mentally prepared to participate in the consensus process. In the name of "unity" and "community," people of all ages must help form new values, challenge contrary beliefs, report non-compliant friends and relatives, and oppose all other obstacles to compromise, "common ground" and "mental health."
There are many ways to persuade the masses to reject uncompromising Christianity and embrace a changeable blend of all kinds of religions - including a cross-less and universalist perversion of Christianity. Schools do it through books such as the Harry Potter series, through multicultural and environmental education, and by integrating social issues and politically correct ideology into more mundane subjects such as math and science. The media does it by selective reporting, redefining words like "fundamental," vilifying labels such as extremist, religious right and homeschoolers, and by equating such groups with narrow-minded bigotry and hate.
Harry Potter's author does it by creating a captivating world where strength, wisdom, love, hope - all the good gifts God promises those who follow Him - are now offered to those who pursue occult thrills. Likewise, her main characters demonstrate all the admirable traits our God commends: kindness, courage, loyalty, etc. But muggles, who are blind to these mystical forces, are pictured as mean, cruel, narrow and self-indulgent. These subtle messages, hidden behind exciting stories, turn Truth upside-down. But fascinated readers rarely notice the deception. This power-filled realm with its charms and spells soon becomes normal as well as addictive to those who immerse their minds with its seductive images.
The Harry Potter books, first introduced in England, are unlikely to fade from public consciousness in the near future. Scholastic, a major provider of popular books for classroom use, bought the rights to publish the books in the United States. Devoted readers who can't wait for the sequel to be distributed in the U.S. are purchasing it on the Internet from Amazon.com's British division [see reviews]. The series has already caused great consternation among those who fear the seven books will eventually crowd out adult fiction on the coveted New York Times best-sellers list. This concern will surely grow, since Warner Brothers (owned by Time Warner) bought rights to the live-action movie.
It's not too soon to prepare your child for the increasing peer pressure to conform to the new social standards.
HOW TO RESIST DECEPTION KNOW THE TRUE GOD. When children know God as He has revealed Himself in His Word, they will recognize the seductive counterfeits.
SHUN OTHER GODS. It's tempting to believe the beckoning voices that display enticing counterfeits of all God's wonderful promises. The power is within yourself, they say. Don't listen to the lies. Instead, take this sober warning to heart:
"When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you. Be careful that you do not forget... Otherwise... your heart will become proud.... You may say to yourself, 'My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.'... "If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods...you will surely be destroyed."
(Deuteronomy 8:10-20)
The Harry Potter books are every bit as spiritual as Christian literature, but the spiritual power they promote comes from the same source as all "other gods." If you treasure God's truth, may I suggest you encourage your children not to read these books? I know such parental intervention sounds grossly offensive, in fact, downright muggleish, to children who love Harry's magical world and reject Biblical absolutes. Yet, just as "progressive" leaders fear the influence of Biblical truth on budding world citizens, so Christians parents need to guard their children against all kinds of occult "counsel:"
"Blessed is the man [including child and woman] who -walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of mockers;
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night." (Psalm 1:1-6)
REMEMBER HISTORY'S LESSONS. The witchcraft and wizardry in Harry Potter books may be fantasy, but they familiarize children with a very real and increasingly popular religion - one that few really understand. Far removed from the terrors of tribal witchcraft and shamanism, Americans are oblivious to the bondages that normally follow occult favors. But historical and archeological records have traced the earth-centered myths, practices, and consequences through the millennia. These records show that pagan cultures have always been tormented by wars, disease, droughts and famine.
Often that list included savage torture, mutilation and human sacrifice. So it's not surprising the Ms Rowling has warned that, starting with her 4th book, the series will grow darker. Some good characters "that the reader cares about" will have to die.6
SHARE GOD'S LOVE WITH EVERYONE. God's way to multicultural understanding and global unity is essential today. He cares for people in every culture, longs to set them free, and wants to love them through us. Harry Potter may conquor evil forces with witchcraft, but in the real spiritual world, no pagan power can counter the frightening consequences of dealing with demons. Only God can. That's why He has sent missionaries to all parts of the world to bring His peace, love, and release from demonic bondage.
Keep in mind, only Christian love has motivated individuals to leave Western comforts (soft beds, safe food and water, etc.) to serve and heal those who live with unthinkable physical hardships and the constant threat of curses, spells, and other spiritual dangers. His genuine love - as demonstrated through His faithful servants - can't even be compared to the notion of politically correct "tolerance" so widely promoted today.
DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR YOUR FAITH. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:7) That sounds exclusive to some, but don't forget, His loving invitation includes everyone.
REMEMBER THAT GOD IS FAR GREATER! By ourselves we cannot resist "the devil's schemes," but in Christ we are "more than conquerors." Thanks be to God who leads us in His triumph! (1 John 4:4, Romans 8:37)
PRAY. Only God can slow the massive international movement toward conformity to pagan beliefs and values. In a nation that has traded truth and reality for politically correct tolerance and unity, Christians are called to remain faithful, prayerful and hopeful in Christ, who offers genuine love and unity.
WEAR GOD'S ARMOR--a set of strategic truths that exposes and counters every deception. When we "put on the whole armor," God fills us with His life even as He covers us.7 Don't forget that our real enemy is the spiritual hierarchy of occult forces, not globalist educators or well-meaning teachers. Only God's power and protection will enable our children to resist and triumph.
"They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you," says the LORD, "to deliver you."
iJeremiah 1:19
Endnotes:
1. J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (New York: Scholastic Inc., 1997); p.137.
2. Ibid., p. 257.
3. Ibid., 291.
4. Ibid., 302.
5. Ibid., 55.
6. Paul Gray, "Wild About Harry," Time (September 20, 1999); page 72.
7. See also Romans 13:14, John 14:20
Berit Kjos at www.crossroad.to
andy-berit@crossroad.to
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Bible Study
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Email from a Skeptic: Why Does God Allow Evil?
by Mark Eastman, M.D.
In my experience, it is the most commonly asked question by honest skeptics: "If God is real, if God is personal, if God loves us, why does God allow evil?" A proper understanding of this issue not only provides great insight into the nature of God, it ties together a comprehensive understanding to some of life's ultimate questions: the answers to my origin, meaning, morality and destiny!
Email from A Skeptic
The question of evil was brought into clearer focus in an email I recently received from a skeptic:
The Christian worldview is an impractical, even phony, view of the Cosmos because it embraces a God who is either incapable of stopping evil and suffering, and he is therefore not omnipotent, or is unwilling to do so and therefore a devil!
The skeptic's point is well taken because the Bible states that one of God's attributes is love. "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (I
John 4:8) In the book of Romans, Paul the Apostle stated that the invisible attributes of God "are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead."1 However, what the skeptic is saying, in effect, is this: "If your God is love, I see no evidence of that attribute in creation. All the death, disease, pain and suffering seems to be out of place if this God of yours is love. Surely an all-powerful God could, and a loving God would, eliminate all evil. Since evil exists, then no such God exists."
To answer this objection we need to examine some principles of logic, the nature of God, the nature of man, the nature of love and the nature of evil.
Evil and Moral Law
When someone states that they do not believe in God because a good God would not allow evil, they make a fatal error in logic. First, the recognition of evil
is the recognition that certain actions are "right" and certain actions are "wrong." But how do we determine what actions are morally right and morally wrong? We discern this on the basis of a moral law: a universal sense that certain states of affairs are right and others are wrong. Even most atheists will admit that certain actions are universally wrong and, conversely, universally right.
For example, no one could seriously argue with the statement that it is better to love a child than to torture it. The point is that there is an innate, universal sense of right and wrong within all of us. What is the basis of this moral sense? Some would argue that it is based on cultural customs or traditions. But can this be so?
The famous atheist Bertrand Russell once debated a Christian who asked him if he believed in right and wrong. Russell replied "of course." Then he asked him how he determined what is right and wrong. Russell replied that he determined right and wrong on the basis of his feelings. His opponent replied, "Well, in some cultures they feel it is okay to eat you, and in others they don't. Which do you prefer." The point is that social customs, attitudes, traditions or feelings cannot determine a universal sense of right and wrong.
A universal sense of moral right and wrong can only come from a source outside of ourselves: a transcendent source, a moral Lawgiver. So the recognition of moral law is by default the recognition of a moral Lawgiver. To argue that the existence of evil proves that there is no God is equivalent to stating that the existence of moral law proves that there is no Lawgiver! It's like declaring that the Chrysler automobile that I drive proves without a doubt that there is no Chrysler Motor Company!
Atheists often present the problem of evil to theists as if it is a fatal argument for the existence of God. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, it is an absolutely unsolvable problem for the atheist. How does the atheist explain evil-the sense of moral right and wrong-in the absence of a moral Lawgiver? They can't! If there is no moral Lawgiver, then there is no way to explain the sense of moral wrong and moral right we all possess. C.S. Lewis said that evil is God's megaphone to a non-believing world. Evil speaks of moral law. Moral law demands a moral Lawgiver, and it is He that we call God!
Evil Often Begets Good
A second principle of logic we need to consider is the fact that an apparently evil state of affairs will often bring about an even better state of affairs. The problem is that we often do not recognize this fact until we have the advantage of hindsight. In my own field of medicine I see this on a daily basis: the process of childbirth, surgical intervention, and many medical therapies often present physical pain (an evil state of affairs according to non-theists), and yet they bring about an even better state of affairs: improved health. Physical pain is often highly beneficial as well. When a child touches a hot stove, the nervous system sends a neurological signal to the brain which is perceived as pain (a form of evil). Yet without that sense of pain, an even worse state of affairs would arise: the destruction of the limb.
The skeptic might object that while this provides a partial answer to the problem of evil, it does not address some of the most disturbing forms of evil:
war, murder, rape, incest and the senseless death of the innocent.
God, Freedom, and Evil
The problem of human evil is rooted in the nature of God and the nature of love and the nature of mankind. I argued in last month's Personal UPDATE that God is a personal being because an impersonal force is an insufficient agent to create personal beings.2 What is the greatest passion of personal beings? I would argue that, above all else, personal beings desire personal relationships with other personal beings. So it makes sense that God, as a personal being, would desire to create us in such a way that He could have a meaningful, personal, and loving relationship with us.
But this has a severe price.
Let us consider the nature of love and its consequences. I cannot experience love from you unless you have the capacity to do otherwise. If you have the capacity to not love me, and you choose instead to love me, then that choice has validity. It has meaning. You cannot have a love relationship with a computer. It is pre-programmed to serve you. Love requires choice: unencumbered choice. And that's where the problem lies.
When God created mankind, He too had a choice. If He created us as beings that were pre-programmed to follow and serve Him, there could be no love. But, if He created us with the capacity of choice, the capacity to love and serve Him, and the capacity not to do so, then there is the possibility of relationship: the possibility of real love. As a personal being with the capability of creating us in the first place, it makes sense that He would want to create us as personal beings with the capability of choice (free will) and, thus, the capability of love.
But where there is choice and the capability of love, there is also the capability to choose wrong and to do great evil.
But the skeptic says, "why did God do this when he knew in advance that the result of free will would be so disastrous? Did this God of love not care that war, murder, rape and so much senseless violence would be the result of his choice to give us free will?" A real life illustration will help us to understand.
The Love of a Mother
During my 15 years as a physician I have seen an enormous amount of physical suffering. During that time I have had five children in my practice die by disease and injury. All of these children came from Christian families. Several months after the death of one of these children, the child's mother was in my office and was very distraught over her loss. She asked me, "Why did God allow this? I love God. Why did this happen?"
What could I say in this situation? Rather than providing an answer I asked her this question. "You have three children. One of them has died. If you could go back to the time before you had any children, with the knowledge that one of them would die this horrible death, would you have children again?"
After a long pause, with many tears in her eyes and a broken heart she said, "Oh yes. Oh yes. yes I would. Because, you see, the love and the joy and the happiness I have received from my children far outweighs the pain, suffering and misery I experienced from the loss of that one child. Oh yes. Oh yes. I would have children again."
In this tragic story we see an incredible insight as to why God allows evil to exist. As discussed earlier, a loving God can allow an evil state of affairs to exist if, in allowing it to occur, it brings about an even better state of affairs. For this woman, the loss of her child was an unequalled and tragic evil. But, with the advantage of hindsight, she said she would do it all again because the love she received as a result of being a mother outweighed the evil state of affairs in the death of her child.
In the hypothetical scenario I presented to this woman, with the advantage of hindsight (foreknowledge in this case) she was in a position comparable to God's before He created humankind. Because He is outside time and knows all things, He knew that there would be tremendous pain and suffering as a result of His decision to create a people with the capacity of choice and, consequently, the capacity to sin (moral evil).
But God, like this mother, knew that the love He and his human creatures would experience would outweigh the pain and suffering that would result from His decision to create us as He did. But the consequences of God's decision were not unforeseen. They were foreknown!
The Incredible Answer
The skeptic that emailed me stated, in effect, that if an all-powerful God did not eliminate evil, then He was a devil! The implication is that the removal of all evil would permit a better, more loving world. A truly loving God, the skeptics assert, would have desired and created such a world because it is clearly superior to the one we have. Any God that did not follow this logic was not a God of love, but an evil tyrant.
As we have seen, this logic crumbles under its own weight. The existence of evil is the "side effect" of creating a world with love. But as we have seen, there are compelling arguments that a world possessing both evil and love is superior to a world where neither is possible. For God to eliminate evil, He would have to eliminate our capacity of choice and thus our capacity to do both evil and good. And such a world is inferior to the one we have: one where love is possible, despite its inherent evil. What kind of God would do this? Only one kind. A God of love.
Why does a God of love allow evil? Because He is a God of LOVE
So Great a Salvation
So, how practical is Christianity? The Bible presents an infinite Creator with the very attributes we would expect when we examine the things that are made. And God, as a personal Being, in order that He might have a love relationship with us, gave us the capacity of choice. In order that we might have a practical revelation of His love, His wisdom, His power, His glory, He became one of us in the person of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
In order that we might not suffer the penalty of our evil choices (sin), He, like a loving father, paid the penalty for our sins. He allowed his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be murdered on a Roman cross (arguably the most evil act in the history of the universe, if He is indeed God's Son). But this act of great evil gave rise to an even better state of affairs, and the greatest act of love in the universe: paying the penalty for the wrong choices we make, which were the result of the way He created us in the first place! In the cross of Christ He has provided a full pardon from the consequences of the evil in our lives. Consequently, we cannot look to God and declare that He is unfair. Far from being a devil, in this examination of the problem of evil, God becomes the hero of the plot and the solution to the problem of evil. And it all hinges on LOVE. Indeed, God is love.3 What must we do to receive this pardon?
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
Notes:
1. Romans 1:18-20.
2. Personal UPDATE, May 1999.
3. For those that would like an in-depth treatment of the problem of evil and a God of love, I highly recommend Alvin Plantinga's book, God, Freedom and Evil.
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Poems...etc.
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A Prayer for the Lost
Lord, open the eyes of the spiritually blind
And help them to realize--there isn't much time!
Life is a vapor which passes away
And the time of Your coming draws closer each day.
The stakes are eternal--this isn't a game!
The prince of this world won't relinquish his claim;
Souls have been blinded, deceived, and enslaved;
They won't admit they are lost--how can they be saved?
Lord, open their ears--why haven't they heard?
Soften their hearts to the truth of Your word.
They are walking in darkness where the Enemy reigns
Only You can release them from their bondage and chains.
Loose them, unbind them! Let Your truth set them free!
Take the scales from their eyes and allow them to see!
Call them and draw them to step out in faith;
Until, snatched from the fire, they are saved by Your grace!
-Lori Fiechter 3-8-97
