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A__________ Wrote: I am in the U.S.C.G. I have no reason why I joined other than to stay out of trouble. I listen to Jack Van Impe and I know the government is up to no good. I really do not trust them. Now I am hearing we are not allowed to take leave on new years. I want to go home and help my mother build her Church in the last days. What should I do? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- B'Ann wrote: What do you mean by last days? What do you mean by "your mama's church"? If someone were really serious about a ministry, then the coast guard would a great place to start witnessing. Such witnessing would not be as easy as being at home with a family's support; however, the believer is not always called to where it is "easy." As anyone can tell you who loves the Lord and wants to share Him with others, witnessing can be a strange thing at times. Most of us think we have to be a red hot, Scripture quoting, hallelujah mouthing, sometimes loud and intrusive person. But I have found that people are looking for something consistent. One can quietly live a life that reflects the Scriptures and people will seek out such a person for help and counsel. Also, one cannot be effective for Christ if he/she shrinks from owning His name. When it comes to serving Christ, those who think that they have to be one of the "good, ole boys," well, they can forget it—and this applies to "mom’s church," the coast guard, or wherever. Don Wrote: You say that you joined the USCG to stay out of trouble. If this implies that you were of a rebellious spirit at the time, then let me give a word from the Apostle Paul. "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before; I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Php. 3:13). It is one of the attributes of God's grace to not only forgive, but to forget all sin that is placed under the blood of Christ by a repentant heart. It was from Paul's understanding of this characteristic of God that he was able to not only say this, but to live believing this to be so. Likewise, anyone who believes that God so honors His Son's atoning work at Calvary, can function in like manner: i.e., they can wake up each morning as though they were a new person and walk with God as though they had not sinned. I know (and God knows) that this takes faith, but after all, we are called to a life of faith. It is as the writer of Hebrews put it: "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Heb. 11:6). Myself personally, I have found Paul's advice and His example to be encouraging and acceptable to God. As to anyone preaching and teaching in the name of Christ that our government is evil and untrustworthy—well, that may be their thing to do. But as I read the Scriptures I see where we are taught to "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God" (Rom. 13:1). Consequently, If I am unhappy with those who have the rule over me, then I need to look to myself, and get the "two-by-four" out of my own eye that I might be able to see the "splinter" in the eyes of others. In other words, it seems to me that we get the government that we want and that we deserve. If we want a "playboy" government, well, we'd better be prepared to take all that goes with it. If we want to live for God and be a blessing to one another, then God will reciprocate and our governing forces will be a blessing. And as to what you should do? Well, like all of us, you should do as the Bible commands—beginning with repentance toward God and obedience to His Word and His will. And as to His will, to all who seek Him, wanting sincerely to serve Him, He will make His will known. That is the promise of God, and God cannot lie! |
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S_______ WROTE:
Hi Don, I wrote you about 4 or 5 weeks ago and received no reply. I have read quite a bit of your message and I would still like to study it more before I feel that it is the right message. There are so many theories, people guessing and this makes it difficult to be sure of which one is right. Most people have as much passion for their belief's as you do. I sincerely believe they are good people. However this is not what I wrote to you
about. If you do not have my e-mail, I will look it up and Hello S_______, First, let me apologize for the delay in answering your WRAP AROUND. However, I find myself spread pretty thin right now; and there are only so many hours in a day. Also, be sure to understand that the wife and I do not answer the comments and questions of our fellow cybernauts without much prayer and thought (and sometimes, much research). We feel that our DOWEKNOW web site is a part of our ministry; therefore, we do not take it lightly. For this reason, we must feel that we have the mind of the Lord in our response or we won't respond. We know you are interested in our comments or you would not have sent your WRAP; consequently, we try to answer each WRAP AROUND as though we were on the other end of the E-mail. Bear with us in this and the Lord will bless us all in our patience. Now, for our comments. As you know, one of the responsibilities of a pastor is to intercede (touch God) on the behalf of those put in his charge. I've prayed about your situation and it comes to me that this is simply your walk; and for your walk, you have the responsibility to receive from God on your own. Myself personally, I feel that God would not be pleased if I went to anyone but Him regarding my call. In fact, I have learned from experience to triple check any word (so called) from another concerning any aspect of my relationship with God. You know full well the Scripture: "And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow..." (John 10:4-5). You also know the Scripture that we are to cast our cares upon Him for He cares for us. At the least, out of all of this, you have opportunity to learn that He can and will meet all of your needs, personal and otherwise. Personally speaking, as a pastor I found that before I could in confidence tell another about the keeping love and power of my Savior, it was needful that I know that love and keeping power in my own life, first. I also feel that God is not pleased with me going to another for a "word" from Him if I have not first gone to HIS WORD, THE BIBLE. It has been my observation through the years that too many of the Lord's babies just do not know what is in HIS WORD--although I know that in America this hardly seems possible with so many Bibles in so many homes. Nevertheless, as a result, babes-in-Christ are prone to be led here and there by every wind of doctrine and by strange spirits. Therefore, my council to you is: pour over the Word of God as you have never done before--not just reading it, but in a systematic method that will help you to understand and retain it riches. Also, be aware that the world is full of those who want to do your thinking for you and thereby control your life. For this reason, I would stay away from any man-made study guides. Arm yourself with at least these two weapons: The Thompson Study Bible and the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. (Both of these are free of any interpretations, they only help you to travel through the Bible.)--always keeping in mind that the Holy Spirit is your teacher, that He will guide you into all truth! (By the way, the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance is up on the web in many good Bible Study sites. If you will search our site, you will find links to what we consider to be the best.) Your fellow sojourner, I'm sorry that you found confusion and hurt in a body that was supposed to represent the
love of Christ. In the matter of salary, social security checks, marriage…I do hope
you considered the laws of the land in this regard. If you will read all the WRAP-AROUND
pages, you will find where we gave our opinion about marriages within the church body. You
did not say whether you married your wife before of after you became a Christian. If it
was before, then you are bound by the laws of the land and the responsibilities that the
government requires of you in regard to the legal contract called the marriage license. If
you married her after you were a Christian, then, you either were not aware of the
scripture that admonishes Christians not to be "unequally yoked together" or you
chose to ignore it. Either way, the group that you were in fellowship with had no right to
tell you to break a personal commitment. They are not even involved in it. This is a
contract between two people and hopefully God as the marriage counselor. If she was not
acting correctly, then the scriptures tell us we must pray for those who are weak. How
many times?-70 x70; so, it would appear that we have a great responsibility to the lost.
As you state, you feel she is in a lost state. I need to remind you that WHATEVER drew you
to her and caused you to CHOOSE her as a life-long mate is still there. Just because you
became a Christian does not mean that she is now repulsive to you. Just because she has an
affliction in the flesh does not or should not cause her to be unlovely to you. If you
don't like the way her hair looks, then cut it or take her to the beauty shop. (My husband
cuts my hair just the way I like it). If she needs to be perked up a bit, then buy her
some perfume. (I use a fragrance called Chantilly and it isn't too expensive). If you will
look upon her as a gift, this will cause you to grow in compassion and in patience. Then the resentment will go away and a peace will come. How can you minister to the sick
people in the hospitals if you cannot manage an illness in your home? Think about the
daily care the hospital patients receive. If your wife gets a pension, then she certainly
has some worth, and you need to provide for her well being. I am not telling you to pet
sin/misbehavior. I'm telling you to pet your wife. If you will honor her in that position,
not necessarily her behavior in that position, then on the authority of the Scriptures,
you can know that you have God working in the midst of your problem. The institution of
marriage was instituted before the institution of the church. (Read Genesis again.)
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YOU
WROTE: As the WRAPs accumulate, we've noticed repetitive themes developing. So, if you will allow us, we will try to answer some of the common concerns and questions with one answer instead of with individual WRAPs. Hopefully, this will add dimension to our answers and let us deal more completely with the subjects of your comments/questions.
When we initiated the WRAP AROUND, we did so with the intention of answering every response that appeared to be sincere—the only restrictions being our time and the number of WRAPs we receive. However, the comments that appear in this particular response did give us reason to pause for a moment. Did we want to be "politically correct" and not be honest to our original commitment? After all, if we answered truthfully what we felt to be sincere, seeking questions, we might well offend the Catholics and the Protestants, then who would be left to visit our site? Or did we want to share what light we feel that we have on the matter in the prayer that it will bring light to others? Well, you guessed it! So here goes! One overall theme in your WRAP AROUNDs has to do with concerns about the practices of the Catholic Church; e.g., their icons, their hail Mary's, their praying to the Virgin Mary and departed saints, etc. And these are just a few of their practices that are unacceptable to the Protestant churches because they not taught in the King James Version of the Bible.To begin our reply to your questions and comments, let me quote from our book MARK THEM (one of the two books included on our web site):
(Romans 14:3b) Yea he [the believer being judged by others in the church] shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. Oh, don't let this slip by Church; for not only is God able to make us stand,
but we shall be holden up!"
It is obvious in this passage that Paul wanted the believers to see that because of their common faith, they were brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, and they should treat one another as such. To make his point Paul chose the differences in the way that the religious of his day dealt with one another over the issue of food in their forms of worship. Apparently, the subject of food in religions was a wedge between the people, causing them to distrust and even hate one another in the name of their religions. By addressing the petty religious differences that was cropping up in the new Church, the fruit of old mindsets, Paul was trying to teach them the things of real value in the New Testament between God and man. And in the doing, he was setting down a guideline for the Grace Age Church. (Unfortunately, as history can attest, this guideline has been too often ignored.) Looking at the problems in Paul's day can help us understand today's spiritual arena wherein brothers and sisters in Christ suspect one another of being devils simply because they have not been taught alike. But let me lay one more idea into the foundation for our thoughts. When Jesus visited the earth the first time, it was at the time of Israel's first prophetic night watch. (See The Clock of the Ages, booklet seven, chapter 28.) Of Israel at that time—the church of that day if you will—Jesus said that their worship of God had turned into an empty exercise because their hearts were farfrom God. Also, as we've attempted to explain thoroughly in our book The Clock of the Ages, the four night watches of Israel often foreshadow one another (See booklet two, chapter 5.). This being so, the same distancing fromGod and the same empty religiosity will find its counterpart during the Tribulation Period at the end of our age. That is, many Grace Age churches will have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof (II Tim. 3:1-5). This being the case, as we draw nearer and nearer to the end of our age, one can't help but wonder if a good part of the religious exercises and practices of those in the Protestant denominations/divisions of the Body of Christ will become as vain as the Protestants like to think the religious practices of the Catholic Church have been since they were adopted during the awful Dark Ages of the church/world. Having said all this to lay a foundation for my comments, let me lay one more brick while the mortar is wet. Concerning the age-old differences between the Catholics and the Protestants, I could care less. I have no desire to convert a Catholic to Protestantism or a Protestant to Catholicism. However, I would like to bring everyone who reads our site to a reality check, for I feel that this is what Jesus did with the Jews of His day! Remember the conversation between Jesus and one Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews?
Read the rest of the conversation. It is found in the third chapter of John. I'm satisfied That if Jesus hadn't cut Nicodemus short, he would have gone into a long theological discourse, wanting to know which sect of their national religion was right, the Pharisees or the Sadducees. And probably, he had all kinds of theological puzzles that he would love to discuss with this man who was obviously blessed of God. But Jesus wasn't concerned with ideology and theology, He wanted Nicodemus to be "saved," "born again," "regenerated,"—to be one who possessed eternal life and KNEW IT! And it is mine and B'Ann's heart's desire that all who touch our web site might be thus touched of God. At this point, a part of my testimony is probably in order; for some of you have sent me questions that I, too, had to deal with as I began my walk with the Lord. At the time I was drawn to Christ, I was a musician and a nightclub entertainer who thought he had no time or need for Christ or His Church. Needless to say, I learned better. After two weeks of the Holy Spirit convicting me of my sin, I was ever so grateful when He made real to me the cross where Christ died for me—a sacrifice for my sin. It was then that I was filled with the Spirit of Christ and, subsequently, called to preach. I tell you this not only tothank God for the wondrous gift of His Son, but to also show how that with me, theologically speaking, God had a mostly empty vessel with which to work. "Called to preach," I thought, "how can this be? I am not worthy!" But then Iwas shown that no one is worthy of such a precious call. So, I began the process of preparation to answer my call. But then came questions. OK, Lord, I'm called to preach. So, where do you want me to preach? Should I join theCatholic Church or become a Protestant?—whatever that is—and what seminary should I attend? After all, don't you have to go to seminary to be a preacher? After some time of such prayers and contemplation, the Lord spoke to my spirit that if I would forget all that I thought I knew about Him and His Word,and give myself to a study of the Bible—letting His Spirit guide me into its truths—that He would be my seminary. After four years of intense Bible study, I was ready to go about answering my call that did eventually lead me to one of man's most respected seminaries. And by the way, I often had occasion to thank God for preparing me beforehand for the onslaught against my faith and the Bible that I was to encounter at this school from those who were supposed to be preparing me to minister the Word of God. (It seemed that these theological experts couldn't decide which parts of the Bible were trustworthy, and of course, they couldn't even agree among themselves as to whose interpretation was the most reliable.) At any rate, this is a little description of my entry into the spiritual realm of the church world and it helps to explain my lack of brainwashing into any particular way of theological thinking and my not being absorbed by any particular denomination/religion. For having no predisposition to any specific man-made religion due to my upbringing, perhaps I was more open to the will of God than I would have been had I been indoctrinated into some way of believing as a child. In addition, because of the musical talents given to my family and myself, after pastoring three churches, the doors were opened to my family and I to go into evangelism. Consequently, we began singing and preaching in all types of churches; and, to our delight, we found God's children to be in all of them. But once again we found ourselves searching for understanding! How can we find God's born-again children in so many churches that have so many differing dogmas and doctrines? we wondered. Especially when some of these differences actually foster distrust and downright enmity among the brethren! (Understand that I'm not talking here just about the chasm between the Catholics and the Protestants, but aboutthe divisions among those who all claim to be mainline Protestant churches.) If I have any understanding concerning this paradox, it goes back to the thing that gives us infinite value to our Creator; i.e., our freedom of choice. To understand the value that God places on we creatures of freewill, we need only to go to the cross where His Only Begotten Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, paid the awesome price needful to provide a way to escape the ravages of sin and the awful death it brought into this world. In short, because of His death, burial, and resurrection, we creatures of choice now have a choice. We can continue on the path of rebellion, death, and eternal consequences that our common ancestors Adam and Eve placed us on because of the unwise use of their freedom of choice; or we can choose to believe God and receive the forgiveness of sins and the eternal life that Christ purchased for us on the Cross. However, to make this decision, man must be informed that this crucial choice/decision exists. Paul put it thusly:
So, the first order of business for the church, and the most important, is to attend to the Great Commission: i.e., go ye into all the world and tell them about the Christ. In the same vein, then, the most important thing for those outside the church to do is to receive this word and believe it. Paul explained it thusly to the men of Athens who were caught up in the superstitious practices of the day: "…the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man [speaking of Christ] whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:30-31). As we’ve said, then, the most important task assigned to the church is the Great Commission, but we need to keep in mind that the Great Commission has to do with man's standing with God and not his walk among other men. (The believers' walk among men has to do with their fruit and the rewards they will or will not have at the Judgment Seat of Christ.) And we also need to keep in mind that for the church to fulfill its Great Commission, the True Christ of the Bible must be presented. This explains John's warning to God's children in I John 4:1-3: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already it is in the world." For years this verse of Scripture puzzled me—especially since Jesus taught that we would know one another by our fruit. Since John's warning here is not the only criterion given in the Bible to recognize the teacher in error or the brother at fault, why did John zero in on this particular one? At this point, why was he led to mark only those who fail to teach that Jesus Christ came in the flesh? That Christ Jesus is God incarnate? that He is the Son of God, born of a virgin? I believe the understanding lies in the fact that John was exposing a "spirit" while Jesus was addressing individual people. This is important to understand because a "spirit" can control a body of people while the fruit Jesus spoke of is the product of the spirit of one human. So, we are to heed the teaching of Jesus when we are choosing our friends and those with whom we want to associate. But we also need to take care when choosing the "group" that we want to be affiliated with. And the most important criterion is do they believe and teach that Christ was born of a virgin? do they believeand teach that when He came to this earth, He was Emmanuel (God with us—see Mt. 1:23)? This is ultra important, for any other so called christ is simply an antichrist; and the antichrist has no salvation to offer man—only lies, confusion, bewilderment, and ultimately, the second death! So, does the Catholic Church teach that the Christ who died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead was born of a virgin? Most definitely they do! Do the Protestant churches teach that the Christ who died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead was born of a virgin? Most definitely they do! Therefore, can God honor both of their teachings concerning His plan of salvation? He can and He does! Why is this so? Well, check out the following Scriptures!
But back now to my earlier question: How can we find God's born-again children in so many churches that have so many differing dogmas and doctrines? Truthfully, I had little insight on this paradox until I began researching for this comment. My research led me to a web site that lists the original twelve beliefs of the Catholic Church—twelve beliefs that are still at the foundation of their faith. What I found to be interesting is the fact that these same twelve beliefs lie at the foundation of every "fundamental" ProtestantChurch as well. [Check it out!] The problems in the doctrines of all of thedivisions of the church came about as men added to these foundational truths. An objective look at these addenda of man will show them to simply be tools of control contrived by men. And what is the common purpose for all of these additions by men?—to control the minds, and consequently, the lives and pocketbooks of those in their charge. That the Catholic Church has more add-ons than the Protestant churches is undeniable to anyone who takes the time to read the Bible. But this is understandable since it has had several morecenturies to add additional requirements for church membership than the fairlyrecent Protestant denominations. Let me finish my comments by answering a couple of questions that I am often asked after I share my views. "If the churches are in such a state, how can we find a church to attend? or should we even go to church at all? Let me answer the second question first, and let me answer it by asking some questions. Is there any such thing as a "perfect marriage"? If you're truthful,you know that because men and women are not perfect, neither can their union be. So, should we do away with marriages because the union is less than perfect? I think not. In fact, the Bible says that it is a good thing for a man to find a wife. The same thing applies to a church fellowship. Because it is made up of less than perfect creatures, it cannot be a perfect fellowship. Nevertheless, the local bodies of the Church are important to the Lord Jesus and they are important to us. Jesus said of the local body that where two or three are gathered together in His name, that He would be in their midst. And the New Testament commands the believers not to forsake the assembling of themselves together (and that this would be especially important as the church sees the final days approaching [Heb. 10:25]). As to how we can choose a church to attend…in this, as with all things pertaining to the believer, we should be led of the Spirit. If you haven't learned to rely upon the Spirit for His leadership in your life, the choice of a church would be a good place to begin. If you aren't aware that God will lead you by His Spirit, then let me send you toJohn 10:2, Romans 8:14, and a good cross-reference study Bible. B'Ann wrote:We of a protestant culture, with a faith that was taught to us by our parents and grandparents, do have some differences from those of the Catholic culture. For instance, we are content when our pastors/preachers are married; and we find Scriptures that do not support the Catholic stance on their priests. I Cor. 9:5 we find these words, "Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas?" Cephas was the name given to Peter by Jesus in John 1:42, and Peter is supposed to be the Catholic Church's first priest/pope. And keeping in mind that one must be married to have a mother-in-law, let's read Matthew 8:14-15, "And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother laid, and sick of a fever. And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she arose and ministered unto them." Nowhere do we find Jesus commanding his disciples/apostles not to have a wife; rather, we see him blessing Peter's mother-in-law in a special way. And as to the believers in general, we find in I Cor. 7:28 of the King James Version these words, "But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh; but I spare you." In other words, if you want to marry do so; for marriage is ordained of God. But if you do marry, then much of your money, your time, and your affections belongs to that marriage commitment. (In fact, in the Bible [Genesis 2] marriage was the first institution ordained of God, not the organized church.) Another difference between Catholics and Protestants is our prayer concept. The King James version states in Heb. 4:14-16, "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God,let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all pointstempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." I won't comment on this as it plainly says what it has to say. Also, it is interesting to note the names of some of the people in Acts 1:13-14 who were in the upper room and received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Verse 14 reads "…and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brethren". Then in the next chapter we read where these were all filled with the Holy Ghost. Jesus filled His own mother with the Holy Ghost by the power of the Trinity. She received just like the others. This in no way is meant to reduce her role as the Mother of Jesus, but it puts her role in perspective. She should not be reverenced above the Godhead. Peter should not be reverenced above the Godhead. We in the Protestant churches are taught in the King James Version to pray to the Father, in the name of Jesus His Only Begotten Son. In fact the church universal has been given the Lord's Prayer as a model that will stand throughout all the church age. In addition, we are told to enter into our closet, not the priest's closet, and the Father will then reward openly (Matt. 6:6). We should give Peter his place as a great champion of faith, but no place in the scriptures does Peter advocate celibacy, nor can we find any Scripture were he was commanded to adopt such a lifestyle. In fact, as we've just observed, we are taught quite the contrary. Note: These Scriptures I've referred to are found in the New Jerusalem Bible as well as the King James Version; and I'm told that they are also found in the New American Bible as well, another Bible authorized for use by the Roman Catholic Church—a Bible that we can't find in any of our local libraries, by the way. If this isn't true, let me know. Any dogma or creed in a church setting should have many strongScriptures at its base. If not, we might find ourselves in a futile exercise ofreligiosity. This is why we started the site called DOWEKNOW? DO WE KNOW why we do some of the things we do in the name of our religion andare they valid/accepted of God? If you feel WE DO NOT KNOW, then please share your understanding with us. |
J
H__________ WROTE: I couldn't help but notice how you added your own words to a verse of God's Word (Matthew 24:29-30) regarding when the rapture would occur (and then, the rapture). Since it appears in no translation I use (including my Greek ones), I was at first appalled. But then I realized, this isn't Jesus Christ's ministry, it's Don Love's! My apologies for misinterpreting what you said. You see, I thought it came from a Minister of God!
Dear J H________, Thank you very much for bringing this typo error to my attention. We have had other cybernauts graciously bringing misspelled words and the like to our attention, but the typo error you found has been the first having to do with the copying of the Scriptures. Consequently, the error you've pointed out is not just academic, but grievous. For our WRAP AROUND readers, The problem that J H_________ found was in booklet 6 at the very beginning of chapter 22. It read: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shakened: and then, the Rapture." As can be seen by the Scriptural reference (Mt. 24:29-30), there were supposed to be two verses quoted. Also, the italicized words were to have been placed between the verses—in black—intended to make them stand out as the authors' words and not a part of the text (which is standard practice). If you will go to booklet 6, the beginning of chapter 22, you will find the corrected text which reads: (Mt. 24:29-30) "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shakened:" and then, the Rapture.* "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" One cannot read much of our books before they notice our reverence for the Scriptures and our intolerance of those who flagrantly twist them for their own purposes. However, all of this does prove a point that B'Ann made when we were first struggling in our efforts to answer our call of writing the books and putting them up on the web. "I'm satisfied," said my wife, "that of all the books written, there is not, and never will be, any book without error except the Bible." And of course, the enemy has even attacked that Book in some of the modern translations/interpretations. Thanks again J H________ for bringing this editing error to our attention so that we could make the correction. Don Love |
CHRIS
WROTE: I bookmarked and saved all your files for examination, there is so much confusion about religious matters these days that a person must do his home work and hopefully the spirit of God is leading him to the correct discernment. There are a lot of snakes out there and people are being decieved . I pray to God that truth will be revealed, the book of revelation is very difficult to understand and easy to manipulate , I hope I can come to terms with it , perhaps just leave it alone , but who can live with hiding their head in the sand ?
B'Ann and I rejoice because of your mutual interest with us in the things of the Lord. Yes, if we are to be
obedient unto our Lord, we must take heed as to what we read and as to what we
absorb. However, we need to differentiate
between the two, for reading and absorbing are not necessarily one and the same. If
we refuse to read another's writings because of an unreasonable fear of
absorbing everything we read, then our faith in the keeping power of the Lord needs
to be rethought. Of course, there are
certain things that we clearly should avoid reading—i.e., those things designed
to stir up the baser part of us, or those things that belittle the way of faith. I
suppose that if one were to faithfully read nothing but the Bible, that he or she
might enjoy a certain measure of victory— if the Bible was read in a
"seeking" mode and not to prove something. However,
those who thus restrict their reading do stand to become spiritual hermits, for such fears
usually accompany an unwillingness to hear what anyone else has to say lest this
"hearing" might somehow corrupt them. (We would do well to remember that
denominations and cults spring up because some man or
group read the Bible and received some "private interpretation" [II Pet. 1:20],
which they are convinced is an ultimate understanding of the Scriptures—no two such
interpretations agreeing, of course. There is usually arguing and hard feelings over which
person gets the best revelation; and behold, as the followers of the revelations grow,
another fragment is broken off of the body of Christ. What ever happened to I John 4:7? "Beloved,
let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God and
knoweth God…." Don't we know that it is the nature of a true revelation
to bring the true body of Christ together?) Also,
we should note that such a strict adherence to "spiritual purity" might very
well rob someone of many precious gifts from the Lord. After all, it was God Who designed
his Church so that men and women might build one another up in their most holy faith by
sharing the gifts of the Spirit that God has so graciously and generously given to the
members And speaking of the gifts of the Spirit, herein is the key to our well being in all things that apply to the Lord; for saints, we have not been placed under the beggarly elements of the law of Moses (the law of sin and death [Rom. 8:2 cf. Rom. chapters 5 & 6]) but under the new law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. Under this new law, we are to rely (in fact, we must rely) upon the Holy Spirit for all of our understanding of the things of God (I Cor. 2:9-16). Consequently, as we read (and listen to) anything—the Bible included, we should do so relying upon the Holy Spirit for at least two reasons:
As the spiritual atmosphere in the world begins to look more and more like the
predicted dreadful times that will usher in our Lord's return for His Church, the
Church and the world grow more and more uneasy. To compound the uneasy Let's go now to your comment about Revelation. First, let me point out that there is a difference between the revelations of Christ and the prophets in the Bible, and the Book of Revelation itself. There is a sense in which the whole Bible is a book of revelations: i.e., it reveals to us what God wants us to know about Himself, it reveals to us things about ourselves that we will find no other place, and it reveals the future of mankind. But at the end of the Bible is the Book of Revelation. This last book is almost totally given to prophecies of things to come. The keys to understand it differ somewhat from the keys given to the Church to unlock the prophecies of the things that it must go through at the end of our age. As you will see when you get on into our book, there is a lot more to prophecy than just the things that await the last generation of the Grace Age Church. In the light of your comments, I don't know of any particular part of the two books on our site (The Clock of the Ages and Mark Them) that I can recommend over another. Just let me suggest that you take the time to run down the Scriptural reference that we've included. Some like to run the references as they go. Others like to read straight through and then go back and take the time needed to check out the Scriptures. Whatever your choice, please do your self a favor and read the verses that we've included. In fact, if you're real serious about understanding things yet to come, use a good reference Bible and you will find that the key verses we've included will lead elsewhere and add to your understanding. Let us underscore the following Scripture. "Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Eph. 6:11-13). You can learn more about this important armor of God by reading the rest of the sixth chapter of Ephesians and by using a good reference Bible. (Let me also suggest the writings of Watchman Nee for anyone reading this WRAP AROUND who is just beginning his or her walk in Christ. His writings and the history of his life will bless and challenge you.) In this you are right Chris. One cannot successfully live this life with his head in the sand. Thanks for your response for it gives us opportunity to say what needs to be said. Don and B'Ann Love |
Don and B'Ann Wrote: Dear Honey and Bunny: Thanks for taking the time to WRAP AROUND with us. You have an interesting question. In The Clock of the Ages, in booklet eight--chapter 30, we have gone into the answer in some detail. So let me refer to our site and the book for my comments there. However, I will take this time to underscore a couple of important points about the judgments of mankind.
I hope that my comments have given you a little insight. As I said, for more detail, go on into the Book, The Clock of Ages. Thanks again for your comments, Don and B'Ann Love |
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