A Strange Prayer Request

Posted on April 9, 2018 by russellmckinney

A man and his wife joined a local church. Since the couple was out of work and had precious little food and clothing, it wasn’t long before they asked the church for help. The church lovingly obliged by providing plenty of donations, and the pastor even helped the husband find a good job.

During their time of need, the couple attended church faithfully. But once they were back on their feet, that attendance stopped. Even though this irked the pastor, he let the situation slide because there wasn’t a lot he could do about it anyway. After all, a preacher can’t force people to come to church.

Then came a night when the pastor was walking along a downtown street and just happened to run into the couple. The couple were well dressed and obviously very much into themselves. As a matter of fact, they would have passed right by the pastor without speaking if he hadn’t spoken first.

The pastor said, “My, you folks certainly do look good. Where are you headed?” The wife answered, “We’ve just had a wonderful meal at a nice restaurant, and we’re going home now. ” The pastor said, “Well, I guess you know that we’ve been missing you at church lately.” Now it was the husband’s turn to answer. He said, “Oh, you know how it is. We both work hard every day, and Sunday’s the only day we have to do the things we like to do.”

Both the husband and the wife hoped that excuse would suffice and the conversation would come to a polite end, but the pastor was having none of it. Perhaps his tone wasn’t the best in the world, and his social etiquette surely wasn’t, but he did feel led of the Lord to say what he said. He looked the husband squarely in the eyes and said, “Do you know what we ought to do? We ought to get down on our knees and ask God to take away your job so that you can have time to worship and serve Him because He has been so good to you.” Ouch. Point made.

This story really happened. I cut it out of a Christian publication years ago and stuck it in my files. Really, though, even if it wasn’t true, it could be. We are so prone to run to the Lord when times are bad and so prone to drift away from Him when times are good, aren’t we?

Needless to say — then again, maybe it does need to be said — the exact opposite should be the case. Romans 2:4 is a good proof passage here, and so I’ll use it to close this post. As you read the verse, pay close attention to what it says about what God’s goodness toward you should produce in your life. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble spotting the lesson. The verse says:

Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Adversity, Backsliding, Church, Church Attendance, Commitment, Faithfulness, God's Love, God's Provision, Husbands, Money, Pastors, Prayer Requests, Priorities, Prosperity, Repentance, Service, Stewardship, Thankfulness, Wives, Worship | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Christian Verses” Podcast: Matthew 5:9 (Gun Control, part 1)

Posted on April 7, 2018 by russellmckinney

Gun control. It’s a headline that is taken straight from the current news. And there are Christians on both side of the debate. So Malcolm and I decided to devote two podcasts to the topic. This week’s is more or less just a general discussion between the two of us about our personal experiences, Christians carrying guns to church, the culture of the South, etc. Next week we’ll focus more on what light the Bible sheds on the topic.

https://soundcloud.com/user-185243867/christianverses2018011

Posted in "Christian Verses" podcast, Current Events, Gun Control, Personal, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The 10 Times Israel Tested God

Posted on April 6, 2018 by russellmckinney

Most people have heard about the ten plagues with which God struck Egypt to break Pharaoh’s will and cause him to release the Israelites from their enslavement (Exodus chapters 7 through 12). Far less known are the ten times the released Israelites put God to the test in the days following their exodus. But God certainly knew about them. As Numbers 14:20-23 says:

Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word, but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord — because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.” (N.K.J.V.)

Okay, so when were those ten times the Israelites tested God? The list goes as follows:

  1. When the Israelites are trapped between Pharaoh’s army behind them and the Red Sea in front of them, they cry out to the Lord and complain to Moses, saying, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have led us out into this wilderness to die? Didn’t we tell you when we were in Egypt to leave us alone so that we could continue serving the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to have died back there than to die here.” (Exodus 14:10-12)
  2. After the Israelites have been in the Wilderness of Shur for three days without finding water, they come to Marah. There is water in Marah, but it is so bitter no one can drink it. So, the people complain against Moses again. (Exodus 15:22-24)
  3. On day 15 of the second month after their departure from Egypt, the Israelites grow hungry and complain against Moses and Aaron, saying, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate bread to the full. Now you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill us all with hunger.” (Exodus 16:1-3)
  4. When God starts sending the Israelites manna to eat every morning, Moses warns them against trying to save some of their daily portion and eat it the following day. Despite the warning, however, some of them try it and learn that the manna breeds worms and starts stinking if left overnight. (Exodus 16:11-20)
  5. Also concerning the gathering of the manna, Moses tells them they should gather twice as much as usual the morning before each Sabbath morning because God won’t send the manna on the Sabbath. Still, despite the fact that the Sabbath is to be a day of rest, some of the Israelites go out to gather manna on the first Sabbath morning following that command. Of course, they find none. (Exodus 16:25-30)
  6. When the Israelites come to Rephidim, they complain because there is no water to drink. They ask Moses, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt? Was it to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?” Their complaints are serious enough for Moses to think they are going to stone him. (Exodus 17:1-4)
  7. When the Israelites are encamped at the base of Mount Sinai, Moses goes up into the mountain to be alone with God and receive revelation. Moses is gone so long, 40 days, that the people figure he is never going to return. So they, with the help of Aaron, create a golden calf to serve as their new god. They worship it and offer sacrifices unto it. (Exodus 32:1-6)
  8. Three days after their departure from Mount Sinai, the Israelites complain again. The Bible doesn’t tell us precisely what they complain about on this occasion, but the complaints are infuriating enough to God to cause Him to burn some of the people to death with fire. (Numbers 11:1-3)
  9. Shortly after the deaths by fire, the Israelites complain again about the food situation. This time they are tired of eating the manna and long for the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic of Egypt. (Numbers 11:4-34)
  10. When Israel’s 12 spies return from studying the land of Canaan, they tell the people that Canaan is a land of giants that devours those who try to inhabit it. This causes the people to complain against Moses and Aaron, saying, “If only we had died in Egypt or in the wilderness. Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword and watch our wives and children become victims? Wouldn’t it be better if we all just returned to Egypt?” Then the people start making plans to select a new leader, one who will lead them back to Egypt. (Numbers 14:1-4)

As we read the full accounts of these ten times Israel tested God, we see God’s increasing frustration and decreasing patience with them. Notice the trend:

  1. Test #1? He parts the Red Sea.
  2. Test #2? He shows Moses a tree that, when cut and cast into Marah’s bitter waters, makes the waters sweet.
  3. Test #3? He begins sending them manna each morning except the weekly Sabbath morning.
  4. Test #4? Despite their blatant attempts to break the rules concerning the manna, He keeps sending it.
  5. Test #5? See the response to test #4.
  6. Test #6? He has Moses strike a certain rock with his staff, after which water comes gushing out of the rock.
  7. Test #7? He tells Moses what is going on in the Israelite camp and agrees to show the nation mercy they surely didn’t deserve.
  8. Test #8? With His patience now wearing thin, He kills only a few of the people as a warning rather than killing all of them.
  9. Test #9? He has a tremendous flock of quail blow into Israel’s camp to be killed and eaten for food, but even as the people are eating the meat, He puts a number of them to death by way of plague.
  10. Test #10? He tells Moses the Israelites will wander in the wilderness for 40 years, during which time every Israelite 20 years old or older (except for Joshua and Caleb) will die off systematically so that Israel’s younger generation can eventually conquer and settle Canaan.

The application for us from all this isn’t hard to grasp. How often do we test God by griping and grumbling about our circumstances? Speaking for myself, I do it far too much.

I’ll admit that I’ve seen a few figurative waters parted and a few bitter ones made sweet. I’ve tasted some personalized manna and had some other needs met as well. I’ve been shown mercy that I didn’t deserve and received my share of instructive warnings. I’ve eaten some figurative quail that tasted good for a moment but came with severe consequences. I’ve also missed out on some wonderful opportunities because of my sin.

So, really, I’m not that much better than the Israelites in regards to grumbling, murmuring, and testing God. That’s why I need reminders like this post. And my guess is that I’m not on an island of one. As Philippians 2:14 tells us, “Do all things without complaining and disputing…” I ask you, Christian, how are you doing on that these days?

Posted in Adversity, Attitude, Complaining, Contentment, Desires, Faith, God's Provision, The Tongue, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Dying in Your Sins

Posted on April 4, 2018 by russellmckinney

If the thought of dying in your sins sounds terrifying to you, it should. What follows such a death is the lifting up of the eyes in hell (Luke 16:23) as the body goes to the grave and the soul goes into the afterlife. You see, that’s what happens to each individual who lives his or her entire life and never places saving belief in Jesus. A certain group of Pharisees heard that message one day, with the message bearer being none other than Jesus. We read about it in John 8:21-24:

Then Jesus said to them again, “I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come.” So the Jews said, “Will He kill Himself, because He says, ‘Where I go you cannot come’?” And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (N.K.J.V.)

As I normally do on the blog, I’ve used the New King James Version to cite the above reference. Like the classic K.J.V., the N.K.J.V. uses italicized words to show where the word in question doesn’t actually translate a word found in the original Hebrew or Greek. Instead, the italicized word is added in by the translator in an attempt to not only complete the sentence structure of the English language but also make the translation easier to read. When I use N.K.J.V. references on the blog, I never repeat the italics in my citations because I don’t want the reader to think that I myself have italicized the word for emphasis. However, in the case of John 8:24 I need to draw your attention to something.

The N.K.J.V. italicizes the word “He” in Christ’s quote: “…for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” So, if we omit the “He” — again, it doesn’t translate anything from the original Greek — we find that what Jesus literally said was, “…for if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” This name/title “I AM” was very familiar to those Jewish Pharisees because they knew their Old Testament. Standing at the burning bush, Moses had asked God to reveal His name so that Moses could speak to the Israelites in the authority of that name. And God had answered him, “Tell them, ‘I AM has sent me to you'” (Exodus 3:13-14).

Obviously, Jesus claiming that particular name/title for Himself was a powerful statement about His divinity. It was His way of telling those Pharisees, “When you see Me, you see the God of your ancestors. That God was, of course, the true and living God, the God who spoke to Moses, the God who led the Israelites out of Egypt, the God who gave the Israelites His law, the God who gave the Israelites the land of Canaan, and the God of salvation.

Later on in that same teaching session, Jesus once again made this astounding claim by saying to those Pharisees, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:58, N.K.J.V.). By that time, though, they’d heard all they were going to hear of that, and they picked up stones to stone Him to death for blasphemy in accordance with Leviticus 24:16. But Jesus, knowing that it wasn’t the time, the place, or the cause for Him to die, escaped from them (John 8:59).

By attempting to stone Jesus, those Pharisees made it clear that they had made their decision concerning Him. Actually, they had rejected Him long before the attempted stoning. Even as Jesus spoke with them that day, He knew their hearts were already eternally set against Him. That’s how He could already predict their future when He said to them concerning His death, resurrection, and ascension:

Then Jesus said to them again, ‘I am going away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin…” (verse 21, N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

I don’t know where this post finds you in life, but you need to understand one simple truth: Failure to place saving belief in Jesus Christ will seal your eternal fate. God is sinless, but you are a sinner. Therefore, what does a sinner need most of all? Forgiveness. God has provided that forgiveness via the blood that Jesus shed in dying on the cross as the substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the human race, but to receive the forgiveness you must believe in Jesus as your personal Savior. To reject Him is to reject the forgiveness, and the end result of that will be you dying in your sins and lifting up your eyes in hell. Those Pharisees made their choice, and they chose poorly. How about you?

Posted in Belief, Choices, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Death, Eternity, Forgiveness, God's Provision, Heaven, Hell, Needs, Salvation, Sin, The Gospel | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The “Others”

Posted on April 2, 2018 by russellmckinney

Hebrews 11:1-40 is the Bible’s famous “hall of faith” passage. It cites example after example of Old Testament characters who “by faith” did extraordinary things and received extraordinary blessings and deliverances. And the list of victories is certainly impressive. By faith:

  • Enoch did not see death.
  • Noah built an ark and saved his family.
  • Abraham left his home in Ur and journeyed to his promised land of Canaan.
  • Sarah gave birth to a child when she was past age.
  • Abraham offered up Isaac and received him back alive.
  • Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau.
  • Jacob blessed Joseph.
  • Joseph gave instructions that his bones should one day be buried in Canaan.
  • Moses’ parents hid him as a child.
  • Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
  • Moses forsook Egypt and led the Israelites through the Red Sea on dry land.
  • The walls of Jericho fell.
  • Rahab’s life was spared.
  • Israel’s Judges, Kings, and Prophets won great victories over their enemies.
  • Kingdoms were subdued.
  • Righteousness was worked.
  • Promises were obtained.
  • The mouths of lions were stopped.
  • The fires of violence were quenched.
  • God’s people escaped the edge of the sword
  • Weak people were made strong.
  • Cowards became valiant in battle.
  • Enemy armies were turned to flight.
  • Women saw their dead resurrected (see 1 Kings 17:17-24 and 2 Kings 4:8-37).

For the Christian, this is all wildly encouraging stuff. It makes you want to take on the world for God, right all the wrongs, and claim every victory in Him. You think, “If I fight for God and He fights for me, how can I possibly come out on the losing end?”

Unfortunately, however, there is more to the passage than all these “feel good” stories. For one thing, the list of Old Testament characters actually begins by talking about how Abel (by faith) offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, only to have Cain kill him because of jealousy (Hebrews 11:4). For another, about halfway through verse 35, the passage takes an abrupt turn down a much darker path. That change begins with a single word: “Others.” Read carefully what follows that word:

…Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented — of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise… (Hebrews 11:35-39, N.K.J.V.)

Now, let’s be honest, these “others” just don’t fit into our idea of God fighting for those who show faith by doing His bidding, do they? Oh, we love to read the story of Daniel in the lions’ den as the example of how the mouths of lions were stopped. But what do we do with those faithful servants who “were sawn in two”? (For the record, Jewish tradition holds that Israel’s wicked king Manasseh had the prophet Isaiah placed in the hollow trunk of a tree and then commanded the tree be sawn down.)

You see, this section of the “hall of faith” deals with a completely different category of faith. It deals with the faith it takes to be an earthly “loser” and yet still retain your faith in the Lord. It’s one thing to remain strong in your faith as you are walking through the Red Sea on dry land or watching the walls of Jericho fall, but it’s quite another to retain it as you are being stoned to death (as Zechariah was: 2 Chronicles 24:20-22) or killed with a sword (as Urijah was: Jeremiah 26:20-23).

So, how is it possible to keep one’s faith during times of persecution and even martyrdom? The answer is found in the hope of afterlife rewards. According to the Hebrews passage, there is such a thing as “a better resurrection” that can be earned. Along these same lines, in Matthew 5:11-12 Jesus said in regards to persecution earning a believer greater rewards in heaven:

Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (N.K.J.V.)

Blessed are the reviled servants of God? Blessed are the persecuted servants of God? Blessed are the slandered servants of God? You got it. You see, while earthly victories and deliverances are rousing and inspiring, they are just that, earthly ones. And while these victories do merit a certain degree of reward in eternity as the believer’s faith is rewarded there as well, it’s the earthly losses and martyrdoms that carry the most eternal weight, assuming they were accomplished by faith in the Lord’s service. This is the great promise these “others” can claim, and it’s the one you can claim, Christian, concerning those times when you do God’s will and the enemy still walks all over you.

Posted in Adversity, Commitment, Courage, Disappointment, Doing Good, Eternity, Faith, Faithfulness, God's Will, Heaven, Persecution, Perseverance, Problems, Resurrection, Reward, Suffering, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Christian Verses” podcast: 1 Corinthians 15:14

Posted on March 31, 2018 by russellmckinney

This week Malcolm and I focus on 1 Corinthians 15:14 and answer the question, “What if Christ’s resurrection didn’t really happen?” Among other subjects, we cover some of the more well know theories skeptics use in their attempts to explain away the resurrection. Here’s the link:

https://soundcloud.com/user-185243867/christianverses2018010

Posted in "Christian Verses" podcast, Christ's Resurrection, Easter, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The 12 Hours of Good Friday

Posted on March 30, 2018 by russellmckinney

In the Jerusalem of Christ’s day, time could be reckoned according to the Jewish system or the Roman system. Both were commonly used. A 24-hour day in the Jewish system began at 6:00 p.m. sundown and ended at 6:00 p.m. sundown the following day. The four “watches” of the night lasted from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m. until 12:00 a.m., 12:00 a.m. until 3:00 a.m., and 3:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. At 6:00 a.m. the “day” part of the day began and lasted until 6:00 p.m. when a fresh 24-hour period began. As for the Romans, their 24-hour period began at midnight and ended the following midnight.

John 19:14 says it was “about the sixth hour” when Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus to crucifixion. John is reckoning by Roman time, which means that Pilate sentenced Jesus around 6:00 a.m. This stands alongside Mark 15:25, which says it was the “third hour” when Christ’s crucifixion began. Mark is reckoning by Jewish time, which means that three hours elapsed between Christ’s sentencing and the moment He was actually nailed to the cross at 9:00 a.m.

From 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon everything was normal about that morning. At 12:00 noon, however, an eerie, supernatural darkness settled upon the entire land and remained there until 3:00 p.m. (Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33). Shortly after 3:00 p.m., Jesus died. Plans for a rushed burial were then put into play because the Sabbath began at 6:00 p.m. and Jewish law stated that a body couldn’t be left hanging on a cross during the Sabbath (Deuteronomy 23:22-23).

During the six hours in which Jesus hung on the cross, He uttered seven statements. The first three were made during the three hours before noon and the last four were made in fairly rapid succession beginning at 3:00 p.m. The statements were as follows:

  1. (said of those who had a part in His crucifixion): “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
  2. (said to the penitent criminal who was one of two crucified alongside Him): “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
  3. (said to His mother Mary and His apostle John as He commended Mary to John’s care): “Woman, behold your son! Behold your mother!”
  4. (said to God the Father at the close of the three-hour darkness): “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)
  5. (said of Himself): “I thirst!” (John 19:28)
  6. (said of His life’s work, ministry, and impending death for the sins of the world): “It is finished!” (John 19:30)
  7. (said to God the Father): “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” (Luke 23:46)

Since the Bible teaches that the “spirit” is the body’s spark of life (James 2:26; Ecclesiastes 12:7), we are right to say that Jesus releasing His spirit to God the Father was the actual cause of His death. Jesus is the only person who ever lived who was able to do this. This is what He meant when He said of His life, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (John 10:18, N.I.V.).

With the Sabbath fast approaching at sundown that afternoon, the Jewish religious elite requested that Pilate command his Roman soldiers to employ the standard method of speeding up a death by crucifixion: breaking the legs of the victim (John 19:31-32). The Romans were experts at the art of crucifixion and knew that broken legs induced suffocation by preventing the victim from pushing himself up to draw a breath. Much to their surprise, though, when they came to break Jesus’ legs, He was already dead (John 19:33). So, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear just to make certain of the death (John 19:34).

What followed next was a hasty three-hour dash to get Christ’s body taken down from the cross, anointed with burial spices, and buried. Of all people, it was two members of the Jewish Sanhedrin ruling council — Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus — who saw to all of that. Both men had become followers of Christ by this time.

It was Joseph who immediately went to Pilate and requested that Christ’s body be given to him, a request to which Pilate agreed after receiving assurances that Jesus really was dead (Matthew 27:57-58; Mark 15:43-45; Luke 23:50-52; John 19:38). It’s likely that Nicodemus was buying the burial spices while Joseph was with Pilate, and the two men rejoined one another at the cross (John 19:39). There they took down the body, bound it in strips of linen, anointed it with burial spices, and placed it in Joseph’s recently built “cave” tomb which was very close to the site of the crucifixion (Matthew 27:59-60; Mark 15:46; Luke 23:53-54; John 19:38-42). A group of women, including Mary Magdalene, who had followed Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem joined the two men at the tomb for the burial (Matthew 27:61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55). Early the following Sunday morning, these women would make the trip back to the tomb for the purpose of more thoroughly anointing the body, only to find the tomb empty.

And so go the highlights of the twelve hours of Good Friday. But, of course, nothing that happened that day will be of one iota of help to you if you never place saving belief in Jesus. Rather than being “Good” Friday to you, the day will only mean more eternal judgment because even though Jesus died to pay the sin debt that you owe to holy God, you rejected Jesus. On the other hand, if you have placed saving belief in Jesus you can rest in the knowledge that on Good Friday God the Father transferred all of your sins to Jesus, and Jesus died for those sins so that you might spend eternity with God. So rejoice in that this Good Friday, and rejoice all the more in the knowledge that Sunday is coming!

Posted in Belief, Christ's Death, Christ's Resurrection, Crucifixion, Easter, Good Friday, Sacrifice, Salvation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What God Will Do to Satan: Eternal Punishment

Posted on March 28, 2018 by russellmckinney

“The Wiles of the Devil” series (post #20)

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels…” (Matthew 25:41, N.K.J.V.)

This post marks the end of our series “The Wiles of the Devil,” and I don’t mind telling you that I’m glad it does. When the Lord first burdened me about writing on this topic, I put in the initial spadework to figure out how many posts it might take to complete the series. My starting estimate was ten, but it didn’t take me long to revise that number to twelve. Shortly afterward, I revised it to fourteen. I thought that was going to be the number, but the nearer I drew to that fourteenth post the more God opened my eyes to other passages I needed to include in the series. So, here we are now at post #20, and frankly I’m sick and tired of writing about all the damage that Satan has done and continues to do.

I don’t know why God lets the devil roll through the pages of history like an unstoppable locomotive. All I know is that it’s obvious that He loves taking the devil’s work and turning it on its head to bring amazing good out of it. Unfortunately for us, that’s not the same as actually erasing that work or, better still, preventing it, is it?

What we find in scripture is a simple, unwavering pattern: God lets Satan make his play, and then God makes His play. It’s as if the two are locked in an ongoing chess match. Satan makes a move that produces consequences that please him, and God follows it with a countermove that produces consequences that please Him. As 1 John 3:8 tells us, Jesus came to earth to “…destroy the works of the devil.” Be sure to take special note of that wording. Before works can be destroyed they must first be brought into existence. Destroying is different than preventing.

A regular reader of this blog has been reading this series, and he and I have done some texting regarding the posts. One day I told him that the series had become fairly depressing to me because of the fact that God lets Satan win so much. To that, this fellow came back with a wonderful reply. He referenced a certain bad experience that he’d had, one in which Satan had been the instigator, and then he named all the good that God had brought out of that experience. When I read his reply, I thought, “That’s it! Right there in a short text is the Bible’s whole teaching on how God uses Satan’s work to further His own.”

One of the classic Bible stories that evidences this truth is found in the first part of the book of Acts. Following Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost, approximately 3,000 people become Christians and the world’s first church is formed there in Jerusalem (Acts 2:1-47). That church thrives and grows exponentially in the days that follow, but it isn’t too long before Satan starts doing his work and causing his problems.

First, Peter and John are arrested by the Jewish religious authorities and brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin Council (Acts 4:1-22). Second, Ananias and Sapphira lie about a church donation and are struck dead (Acts 5:1-11). Third, the Jewish High Priest has all the apostles arrested and imprisoned (Acts 5:17-18). Fourth, problems arise within the church when the Greek-speaking Christians accuse the Hebrew-speaking Christians of favoring the Hebrew-speaking widows in the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1). Fifth, Stephen is brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin Council and stoned to death following his testimony (Acts 6:8-7:60). Sixth, in the wake of Stephen’s death, even more persecution arises against the church (Acts 8:1). Seventh, a Jewish Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus becomes the leader in that persecution, and his crusade becomes so severe that many members of the Jerusalem church are forced to flee the city and relocate to other places (Acts 8:1-4).

Okay, so all of that was bad, right? Yes, no doubt about it. And Satan was either directly or indirectly behind it all. God, however, brought good out of it and used it to further His cause. You see, wherever those Christians relocated, they preached the gospel there and won even more people to Jesus (Acts 8:1). As long as Christianity was bottled up in one city and one church, world evangelism wasn’t happening. God’s evangelism/missionary work wasn’t kicked into high gear until those Christians started fleeing Jerusalem because of the persecution. This work, of course, was exactly what the resurrected Jesus had commanded of His followers just before He had ascended back to heaven:

And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times and seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8, N.K.J.V., emphasis mine)

Still, though, as encouraging as I find God’s chess-match countermoves to be, I find even more encouragement in the promise that one day He is going to pronounce the final “Checkmate” and end Satan’s play time once and for all. Even before then, He’s going to imprison Satan for 1,000 years. Here’s the prophetic sequence of events according to the Bible:

  • When Jesus returns to walk this earth again at the close of the tribulation period, Satan and all the other fallen angels will be chained up and imprisoned in Tartarus (the bottomless pit, the deep, the abyss) for the 1,000 years of Christ’s earthly kingdom (Revelation 20:1-3; Isaiah 24:21-22). (For more on this subject, read my post “The Establishing of the Kingdom Age,” which is part of the series “Bible Prophecy in Chronology.”)
  • Once the 1,000 years are completed, Satan and the other fallen angels will be released from Tartarus, and Satan will immediately begin mounting his last offensive against God. But God will end that offensive quickly and decisively (Revelation 20:7-9). (For more on this subject, read my post “Satan’s Final Rebellion” from the same series.)
  • Following this last failed offensive, Satan and all the other fallen angels will be permanently cast into Gehenna (the eternal lake of fire) (Revelation 20:10; Matthew 25:41). Gehenna is a different site from the “hell” (Hades) that exists now (Luke 16:19-31). As awful as Hades is, it is only a temporary holding cell compared to the eternal prison of Gehenna. Whereas Hades only takes in the soul of the lost person, Gehenna takes in the soul and the body as the lost person’s body is resurrected and reunited with its soul (Matthew 10:28; Luke 12:5). This resurrection and reuniting will take place at Christ’s Great White Throne Judgment immediately following Satan’s final rebellion after Christ’s 1000-year reign. It is at this judgment that each lost person from history will be cast body and soul into the fiery lake of Gehenna, where he or she will join Satan and the other fallen angels in eternal punishment and imprisonment. (For more on this subject, read “The Great White Throne Judgment” from the same series.)

This, then, is how it all ends for Satan, eternally imprisoned in a lake of fire, joined by not only his fellow fallen angels but also all of history’s lost people. Obviously, if we know what the Bible says about his fate, he does as well. So, maybe he’s arrogant enough to confidently think he can change it. Or maybe he’s just hoping to somehow be able to change it. Then again, maybe he has resigned himself to the inevitable and is determined to take as many humans with him as he can.

That last one is the one that seems the most likely to me. That’s why I’ll close this post and this series by urging you not to allow yourself to become one of Satan’s eternal running mates. The Bible says that the everlasting fire has been prepared for the devil and his angels, but it doesn’t say that it’s been prepared for you. The truth is that by placing saving belief in Jesus Christ you can avoid that fire. That, when all the dust has settled on human history, is the only way you can avoid falling eternal victim to the wiles of the devil. And, needless to say, it’s definitely the way that you should choose.

Posted in Angels, Christ's Second Coming, Coming Judgment, Eternity, God's Sovereignty, God's Work, Hell, Missions, Persecution, Personal, Prophecy, Rebellion, Resurrection, Salvation, Satan, Series: "The Wiles of the Devil", Spiritual Warfare, The Devil | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What Satan Will Do to the Antichrist: Empowerment

Posted on March 26, 2018 by russellmckinney

“The Wiles of the Devil” series (post #19)

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, N.K.J.V.)

The term “the lawless one” in this passage refers to the coming Antichrist. The term “the lie” does as well. Once the Antichrist steps onto the stage of world power, he will be the great lie that Satan presents to the human race as a Satanic version of the Messiah.

Multiplied millions will fall for this lie, a primary reason being that Satan will empower the man to do signs and lying wonders. Revelation 13:2 symbolically depicts Satan as “the dragon” and the Antichrist as “the beast” and says that Satan will give the Antichrist “…his power, his throne, and great authority…” (N.K.J.V.). That’s what you call empowerment.

I have written a detailed, comprehensive 25-post series entitled “Bible Prophecy in Chronology,” and so I’ll not rehash all of that information here. (Please feel free to read any or all of those posts, especially the one entitled “The Antichrist.) But what I will do right now is list ten “career highlights” of the Antichrist. Here goes:

  1. Prophecies from the books of Daniel and The Revelation teach that the Antichrist will ascend to world power by way of an end-times version of the Roman empire. The current understanding is that this empire will be some variation of the politically reunited Europe — the European Union — we see now. At the time of the Antichrist’s rise, the empire will be led by a ten-king coalition, with the Antichrist cropping up as an eleventh leader that overthrows three of the ten and takes sole control of the empire. (Daniel 7:1-8, 23-24; Revelation 13:1; 17:1-12)
  2. The Antichrist will be a great orator (Daniel 7:8,11; Revelation 13:5) who will initially present himself as a man of peace. Bible prophecy portrays him as a rider on a white horse who carries a bow and rides out to conquer, but he doesn’t carry an arrow to go with the bow (Revelation 6:1-2). This means that he will come to power by way of political means rather than military ones.
  3. As further evidence that the Antichrist will be ushered in as a man of peace, he will sign a seven-year peace treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27). The seven years of this treaty will serve as the clock for the seven years of the tribulation period.
  4. At the midway point of the tribulation period the Antichrist will survive an assassination attempt that will at least appear to end his life (Revelation 13:1-3,12,14). Some students of prophecy contend that he will literally die and be miraculously resurrected by Satan, but this interpretation is contested. (For both sides of the argument, read my post “The Midway Point of the Tribulation Period: The Antichrist Becomes a Beast.”) What isn’t contested is that the Antichrist’s survival of the assassination attempt will catapult him to even greater world power as the masses begin to look upon him as a divine, supernatural figure (Revelation 13:4).
  5. Evidently, the Antichrist’s healing/resurrection (depending upon which interpretation you favor) will be the result of a powerful demon — a fallen angel — entering into his body and possessing him for the last half of the tribulation period. This demon will ascend out of “the bottomless pit” that will be opened during the tribulation period (Revelation 9:1-12). This “bottomless pit” is Tartarus, a place used exclusively for the imprisonment of fallen angels (2 Peter 2:4). The book of The Revelation refers to the post-possession Antichrist as “the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit” (Revelation 11:7; 17:8).
  6. Once the Antichrist becomes possessed by the demon, the man’s personality and conduct will dramatically change for the worse and he will make the last three and a half years of the tribulation period a veritable hell on earth. For starters, he will break his peace treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27-28), claim the rebuilt Jewish temple as his own, and sit upon a throne in the temple as “God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).
  7. The religious figure that prophecy calls “the false prophet” will serve as the Antichrist’s right-hand man (Revelation 13:11-13; 19:20). Just as the Holy Spirit’s job is to point people to Jesus, the false prophet’s job will be to point people to the Antichrist (Revelation 13:12). Satan will empower the false prophet with the ability to perform “great signs” (supernatural deeds, miracles) such as calling fire down from heaven (Revelation 13:13-14). These signs will make the man especially effective at his job.
  8. The false prophet will erect an image to the Antichrist inside the temple complex, and Satan will endue the false prophet with power to somehow make the image breathe, speak, and call for the execution of anyone who will not worship it (Revelation 13:14-15).
  9. The false prophet will also institute an economic program whereby everyone is required to take a certain mark either in their right hand or upon their forehead. This mark will be associated with the name of the Antichrist and anyone not bearing it will not be allowed to buy or sell in the last half of the tribulation period (Revelation 13:16-18).
  10. The tribulation period will climax and end with the Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16; 19:1-16). Even as this battle is raging, Jesus will return to walk the earth again (Revelation 19:11-14). He will win the battle by merely speaking the word, thus slaying all the soldiers of the world’s armies (Revelation 19:15-19,21), and in the aftermath of the carnage the Antichrist and the false prophet will be cast alive into the eternal lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). Jesus will then establish His 1,000-year kingdom reign upon the earth (Revelation 20:4).

Well, as you can tell from all this, in regards to the Antichrist and the false prophet there is going to be a whole lot of empowering taking place, and that empowerment will all be coming from Satan. Really, regardless of all the havoc and damage that Satan has inflicted upon this world down through the centuries, he hasn’t even had his heyday yet. That is still to come. But thank God that there is coming a time when God will at last deal with him and bring his unceasing reign of terror to a permanent end. That will be the subject of my next post, the concluding post to this series. As we will see, God is saving the best — the knockout punch — for last when it comes to His rounds with Satan. So, please join me next time for one last post in this series. Trust me, you need to know about God’s “end game” for Satan.

Posted in Christ's Second Coming, Coming Judgment, Deception, Prophecy, Satan, Series: "The Wiles of the Devil", Spiritual Warfare, The Devil, War | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Christian Verses” Podcast: Hebrews 4:12

Posted on March 25, 2018 by russellmckinney

In this week’s podcast, Malcolm and I conclude our series on the word of God by discussing Hebrews 4:12. What a verse! What it says about the word of God is nothing short of incredible. Here’s the link:

https://soundcloud.com/user-185243867/christianverses2018009

Posted in "Christian Verses" podcast, Bible Study, Scripture, The Bible, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment