Let’s assume for a moment that God has pulled back that spiritual veil and he has allowed you to see everything that Satan is doing by filling the airwaves and cyberspace with his half-truths and miss-information to lead God’s children into bondage, what would you do? Well, that is the very topic of this blog. In the last Great War both sides would send miss-information to the other side in the hopes that they would take the bait and move their troops into an area were the enemy was waiting to ambush them. I believe that Satan is doing the same thing in the last days. He is sending out miss-information with the hope that Christians will also take the bait and be defeated by the enemy. Some of the things I have seen people post on Facebook from the internet are absolutely mind boggling. I am afraid if Christians start believing some of these half-truths and miss-information then it will lead them to do something completely out of character for a Christian. To do so will lead them to be arrested as enemies of the State and treated like terrorists.

I would like to spare you of that, so I am pleading with you to spend all of your time learning the truth of who you are in-Christ. This will be your sure defense against the enemy and his half-truths. The Apostle Paul said that God will send a deluding influence so that people would believe the lie because they refused to love the truth. How strong is this deluding influence is beyond our comprehension, but I can say that many will fight you to retain what they perceive is the truth found on the internet. In these last days we need to be lovers of the truth not of half-truths and miss-information found on the internet. The truth will not spend all of its time trying to uncover some supposed plot by the enemy or unearth some secret organization to unite everyone together into the New World Order. These things will surly come, but we are called to occupy until He comes by spending all of our time in true inconvenient service one to another. Our true identity in Christ is service one to another and if Satan can mess with that, which he is doing on the internet, then Christians will be soundly defeated.

There are many things which our Lord told us to watch, such as earthquakes in various places, wars and rumors of wars, famines, and the increase in wickedness. We should also be aware of the great distress which is already upon us as detailed in the book of Revelation, but again this should not keep us from our task. Our goal has not changed in two thousand years and must not change just because we are now living in the age of the internet. The goal is the same: spreading the gospel of peace between God and man, engaging the real enemy, warning people to flee from the wrath to come by embracing Christ, and loving one another through inconvenient service. Finally, warn but don’t chase every rabbit on the internet looking for the truth, because it could lead to your demise. While I will admit there are some good Christian sites committed to just teaching the truth of God’s Word, to help you grow in Christ and fulfill your calling, they are few and far between.

Humanity collectively has felt helpless to do anything about it. We can sound the warning most times, but not always. We have our first responders and many others who line up to provide help after the disaster. We can only dream of having a global weather net to control the weather and lessen the earthquakes and volcanoes, but no such technology exists and mankind is really helpless to do anything about it. It appears that our world is coming apart and to use biblical language it is “wearing out” and about ready to be “rolled up like an old robe.” We know that the prophets have been speaking about the end of days now for over three millennium and almost everyone now agrees that day is fast approaching.  So what should be our response?

The simple answer to this question is we must stand on the rock! It’s time we laid a firm foundation in Jesus Christ by knowing what we believe and believing what we know. As the foundations begin to crumble we must hang on to the truth that our gospel is without beginning or end; that it’s exclusive being only one way to heaven; that there is a literal hell and non-believers will be banished there by a merciful and just God; and to follow Christ we must pick up our cross, die to self, and live for Him. This is only the first step toward the solid rock as we learn to trust in God exclusively to make us into a new creation; by rejecting any systems of philosophy to modify our behavior or solve our multitude of emotional and psychological problems. We take our place upon the rock by learning from Jesus Christ all of His beautiful commands and putting them into practice as He continues the process of growing us from one degree of glory to another. We never lose hope that He will make us into the perfect image of His Son Jesus Christ.

Now when the great and mighty powers are unleashed upon the planet in the form of tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes, earthquakes, firestorms, and floods we take our stand firmly upon the solid rock. As the medal enters the furnace of affliction we must not falter through disbelief. We must not waiver in our commitment to Christ. We must not allow our foundation to crumble through the integration of worldliness. So with our face toward the wind we fear God and not anything else. We glorify God in all things and worship Him as the Creator of the universe. We may lose our home. We may lose our business. We may lose our loved ones. We may even lose our life, but our hope must remain strong as we think of all that awaits us in heaven above. Dear children, as the world falls apart we must grow stronger in Christ. And it’s through that great strength that we’re able to encourage others to stand firm.

As we fast approach the end of days fear will greatly increase across all segments of society. And as a Christian pastor we cannot medicate our way out of this dilemma, nor can we simply ignore the problem. Because along with fear, comes erratic behavior. People have been known to do the strangest things when griped with uncontrollable fear. I have seen people construct tinfoil hats to protect them from the gamma rays of unseen aliens to running away from their family and ending up on the streets as a homeless person. It is well documented that out of fear it has driven some people to murder others or even commit suicide, because they are no longer able to cope with the fear that has possessed them; they unknowingly allow the devil to do his work. Although at this point these cases are typically the extreme many others still remain silently traumatized with fear and sit on a powder keg that can go off any minute.

So as a Christian what can we do? We must go way beyond coping with our fear to actually casting it out so that it’s no longer a force that controls our lives. The Apostle John, also known as the Apostle of Love dealt with this very topic, yet many Christians have missed this teaching all together. They follow the world in succumbing to the power of fear and attempting to find its remedy. So let’s not miss this beautiful teaching in the Bible that says; “The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (I John 4:18c). Let’s be perfectly clear about what kind of love we are talking about. Quite honestly worldly love will not do, because it always expects something in return. I will love you but I expect you to love me in return, which means if I do something for you then I expect you to do something for me. Then there is also the love that says I will love you, but you better never do anything to me that I don’t like, again we are talking about worldly love.  This kind of love will not drive out fear.

On the other hand perfect love, the kind that drives out fear, is a self-giving love without expecting anything in return. This is the kind of love that keeps on giving even in the face of opposition – even at this level many of you may already be raising your westernized eyebrows. But we are not finished. Perfect love takes it a step further by giving yourself completely for the good of others. The best human example is the love a Mother has for her baby. In most cases a Mother will die for her baby, moreover, there is nothing that baby could possibly do to dilute a Mother’s love. Our perfect example, however, is the one that Jesus Christ gave us when He allowed Himself to be beaten, scourged, and put on a Cross so that we could have salvation – a new life in Him. Christ’s perfect love for the world caused Him to have no fear. “There is no fear in love” (I John 4:18a).  But what is our practical application?  When we truly die to self, no one can really hurt us. When we think only about the good of others and act on it as Christ did in a selfless act of courage then our love is truly perfected. Fear not!

From a biblical perspective God deals with the entire world and that includes the Muslims.

But now we see something new, instead of attacking the West the people are attacking their own leaders seeking to throw off their old restraints and find a new path. What is really happening in the Middle East? As stated in my blog last week some believe that there will be a new spiritual leader, the Mahdi that will come in the last days to unite all the Muslim nations and dominate the world. There is a call from some to institute Sharia Law not only in the East, but also in the West. Quite clearly they see Islam as the only true religion that can save humanity from certain calamity as it sinks further into the pit of moral degeneration. There is a real fear that as each country’s dictator is overthrown it creates a void to be filled by radical Islam. And it’s this radical element that longs for their spiritual leader to bring all Muslims together in a Holy war against the West.

From a biblical perspective God deals with the entire world and that includes the Muslims. It is written in our sacred text, the Holy Bible, that in the last days when the revived Roman Empire and its political leader is exercising his authority over the entire world, that God’s angel will “pour out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water is dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.” (Rev. 16:12) Why would God allow this to happen? Are not most of His people living in the West? Before we are too critical of God let’s be clear that the Bible does not say that the kings from the East will defeat the West, nor does it say that West under the leadership of the Antichrist will defeat the kings from the East. What is clear, however, is that he brings them both to the valley of decision – which is also referred to as Armageddon. It is here where the great battle takes place between God and all of fallen humanity. It is very instructive that prior to God destroying all of fallen humanity in this final battle, God issues a final warning to His people. “Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed.” (Rev. 16:15)

So here is the point friends, we do not need to fear what is happening in the Middle East, but we do need to fear God who is sitting on His Throne. As the biblical Antichrist begins to exercise his power in the West this country will not become more righteous. On the contrary those in the West will be deceived into thinking that they can build the perfect world without God. They will be deceived into thinking that they can develop their own self righteousness to save the world and defeat their enemies (specifically the hordes from the East). In fact this deception will deepen where the Antichrist will promise to protect Israel, and then break his covenant with her at the last moment. Retrospectively, as the Antichrist tightened his grip on the entire world through miracles signs and wonders the deception will grow. But the truth is man must die to self and trust in God alone for His imputed righteousness. Those who awake to this truth and put on the righteousness of God will “not go naked and be shamefully exposed” at Christ’s magnificent return to earth. Friends, we need to be more concerned about our being ready for the coming of Christ rather than the turmoil in the Middle East.