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IN REFORMATION MONTH - OCTOBER: LET US REMEMBER THE WORDS OF THESE GREAT CHRISTIAN LEADERS
C.H.SPURGEON WORLD FAMOUS BAPTIST "PRINCE OF PREACHERS” "It is the bounden duty of every Christian to pray against Antichrist, and as to what Antichrist is no sane man ought to raise a question. If it be not the popery in the Church of Rome there is nothing in the world that can be called by that name. If there were to be issued a hue and cry for Antichrist, we would certainly take up this church on suspicion, and it would certainly not be let loose again, for it so exactly answers the description".
DR.A.B.SIMPSON FOUNDER OF THE CHRISTIAN AND MISSIONARY ALLIANCE. “Many of the most important signs of the Lord’s coming have already been fulfilled. For example: 1. The political changes and developments of Daniel’s great visions have apparently all occurred. The great empires have come and gone and the minor (Ten) kingdoms which were to succeed them are now covering the regions which they once swayed. 2. The predicted “Falling away” has long ago begun, (Romanism) and the MAN OF SIN has sat in God’s temple already the full time, of the prophetic cycle, and the process has begun which is to “consume and destroy unto the end.” THE PAPACY HAS FULFILLED ALMOST ALL THE LINEAMENTS OF ITS MARVELOUS PORTRAIT” - (The capitals are ours.) From “The Fourfold Gospel.” p.84, by Dr. A. B. Simpson. A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson. The old man’s hands trembled, his eye-sight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table, but the elderly grandfather’s shaky hands and failng sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon on to the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth. The son and daughter in-law became irritated with the mess. “We must do something about Grandfather,” said the son. “I’ve had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.” So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There. Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner. Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather’s direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?” Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food when I grow up.” The four-year-old smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather’s hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family For some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled. WORLDWIDE PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS (Matthew 24:9-10; Mark 13:9-13) 200 KILLED AS MOSLEMS TURN ON NIGERIAN CHRISTIANS Between 100 and 200 are reported to have been slaughtered in Muslim/Christian riots in Kano, northern Nigeria, on 12 to 14 October, 2001. The widespread fears of Christian minorities in Muslim-majority areas of the world that they would be targeted in reprisal for American attacks on Afghanistan were horribly justified on 12 October as anti-US protesters turned on Kano’s Christian minority during demonstrations. The protest began peacefully after Friday prayers. However, soon Muslim youths were throwing stones at police, shouting, “God is Great” and setting fire to cars and churches. Two days of savage riots between Muslim and Christian youths ensued in which hundreds were injured and some 18,000, mainly Christians, fled to military and police buildings frantically seeking protection from the violent mobs. The death toll is probably much higher than the reported figure of 100 - 200.
TURKISH CHRISTIANS ORDERED TO CLOSE PLACES OF WORSHIP A worrisome development in Turkey and its occupied Kurdish sector that illustrates the rising ire of Turks and Kurds against the pro-Zionist Millenarian sects and cults that are infiltrating Kurdistan and Turkey, attempting to rival the Nestorian, Uniate, and Lutheran churches, in the process, is beginning to succeed in tarnishing the image of Christianity among Kurds, Chaldees, and Turks
BELIEVERS IN LAOS MUST RECANT OR FACE JAIL In Communist Laos, Christians in droves are forced to sign such a declaration as, “I unequivocally resign from this foreign religion [Christianity],” officially renouncing their faith (7/18 Religion Today). The Bible League says those refusing to sign the document face indeterminate prison sentences under hard conditions. There are 30 to 60 known Christian prisoners in Laos now Communist officials have declared Christianity the “No. 1 enemy of this state.”
SAUDIS CRACK DOWN ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM Two Christians were recently arrested for reasons related to their faith, in Islamic Saudi Arabia, America’s strong Gulf War ally (8/6 Religion Today). Only Muslims are allowed to practice their faith. One third of the population of Saudi Arabia is foreign workers, many of whom are Christians from the Philippines, India, North Korea, etc. They are not allowed to display any Christian symbols or Bibles, nor are they allowed to meet together publicly to worship or pray. There are no churches in Saudi Arabia.
BIBLES BANNED IN TURKMENISTAN Bibles are disappearing from bookstalls in former Soviet republic Turkmenistan after a government letter ordered vendors to remove the books from off shelves. The Koran is still widely available (7/14 World). Turkmenistan restricts all religious activity and allows only two groups, Russian Orthodoxy and Islam, to register legally. THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE DIVINE, NEW YORK The Cathedral Church of the Divine, ECUSA’s flagship cathedral, and the country’s largest, located on New York’s upper West Side recently suffered a fire. The Cathedral is said to be associated with New Age activities. According to Virtuosity, it “is a haven for New Agers ... One of the world’s leading New Agers spoke from its pulpit, and at winter solstice celebrations an ‘archdruid’ saxophonist staged a celebration with gongs and a chorus of wolf calls in the cavernous sanctuary.” During Holy Week in 1984, this Episcopal Church, displayed a bronze sculpture called “Christa,” an unclothed woman on a cross. It was later removed under protest. In 1992 the Rector, James Parks Morton, told a reporter that aspects of the New Age (at least as it pertained to eco-spirituality) was a “great organising principle” for bringing people into religious experience. The cathedral housed an organisation with UN ties called the Temple of Understanding. At the time they were working on uniting religions at a "spirit of the earth” conference.
ISLAM ADVANCES IN “CHRISTIAN BRITAIN” Peter Brierley’s Christian Research Association predict that, if current religious trends in the UK continue, Muslims will outnumber Anglicans in the UK by ‘around 2013.’ Since the 1960s the number of registered mosques in the UK has risen from 60 to 700 and the Moslem population to around 1.5 million, (Source: News Telegraph, UK)
NZ ANGLICANS RETURN TO TIlE MAORI GODS Old Maori gods like Tane, Ranginui, Tangaroa and others, are being welcomed back into the New Zealand Anglican Church after being driven out more than 150 years ago by missionaries who declared them incompatible with historic Christianity. Newspaper reports from that country say that gods of nature such as Tane (god of forest and birds) and Tangaroa (god of the sea, lakes and rivers) and Ranginui (sky father) are being studied by trainee ministers in the Maori wing of the Anglican Church, in an attempt to marry Christianity with older spiritual beliefs. The missionaries had told Maoris they had to choose either their old beliefs or Christianity, say Anglican Maori leaders, but the head of the Maori Anglican Church, Bishop Whakahulhin Vercoe, said he believed there was no incompatibility between Christian teaching that there was one God, and Maori beliefs that there were many. “I think any other gods are emanations from the one God. That’s what we are saying in Maoridom,” he said. “We got labelled with a sign that we were heathen, barbaric and savage. I think Maoris are starting to object to that terminology. What we are trying to say is it has some credibility. We should examine this. After all knowledge isn’t a static thing. We are not saying we are going to leave the Christian faith,” he said. Professor Whatarangi Winiata, said he believed in both a Christian God and the old gods. "I believe in Tangaroa. I talk to Tangaroa out there in the boat, it’s the ocean. And Tawhirimatea, that’s the wind. And the sky I refer to as Ranganui. The Maori worldview is much more expansive in terms of understanding unseen forces,” said Winiata. New Zealand Anglicanism, is broadly liberal in theology and ethos. New Zealand has one of the lowest church attendances in the western world, lower even than Sweden. It also has the highest suicide rate amongst teenagers. I recently attended a special meeting in a church in the town of Loughbrickland, held to expose and denounce the Anglo-Israel Message. As so often before we were told that the presence of the prophetess Anna of the Tribe of Aser, in the Jerusalem Temple at the time of Christ’s’ birth, is in some way proof positive that the Northern Kingdom of Israel taken into Assyrian captivity by the time of Christ had somehow got back to Palestine. Let us see what the Bible says about Anna: "And there was one Anna a prophetess the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Aser: she was a great age, and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the Temple, but served God with fastings and prayers, night and day.” - (Luke 2:36-37) As to the presence in Jerusalem at this time of a member of one of the Ten Tribes, some might think this refutes the Anglo-Israel message. Far from it, for Anna is that exception which proves the rule. It was necessary in the plan of Almighty God for representatives of both sections of His people to be in the Temple to welcome the baby Jesus. As Simeon was representative of the Judah section, Anna represented the Israel section. We have already pointed out that during times of religious revival in the Southern Kingdom, some Northerners went south, a few may even have stayed. Furthermore when the vast bulk of Ten Tribed Israel were carried into Assyrian captivity a few stragglers may have fled south escaping the mopping up operations which lasted until 676 B.C. Did not the prophet declare: “Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof saith the Lord God of Israel.” - (Isaiah 17:6) By this we understand that a tiny remnant, a mere handful of Israelites, referred to as the gleaning grapes and the berries in the furthermost extremities of the tree, would escape the overall mass deportations into Assyrian captivity. This accounts for the presence of Anna a member of the Northern Tribe of Asher being in Jerusalem after Christ’s birth. There with Simeon she awaited her Messiah, so that the little Lord Jesus might be received, praised, worshipped and adored by the representatives of the Two Houses of Israel, between which Bible Prophecy makes such a clear distinction.
By THE LATE REV. W. P. NICHOLSON These are days of strange trials and testings. I believe they will become more so as we near the end of this age and His return. Our adversaries will mostly be those “who have a name to live and are dead,” those “who are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.” They won’t give up the church or the world. They hold on to both, and they will despise and persecute all those who dare to live separated lives and denounce their God-dishonouring and soul-damning manner of life. Then our most malignant, hostile adversaries will be the ministers and members of churches who are modern in their views. They deny the accuracy of the Bible, the deity of Christ, the total depravity of humanity and salvation by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. They believe in evolution rather than creation, the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. THEY HAVEN’T THE DECENCY OR COURAGE TO LEAVE THE CHURCH WHOSE CREED THEY HAVE LOST FAITH IN, BUT THEY TAKE ORTHODOX MONEY TO WRECK ORTHODOX FAITH. They will oppose every born again, spirit-filled man or woman who lives contrary to their teaching and denounces their immoral conduct and their faith-wrecking preaching. But "beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings". We are to be partakers of the afflictions of the Gospel as well as its blessings. When we meet Him, He won’t look us over to see how many medals or diplomas or degrees we have, but He will look to see how many SCARS we have. Let us ring true to Him and His Word at any cost. (Think carefully about what you will be reading) Mary had a little lamb, His fleece was white as snow And everywhere that Mary went, The Lamb was sure to go. He followed her to school each day, T’wasn’t even in the rule. It made the children laugh and play, To have a Lamb at school. And then the rules all changed one day, Illegal it became; To bring the Lamb of God to school, Or even speak His Name! Every day got worse and worse, And days turned into years. Instead of hearing children laugh, We heard gun shots and tears. What must we do to stop the crime, That’s in our schools today? Let’s let the Lamb come back to school, And teach our kids to pray! (The above poem was sent in by one of our American supporters, and it illustrates vividly what can happen to the youth of a nation that forgets God) - Hosea 4:6 (REVELATION 14:13) Since the last edition of our newsletter two faithful supporters of the work of God in Portadown have gone to their rest in the Lord. MR MATT FULLERTON Our dear brother had come into a knowledge of the Israel Message over fifty years ago when A. J. Ferris brought the Kingdom Truth to Portadown. Matt continued a firm stand for the Kingdom message for the rest of his life. When we came to Portadown in 1978 he was one of the first to rally to the work of the Open-Bible Fellowship and never missed a meeting until stricken by a stroke last year. He truly was a Veteran Crusader and a Christian gentleman. We extend our sympathy to his widow, son and family circle. MRS. JOYCE NICHOLSON Joyce came to us in the early days of the work in Portadown. In spite of periods of serious illness she maintained a bright testimony to the Kingdom Truth. We extend our sympathy to her husband and son. "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord."
You must visit our new Open-Bible Ministries Online Resource Centre from where you can listen to available talks and download them to your computer in MP3 format or purchase them as audio CDs or even MP3 CDs. We plan to increase the number of talks available from this new Resource Centre over the coming weeks while still maintaining our cassette tape facility for those folk who need this medium. "The Mystery of The Gentiles" "The Mystery of The Sheep" "The Mystery of The Vine" In the above series of three messages given recently (available from the Open-Bible Ministries Online Resource Centre) Pastor Alan examines the true Scriptural meaning and significance of these three words - Gentiles, Sheep, Vine - and explains the importance of 'rightly dividing the word of Truth' in their interpretation.
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