The national celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible is scheduled to take place May 2-3, 2011 in Washington D.C.  A historic Bible collection will be displayed on the National Mall.  Authors and historians will also be speaking May 2 on the campus of George Washington University.  In coordination with the event an House Resolution commemorating the 400th anniversary is working its way through congress.  The national recognition of the 400th anniversary will take place in front of the Capitol building on the National Mall at 5:00 PM on May 3.  To learn more about this historic event visit the anniversary website at www.KingJames400.com

An Historic Occasion

by Dr. Douglas F. Levesque, founder The Bible Nation Society

A great celebration lies just before us.  The King James Bible is turning 400 years old!Samuel testified, “. . . and the word of the LORD was precious in those days,”.  I wholeheartedly agree with the  prophet . . .both then and now!  The Bible is a precious commodity and deserves our celebrating it’s age, it’s influence and it’s enduring attributes.

Do you realize the King James Bible is older than America itself?  Why the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are only middle aged in comparison.  Many would argue that those founding documents had an impetus that was born out of the pages of these celebrated Scriptures.  The great scientific ages of industry, space, and telecommunications along with their fruits of factories, rockets, and smart phones came only after the massive distribution of this the greatest of books.  It is not just a history book, it is a book that has made history.

No other literature touches the influence of the King James Bible.  Soldiers have found  hope and comfort in it from the French and Indian wars to the modern day conflicts.  It’s well worn pages have been read at our weddings and by our gravesides.  Presidents and Kings have quoted from it for aid in domestic disputations, and for clarity amidst diplomatic challenges.  Its words, more than any other, are plastered in our public buildings, referred to in our music, and acted out in our movies.  It has been etched into our national psyche over these last 400 years, and with good effect.  This sacred work has solidified the English language, and spread it’s verbiage across the globe.  It truly is the best selling, oftenest read,  and most beloved of books.

Much can be said of the King James Bible’s endurance.  No book has been more scrutinized for centuries, or attacked by disparate enemies.  It simply was made to last.  Some have said it is an anvil molding the instruments that comply to it’s shaping, and breaking the ones that try to destroy it.  It is worth celebrating!
It really is more than a national icon – it is a worldwide phenomenon!  And while it cannot be said that God is an Englishman, it is indisputable that He has made sure English speakers, of every race and continent, know who He is.  What a Bible we have!  It’s words will transform a person, and enrich  a nation.  Join me in celebrating this monumental cornerstone of our culture.

Visit www.KingJames400.com for more information.

I am often dismayed at the lack of public outcry and denouncement of evil by common folk. Such lamenting should not be reserved for courts and media alone. While liberals scream, “Save the whales!”, they often remain strangely silent on the useless and cold-blooded murder of yet to be born children. Conservatives are often the first to shout, “Off with his head!” before a fair hearing is complete. I am staunchly conservative and against abortion in any form, yet I am also against pre-meditated vengeful murder in any form. Murder is wrong! Killing of our fellow man should make us shudder. I will not be hypocritical in my silence or in my public denunciations. Abortion is murder! Also . . .

The murder of Dr. Tiller was wrong.

It is hard for most of America to “feel bad” for such a character. I admit my heart does not ache for Dr. Tiller the way it breaks for the victims of abortion. (In fact, I have had to actually work up any sorrow for him at all.) However, our sense of right and wrong must remain in tact. We must not become the monsters we oppose by delineating between the murder of a middle aged doctor, and an unseen infant. And yet, we must remain confident in the ways and means of God to dispense judgment.

The judgment of Dr. Tiller was complete.

While murder and judgment seem to go together, they are two different things. The ‘Tiller Killer’ will receive justice through courts and laws. Such enforcement is ordained in Scripture. But what of justice for the countless humans killed at the point of their own birth? Such a cold blooded killer for hire cannot and will not escape the just hand of God – in this life or the next. Allowing a long cruel bout with a debilitating disease, frustrating and sickening treatments, and dying a thousand painful deaths while losing all fortune and family would have been my choice for such a man. Then again, I am not God, and he did not die that way.

The repentance and reformation of Dr. Tiller would have been more desirable.

Dr. Tiller died in a few horror filled moments, after a reasonably long and experienced life – something he denied his own victims. What if he would have practiced a different form of medicine? Would his end have been different? We will never know. God reformed certain killers, like Moses or Paul, but the grace of God seemed absent from Dr. Tiller’s life. And now I imagine an eternity of torment in the hottest flames of hell for such a tyrant. Like Pharaoh, Nero, and Hitler, Tiller will forever be a bad guy, numbered among baby killers. His opportunity to change, to do right, to be saved, is over. Cold blooded, premeditated murder is wrong and will always be judged.

The legacy of Dr. Tiller will forever be bloody and despicable.

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” -Prophet Isaiah (5:20)

Idolatry, in the sense of setting up a golden calf and dancing around it, is not a predominant ideal in American culture; however, the fact that an overwhelming majority of American households own and regularly watch a television (sometimes multiple), even dedicating an entire room of their home to, it seems to parallel the notion.

Most homes have their furniture directed around the TV the way a church’s pews surround and face the pulpit.  An earlier citizen of the 20th century might wonder what everyone was worshipping or rather who was being worshipped.  Is it any wonder that one of this nation’s most watched programs today is called “American Idol”?  Moses recorded God’s spoken words thusly, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3).  Idolatry may look a little different today but its dangerous effects and end results are still the same.

Idols as Saviors

Empires past have used their idols as platforms of national unity and identity.  In victory, gods of stone or gold have received gratitude and glory from both people and state.  In difficulties, those same lifeless items were looked to for healing and salvation.  The fall of Egypt, Babylon, Persia,

Greece, Rome, and other majesties past was, at least in part, the result of unsuccessfully relying upon these false messiahs.  Unfortunately, their fascination with Pharaoh and Caesar worship is not unlike our own preoccupation with ‘the stars’.  Today the most popular songwriters, performers, athletes, and actors make broad political condemnations, back their candidates of choice, donate or raise money for pet causes, and yet hardly make a dent in solving real problems of the American landscape.  They do not save victims of crime, soldiers from IED’s, debtors from collectors, or spouses from divorce.  Few quote the Bible or give it a nod, but are rather ignorant of its solutions to societal ills.  Many of these icons of culture are the very corrupting force within it.  On the other hand, the Bible was a chief formulating force of the important concepts of liberty of conscience, speech, press, and assembly.  President Ronald Reagan once said, “Of the many influences that have shaped the United States into a distinctive nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.”  Even Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners have not managed to stave off hunger, war, or disease.  The statues of antiquity along with our idols just do no make worthy saviors. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (I Timothy 2:5).

A Modern day “Casting Down”

The high places and groves of historic idol worship have been replaced by satellites and internet chat rooms.  The conflict remains a spiritual one.  The Apostle Paul writes:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringeth into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;  And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” (II Corinthians 10:3-6)

While Bible believers may not be able to stave off certain popularities among an increasingly diverse and debauched moral climate, we do have a Biblical model of countering idols in any form:

Prayer.  Like the examples in Scripture, personal and even corporate expressions of repentance are needed.  We must acknowledge what it is we need – a reversal of idolatrous tendencies in our lives.

Personal Reform.  An honest evaluation of how idolatrous practices have entered our own sphere will be a painful exercise, but profitable in the end.

Public Denouncement.  Teaching, writing, and speaking out against blatant corrupting influences is not to be relegated to just a few. 

Appealing to Leadership.  Pertinent and timely instruction to our elected officials regarding the Bibles cultural benefits is worth the time and effort that a pastor might put into a sermon.  These lessons can be conveyed via impassioned pleas, stern warnings, didactic reports, and even letters of gratitude to hearing authorities.

Organized Boycott.

The bottom line to much of the entertainment industry is money.  There are certain noticeable sponsors of the more heinous forms of idolatry that knowingly and willingly endorse and identify with the gods of this world.  These entities may be conscientiously boycotted.

Ancient Landmarks Remembered

The Bible should be the centerpiece of our homes and of our national conscience, not the questionable antics of sensual women and vulgar men.  The Mayflower men and women would weep over the vileness of today.  The framers of American government did not have today’s sexual free-for-all in mind.  The soldiers of our own civil war would roll over in their graves if they could.  Even the early pioneers of broadcasting would be shamed at our current hedonism.  The wisdom of Solomon cries out to modernity, “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.” (Proverbs 22:28).

The country of Iran is referred to throughout the pages of Scripture, not as Iran, but as Elam, Media, and Persia.  It has been inhabited since near Creation with scientists dating the habitation of the land to 4000 BC.  The first mention in Scripture of this country is by way of its apparent post-flood pioneer, Elam the son of Shem.  That’s right, Elam was Noah’s grandson. (Genesis 10:22)  It would seem apparent to the population of modern Iran that they are an ancient progeny with God-fearing roots:  the Elamites.  Indeed, Iranian museums, textbooks, and universities, all recognize this fact, yet today, ninety-nine percent of the people practice a dedicated form of Islam and call themselves Shiites.  Shiites are followers of the Koran, not the Bible, and are becoming increasingly hostile to Christians and Jews.  It is this national and religious hostility concerning the encroachment of ‘western’ ideology and power that has put this ancient land back in the headlines.

The current rumblings for regional dominance coming out of the broader Middle East are by no means a new phenomenon.  In Genesis, an Elamite king by the name of Chederlaomer, led a group of Mesopotamian rulers in a military campaign to exact tribute and dominate the region of what is now modern-day Israel.  The Biblical patriarch Abraham was forced into the conflict because his nephew, Lot, was being taken captive by the invaders.  Abraham defeated the multinational force with three hundred of his own men, but insisted the victory was not due to military prowess, but came by the hand of God Himself.  The Canaanite kings were grateful, but Abraham was not impressed by these men anymore than the ones he had just defeated.  They were the kings of the soon to be destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

Babylon (near modern-day Baghdad, Iraq) was in the geographic center of many powerful kingdoms, and eventually dominated the Elamites of the south and the Assyrians of the north.  The prophet Daniel was no doubt privy to the political intrigues of the day and ended up in the Elamite city of Susa, serving the Persian Emperor Cyrus, and his Median lord, Darius.  It was in Susa that Daniel had his great vision of Jesus, similar to John’s in Revelation.  The angel Gabriel delivered a message from God to Daniel here that encouraged him about Israel’s future restoration, and Persia’s eventual decline.  From here on out, Elam is highlighted by its greater context as the Persian Empire.  Daniel had envisioned this empire in a dream, as the representation of the arms and chest of silver.  This Empire surged from India to Ethiopia, and moved its capital from Susa to Persepolis.  These ruins today lie near the modern-day city of Shiraz, southeast of the province of Llam (from the name Elam).

Of course, the pages of Scripture are filled with the accounts of Persian rulers allowing, and even paying for, the return to Israel of the long-captive Jews.  Sheshbazaar, Zerrubabel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Mordecai, all served close to the seat of power and were players in the gradual restoration of legal rights, return of temple treasures, and rebuilding of Jerusalem’s temple and walls.  Iran is the background to all of these historical narratives concerning the repatriation of Jewish exiles from the Assyrian and Babylonian captivity.  These political intrigues were no doubt an attempt to form a strong alliance with previously enslaved peoples in order to create a geographic buffer against the rising ‘western’ storm of Greek people and power infringing upon its empire.  A similar encroachment is felt by Iran’s Imams and Ayatollahs today, but they are not using a goodwill campaign to combat it this time.  They instead are using a campaign of regional guerilla warfare and global terror justified upon Shia law.

After failed western campaigns, the Persians then found themselves battling the young conqueror Alexander, who made quick work of their armies and burned the city of Persepolis as a statement to the nations of his new world order.  After his death the Greeks divided the vast lands and in the order of time were reconquered or simply assimilated by the Romans.  The Romans in turn had to divide their empire until the Byzantine Christian monarchs eventually had influence in the region.  The Muslim movement rejected the old Roman order and Byzantine rule, filling the void of the region’s hunger for purpose and self identity, eventually becoming the dominating force in Iran.  It has been struggling to be even a third-rate power for 2,400 years, but now finds itself with the best opportunity for global advancement since the world was ruled from its cities.

Perhaps the best insight into how Bible-believers should respond to the current saber-rattling and potential nuclear showdown facing America is found in the New Testament book of Acts.  In Chapter two we find God-fearing men and converts from all points of the compass including “Elam”.  It is incredible to think that the modern, mostly Bible-rejecting people of Iran, had representation at the greatest Spirit-inspired evangelism crusade ever to be witnessed.  These Elamites heard Galileans speak, with perfect diction, the message of Christ in their native tongue!  Bible truths were heard by Iranians!  It was God’s will!  And so should it be today.  There is a small but growing group of Iranian Christians who daily read the Bible in the Persian tongue, and who boldly, but carefully, distribute it to their countrymen.

The fact that American troops virtually surround Iran to-day has the current president Ahmadinejad and the military establishment there up in arms.  They are pursuing nuclear power, backing terrorist organizations, purchasing advanced weapons at an alarming rate, and allying with a newly robust Russia.  These facts also can be seen prophetically on the pages of scripture.  Ezekiel prophesies in chapter 38-39 about the war of Gog and Magog (Russia) who align with Persia (Iran) against Israel, but are annihilated by God Himself.  America seems to be absent in this scenario.  Could that mean we are passive, subjugated, or neutral during this time?  Do we lose power or are we crippled by weapons of mass destruction?  It is an interesting question that has Bible enthusiasts focused squarely on Iran in the news.

I recently spent an enjoyable afternoon with a former colleague that I taught with for 3 years. As we were catching up on our lives and some of the lives of our students, he informed me that one of my former students was on a search for truth by testing all of the World’s major religions to embrace their truth. Without dismissing him entirely, let me say anyone on that quest is to be admired on an elementary level. Most people live a lifetime and never ponder the great questions of life.

Who am I?

Where did I come from?

Where am I going?

Actually, I felt we covered these questions as we addressed the purpose of life in our Bible class. However for some, that may not be enough. Truth is a personal discovery, like happiness, it is an inside job. Some people dream of finding truth, others put their dreams in motion.

In the bestselling book, The Secret Rhonda Byrne says her personal journey for truth led her to the ancient texts and world religions. Her conclusion essentially is that the secret to life is the Law of Attraction.  We are attracted to the things we think about and to the people we resemble in life. Is this so unusual? Is this the secret to life? We join clubs and leagues that associate with people just like us. We do business with people we like who resemble our values and make us comfortable with them.

In all of my years in business I never known of someone to say “my supplier has nothing in common with me, as a matter of fact, we argue over every little detail, we are polar opposites, but you know what, I just keep buying from him because he has the best product”. I seriously doubt that conversation would take place for long. No, the customer would find a supplier he could tolerate being around, or insist the company send another representative to service his account.

If anyone truly wanted to find the secret to life, their journey would have to begin with scripture. Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments,”  again the psalmist says “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant”. Psalm 25:14

The secret and it’s really no secret, fear God and keep his commandments. Life surely is a one act play. There is no do-over and take it from the top again. We get one opportunity to get it right. We all have the great enterprise of exploring the scriptures and applying them to our lives. In this respect, some people fail miserably and some people succeed beyond their richest expectations. Why is that? I believe it is found in the little word desire: internal drive and initiative. “Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.”  Proverbs 18:1 Our mission to find truth is motivated  by our own desire to find it.

For us, Life is a blank check waiting for us to fill in the amount and endorse it with the signature of our heart’s desire. This is our commitment to the secret of life.

Visit the Michigan Association of Christian Schools website.

A great man once said that most Christians are so subnormal that when some rise to the normal, they are considered supernormal!  Here is the problem we face.  Worldliness, carnality, and indifference have become so much the usual condition of Christians that passion, power, and purity seem extraordinary!  Let us recognize that Bible Christianity is a very powerful thing whenever and wherever it is lived out.  Sadly, we have so seldomly seen it that men are persuaded that it is beyond the normal.  Yet effective evangelism, abiding peace, Spirit enablement, as well as severe persecution are the norm for the Christian life.  Our unbiblical conception of revival points to our great need for it!

 A third strange and incorrect idea that we often hear is that revival must meet certain historical criteria to be correctly called “revival.”  It is amazing how unscriptural are the requirements some believers set for revival! 

The number of conversions, the endurance of the converts, the effects on society, and unusual phenomena are all considered when critics decide whether or not a religious occurrence is a “revival.”  But a revival is not in closed taverns, reduced crime, strange experiences, massive numbers, or church harmony.  It is in believers turning back to a life surrendered to God!  When God revives His people, their witness for Christ has new power, but the specific effects of that power may not match exactly the effects of other revivals in the past.

The second chapter of Acts says that Peter and the congregation at Jerusalem were “filled with the Holy Ghost” (v. 4) and spoke the Word of God in His power.  They were in a state of revival.  As a result, those who heard their witness to the resurrection of Christ “were pricked in their heart” (v. 37) and repented.  Some three thousand were saved and baptized as a result of the revival on that Day of Pentecost (v. 41).

The seventh chapter of Acts tells about the deacon, Stephen, who was “full of the Holy Ghost” (v. 55).  He was in a state of revival, and as he witnessed for Christ before the council of men that had arranged for the Lord’s crucifixion, the power of God brought conviction.  “They were cut to the heart,” the Bible says (v. 54), but the result was rage, not conversion.  These sinful men “ran upon him [Stephen] . . . and cast him out of the city” (vv. 57-58).  There they stoned the deacon to death.  But let us note that there was a state of revival in the Christian of Acts 7 just as surely as there was such a state among the Christians in Acts 2!  The revival was in the hearts of the believers, and the expected blessing of convicting power did come in both cases.  Yet in one situation, a multitude was immediately converted, and in the other, the believer was murdered (although fruit was indeed produced through the eventual conversion of Saul-Acts 7:58 and 9:3-6).  The particulars were different because they were incidentals, not essentials.  Essentially, revival was the same in Acts 2 and 7.  In the Bible we are instructed accurately about revival, but that is not always so in history books!

Revival is God’s bringing us back to normal!  Mr. Finney said, “[A revival] is the renewal of the first love of Christians, resulting in the awakening and conversion of sinners to God.”1  Bill Rice III says that revival is a return to Bible principle.  Vance Havner defined revival as Christians returning to normal.

Revival is also predictable.  It can be expected when it is sought on the basis of God’s Word.  Judges 10 shows us that we can expect revival in response to our repentance because of the very nature of the heart of God!  “His soul was grieved for the misery of Israel.”  Something in God moves when men move toward Him.

The aspect of God’s nature that responds to man’s repentance is His mercy.  The great revival Psalm, number 85, says in verse 7, “Show us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.”

Psalm 89 says in verse 1, “I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever.”

In Psalms 106, 107, 118, and twenty-six times in Psalm 136, we read that “his mercy endureth for ever.”  The reason God’s mercy endures forever is that the eternal God is essentially merciful. 

The prophet Habakkuk prayed for revival, and in his prayer he said, “In wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2).  God always remembers mercy in times of His wrath.  Think of the covering coats He provided for Adam’s nakedness on the day of his fall and God’s curse.  Think of Noah’s ark at the time of God’s terrible judgement in the Flood.  God is always merciful, even when He is angry, and that is because He is unalterably merciful.

Have you noticed what God did when weak and wicked King Ahab repented?

 ”And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days:  but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.” (I Kings 21:28-29)

 Even Ahab found God merciful, and he was the worst of the kings of Israel!  Can you remember who was the most wicked ruler of the southern kingdom of Judah?  It was Manasseh.  Have you heard that Manasseh found God’s mercy, too?

 ”And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, And prayed unto him: and he was entreated of him and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom.  Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.” (II Chronicles 33:12-13)

The verses that followed these remarkable two tell us that the king experienced a full-scale revival in his own life and spent the rest of his days working to undo the harm he had done by his sins!  How could such a man have a revival?  The answer is in the fact that God is and will always be merciful and that His reviving work can be expected in response to our repentance.  Hear what God’s messengers have told us!

 “In the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them Saviors.” (Nehemiah 9:27)

 “Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” (Isaiah 57:15).  “Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.”    (James 4:10).

Yes, we can have forgiveness, help, and blessing from God in response to humble submission, steadfast faith, sincere repentance, and solemn commitment.  God is, and has always been, the Great Reviver of His people!

Certainly in our day we ought to seek personal, corporate, and general revival in the way the Israelites did in Jephthah’s time.  Pay attention to what characterized their quest for revival.

There Was Confession!

“And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned:” (Judges 10:15a)

They harbored little hope for a response, but they nevertheless confessed their sins to God.  Can we expect a particular reaction from God when we sincerely confess our sins?

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

God is “faithful” to forgive when we confess.  Forgiveness is not a sovereign act unrelated to our attitude, but the promised response to our confession, rooted in divine mercy.  These days, Christians who have lived their lives in love with the world and in neglect of their Father’s commands ought to make serious business of confessing their sins.  Godly men and women of the past have sought revival by writing out their sins and spending time confessing them.  Thoughtful reflection on our sins of omission as well as our habitual sins of commission will reveal clearly why we see so little of God’s blessing in our lives.  However, earnest confession of all these sins will certainly secure our God’s forgiveness.  And the God of Israel will revive us again!

There Was Submission!

“do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee;” (Judges 10:15b)

The children of Israel were resigned to accept God’s will for them, no matter what it was.  Can we expect the Lord to do anything in particular when we yield to Him in this way? 

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world:  but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2)

The admonition to surrender is attached to the promise that those who surrender all will “prove” the perfect will of God in their lives.  The Lord will set our steps on the right path when we submit our lives unconditionally to Him!  He wants us to fulfill His will, and He will see that we do when we become willing.  His mercy guarantees it.

There Was Prayer!

“Deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.” (Judges 10:15c)

When we ask “any thing according to his will,” the Apostle John told us “he heareth us” and “we have the petitions that we desired of him” (I John 5:14-15).  Men who pray for things that God says He wants for them can expect to receive the blessings they seek. 

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew 5:6). 

Do we want revival blessings?  Then we should ask for them.  Do we desire holiness?  Let us ask for it.  Do we hope to win others to Christ?  Let us pray that the Lord will grant these things.  It is in His nature to respond to such prayers.

There was Repentance!

“And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD,”  (Judges 10:16a)

God did not tell His people that if they got rid of their idols He would deliver them from the Ammonites.  He did not lead them to believe that if they served Him again, He would come to their aid.  They just did it anyway.  They repented of their sins, repaired their ways, and returned to the service of the true God because it was right to do so!

“and his soul was grieved…”

Their repentance brought his mercy, a response we should expect.

In his journal, Benjamin Franklin described what was happening in Philadelphia as a result of George Whitfield’s revival preaching.  “From being thoughtless or indifferent about religion it seem’d as if all the world were growing religious, so that one could not walk thro’ the town in an evening without hearing psalms sung in different families of every street.”2 

A general revival was prevailing in the city, and it was seen and heard in the changed lives of sinner and saint alike. Sometimes I think that if Christians began to act as if a general revival had come perhaps the Lord would send one!  Perhaps we should just change our ways and see what happens!  We could  gather our families nightly to sing the praises of the Lord.  We could  start praying as if we believed that God would revive us again.  We could give up the things in our lives that generate or fan the love of the world.  We could begin witnessing for Christ boldly and habitually.  We could have meetings to seek revival as in time of old.  Repentance turns the heart of God.  Certainly we ought to repent!  We can have the revival we need, as individual Christians, as servants of the Lord, and as congregations of believers.  God is the Great Reviver of His people and can be expected to respond to our repentance and prayer.  He is ever merciful and will hear our cry!

Dr. Rick Flanders, a pastor for 36 years, is now in a full time itinerant preaching ministry and the author of Back to Normal: Understanding Revival.  He is an expert on the history of religion and religious revivals in America and speaks optimistically about the possibility of a new revival era in the future.  For more information or to order materials contact via email at drrickflanders@gmail.com or sales@evangelpublishing.com

Notes

1 Charles G. Finney, Lectures on Revivals of Religion (New York:  Fleming H. Revell Company, 1868), p. 14
2 Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (New York:  Washington Square Press, 1955), pp. 128-29

Dr. Flander’s book can be purchased at Amazon.

The abstract mural seen here is a series of inter-related geometric patterns meant to create a contemplative ‘unity of god, earth, and time’ sensation.  The underlying astro-physiological meaning is the subject of much debate.  Could the painting contain a cosmic calendar or message delineating the “Age of Aquarius”?        The walls truncate like a pyramid to focus on the cultic shapes, and a simple change in lighting brings different elements to the forefront sparking even more ‘meditative ecstasy’. (See upper left of page).      

“But the stone in the middle of the room has more to tell us.  We may see it as an altar, empty not because there is no God, not because it is an altar to an unknown god, but because it is dedicated to the God whom men worship under many names and in many forms.” (Hammerskjold in his own words).  Obviously, this is a Satanic delusion because we know that God’s name is the Jehovah of Israel, and his form is that of Jesus of Nazareth.  He, the God of the Bible, said, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” –Exodus 20:4.     

This six and a half ton rectangular block of iron ore polished at the top and lit from above was a present from the king of Sweden.  It is meant to be the final resting space of the “Ark of Hope”. (See lower left of page).  This mockery of the Biblical Ark of the Covenant, is covered on each side by representations of earth, wind, fire and water.  It contains a pseudo ‘Ten Commandments’ made up of a sixteen point value system expounding the virtues of a ‘creation (vs. creator) centered theology’.  This theology is the GAIA, or mother earth gospel now sweeping the globe in various forms of ‘green’ morality and environmental practices.     

This brazen show of “New Age” religion adopted by the international community as a hope for peaceful co-existence on the earth, is really nothing new at all, but simply promises that same old lie “ye shall be as gods,”.  Hammerskjold  boasts, “There is an ancient saying that the sense of a vessel is not in its shell but in the void.  So it is with this room.  It is for those who come here to fill the void with what they find in their center of stillness.”

A photograph of the UN meditation room.