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Pamphlets
and Articles
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The world should be a happy place. It is not. Something is dreadfully wrong. There is plenty of food for all, yet millions starve and tens of thousands are constantly hungry.
The more freedom people get the more enslaved they become to immorality and irresponsibility. The more affluent society becomes , the more polluted, strikebound and selfish it becomes. Instead of peace and contentment, long life and abundance for all, the world has gone crazy with war and discontent, disaster and disgusting extremes of blatant wealth and abject poverty Over all hangs the constant threat of world war, nuclear holocaust and Middle East conflagration that may cut off vital oil supplies. The newspapers are filled with battles, bombs, assassinations, violence and crisis. How nice the world could be. What a spoiled, fear ridden place it really is. The prevailing philosophy is get what you can while you can. The teenagers ask, 'Will there be anything left for us?" There is an answer: there is a reason: there is a coming solution.
It could be one of several. Some folk abandon all restraint and grab what they can, regardless of the consequences. That only makes it worse. Others seek to escape reality with alcohol, drugs, recklessness or suicide. That leads to a hopeless end. Then there is the "alternative life-style", with its withdrawal from society in general. That gets you nowhere. Some live life in a daze, not caring or thinking about anything but their own immediate needs. That's giving up! A few DO care , trying their best to maintain a decent standard of behaviour and helping others where they can. And, there is a band of people who know what is happening, why, and how the world will be put right. Which group do you belong to? Our purpose in presenting this booklet is to help you to join the last group; to show you that God is in control of the destiny of the world and that His word, the Bible, has the answers to all the world's problems and those of individuals like you too.
The situation the world is in now is not unique. It is characteristic of the end (time) of most great empires. It happened to the Romans. Alexander the Great's alcoholic death was the beginning of the end of the Greek empire. Babylon was finished by the Medes during a night of careless feasting and drinking in Babylon. God says that our days are similar to Noah's days, when " the Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time" (Genesis 6-5). God intervened: the flood came and took the wicked away…only eight were saved. God did the same in the days of Lot, when the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were living a similar life to our world today, with gross immorality and lawlessness of every sort. God rained upon them fire and brimstone and destroyed them. Jesus said, " As it was in the days of Noah so it will be at the coming of the Son of man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered into the ark: and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That will be how it will be at the coming of the Son of man" (Matthew 24-37/39) These are vital words for our generation.
God forecast the end of each of the four great world empires: the Babylonian, the Medo-Persian the Greek and the Roman. And He has forecast the end of the times we live in too, in these words . "In the time of those kings (today), the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to other people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will endure for ever." (Daniel 2-44) This reveals that God has arranged NOT JUST AND END BUT A NEW BEGINNING, in which all the potential good and plenty of this world will be realised and enjoyed. Not only could this world be a happy place, it WILL be a happy place. That is the good news. The bad news is that 'things' will get worse before they get better. The world becomes a happy place to live in under the rulership of the Lord Jesus Christ, returned to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth. The events connected with the return of the Lord Jesus to the earth, are plainly referred to in the Bible. Take the few following examples:-
Speaking of Jesus Christ…For he must reign until he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. " (1 Corinthians 15- 25/26) These verses tell us that when the Lord Jesus returns to earth from heaven, the resurrection of the dead for judgement takes place: the wicked are destroyed: all other rule and power is put down when the Lord Jesus reigns: sorrow and pain and even death itself is done away with by the time the Lord Jesus' reign on earth is filly established. Well, that is a fine hope for the future.
Jesus was a Jew-- an Israelite---the same people we now call Israeli. Although His own people rejected Him and, the gospel preached in His name became available to all nations and although the Israeli people still refuse to accept Him as the Son of God, they have a special place in God's plan for Jesus and His Kingdom. In spite of Arab claims to the contrary, the ancient lands of the twelve tribes of Israel ARE promised by God to Israel. The final fulfilment of this promise is still in the future. It started with God's promise to Abraham. Here is one when he stood in Canaan (which became Israel)…"walk through the length and breadth of the land for I am giving it to you. Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you". (Jeremiah 30-11) Ezekiel 36-24, one of dozens of similar verses, adds to the story, "For I will take you out of the nations: I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land". In part fulfilment of this promise, God has moved mightily in the twentieth century. World War One cleared the Turks from the land of Israel. World War Two drove the Jews of Europe back to that land. In 1948, the land and the people were united in the NEW ISRAEL, as God had promised thousands of years ago. Four times the Arabs have tried and failed to drive the Israelis out. They won't succeed because Israel's continued existence is God's will. The Lord Jesus is to return to Israel and use it as the focal point of His new kingdom. That is the purpose for modern Israel's existence-- not only as a fulfilment of a promise of God, but also as an appropriate place for His kingdom to begin. But it is not completely a suitable place for this until the Jewish people themselves who live there, accept the Lord Jesus as their personal saviour and king. For this to happen, God has foreshadowed a special preaching program for the Israelis. Many of them will accept the Lord Jesus and join the true Gentile believers at His side, but other Jews will not accept him and will be consumed along with the rest of the world's wicked. ( Zechariah chapters 12 and 13: Ezekiel 36 and 37) Jerusalem is to be the Lord Jesus' capital city (Micah 4-2). It will take on a new character and spirit symbolised in the book of the Revelation for us by "New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven". These changes make Jerusalem and its people a fit and proper place for the Lord Jesus to begin His conquest of the world. Now you can see why Israel, the Lord Jesus' own nation, is so important and why its re-establishment and its continuing existence are the early signs of big changes that are coming. The Lord Jesus' own nation is being readied to receive Him. God's kingdom on earth is coming soon.
The Bible reveals that 'things' will get worse before they get better. Most world leaders will not give up their authority to the Lord Jesus voluntarily. The Middle East has always been a 'hot spot' and will get 'hotter'. More attempts will be made to do away with Israel; competing claims will be made on Jerusalem; more nations will turn against Israel; a Russian led group of nations will attempt to invade Israel, and, worst of all, millions of people will be deceived into believing that the Lord Jesus Christ, when He returns, IS ANTICHRIST; the Bible abounds with information about all of these events which are subjects of several publications available free to you (see our listing at the end). These events will be confusing and disheartening for the uninformed and a trap of deception for the unwary. Ponder upon this portion of Scripture--"For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth". (2 Thessalonians 2-11/12) To be forewarned is to be forearmed. You need to get the facts straight, your beliefs clear, your faith strengthened. Once you have done this, you will believe the truth and you will not be overtaken by the strong delusion. You will then be able to see the Lord Jesus for what He really is, and to understand the course of events in the Middle East and to follow God's progress in preparing for the establishment of His kingdom and to avoid the strong delusion and to reject the lie. And better than all those things, when you have properly committed yourself to the Lord Jesus, you will be able to have peace with God and yourself NOW, with assurance in God's control of world events, a bright hope for the future and a personal salvation in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It begins with reading and believing the Bible. The only way to get your facts straight is to read the Bible for yourself. We can help you do that with daily reading tables and information about where to find the details you need to know. The Bible is your personal survival manual . But it is also much more than that.
It is a unique and absolutely reliable history book. Not a single detail can be proved wrong and many of its historical facts about ancient history are not available elsewhere. It doesn't answer all questions---for example about life on other planets or what happened on earth before the Adamic creation, but it does give an historical summary of the human race from the special creation of the first humans, Adam and Eve,
On top of that, the Bible forecast innumerable events in advance. The fulfilment of many ancient forecasts are recorded and exist as absolute guarantees that the Bible forecasts for our future will also be accurately fulfilled. Here are just TEN sequential major world events selected from the many forecasts in the Bible. About 540 BC, the Bible prophet Daniel was directed by God to forecast that the Babylonian Empire would be overrun by the Medes, who be the 'smaller number' of a later partnership with the Persians. He foretold that the Persians would be overcome by the Greek empire, which would eventually split into four sections (by the four generals who divided the empire after Alexander the Great.). This would be succeeded by an iron-like empire (the Romans), the character of which would change greatly, enabling it to exist for a very long time (the Holy Roman empire and the Church), alongside other powers. The total result of all these empires would be smashed by God who would set up on the earth His own kingdom which would last for ever. (Daniel 2-19/45) NINE of these TEN events have come to pass as forecast, some of them a thousand years afterwards. Their fulfilment is the guarantee that the TENTH event will happen as well! This multitude of fulfilled and fulfilling prophecy is beyond co-incidence. Its magnitude demands a supernatural guiding hand. Its tremendous scope demands and an all powerful superintendence. The Bible reveals this is the person of God. It reveals Him as the motivating force and creative power behind everything in the world. It reveals His motives, plans, desires. The Bible is shown to be His Word, His revelation, His requirements, His message.
Perhaps you are one of the growing number of men and women who are disillusioned by the present trend of events in the world, dis-satisfied with your present pattern of living and prospects for the future, not sure where you are heading or what happens when you die. If so, why not sit down quietly now and ponder on these matters carefully. Whether you are young, with your life before you, or in the 'middle years', with life so full of interest and responsibilities, or is life's latter years, with very little time left; you owe it to yourself to make sure your life is right with God. The Bible tells us all about the how and why of our existence. It shows us to have intelligence, free will, defects, moral responsibility and to have been created for a purpose. The relationship between God and ourselves is understood by knowing His purpose with man. This relationship has been broken by man's defects, caused by his wrongful exercise of his free will. Our relationship with God can be restored in the way He has provided and it is our moral responsibility to grasp this way of recovery. It is not a co-incidence but a very vital principle that His way of restoration involves a commitment NOW to Christ Jesus, the future King of the earth. We want to stress the word .NOW. The moral responsibility of a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ NOW, is laid upon every man and woman who hears the Gospel message. It is useless to understand perfectly all the prophecies and make NO commitment. It is worthless to study the Bible with the mind and refuse to involve the heart. It is dangerous to delay till the Lord Jesus comes, for the delusion the Bible predicts can prevent you from recognising who HE TRULY IS. God wants folk to commit themselves to Jesus of their own free will NOW! A commitment to God and His Son the Lord Jesus Christ involves baptism- complete immersion in water- following and understanding and belief of the essential elements of the Gospel. This is what the Bible calls "the truth". Those who are deceived are deluded because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved". Our desire is to arouse your interest in the truth of the Bible so that you may be able to make that commitment to the Lord Jesus in the waters of baptism, and embrace a bright hope for the future, which is described for us by the exciting prophecies of the Bible. NOTE: Scriptural quotations are from the New International Version of the Bible. Graham Bacon |
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Blessed are
they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the
tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the
city.
Revelation 22v14 |
