19“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and
bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” 26For
you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not
many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27But God
has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God
has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are
mighty; 28and the base things of the world and the things which
are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing
the things that are, 29that no flesh should glory in His
presence. 30But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for
us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—31that,
as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” (1 Cor.1:19, 26-31).
“It is not a mere coincidence that at this particular
juncture in world history, life is being threatened from several
directions. People who know little about
biblical prophecies talk about the precarious condition of life on this
planet. This correlates well with the
prophecies of Jesus Christ who foresaw a calamitous end for this world.
Are we not living in those days now? How much worse must things get before
humanity realizes that it is heading towards catastrophe? The world has reached
the saturation point as far as population is concerned. The environment simply can no longer support
the ever-increasing population. It has
been estimated that within a generation the world population will double, then
in less than a century it will double again. It will then continue to double
within an ever-reducing cycle.
One scientist
remarked that if the world survives to reach that level, life conditions would
become so miserable that death would be preferable to life. Well, for millions of people even now
merciful death would be preferable to a hellish life. For those dying of starvation and disease in
About a decade ago, when images of starvation emerged from
What would it be like when every country and every city in the world has
doubled in size? The environment is
already dying. Can the world support
such an increase when many resources are already in short supply? Can the world afford not to turn to God while
He may still be found? Perhaps it is
already too late.
What were considered alarmist predictions a few decades ago, not only
have been fulfilled, but exceeded many times over. We are now learning about world problems that
only a few years ago were unheard of. A
decade ago no one knew of AIDS. Half a
decade ago there was no talk of the thinning of the ozone layer. These problems alone pose catastrophic
dangers. AIDS is threatening to destroy
the regenerating power of many nations.
The thinning of the ozone layer is posing a threat to the vegetation and
the microscopic marine organisms, the very support of life on earth, in
addition to whatever harm they may do directly to human beings. In February this year scientists raised the
alarm when they discovered that the depletion of the ozone layer is much worse
than previously thought:
"New finding of ozone depletion were so
alarming, the scientists said, they decided to release them before completion
of the data analysis in late March. “Everybody should be alarmed about
this," said Michael Kurylo, a research manager at the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA). "We're
seeing conditions primed for ozone destruction.
It's in a far worse way than we thought." (Sydney Morning Herald,
Feb. 5, 1992).
Apocalyptic times are well and truly upon us, yet people
would not repent so that God may spare the world of these cataclysms. Can you
see now why the sun is scorching the earth, and human beings suffer as a
result?
"And men were scorched with great heat, and
they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did
not repent and give Him glory." (Rev.16:9).
Governments are unable to address these problems because they require
painful solutions. The people that elect
them are more concerned with the pain of hunger than with restoring the
ecological balance. Difficult problems
are often postponed and left for the next government to solve with the result
that little is achieved. Often they
prefer not to raise such concerns in public at all. Out of sight is out of mind. No one realizes that these problems will get
much worse and will not be solved unless and until people turn to God.
How many people remember the events of 1991? Aside from the Gulf War and the ecological
and social disasters that it created, how many know that in terms of natural
disasters 1991 broke almost every record since record keeping began more than a
century ago?
The US Congress allocates an annual percentage of its budget every year
for emergency situations, to help those nations that suffer calamities and
natural disasters. By May 1991, the sum allocated for the entire year was
already exhausted. There were droughts,
famine, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, mudslides, etc., too many to
be listed. Who remembers, for example,
when approximately a third of
How many people know that large
tracks of the
People believe that communism failed.
Communism never failed, atheism did!
Communism never failed because it has never been tried. What they practiced in the
Soviet communism failed, but so has American capitalism. Such is the vulgarity of capitalism that at a
time when a company like General Motors is closing down dozens of factories and
laying off thousands of people, it grants its retiring Chairman an annual
pension of $US1.2 million. The Chairman
of Chrysler, who has an allocated salary of $4.5 millions, went to
No social conscience on the part of those who clamber their way to the
top. No Christian concern for one's
fellow human beings from the leading citizens of the, supposedly, number one
Christian nation on earth. Has no one
ever told these people that "it is easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
Where are the spiritual leaders of that nation? What have they achieved? Why are they silent in the face of such
blatant greed and exploitation? Or are
they part of the same mentality?
The country wonders why its economy is faltering so badly. Unfettered capitalism is just as unchristian
as totalitarian communism. Soviet
communism has collapsed; now watch for the collapse of capitalism. Those who believe that the
This author grew up behind the “Iron Curtain” where a great part of his education
involved indoctrination about the “glorious future the
Out of that atheistic nightmare, God had to bring someone at enormous
personal sacrifice to preach His Gospel to the world, because those who had it
all the time made a mockery of it by turning it into a money
making venture.
The
At a time when the world is facing the test of survival, few people
understand that there is a connection between current problems and the
spiritual decline of the world. Even the
Churches of God, who once prided themselves in their ability to understand the
prophecies of God, have fallen silent.
At the time that their input is needed more than ever, they are engaged
in an internecine war that is sapping their strength from within.
Once again, as it has happened throughout history, God has raised people
from the lowest levels of society to do His work. The message that John the Baptist delivered
to ancient
“1In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the
wilderness of
So
repent, for the
(The Christian Herald No 2,
pp. 7-9).
“10And he said to me, “Do not
seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. 11He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is
filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous
still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”
12“And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is
with Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and
the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First
and the Last.” (Rev.22:10-13).
15“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and
evil, 16in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and
to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live
and multiply; and the Lord
your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. 17But
if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and
worship other gods and serve them, 18I announce to you today that
you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the
land which you cross over the
I set before you life and death, blessing and cursing,
therefore choose life, said God. And
what did they do? They chose death and
that is why they lost their mission, their nation, and themselves. Ever since that time, they have been
wanderers in the world.
“But I want to remind
you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of
the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6And
the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He
has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great
day; 7as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a
similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and
gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the
vengeance of eternal fire.”(Jude 1:5-7)
It is not a mere coincidence that as the world has given
itself to the same sins as
“1But there were also false prophets among the people, even
as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in
destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and
bring on themselves swift destruction. 2And many will follow
their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be
blasphemed. 3By covetousness they will exploit you with
deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their
destruction does not slumber. 4For
if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to
hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for
judgment; 5and did not spare the ancient world, but saved
Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness,
bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; 6and turning
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction,
making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly.”
(2 Peter 2:1-6).
Why
do human beings ‘follow destructive ways’, and not the ways of God? And why are
those who preach the Word of God and the true Gospel of salvation being ignored
and persecuted, while the purveyors of deadly gospels are being honoured and
rewarded? How did we know as early as
1992, when we published TCH No 2,
that humanity had entered the age of troubles connected with the end time? We knew it from the Bible, and from
prophecies like the following one.
4“But
you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end;
many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” . . . 9And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the
words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10Many
shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly;
and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.” (Dan.
12:4, 9-10).
9“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” (Mat. 24:9-13).
How wonderfully these prophecies reflect our time. First they tell us that when these things happen it will be the time of the end. ‘Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.’ Isn’t this a reflection of our modern age when transport and knowledge are so widespread? Then we are told that none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. Where are the wise that understand these things? And if they understand them, why are human beings still in ignorance about their meaning? Why are they not turning to the only source that can save them from these impending catastrophes? Because the wise of Daniel are different from the wise of Apostle Paul (quoted at the beginning of this article).
The wise according to the knowledge of God understand what is happening in the world, whereas the wise according to the knowledge of this world are blindly leading humanity to perdition. It is not a mere coincidence that as the world is being devastated by global warming and climate change, the spectre of nuclear annihilation has raised its ugly head again.
"However, I
have been to re-education camp - spending 4½ years as a university
president." His remark drew laughs and applause. His sharpest response to
Putin was gently couched. "Russia
is a partner in endeavours," Mr Gates said. "But we wonder, too, about some Russian
policies that seem to work against international stability, such as its arms
transfers and its temptation to use energy resources for political
coercion."
Throughout the
rebuttal, and in a longer discourse on how the US's European allies must help
rebuild Afghanistan and remain engaged in the fight against terrorism, Mr Gates
mentioned Mr Putin only once by name. That came when he said he had accepted an
invitation from Mr Putin to visit Moscow.
Mr Gates cast himself as a geopolitical realist and drew a knowing laugh
when he focused on Mr Putin's assertion that the US and its allies were
dividing Europe. "All of these characterisations belong in the past,"
Mr Gates said. "The free world versus those behind the Iron Curtain. North
versus South. East versus West. And I am told that some have even spoken in
terms of old Europe versus new."
The US has asked Japan not to arrange a meeting between the
Vice-President, Dick Cheney, and the Defence Minister, Fumio Kyuma, an apparent
response to Mr Kyuma's criticism of US policy, Kyodo news agency reported. Last month Mr Kyuma irked the US by saying
it was wrong to start the war in Iraq. Mr Cheney is scheduled to meet the chief
officers of Japan's Self-Defence Forces during a visit next week. (Thom Shanker, The New York Times, Feb. 13, 2007).
While the US
deals with velvet gloves with its Russian adversary, Putin makes incessant preparations
to challenge America’s dominance of the world.
Shanghai Co-operation Organisation – ‘timely and
visionary’ “THE Shanghai Co-operation Organisation,
whose members and observers represent half the world's population, signalled at
its annual summit yesterday its determination to play a central role in global
energy politics. Russian
President Vladimir Putin urged the formation of "an