I have heard that this decade is already referred to as the Roaring Twenties - and that despite at this time of writing, we're only four days into it! The original Roaring Twenties was the decade between 1920-1929, nicely slotted in between two World Wars, and it was a time of economic growth and construction prosperity following the ravishes of the Great War. This time, however, rather than recover from global warfare, we are about to experience "oceans of opportunities as one invigorated nation with optimistic promises of a Golden Age of economic prosperity" post-Brexit, after four decades chained to Brussels, that cruel and wicked master of the European Union which was guilty of robbing the English of its sovereignty, identity and independence.
Although from 1930 onwards, there was still eight-to-nine years of peace before World War II broke out in 1939. During those years, Adolf Hitler was already rising to power, becoming Chancellor from 1933 until becoming Fuhrer just a year later, in 1934. But it was from 1921 onwards that he became the leader of the Nazi Party, still in its fledgeling stage back then. Thus it can be said that during the Roaring Twenties, rumbling earthquakes were heard and felt which eventually climaxed in an explosive volcanic eruption in the form of the second great war breaking out.
While I write this, Brexit hasn't yet occurred. It's still more than three weeks away - if our current Prime Minister keeps his promise to "Get Brexit Done" by the end of January 2020, as he assured us during his election manifesto. Yet the earth is already shaking and rumbles of thunder already can be heard, so the newspapers like to forewarn us. I'm referring to the missile strike under the orders of US President Donald Trump to annihilate General Qassem Soleimani, Iran's chief military commander, while in his car exiting Bagdad Airport after a flight from Syria. An incident which took place successfully within the last couple of days.
Fearing retaliation from Iran, an online heading from The Daily Mail of Friday, January 3rd, warned of the "likelihood of World War Three," as Iran's revenge attacks on the West could involve Israel, Russia and China as well as Europe and the States. Oh, dear! It doesn't look as if there is an intermission period to enjoy the promised "oceans of opportunities" in the same way as The Roaring Twenties did a hundred years earlier. Instead, it's time to hide in the bunkers. Hatchets down! The Third Rock from the Sun is about to fry! So much for Boris Johnson's optimism!
This "snowflake generation" must have squealed loud enough for the newspaper to modify its output by the day after, as I read the actual paper itself whilst sipping at a Starbucks Cappucino this morning. Perhaps the reporters had to modify after a long forum of complaint trailed the original article, basically calling the journalist a scaremongering idiot. And the forum had an occasional contribution in words such as:- Don't worry, snowflakes. World War Three isn't going to happen. As today's paper has put it, there is no evidence that China or Russia will get involved, although Israel could still turn on Iran if the latter aimed its weaponry towards this tiny Jewish nation.
Therefore, rather than being a global conflict forewarned only yesterday, this time the national newspaper assured us that Iran's retaliation - if it decides to retaliate - will result in a local conflict, very much like that of the Falklands War of the eighties or the Gulf War of the nineties. This time, British troops may not be involved in this latest conflict between Iran and the USA.
Whew! That's a relief! Thank you, Daily Mail. At last, we can savour the "oceans of opportunities" post-Brexit. As one who voted to remain in the European Union, and having to endure nonsense words such as Remoaner and Remainiac as well, (I'm surprised that no one has thought about Remidiot also, but still, someone might already have done) - I have arrived at the expectation that the English majority will prove me wrong, and end up sailing, or even swimming, in the "oceans of opportunities" and enjoying all the benefits. Indeed, if I was proved wrong all this time, I will admit it.
And so here we are, with our Christmas decorations still up albeit they will come down tomorrow (Sunday 5th) unless I feel lazy, as I usually do on a typical Sunday afternoon, stuffed with roast chicken thighs and vegetables, after a four-mile cycling trip to Ascot Life Church and back. Indeed, I'll be glad when this silly season is over. Glum office staff journeying to work, congested roads, cancelled and delayed trains, bins filled with thrown-out Christmas trees, cold weather, all shops open and trading, ditto with the banks, and the kids back at school. And oh yes, as I would forget: the opening of Parliament, with Brexit being on the top of the agenda. What a couple of weeks this has been.
And television. Funny in a way, that all programme schedules go so awry during public holidays. Yet there have been some enjoyable movies such as the adult version of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, shown in three parts, each evening leading up to and including Christmas Eve. And Eastenders? I know, to some of the more "spiritual" Christians around, only the "worldly" would sink low enough to watch such a soap. Never mind that the soap is bereft of swear words usually spoken among the real-world working classes, on Christmas Day we watched the explosive rage of a jealous husband of his wife who was impregnated by a handsome young man eight months previously. Indeed, lessons can be learned here on why God had commanded not to commit adultery. By honouring this commandment with obedience would have saved everyone involved from tons of anger, heartache and fear.
Then the three nature documentaries, Earth's Tropical Islands, narrated by actor David Harewood. Each covered three islands close to the Equator: Madagascar, Borneo and Hawaii. To me, this was a fascinating series depicting the vast array of species not found on any of the continents or islands outside the Tropical zone. But there were two inclusions which I found to be very sad, distressing, really. The first one covers about the last 10-15 minutes of the hour-long episode and details the precious rainforest being decimated for palm-oil farming, with vast areas of rainforest gone, along with the extinction of species and climate change. The sort of documentary put out by the BBC pierces exactly where it hurts, bringing up anger or sadness against these greedy capitalists who put profit before the natural environment and the welfare of its inhabitants.
The second source of distress came from the words evolution, evolutionary and evolved. Harewood used these words very frequently throughout his narration, without a chance for Creationism to even find a niche in the hour-long discourse. And so the English population watching these programmes lap it all up, without giving a moment's thought. It's interesting too, that it was at the same time when The Daily Mail newspaper had published a pie graph of the increase of Islam here in England alone and a decline of Christianity. There is an estimated 3,092,000 Muslims in England during 2016, which makes up 5.6% of the population (against 4.7% in 2011.) Jews, Buddhists and Shieks share 2.9% of the population while those who profess to be Christian makes up 56.6% (59.6% in 2011). This leaves 34.9% of English people who says they have no religion or any faith at all.
Of course, there is a big difference between professing to be Christians and being a true believer in the Death, Burial and bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ which engenders trust in Him for salvation. According to one survey done more than twenty years ago, the percentage of true believers here in England could be as little as 2%, although that might have changed since then.
Committed Creationists are convinced that the knowledge of Evolution destroys the faith of the potential believer in Jesus Christ. They believe that higher education, whether at university or college, has the potential to destroy the faith of many when Evolution is directly taught or even referred to positively. The reason for this is quite straightforward. If a six-day supernatural Creation had not taken place, then the Crucifixion either had no power to save and it's completely meaningless, or that if Adam and Eve were descendants of apelike ancestors who all died, then death was not caused by Adam's sin and therefore the Crucifixion and Resurrection would have been entirely bereft of any saving power. In fact, if Evolution, involving death before Adam is true, then there would be no risen Jesus Christ and no salvation.
I wish that more and more people are saved. And as such, Creationism plays a big role in evangelism. One good example of this was when Paul the apostle approached a group of Greeks in Athens. He says:
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not dwell in temples built by hands...From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
Acts 17:24, 26.
Paul knew that the six-day Creation is true and that Adam is the father of all men, and hence because Adam sinned, we are all sinners and subject to death because of sin, Christ, by rising physically from the dead, has defeated death and became the Firstfruit of the Resurrection. Because we are born naturally in Adam, we will die. But every believer who is in Christ, then he will live forever because of the Resurrection of Christ three days after his crucifixion. Creation and the Gospel are intrinsically linked. One cannot be true without the other.
That is why I long for a literal six-day Creation to be taught by a guest speaker at our Sunday services at Ascot Life Church. I was told by one Elder that Creation is not relevant for our church. But I disagree. Strongly disagree. Creation is not only relevant but an absolute necessity for the divine life which our fellowship is so committed to. And to believe in a six-day literal creation as narrated in the first chapter of Genesis nullifies an ancient Babylonian document, the Emuna Elish from being on the same level of authority as the Biblical record, as advocated at our church in the Summer of 2018, or the reason for the neutralisation of Theistic Evolution, embraced by most, if not all, university graduates filling most English churches.
One good friend of mine, Dave and his wife will be settling in Canada later in the Spring. Their mission will be to set up churches at a particular location. This is where I would strongly encourage the truth about a divine six-day Creation, the Fall, and Noah's Deluge to be taught as historical fact and how such Biblical truths makes up the foundation stone on which the Gospel can be verified as historical fact. One can't do without the other.
Will you feel embarrassed to advocate such truths as history in a modern, science-oriented world? Do you feel afraid to be cast aside, ignored, or even teased? Are you afraid that preaching Divine Creation will put people off from receiving the Gospel? Then this is worthy of consideration: At Athens, back then the capital of the academic world and the ancient equivalent of the present Oxbridge, Paul included Creation with his Gospel message. But he drew only a few followers. He wasn't very successful. Apparently, the response in Athens to Paul's revelation of Creation was so poor, that he wasn't even able to set up a church there, so it seems.
Jesus himself, he endorsed the historicity of Genesis (for example, Matthew 19:4-5, 24:37-39, Luke 17:28-32). But he came unto his own, and his own received him not. John 1:11. He might have endorsed the truth of Genesis, but that was no guarantee of wide acceptance.
Who knows, there might well be World War Three. But most likely not, at least not on a global scale. But in deciding for the coming decade, I do believe that reliable speakers from Creation Ministries International should be invited into our church as a guest speaker, along with the Kerith Centre receiving such a guest speaker to enforce the truth of the Biblical record to those sitting on the fence.
 |
| We pray for success? Will Brexit deliver? |
Although from 1930 onwards, there was still eight-to-nine years of peace before World War II broke out in 1939. During those years, Adolf Hitler was already rising to power, becoming Chancellor from 1933 until becoming Fuhrer just a year later, in 1934. But it was from 1921 onwards that he became the leader of the Nazi Party, still in its fledgeling stage back then. Thus it can be said that during the Roaring Twenties, rumbling earthquakes were heard and felt which eventually climaxed in an explosive volcanic eruption in the form of the second great war breaking out.
While I write this, Brexit hasn't yet occurred. It's still more than three weeks away - if our current Prime Minister keeps his promise to "Get Brexit Done" by the end of January 2020, as he assured us during his election manifesto. Yet the earth is already shaking and rumbles of thunder already can be heard, so the newspapers like to forewarn us. I'm referring to the missile strike under the orders of US President Donald Trump to annihilate General Qassem Soleimani, Iran's chief military commander, while in his car exiting Bagdad Airport after a flight from Syria. An incident which took place successfully within the last couple of days.
Fearing retaliation from Iran, an online heading from The Daily Mail of Friday, January 3rd, warned of the "likelihood of World War Three," as Iran's revenge attacks on the West could involve Israel, Russia and China as well as Europe and the States. Oh, dear! It doesn't look as if there is an intermission period to enjoy the promised "oceans of opportunities" in the same way as The Roaring Twenties did a hundred years earlier. Instead, it's time to hide in the bunkers. Hatchets down! The Third Rock from the Sun is about to fry! So much for Boris Johnson's optimism!
This "snowflake generation" must have squealed loud enough for the newspaper to modify its output by the day after, as I read the actual paper itself whilst sipping at a Starbucks Cappucino this morning. Perhaps the reporters had to modify after a long forum of complaint trailed the original article, basically calling the journalist a scaremongering idiot. And the forum had an occasional contribution in words such as:- Don't worry, snowflakes. World War Three isn't going to happen. As today's paper has put it, there is no evidence that China or Russia will get involved, although Israel could still turn on Iran if the latter aimed its weaponry towards this tiny Jewish nation.
Therefore, rather than being a global conflict forewarned only yesterday, this time the national newspaper assured us that Iran's retaliation - if it decides to retaliate - will result in a local conflict, very much like that of the Falklands War of the eighties or the Gulf War of the nineties. This time, British troops may not be involved in this latest conflict between Iran and the USA.
Whew! That's a relief! Thank you, Daily Mail. At last, we can savour the "oceans of opportunities" post-Brexit. As one who voted to remain in the European Union, and having to endure nonsense words such as Remoaner and Remainiac as well, (I'm surprised that no one has thought about Remidiot also, but still, someone might already have done) - I have arrived at the expectation that the English majority will prove me wrong, and end up sailing, or even swimming, in the "oceans of opportunities" and enjoying all the benefits. Indeed, if I was proved wrong all this time, I will admit it.
And so here we are, with our Christmas decorations still up albeit they will come down tomorrow (Sunday 5th) unless I feel lazy, as I usually do on a typical Sunday afternoon, stuffed with roast chicken thighs and vegetables, after a four-mile cycling trip to Ascot Life Church and back. Indeed, I'll be glad when this silly season is over. Glum office staff journeying to work, congested roads, cancelled and delayed trains, bins filled with thrown-out Christmas trees, cold weather, all shops open and trading, ditto with the banks, and the kids back at school. And oh yes, as I would forget: the opening of Parliament, with Brexit being on the top of the agenda. What a couple of weeks this has been.
And television. Funny in a way, that all programme schedules go so awry during public holidays. Yet there have been some enjoyable movies such as the adult version of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, shown in three parts, each evening leading up to and including Christmas Eve. And Eastenders? I know, to some of the more "spiritual" Christians around, only the "worldly" would sink low enough to watch such a soap. Never mind that the soap is bereft of swear words usually spoken among the real-world working classes, on Christmas Day we watched the explosive rage of a jealous husband of his wife who was impregnated by a handsome young man eight months previously. Indeed, lessons can be learned here on why God had commanded not to commit adultery. By honouring this commandment with obedience would have saved everyone involved from tons of anger, heartache and fear.
Then the three nature documentaries, Earth's Tropical Islands, narrated by actor David Harewood. Each covered three islands close to the Equator: Madagascar, Borneo and Hawaii. To me, this was a fascinating series depicting the vast array of species not found on any of the continents or islands outside the Tropical zone. But there were two inclusions which I found to be very sad, distressing, really. The first one covers about the last 10-15 minutes of the hour-long episode and details the precious rainforest being decimated for palm-oil farming, with vast areas of rainforest gone, along with the extinction of species and climate change. The sort of documentary put out by the BBC pierces exactly where it hurts, bringing up anger or sadness against these greedy capitalists who put profit before the natural environment and the welfare of its inhabitants.
The second source of distress came from the words evolution, evolutionary and evolved. Harewood used these words very frequently throughout his narration, without a chance for Creationism to even find a niche in the hour-long discourse. And so the English population watching these programmes lap it all up, without giving a moment's thought. It's interesting too, that it was at the same time when The Daily Mail newspaper had published a pie graph of the increase of Islam here in England alone and a decline of Christianity. There is an estimated 3,092,000 Muslims in England during 2016, which makes up 5.6% of the population (against 4.7% in 2011.) Jews, Buddhists and Shieks share 2.9% of the population while those who profess to be Christian makes up 56.6% (59.6% in 2011). This leaves 34.9% of English people who says they have no religion or any faith at all.
Of course, there is a big difference between professing to be Christians and being a true believer in the Death, Burial and bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ which engenders trust in Him for salvation. According to one survey done more than twenty years ago, the percentage of true believers here in England could be as little as 2%, although that might have changed since then.
Committed Creationists are convinced that the knowledge of Evolution destroys the faith of the potential believer in Jesus Christ. They believe that higher education, whether at university or college, has the potential to destroy the faith of many when Evolution is directly taught or even referred to positively. The reason for this is quite straightforward. If a six-day supernatural Creation had not taken place, then the Crucifixion either had no power to save and it's completely meaningless, or that if Adam and Eve were descendants of apelike ancestors who all died, then death was not caused by Adam's sin and therefore the Crucifixion and Resurrection would have been entirely bereft of any saving power. In fact, if Evolution, involving death before Adam is true, then there would be no risen Jesus Christ and no salvation.
I wish that more and more people are saved. And as such, Creationism plays a big role in evangelism. One good example of this was when Paul the apostle approached a group of Greeks in Athens. He says:
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not dwell in temples built by hands...From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
Acts 17:24, 26.
Paul knew that the six-day Creation is true and that Adam is the father of all men, and hence because Adam sinned, we are all sinners and subject to death because of sin, Christ, by rising physically from the dead, has defeated death and became the Firstfruit of the Resurrection. Because we are born naturally in Adam, we will die. But every believer who is in Christ, then he will live forever because of the Resurrection of Christ three days after his crucifixion. Creation and the Gospel are intrinsically linked. One cannot be true without the other.
That is why I long for a literal six-day Creation to be taught by a guest speaker at our Sunday services at Ascot Life Church. I was told by one Elder that Creation is not relevant for our church. But I disagree. Strongly disagree. Creation is not only relevant but an absolute necessity for the divine life which our fellowship is so committed to. And to believe in a six-day literal creation as narrated in the first chapter of Genesis nullifies an ancient Babylonian document, the Emuna Elish from being on the same level of authority as the Biblical record, as advocated at our church in the Summer of 2018, or the reason for the neutralisation of Theistic Evolution, embraced by most, if not all, university graduates filling most English churches.
One good friend of mine, Dave and his wife will be settling in Canada later in the Spring. Their mission will be to set up churches at a particular location. This is where I would strongly encourage the truth about a divine six-day Creation, the Fall, and Noah's Deluge to be taught as historical fact and how such Biblical truths makes up the foundation stone on which the Gospel can be verified as historical fact. One can't do without the other.
Will you feel embarrassed to advocate such truths as history in a modern, science-oriented world? Do you feel afraid to be cast aside, ignored, or even teased? Are you afraid that preaching Divine Creation will put people off from receiving the Gospel? Then this is worthy of consideration: At Athens, back then the capital of the academic world and the ancient equivalent of the present Oxbridge, Paul included Creation with his Gospel message. But he drew only a few followers. He wasn't very successful. Apparently, the response in Athens to Paul's revelation of Creation was so poor, that he wasn't even able to set up a church there, so it seems.
Jesus himself, he endorsed the historicity of Genesis (for example, Matthew 19:4-5, 24:37-39, Luke 17:28-32). But he came unto his own, and his own received him not. John 1:11. He might have endorsed the truth of Genesis, but that was no guarantee of wide acceptance.
Who knows, there might well be World War Three. But most likely not, at least not on a global scale. But in deciding for the coming decade, I do believe that reliable speakers from Creation Ministries International should be invited into our church as a guest speaker, along with the Kerith Centre receiving such a guest speaker to enforce the truth of the Biblical record to those sitting on the fence.
Dear Frank,
ReplyDeleteThank you for this excellent and timely post, giving a Scriptural perspective on the tumultuous events of recent times. On the one hand, the events are cause for concern, and yet they are paradoxically reassuring in that they seem to be harbingers of Christ's imminent return.
I am in complete agreement with you regarding the need for evangelicals to hear about and believe Genesis as a literal, historical account. Without such beliefs, it is a slippery slope to denying the resurrection, the need for a Savior, and the atoning work of Christ.
No man knows the day or the hour, but perhaps this will be the year that Christ will return. Then the chaos of this world will grow strangely dim.
God bless,
Laurie
Great post, Frank. Like you, I believe in a literal six day creation. If we cannot trust the scriptures on this point, how can we trust anything else it says?
ReplyDelete