WATCHMAN FOR GOD: September 2015

Tuesday 15 September 2015

Christian Professor Warns: Movies About Heaven, Near Death Experience 'Can Harm Christian Theology' September 14, 2015

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Christian films continue to dominate at the box office thanks to a growing consumer appetite for faith-based entertainment, but one Christian professor says that a particular theme of Christian films and books, namely those about Heaven and the afterlife, could potentially be harmful to Christianity.

On Friday, the Michael Polish-directed feature film, "90 Minutes in Heaven," which is an adaptation of The New York Times best-selling book of the same name by Pastor Don Piper, was released to theaters across the U.S. It tells the real-life story of a Texas pastor who had a near-death experience and comes more than a year after Randall Wallace's box office hit "Heaven Is for Real," which made $101 million during its box office run. It also comes ahead of the highly anticipated Christian drama "Miracles From Heaven" starring Jennifer Garner.

Scot McKnight, who's a professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois., shared his concerns about NDE-inspired films and the impact that they can have on Christian theology during an interview with The Christian Post on Friday.

"It has to do first with how we learn to believe what we should believe as Christians and our primary source of information — our foundation of information is the Bible and we challenge all experience on the basis of what we find in the Bible," McKnight told CP.

Scot McKnight is the professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Illinois, and author of “The Heaven Promise: Engaging the Bible’s Truth About Life to Come" which releases on October 6, 2015.

"I find that, with many people either going to movies or reading these books and stories of near death experiences, I find that people believe these stories because they're so compelling and powerful and real, so people believe that they must be what Heaven is like."

McKnight, who has studied more than 100 NDE stories, said believers should not rely on them as fact because they are not consistent with the Bible.

"If we study what the Bible says about Heaven, we will come to the conclusion that what the Bible says about Heaven is seriously out of synch with what NDEs tell us about Heaven and that deeply concerns me," he continued. "I believe that reliance upon these stories can harm Christian theology and a biblical understanding of what Heaven is like."

Earlier this year, father and son duo, Kevin and Alex Malarkey, who co-authored the 2010 best-selling book The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, made global headlines when it was revealed that Alex's NDE story was fabricated. The book became widely popular when it was first published in 2010 and it was even adapted into a TV movie in that same year. Two years later, however, Alex admitted that he lied in a letter titled "An Open Letter to LifeWay and Other Sellers, Buyers, and Marketers of Heaven Tourism, by the Boy Who Did Not Come Back From Heaven."

Despite the infamous Malarkey controversy, McKnight, author of The Heaven Promise: Engaging the Bible's Truth About Life to Come, said that not all NDE stories should be completely disregarded as he believes that some of them (particularly Piper's story), might be valid, although believers should ultimately rely on the Bible as fact.

"I don't want to say that there's no truth [to NDEs], that's a very strong statement. ... I want to say that we should not rely on them as a source of information about Heaven," said McKnight. "These are real experiences, I don't believe most of them are fabricated as there's too much common element to these experiences, but I do not believe in them as a source of revelation of what Heaven is like."

He encourged believers to study scripture (Revelation: 20-22) to better understand what Heaven is really like.

"I think the primary text that we have to take a good look at is chapters Revelation 20-22 where we discover a city that is ... a thriving, flourishing city where the lamb is on the throne, where the father is the center," he said.

"These experiences are overwhelming experiences of light. The picture of Heaven in the Bible is not of light but it is of the lamb. It is not of being overwhelmed but it is of being welcomed into the family of God. So I'm concerned about too much faith in what people are experiencing in their NDE and not enough faith in what the Bible has already told us about what Heaven are like."

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/September14/145.html#opti1py2JybkWewA.99

End Times Prophecy Author’s Dire Warning About ‘Apocalyptic Islam’ and ‘Annihilation’

September 14, 2015

The Blaze/Bi lly Hallowell

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Author Joel C. Rosenberg is warning that the greatest threat to America’s security is now coming from “apocalyptic Islam,” a dangerous, end times philosophy that he said many world leaders simply fail to understand.

Differentiating between “radical Islam” and “apocalyptic Islam,” Rosenberg said that the latter has replaced the former as the key and primary security concern, as he believes that eschatology is now motivating extremists to do the unthinkable.

“The forces of radical Islam want to attack us, while the forces of apocalyptic Islam want to annihilate us,” Rosenberg told TheBlaze from his home in Israel on Friday. “Radical Islam is like Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and various terror groups [that are] trying to drive us out of the holy lands and holy places that they consider sacred to Islam.”

But he said that apocalyptic Islam is an entirely different animal, as it is comprised of individuals and groups who believe that their messiah is coming at any moment — and that they must abide by his will at any cost.

“If they are not faithful, they [believe they] will burn in the fires of hell with no escape,” he said, explaining that the Islamic Mahdi, or messiah, is at the heart of the theology. “The way to serve Mahdi is to annihilate Judeo-Christian civilization and, in so doing, establish God’s kingdom on Earth, known as the caliphate.”

Rosenberg said that it is essential for presidential candidates and policy makers to understand radical Islamic end-times eschatology in order to properly frame how the Shia leadership of Iran and the Sunni leaders of the Islamic State operate, warning of what might happen if this ideology is underestimated.

Here’s how Rosenberg explained that dynamic in a National Review op-ed published on Friday:

Both believe that any moment now their messiah, the Mahdi, will be revealed on Earth as he establishes his global Islamic kingdom and impose sharia law. Both believe that Jesus will return not as the Savior or Son of God but as a lieutenant to the Mahdi, and that he will force non-Muslims to convert or die. What’s more, both believe that the Mahdi will come only when the world is engulfed in chaos and carnage. They openly vow not simply to attack but to annihilate the United States and Israel. Iran and ISIS are both eager to hasten the coming of the Mahdi.

What’s more, both believe that the Mahdi will come only when the world is engulfed in chaos and carnage. They openly vow not simply to attack but to annihilate the United States and Israel. Iran and ISIS are both eager to hasten the coming of the Mahdi.

It is a paradigm that Rosenberg said the U.S. ignores or fails to understand at its own peril.

“If a policy maker or a presidential candidate doesn’t understand … then they’re not going to be prepared for the magnitude of genocide that’s coming if these leaders can acquire the weapons they need,” he told TheBlaze. “That’s what makes this whole Iran nuclear deal issue so complicated.”

As for President Barack Obama, Rosenberg said that the commander in chief clearly believes that Iran’s leaders want a pathway back into “civilized international commerce and society,” and that Obama presumably thinks that he can help them attain that.

But Rosenberg said that Iranian leaders have been calling for genocide, saying that he believes the regime is motivated by eschatology; Rosenberg also questioned why leaders like Obama would give Iran a “path that could lead to genocidal weaponry.”

As TheBlaze previously reported, Rosenberg is hardly the first expert to warn about the Islamic State’s end times theology, with others cautioning against underestimating and failing to understand the underlying constructs.

Past reports have also claimed that Iran sees itself as having a central role in helping usher in the return of the Mahdi.

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/September14/141.html#IKFLZJPyyiCIzqP0.99

Do All Infants Go To Heaven?

August 24, 2015 | Sam Storms

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Recent revelatory videos about the practices of Planned Parenthood have stirred many to ask about the eternal destiny of these precious unborn babies. So are those who die in infancy lost? The same question applies to those who live beyond infancy but, because of mental disability or some other handicap, are incapable of moral discernment, deliberation, or volition.

This is more than a theoretical issue designed for speculation. It touches one of the most emotionally and spiritually unsettling experiences in all of life: the loss of a young child.

The view I embrace is that all those who die in infancy, as well as those so mentally incapacitated they’re incapable of making an informed choice, are among the elect of God, chosen for salvation before the world began. The evidence for this view is scant, but significant.

1. In Romans 1:20 Paul describes recipients of general revelation as being “without excuse.” They can’t blame their unbelief on a lack of evidence. There is sufficient revelation of God’s existence in the natural order to establish the moral accountability of all who witness it. Might this imply that those who are not recipients of general revelation (i.e., infants) are therefore not accountable to God or subject to wrath? In other words, wouldn’t those who die in infancy have an “excuse” in that they neither receive general revelation nor have the capacity to respond to it?

2. There are texts that assert or imply that infants don’t know good or evil and hence lack the capacity to make morally informed—and thus responsible—choices. According to Deuteronomy 1:39 they are said to “have no knowledge of good or evil.” This in itself, however, doesn’t prove infant salvation, for they may still be held liable for the sin of Adam.

3. We must take account of the story of David’s son in 2 Samuel 12:15–23 (especially verse 23). The firstborn child of David and Bathsheba is struck by the Lord and dies. In the seven days before his death, David fasts and prays, hoping that “the Lord may be gracious to me, that the child may live.” Yet following the child’s death, David washes, eats, and worships. Asked why he’s responding this way, David says, “Since he has died, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (v. 23).

What does it mean when David says “I shall go to him”? If this is merely a reference to the grave or death in the sense that David, too, shall one day die and be buried, one wonders why he’d say something so patently obvious. Also, it appears that David draws some measure of comfort from knowing that he will “go to him.” It’s the reason why David resumes the normal routine of life.

It appears to be the reason he ceases from the display of grief. It appears to be a truth from which he derives comfort and encouragement. How could any of this be true if David will simply die like his son? It would, therefore, appear David believed he would be reunited with his deceased infant. Does this imply that at least this one particular infant was saved? Perhaps. But if so, are we justified in constructing a doctrine in which we affirm the salvation of all who die in infancy?

4. There is the consistent testimony of Scripture that people are judged on the basis of sins committed voluntary and consciously in the body (see 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 6:9–10; Rev. 20:11–12). In other words, eternal judgment is always based on conscious rejection of divine revelation (whether in creation, conscience, or Christ) and willful disobedience. Are infants capable of either? There is no explicit account in Scripture of any other judgment based on any other grounds. Thus, those dying in infancy are saved because they do not (indeed cannot) satisfy the conditions for divine judgment.

5. Related to the above point, is what R. A. Webb states:

[If a deceased infant] were sent to hell on no other account than that of original sin, there would be a good reason to the divine mind for the judgment, but the child’s mind would be a perfect blank as to the reason of its suffering. Under such circumstances, it would know suffering, but it would have no understanding of the reason for its suffering.

It could not tell its neighbor—it could not tell itself—why it was so awfully smitten; and consequently the whole meaning and significance of its sufferings, being to it a conscious enigma, the very essence of penalty would be absent, and justice would be disappointed of its vindication. Such an infant could feel that it was in hell, but it could not explain, to its own conscience, why it was there.

6. We have what would appear to be clear biblical evidence that at least some infants are regenerate in the womb, such that if they died in their infancy they would be saved. This provides at least a theoretical basis for considering whether the same may be true of all who die in infancy. As Ronald Nash points out, “If this sort of thing happens even once, it can certainly happen in other cases.” Supporting texts include Jeremiah 1:5 and Luke 1:15.

7. Some have appealed to Matthew 19:13–15 (also Mark 10:13–16; Luke 18:15–17) where Jesus declares, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Is he simply saying if one wishes to be saved one must be as trusting as a child (i.e., devoid of skepticism and arrogance)? In other words, is Jesus merely describing the kind of people who enter the kingdom? Or is he saying these very children were recipients of saving grace? If the latter were true, it would seem to imply Jesus knew that the children he was then receiving would all die in infancy. Is that credible?

8. Let me close with an argument that’s entirely subjective (and therefore of questionable evidential value). Given our understanding of God’s character as presented in Scripture, does he appear as the kind of God who would eternally condemn infants on no other ground than that of Adam’s transgression? Again, this is a subjective (and perhaps sentimental) question. But it deserves an answer, nonetheless.

I can only speak for myself, but I find the first, third, fourth, fifth, and eighth points sufficiently convincing. Therefore, I do believe in the salvation of those dying in infancy. I affirm their salvation, though, neither because they are innocent nor because they have merited forgiveness, but solely because God has sovereignly chosen them for eternal life, regenerated their souls, and applied the saving benefits of the blood of Christ to them apart from conscious faith.

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/August24/245.html#4U7ZwAfSU3KqK5qA.99

New Bible Videos On YouTube Helping Christians Understand God's Word

August 28, 2015 | John Stonestreet

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Quick: Where is Christ prophesied in the book of Numbers? What problem was Moses addressing when he wrote Leviticus? What do the dietary laws have to do with Jesus?

If you can’t answer these questions, you’re not alone. Though in 2015 we have greater access to Scripture than at any other time in history, we seem to know less about it than ever. And that’s probably putting it mildly.

A joint report last year by Barna and the American Bible Society found 81 percent of American adults consider themselves “highly,” “moderately,” or “somewhat” knowledgeable about the Bible. But less than half could name its first five books, and just as many respondents thought John the Baptist was a disciple.

Americans “consider the Bible to be important in a general sort of way,” said Kenneth Berding, a professor of New Testament at Biola University. But that rarely translates into actually studying or understanding it. For many, the Bible is a decoration on the mantelpiece, seldom dusted off or given more than a passing glance. And the reason that we, despite identifying as a majority Christian nation, are biblically illiterate really boils down to this: We just don’t read it.

And that’s perilous. As Berding puts it, by turning our noses up at the feast of God’s Word, “we’re starving ourselves to death.” And Jesus’ own example shows that immersing our minds in Scripture is an indispensable part of what it means to follow Him.

This problem is what inspired one team of artistic Christians to reintroduce audiences to the Bible in a fresh new way. Tim Mackie, a PhD in Semitic languages who pastors Door of Hope Church in Portland, Oregon, partnered with communications entrepreneur Jonathan Collins to bring Scripture to life on YouTube. They’re not making a miniseries. They’re teaching a crash course - helping all of those who have never read (or at least never understood) the Good Book.

“We believe the Bible is a profound and very beautiful book that’s telling one complete story from beginning to end,” explained Mackie. “But it’s also a very long book. And that means it’s just confusing and often intimidating...”

So working with top-notch artists, these guys have started producing short, sketchbook-style animated videos explaining the Bible one section at a time. They’re calling it, appropriately, “The Bible Project,” and let me tell you: having this on YouTube makes up for all those terrible cat videos ever made.

Take their intro to the book of Numbers, for example. To many Christians, this book is like the crazy uncle of the Old Testament. But that’s not how Mackie and Collins see it. They explain how Numbers is “an epic travel log of Israel’s journey through the wilderness,” filled with staggering pictures of Christ, like the bronze serpent and Balaam’s prophecy of a star and scepter from Jacob. Their video clearly exposes where Jesus is found in this often neglected, early chapter of redemptive history. And that’s what’s so powerful about The Bible Project: it vividly depicts for those unfamiliar with Scripture how the whole story is about Christ.

The team has a long way to go, but their videos covering the first five books as well as Romans, 1 Corinthians, Hebrews, and the Gospel of Matthew are outstanding. And their topical videos are even better. Zeroing in on biblical themes like holiness, heaven and earth, covenants, and—my favorite—the Messiah, The Bible Project paints sweeping, beautifully-animated pictures of what’s happening in Scripture from cover to cover. You’ll be amazed at what you, your family, and maybe some of your unchurched friends could learn in just a few minutes on their channel.

I hope The Bible Project inspires a new generation to head to the mantelpiece and dust off the inspired Word. Click here to visit their youtube channel for more info

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/August28/284.html#7DkxjZCGixmm7fDL.99