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NEW BLOG: Articles of the Antithesis

April 6, 2018April 6, 2018 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

The Great Affliction

“Those will be days of affliction unequaled from the beginning . . . ” (Mark 13:19). If the current spread of the gospel among Jews and Gentiles turns out to be the beginning of the end times–which we believe to be the case–the uninformed might be tempted to conclude that we are headed for a time of world peace and prosperity. After all, there will be so many believers on the planet!

However, even when all God’s own on earth have come to faith, Jews and Gentiles, the great number of the elect will consist only of a tiny remnant on earth, vastly outnumbered by the wicked who become even more wicked still (Rev. 22:11). Far from a Golden Age, when the Gospel has almost blanketed the earth, those who profess love for Christ will be sorely tested, as in a refiner’s fire.

The Bible says that the end times will be brutal for its horrendous persecution against the true church. We see this happening at this very moment in more than 60 countries around the globe, according to Open Doors. In the Mid-East, nations like Iran, in their foolish arrogance, have publicly sworn, and are privately scheming, to annihilate all Christians and Jews.

Truth be told, the rapid spread of the good news of Jesus is sparking a vicious backlash by those who hate God’s people, despite how marvelously the Judeo-Christian heritage has blessed all the nations of the earth (Gen. 18:18; 22:18; Gal. 3:29). Expect systematic satanic plans to extinguish the cause of Christ once and for all. Hostility is intensifying and escalating towards unimaginable levels, not confined to far away places. And never forget that diabolical wolves are also known to don sheep’s clothing.

Of course, to some extent, the reprobate have always been at war with the chosen ones. Wherever the Holy Spirit works, forces aligned with evil attempt to pluck up and destroy any divine seed that has been planted. Every spiritual advance among God’s people, or within a man’s life, is inevitably challenged and tested. That’s because authentic Christianity is the complete opposite, totally incompatible, eternally antithetical, to this world in its utter darkness of profound evil.

Nevertheless, there is distress, affliction and tribulation coming that is unequalled compared to that which has occurred from the beginning (Gen. 3:15).

To believers, such should not come as any surprise.

Jesus says, “All men will hate you because of me” (Mark 13:13). And Paul adds, “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him” (Philippians 1:29). For sinners covered by the shed blood of the Lamb, true faith goes hand-in-hand with severe suffering, of many kinds.

From a human point of view, those at greatest risk are the simple believers, those with child-like faith, who take God at his word, from his Word (Matt. 18:3; Ps. 131:2). These are the precious children of God, the unsung heroes of faith, who in humility readily know and acknowledge the greatness of their sins and miseries, but also that they belong to their faithful Savior, who is their hiding place (Ps. 32:7).

All said, if you are looking for life on Easy Street, serving as a Christian is not for you! If you think for a moment that in advancing God’s cause you will bask in man’s applause, think again.

No accolades for those fully committed to the will of God. At least, not in this present life. So pick up your cross, and follow in your Master’s footsteps. For hard times are coming, and are already upon us, like thick, dark clouds gathering for the most violent of storms.

H. David Schuringa, Ph.D.

Endtimes Blog #12

March 12, 2018March 18, 2018 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

And so, all Israel will be saved

Paul teaches that “all Israel will be saved, as it is written” (Rom. 11:26). He does so with a detailed explanation regarding what will happen to the Jews, who at the present time appear to be at odds with the very Messiah for whom they had prayed for thousands of years. So, who are “all” Israel?

The Bible teaches that the New Testament church is the New Israel, spiritual Israel. Paul states this as a matter of fact in Galatians 3:29: “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” If you are a true Christian, then you are an Israelite in true measure. You belong among the people of God.

That means that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are your spiritual forefathers. Old Testament history of God’s people is your history. In fact, Peter proclaimed that the Old Testament people of God were already the ecclesia, i.e. the church in the wilderness. And also that the pre-incarnate Christ visited that church, your church, by the presence of the Angel of the Lord (cf. Acts 7:36-39).

And it is true, most prophecies regarding Israel that are recorded in the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New Testament church. And as Paul said about Old Israel, the same can be said about New Israel–many hypocrites take up space, before and after Golgotha (“Not all Israel is Israel,” Rom. 9:6.).

Nevertheless, the apostle emphasises that our covenant-keeping God has not revoked his promises for Old Israel, the Jews. The biological children of Abraham still have a special place in God’s one, marvelous plan for all his elect.

So let’s be perfectly clear: the New Testament church fulfills Old Israel, but does not replace them. Huge difference!

The Jews are branches that “have been broken off” because of unbelief (Rom. 11:17). But when they awaken to recognize the Messiah, they are grafted back in again. Gentiles who believe in Christ are being engrafted to the same glorious tree of salvation in Father’s garden.

Great events of the end times include a stupendous revival among non-Jews (Gentiles) as well as Jews, that we have seen is already in its early stages. In this way, says Paul, all Israel will be saved (both elect Gentiles and elect Jews who turn to Christ).

At the same time, today we are witnesses to millions of Jews being drawn back to their Promised Land, Israel, where they continue to drive world history, as always, according to redemptive plan by divine providence.

But don’t think for a moment that All Israel will include most Jews or most Gentiles. Far from it. From the perspective of this present-millennialist, no utopia or golden age on this old earth awaits us. Truth be told, All Israel will never exceed a remnant (Rom. 11:5) among the world’s countless rebellious and increasingly venomous wicked.

Be prepared. For as more and more people come to Christ, unimaginable evil is manifesting itself in more and more repulsive grotesqueness, plunging culture deeper and deeper into utter darkness, calling evil good and good evil (cf. Is. 5:20). Hasn’t this too already begun? So teach your children well.

For the visceral hatred of the world for both Christians and Israel elevates everyday with profound intensity. Sinister forces secretly and openly declare their arrogant intention to marginalize and exterminate all God’s people from the face of the earth.

The enemy, with his reprobate cohorts, is already working overtime from without, but also–you’d best believe it–from within (much, if not most of) the organized church.

All Israel will be saved, however. And as at the time of the Flood, most of the world will ultimately perish (2 Pet. 2:1-9).

So this all begs the question. How about you? Are you truly a member of the New Israel through faith in the Messiah?

Pray earnestly for the gospel of deliverance to go forth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, so that all Israel shall be saved (Rom. 1:16). For the time has come, the time is at hand, as it is written.

Endtimes Blog #11

February 22, 2018March 3, 2018 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

Calvinists for Israel

Before we continue our survey of end-times events, some may wonder about the Calvinist position regarding Israel. Especially in America, where dispensationalists make the most noise regarding the last days.

The fact is, noted Calvinist theologians have always been convinced, to some extent, that Scripture reserves a unique place for Jews.

This is nothing new for biblical scholars in the church. Whether pre-millennial, post-millennial or present-millennial, there have been theologians back to the early church fathers who have agreed: while the Church is the New Israel, Old Israel—the natural branches—will be grafted into the New by grace through faith in Christ, as God promised through the prophets and the Apostle Paul.

Such Calvinists include such notables as Theodorus Beza, Gisbertus Voetius, Hermann Witsius, John Owen, Wilhelmus Brakel, Klaas Dijk, William Perkins, Thomas Goodwin, Jonathan Edwards, Charles Hodge, Gerhardus Vos, John Murray, not to mention Charles Spurgeon and Matthew Henry. Check it out for yourself.

These bright lights, and countless more, were preceded by John Calvin himself.

We know that Luther, later in life, expressed strong feelings against the Jews. Difficult to imagine, he called upon the magistrate to destroy every synagogue, Jewish book and home.

Nevertheless, from an entirely different direction, the Genevan Reformer boldly broke ranks with exegetical anti-Semitism, cracking open the door for his followers to develop. Subsequent interactions between Jews and (Dutch and English) Calvinists inspired such Reformed emphases as Old Testament (Hebrew) studies, the Covenant, Sabbath-Observance and family piety.

To be sure, however, present-millennial theologians have always been strongly reticent to eisegete details regarding the last days beyond that which Scripture plainly reveals. And so, some have hesitated to speculate too much beyond Jewish conversions to things like the reestablishment of the State of Israel in Palestine, and especially to where that will lead. To be sure, prophetic and apocalyptic genres do contain a great measure of metaphorical and figurative language, although Romans 9-11 certainly do not.

It is true that a later, prominent, Calvinist, Herman Bavinck (1854-1921), curiously articulated the position of a cessationist (i.e. no longer any special place for the Jews) and that some reformed theologians followed suit with this new approach. Reading these, it is as if God merely used the Jews for a messianic baby factory and then slammed the door shut on them (the question Paul addresses in Rom. 11), even though the prophets viewed both comings of Christ in telescoped unity.

Without doubt, Bavinck was a tremendous, Reformed theologian, second to none, and most useful today.

This fly in the ointment, however, appears to originate from an over-reaction to pre-millennialism, as well as an over-reliance on German scholarship. Rest assured, no theologian is infallible. As for the Jews, the history of Reformed theology remains unmistakable and unshakeable.

All said, Calvinists in the Ivory Tower, and especially those in the pews, know deep down that God still has a special place and plan in his heart for the elect, biological children of Abraham.

So, does it mean anything that the number of Messianic Jews grew rapidly in the 19th Century to 240,000 and on to almost two million today? This, Calvinists ever since the Reformation would affirm.

Is there significance to the fact that in the early 19th Century 20,000 Jews had moved to Palestine and that today there are already over 6.4 million living there? And will the 2017 announcement of the move of the American embassy to Jerusalem—engineered by President Trump, his orthodox Jewish son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Vice President Pence—play any role in God’s providence?

As with the historic Balfour Declaration of 1917 and the reestablishment of the State of Israel in 1948, time will tell what precisely the prophets and apostles had in mind.

Meanwhile, any theologian has every right to choose this day for himself what he believes to be on the right side of His-Story. And so do you. Though, to be honest, it really hurts this Calvinist to the core to hear some Christians berate Israel.

H. David Schuringa, Ph.D.
Endtimes Blog #10
North Star Ministry Consultants LLC
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February 2, 2018February 2, 2018 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

What’s up with the Return to the Land?

Most leaders in the Christian church taught and teach that the end-time conversion of Jews also may involve a return to the land. What do you think?

Through the prophet Amos, God said, “I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them” (Amos 9:15). Also, “I will take the Israelites . . . and bring them back into their own land.” (Ezek. 37:21). He prefigured that twice after their exile. God is doing that again, bigly, unless you think it is all coincidental rather than providential.

In 1839 there were only 12,000 Jews in Palestine. In 1880, 30,000 lived in the land. By 1925 there were 80,000, and this caused theologians in those days to wonder if this prophecy were beginning to be fulfilled. They hadn’t seen anything yet!

In 1917 occurred the historic Declaration of Balfour by Great Britain and the League of Nations which, after 2,000 years of horrific suffering, torture and extermination attempts, guaranteed Jews a safe-place, finally, a home in Palestine. By 1948, when the Jewish State of Israel was reestablished, 750,000 Jews were again living in the land. By 1967, 2.5 million had arrived.

Today there are 6.4 million Jews living in Israel who have come from more than 120 nations. You be the judge if prophecy is being fulfilled before your very eyes.

And there’s more to come.

Over 6 million live in the North America and about 2 million are still dispersed around the rest of the world. Israel has declared that every Jew has a right to come and live in Israel, though likely, as in previous exiles, not all will be coming home by any means.

Now, some think the entire affair is being orchestrated by the mere 15 million Jews around the world and “politically astute” Dispensationalists–“all these” in a world of 7.6 billion are so powerful.

Really?

Others are down-right befuddled by Evangelical support for President Trump, despite his many flaws.

The secret is Israel. He is reversing Obama’s anti-Israel policies and re-strengthening US “unbreakable” ties with Israel. The Reality Star and his orthodox, Jewish son-in-law, as well as Vice President Pence, entered the White House to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, and they are reshaping the entire mid-eastern playing field for negotiations with the Palestinians.

Of course, Israel as a nation must seek justice and abide by international law, even if the land is promised them by God. And as long as those laws conform to God’s laws.

So it is an undeniable fact, for whatever reason, that Jews are returning to their land. And if many around the world are accepting Christ (already 2 million) then Jesus’ coming must be just around the corner. And this is a Calvinist position, through and through . . . .

Truth be told, one even says, “You’d have to be as blind as the Jews not to see that God is re-attaching the natural branches.”

Endtimes Blog #9

January 10, 2018January 18, 2018 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

Jews for Jesus, Jesus for Jews

According to the Apostle Paul, “Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom. 11:25). That this hardening is “in part” means that there would always be some Jews who would come to Christ, but not many.

And there have been ever since those first eleven Jews, soon to be joined by Paul, were sent out by their Rabbi with the Great Commission. Though soon after the start of the New Testament church, for the most part the Jews rejected Christianity (Acts 8:1), and the church turned its attention to the Gentiles.

Paul deeply longed for his ethnic brothers to come to Christ (Rom. 10:1). And the hardening “in part” also means for Paul that there would come a time of a softening in great measure in the endtimes.

Historically, Jews have been among the most difficult to evangelize. Blame for this lies at the church’s own doorstep as the Bride of Christ has always had an ambivalent attitude regarding the Jews. On the one hand, they knew the Bible taught that Jewish conversions would usher the Second Coming. But, on the other hand, they resented the fact when the Jews would not convert.

Nevertheless, contrary to Roman Catholic and Lutheran antisemitic exegesis, Calvinists have always been philo-semitic, as taught in Scripture, believing that the stupendous events of the last days will include the enormous conversion of the Jews as the last of the Gentiles are reached for Christ.

There’s proof of this care for the biological children of Abraham in much contact between Dutch and English Puritans and the Jewish people who taught them a love for the Old Testament, the Covenant, Sabbath-Keeping, family piety and other themes close to the hearts of Reformed people, yet today. As Christians we hold dearly the temporarily estranged but still precious in God’s sight.

And today, before our own eyes, there are thrilling signs that God is beginning to graft back his natural branches (Rom. 11:22-31). More Jews came to Christ in the 20th Century, especially since 1970, than in the previous 1,900 years. Today, among the 15 million Jews world-wide, already over 2 million self-identify as Christians.

Also emerging are hundreds of Messianic congregations. Such have not existed since the days of the New Testament. As Hosea prophesied, “They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days” (Hosea 3:5).

Truth be told, the “full number” of the Gentiles will come in, and so too with the Jews. Still, in neither case does full number mean every last one or, likely, even most. In the last days, horrific wickedness will rapidly expand and grotesquely deepen world-wide until the great Battle of Armageddon unleashes a brutal, concerted and all-out effort to extinguish God’s remnant, whether Jews or Gentiles.

In any event, pray whole-heartedly for Jews to come to Christ. The apostolic mission, our mission, is “to the Jew first; and also to the Greek” (Rom. 1:16). When you pray that way, you are praying for Christ to come! And his coming may be sooner than you think!

Endtimes Blog #8

December 9, 2017December 10, 2017 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

Jewish Evangelism

WWII happened before I was born, but I heard a lot about it growing up. In church, it seemed as if every sermon illustration was about the war.

Grownups often talked about Churchill, MacArthur, Pearl Harbor, D-Day, Hitler, and the Jews. Many have read The Diary of Anne Frank or recognize the name of Corrie TenBoom. My mother-in-law used to tell us stories about the German occupation of the Netherlands.

She was just a teenager at the time on the family farm in Friesland. On the one hand, the Dutch didn’t appreciate the Nazis storming into their homes and demanding food and supplies. On the other hand, the Nazis didn’t appreciate the Dutch who hid Jews, or operated the underground, to save them from Hitler’s gas chambers. Many were rewarded for the rescue efforts with immediate–no due process necessary–executions.

Throughout history there have been enormous, unspeakable hardships for the biological children of Abraham, those through whom God brought the Savior into the world. From AD 70 to the present, nations and empires have attempted to exterminate them.

Tragically, for 2,000 years, the church has authorized or endorsed their brutal treatment. Martin Luther retained that sordid piece of Roman Catholicism as evident in his hatred for Jews, and later Nazi perpetrators citing the Reformer’s works in their defense.

The church’s history in this regard is a heart-wrenching, soul-searching embarrassment.

Except for the Calvinists.

For these believers, hiding and helping Jews was a matter of Biblical justice.

But there was even more to it.

Christians abhor injustice done to any people. But hiding Jews was also a matter of heils-geschiedenis.

Jewish people, for the most part, still do not yet recognize Jesus as Messiah. That puzzled the first believers, and led the church down through the ages to punish these “obstinate” folk for not accepting Christ.

So, has God kicked them to the curb?

The Apostle asks and answers his own question on the matter: “Did God reject his people? By no means!” (Rom. 11:1). The Gospel beckons them, as well as the Gentiles, to come to faith in his Son.

Pray for the gospel to penetrate all nations and peoples, including the Jews, who still have a special place in God’s heart.

(Endtimes Blog #7)

November 27, 2017November 27, 2017 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

Revival!

True children of God are familiar with desert experiences. Spiritually, you can feel dry as dust. God can seem distant. You might feel utterly alone and completely worn out. Then, you hear the marvelous word of invitation and hope: “Turn to God, so that . . . times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

Our spiritual fore-fathers spoke with anguish of “The Dark Night of the Soul.” The best of them experienced such sojourns in the valley. When you are crawling through the wilderness, you, like them, long for God as a deer longs for streams of water (Psalm 42:1).

And just as showers bring flowers, when light dawns, you feel invigorated, stronger, and empowered more than before to live for God.

Throughout history, episodes of abundant refreshing are recorded. The 16th-century Reformation, 500 years ago, was a radical era of renewal for the church. In 17th-century Holland and Scotland, when church and society were growing dry, a deep, spiritual revival called The Further Reformation washed over the church.

True, there have been not a few “revivals” that were exposed as nothing more than a spiritual narcissism of subjectivism, or a tent charlatan’s manipulation of the will, rather than an comprehensive renewal of the mind. But these were, and are, mere forgeries, cruel mirages, of an authentic moving of the Spirit.

There are many places throughout the world today where spiritual renewal does appear to be happening. Paul says that the end times will be marked by a worldwide revival in which more people than ever before in all history, a “fullness,” will be touched , gripped and kept by the Spirit.

So, times of refreshing can and do come upon individuals, families, congregations, regions, or even entire nations. We are long overdue in the West as the antithesis of grotesque wickedness is rapidly expanding and descending, to the heartfelt grief of the Bride of Christ who is crying out for more of Jesus.

However, don’t be fooled. All true Christians have the Spirit.

Still, every Christian also needs special times of refreshing. When the Spirit displays his immense power, new sheep are also attracted to the flock–Sovereign God’s big idea. Each renewal anticipates the great time of refreshing that will usher in Christ’s glorious presence in the end-times. The fact is that in the 20th century, more people were drawn to Christ than since the event of the first Christmas.

So as you pour out your heart for the grace and gifts of the Holy Spirit (Cf. L.D. 45), you are ultimately praying for the second coming of Jesus (Rev. 22:20)!

Keep praying. Trust. And obey.

(Endtimes Blog #6)

November 13, 2017November 13, 2017 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

The Fullness of the Gentiles

Following Jesus’ lead, the Apostle also taught that before the end of the world comes, the full number of the Gentiles has to come in (Rom. 11:25). By “full number,” Paul means “fullness,” a huge abundance.

Throughout history, especially since the atonement of Christ, there has been an ebb and flow of steady numbers that have come to Christ through the efforts of world missions. One need only think of the immense blessing of Reformed merchants in the 16th and 17th centuries sailing the ocean blue bringing Christianity to “new worlds.”

In the end times, however, extraordinary numbers of people will flow into the church. This final grand sweep of the gospel will be nothing short of tremendous.

Are we in those days? Maybe they are at hand and surely, they are nearer than when we first believed. Consider this: Did you know that in the 20th century more people came to Christ than in the previous 1,900 years?

In Korea, Christians made up only 1% of the population in 1900. Today a third of its citizens are Christians in more than 30,000 churches there, including 11 of the 12 largest congregations in the world.

In 1900 there were fewer than 8 million Christians in Africa. Today there are more than 450 million. In Asia there were only 10 million Christians compared to almost 400 million today. The Latin American church has grown from 60 million to 525 million.

That means that in only the past century the church grew from 455 million to over 2.2 billion persons!

Of course, that is in a world of 7.6 billion. And we know that not all those who have learned to cry, “Lord, Lord!” are true Christians. Further, we see in our culture immense evil taking ever more grotesque forms. With God cast aside, atheism has become the assumed standard in the secular universities of the United States, a country founded by the Pilgrims, who were Calvinists!

Still, while wickedness predictably deepens, the gospel prophetically expands!

Are you a member of this rapidly growing throng who trust in Jesus? As we enter the final days of world evangelization, “the fullness of the Gentiles,” it’s all the more urgent to heed the gospel call and turn to Christ.

(Endtimes Blog #5)

November 2, 2017 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

The Main Thing

Do you know why planet earth still exists? There’s only one reason: the gospel has not yet been preached to the entire world. When that finally happens, the end of this planet, as we know it, will occur, “This gospel . . . will be preached in the whole world . . . and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14).

Before Jesus ascended, he prescribed the mission of the church: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” In the New Testament we see the church begin its mission by the power of the Holy Spirit. Ever since then, multitudes have come to Christ on every continent, from every race. And that’s what world history is really about: the church fulfilling her mission.

Still, the church sometimes gets sidetracked.

She’s tempted to major in minors. With battles from within, the church can implode. Often she appears more concerned with managing the found than finding the lost. When that happens, church is not a great place to be. Rather, churches need to “keep the main thing the main thing”—by reaching people for Christ.

The Westminster Presbyterian Church in Ohio chose the route of intentional outreach. Forty years ago they held their first worship service–with 20 members. Since, for the first two years, they were helped to launch with funds from their umbrella denomination, they were immediately inspired to focus on missions as a congregation. Their first offering for reaching out was $221. Since then, they have contributed $4 million to missions. It is reported that “annually more than thirty percent of Westminster’s budget reaches beyond their doors. One year they gave 49.9 percent of their offerings to missions.” When it comes to buildings, they keep it modest. When it comes to staff, they equip volunteers wherever possible

This church “gets” it, wouldn’t you agree?

And when the church thrives in her mission, she is working for the coming of her Lord! Think about it: should a faithful church stop at anything to reach lost people? The gospel fact is that every person coming to Christ brings us a step closer to the end. Truth be told, when the church is fulfilling this mission, “the found” are truly satisfied too.

As long as the clock still ticks, the church has work to do!

(Endtimes Blog #4)

October 26, 2017 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

The Binding of Satan

“He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent . . . Satan, and bound him for a thousand years” (Rev. 20:2).

Satan is powerful. Sometimes it looks like his evil influence is virtually unlimited.

But because Jesus reigns, it’s a comfort to know that the devil is bound in a certain sense. In Old Testament days, the “Good News” of the coming Messiah was temporarily directed mostly to one nation, Israel. Satan held the rest of the world hostage in darkness. Today the gospel of him who is to come is going out to people of every nation and language. Satan cannot deceive the nations any longer as the Good News is penetrating every stronghold (Rev. 20:3).

Revelation pictures an angel binding the dragon for a thousand years. On the one hand, Satan is ferocious but, on the other hand, he is like a pit-bull on a short leash. He still has horrible power, but within his own domain. If you get too close, he will bite. Some people seem to want to get as close to the dog as they dare. But beware! He is the enemy! He is looking to devour you!

Still, Satan’s influence is limited. He is bound.

God’s purposes for the spread of the good news of Jesus cannot ultimately be stopped by anyone, including the devil himself. Be thankful today that Satan is bound, for the time being, so that God’s sovereign will for the elect and the rest of mankind cannot go off track!

Christ is on the throne! Hallelujah!

At the same time, don’t be fooled. Be sure you take Satan’s power, in his area of influence, seriously. He attacks in the obvious ways. And if you play with fire, you will get burned. But his sneak-attacks can also strike with an unanticipated strategy to hurt you and God’s cause.

Christ’s own must be ever-vigilant in humble prayer and repentance, ever-guarding their hearts wherein lives the Spirit of Christ himself. And when Satan strikes your heal, you can count on King Jesus, within his predetermined, eschatological time-frame, to smash his head.

Endtimes Blog #3

October 16, 2017October 16, 2017 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

The Millennial Reign of Christ

Today we live in the 21st Century, the beginning of the third millennium. A millennium (not the same as a millennial) is a period of time designated as a thousand years. Scripture teaches that Christ will reign for a thousand years, but there are different interpretations as to what this means.

One perspective is called Premillennialism. Pre- means “before.” Premillennialism teaches that Jesus will return “before” he begins a literal, thousand-year reign on earth, on a throne in Jerusalem. Many brothers in this camp also refer to themselves as “Dispensationalists.”

Postmillennialists hold a different view. Post- means “after.” For these Christians, the end-time spread of the gospel will usher in a thousand-year “golden age” of peace and prosperity on earth, after which Jesus will return to reign.

Another perspective can be called present-millennialism. This suggests that Jesus’ thousand year reign is happening in the present, right now. One thousand is a symbolic number of completion that stands for the time between Christ’s ascension, through the centuries, including a series of events just before his second coming.

Often Scripture refers to this entire period as “the last days.” Revelation 20:4 speaks of a reign in heaven with the souls of the saints. Paul says Jesus is currently reigning in heaven, and “over everything ” (Eph. 1:22).

Regardless of one’s millennial view, however, everyone should agree that Jesus is Lord right now! And that we are in the Last Days. And be sure to embrace today the wonderful reality that Jesus reigns and rules over all.

October 6, 2017October 16, 2017 North Star Ministry Consultants, LLC

He is coming soon!

In light of the tumultuous world we live in, with this blog we begin a series on the Second Coming of Christ. Here is an urgent message for every leader and his clients to embrace with certainty in uncertain times. The blogs are adapted for North Star with permission. All are available in a single hard copy from the author.

“I am coming soon! . . . And I will give to everyone according to what he has done.” Revelation 22:12

I remember playing in the backyard as a little boy, gazing into the sky, and wondering, “What will it be like when Jesus comes?”

As a teenager, I drove a truck as a part-time job. On the way home one evening everything seemed to have a strange, spooky feel about it, like something out of a science-fiction movie. It was eerie. The combination of the setting sun, the cloud formations, and the color of the sky made me think, “Is Jesus going to return, right now!?” Have you ever had that strange kind of feeling?

The second coming of Christ still intrigues me, as it does many people. Piles of books have been written, and preachers have covered the subject time and again. But never have the times been more ripe for the last days, with mass shootings, terrorism, and the possibilities of nuclear confrontation. In such times, the prospect of seeing Jesus face-to-face ought to be a source of immense comfort.

As we study God’s Word together on this great subject, you don’t have to agree with my interpretations at every point. But I do hope that you will be inspired, especially if you are going through difficult times, to eagerly anticipate the imminent coming of your Savior.

When will Jesus return? “No one knows about that day or hour” (Mark 13:32), but there are signs that his return may be sooner than we think! Will you be ready if he returns today?