Author Information

The co-author of “Family to Family”, DR. Jerry Pipes “is the Director of Jerry Pipes Productions. Jerry has traveled internationally, speaking to millions of people in assemblies, crusades, and conferences. He has written four books and produced numerous booklets and training processes with more than 13 million copies in print. Jerry and his wife, Debra, have two children, Paige and Josh.” Taken from “Family to Family” Biography, (Back Page).

The co-author of “Family to Family”, Victor Lee “is the Minister of Single Adults and Evangelism at First Baptist Concord, Knoxville, TN. He has been writing professionally for 22 years. Victor entered full-time ministry in 1995. He is a regular contributor and editor of a variety of Christian publications. Victor has written sports and special event evangelism materials with worldwide distribution. He lives in Wake Forest, N.C., with his wife and partner in ministry, Judy. Taken from “Family to Family” Biography, (Back Page).

Content Summary

Family to Family is a book that outlines how to effectively disciple our children and contains a foreword that assigns the “business of home” with the responsibility of “shaping the bodies and souls of humanity”. The Foreword is followed by acknowledgements where the authors thank the various contributors to the body of work to include Steve Green who is cited as hosting the “Family to Family” video. The introduction is the next section of the book and consist of an explanation of what the gist of the book is about. The main goal of the book can be summed up in the opening lines of the introduction: “Family to Family is for hurried parents who deeply desire meaningful family time, true significance, and long to pass the baton of their faith in Christ on to their children.” (Family to Family, PG 1). The following topics are covered in Chapters 1 through 6 and are titled respectively “Healthy Families”, “Developing a Mission Statement”, “Passing the Baton”, “Out of the House, Into the Church”, and “Sharing the Message”. The two remaining chapters consist of the “Conclusion” and the “Endnotes”.
Chapter one points out some of the main characteristics of families that are not healthy and healthy and compares and contrast these characteristics. Chapter one also includes some interesting statistics on the American culture which are listed below:
- Only 34 percent of America’s families eat one meal together each day
- The average father spends only eight to 10 minutes a day with his children. This includes television and meal times.
- Only 12 percent of America’s families pray together.
- The average couple spends only four minutes of uninterrupted time together a day.

Chapter two is devoted to Developing a Mission Statement for the Family. What a mission statement is can be explained best as a blueprint for living family life. It contains all of the important values and attributes that a family holds dear. The family mission starts with the parents and they are the heartbeat of family evangelism. Chapter two outlines a four step process for developing a mission statement to include:
- Step 1: Take a family inventory:
- Step 2: Consider your goals:
- Step 3: Conceptualize the statement:
- Step 4: Fine-tune and personalize the statement:
Chapter two also places an emphasis on the entire family owning the principles outlined in the mission statement and makes provisions for those of us who got a late start at grooming our children in the faith by outlining the steps to take to rectify the situation.
Chapter three is devoted to identifying when a child is ready to receive Christ and list “Signs of Accountability”:
- A child must understand the meaning of sin
- A child must realize he or she has sinned
- A child must realize he or she has sinned against God
- A child must understand that he or she is separated from God because of sin
The rest of chapter three focuses on sharing Jesus with your teens and mentoring your children to maturity and includes seven key elements:
Modeling, Being there, Affirm them, Pray with them and pray for them, Being Transparent, Empowering your children, and making the word of God central to what you do.
Chapter four discusses ways to evangelize outside of the home and incorporates the seven concentric circles of concern which consist of: 1 Self, 2 Immediate Family, 3 Relatives, 4 Close friends, 5 Neighbors-Business Associates, 6 Acquaintances, and 7 Person X. Chapter five also communicates helpful tips for family evangelism with Special-Needs Children.
Chapter 6 discusses ways to effectively reach the community with evangelistic efforts that support growth in church attendance and stresses the importance of prayer in evangelism.
The conclusion contains an illustration that really brings home the point that if we as parents fail to evangelize our children, through them being a witness to us presenting the gospel, then they will perceive that either we as parents are not genuine in our faith or that the Gospel message is being exaggerated because if it were not the case then their parents would be active in ministering to the spiritual needs of the unsaved.
The book concludes with the Endnotes.

Evaluation

Family to Family was an outstanding book that provides a blue print for living family life and from there ministers to the needs of the community. I particularly found the step by step process that the book uses to be very helpful whether it applied to mentoring teens or building a healthy family. I will definitely recommend this book to families who are seeking to improve their family life and looking for ways in which they can best minister to their community beginning at home, with their children, and going from there.

Bibliographical Entry
Pipes Jerry and Lee Victor: “Family to Family”, Publishers Unknown.

Author Information

The authors of “Share Jesus Without Fear” are William Fay and Linda Evans Shepherd. William Fay studied theology under Gordon Lewis at Denver Seminary. Gordon Lewis is a professor of systematic theology at Denver Seminary. William Fay is married to Peg Fay and was raised in an upper middle class family. He was a child who enjoyed the better things in life and soon found himself in the fast lane of life as a young adult with ties to the Mob. William Fay narrowly dodged a bullet when he was busted for running a prostitution ring because he was given a warning not to involve himself in any criminal activity and avoided jail time. William Fay hit rock bottom when he was brought up on charges of soliciting an undercover officer for prostitution and it was during this time that he came to faith as he was continuously ministered to by a long time friend. While expecting to fully be committed to the penitentiary for violating the terms of his parole, to the glory of God he was released and the charges were barred from being brought against him again. Since that time William Fay has met with thousands of individuals and shared his faith in Jesus including the very same police officers that had arrested him on various occasions.

William Fay list five steps to knowing Jesus Christ in his book “Share Jesus Without Fear”:

1. Admit to God you are a sinner.
2. Want forgiveness for your sin.
3. Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died on the cross for you and rose again.
4. Be willing to surrender your life to Jesus Christ.
5. Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and your Savior. (Fay, pg 192).

Linda Evans Shepherd is an award winning author who is a member of the National Speaker’s Association. Some of her works include; Encouraging Hands, Encouraging Hearts, and Heart-Stirring Stories of Romance and Heart-Stirring Stories of Love. (Fay, pg 195).

Content Summary

William Fay has penned a work in “Share Jesus Without Fear” that uses a systematic approach to sharing one’s faith in Jesus Christ without being overly structured. The process involves asking a series of questions in a conversational tone without offering an immediate rebuttal to any ideas communicated lending to an environment that is conducive to witnessing without coming across as someone who is overly aggressive and trying to force a conversion. The questions that William Fay introduce allow the individual who is witnessing to gauge where the individual is at spiritually and adjust accordingly if he or she judges it is not the right time to present the gospel. One of the first points that William Fay makes in his book is that you cannot fail if you are being obedient to God’s command to be a witness for the gospel of Jesus Christ regardless of whether or not there is a conversion that takes place and illustrates this point by telling the story of his conversion after being witnessed to for years by a close friend and rejecting and ridiculing the gospel until he was charged with running a prostitution ring. In chapter 2 William Fay attempts to relay the importance of witnessing to the unsaved of the world by using different scenarios that have at the root of the story the message that we must not be silent as Christians concerning the marvelous news of the gospel. Chapter 3 focuses on overcoming ones fear of witnessing and addresses a number of excuses people use to justify their unwillingness to obey God’s commandment to include; I’m afraid of being rejected, I’m afraid of what my friends will think, I don’t think I can share with my coworkers, I don’t know enough, I’m afraid of losing my friends and relatives, and I don’t know how. (Fay, Chapter 3). Chapter 3 concludes with Fay admonishing the reader that if he or she would wishes take part in the joy that so many others have experienced, that it will be necessary to stop making excuses and to step out on faith.
Chapter 4 contains what Fay refers to as the Jesus questions, which is basically a set of questions that allow you to gauge the fertility of the soil before a seed of the gospel is planted. The advantages of this technique are clear, If you deem that the person whom you are speaking with is not ready to receive the message, you can back off, but on the other hand if the soil is fertile, then you can continue the witnessing process culminating with the individual who is being witnessed to accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. The “Five Questions” that Fay introduces for tools to use while witnessing are: Do you have any kind of spiritual beliefs? To you, who is Jesus Christ? Do you think there is a heaven or hell? If you died where would you go? If heaven, why? If what you are believing is not true, would you want to know? Fay also makes mention of the Hmmmmm Principle, which is aimed at being an attentive listener rather than being focused on a rebuttal always. Chapter 5 places an emphasis on using scripture to witness to people who are not in the faith as the preferred method because it is through God’s word that the heart is changed (Fay, pg 41). Chapter 5 also contains seven scriptures which have been labeled “Share Scriptures” by Fay. The purpose of using the share scriptures is to let the Bible speak plainly regarding man’s need for a savior. Chapter 6 focuses on leading someone to make a decision to accept Christ and includes 5 questions called “Commitment Questions” that can be used to lead someone to accept Christ as Savior; Are you a sinner? Do you want forgiveness of sins? Do you believe Jesus died on the cross for you and rose again? Are you willing to surrender your life to Jesus Christ? Are you ready to invite Jesus into your life and into your heart? Chapter 7 focuses on what to do after someone has just accepted Jesus Christ as savior, while Chapter 8 lists typically objections that are posed by doubters of the faith with responses to these common concerns addressed.
Chapter nine’s focus is on “Developing and Keeping Non-Christian Friends”, Chapter ten focuses on “How to Pray for Nonbelievers” and Chapter eleven’s message is to always be ready to speak the word of God, properly entitled “Let’s Go”. There are also five appendixes for the readers use, appendix 5 being the personal testimony of Bill Fay, and a section about the authors.

Evaluation

I have an appreciation for the candidness and openness that comes across when reading
“Sharing Jesus Without Fear” and believe that Fay achieves his purpose of providing a way for believers to share their faith. The theme of the book is valid and necessary because there are a lot of believers who struggle sharing their faith. I found Fay’s arguments to be well supported and convincing although I am not a fan of such a structured approach to witnessing, I do admit that it is an issue that many believers struggle with and can improve upon if they apply the systems in Fay’s book. The personal testimony of Fay serves as one of the primary means of conveying the effectiveness of God’s word being used to convert lost souls. What is significant about the book is that Fay has communicated that it is God’s word that actually penetrates the heart and converts and has included a series of scriptures that can explain the gospel, leaving no room for debate over the unconverted sinner’s need for a savior. I noticed a theological bias of not getting in to a debate when witnessing, which supports the theme of the book. We have learned that all it takes to be successful in witnessing is to be willing to be a witness and that we need not be concerned with winning souls for Jesus, that is God’s business. The book is a good starting point for believers who struggle in witnessing the good news and can be a good spring board for being ready to witness in season and out of season. All Christians can benefit from reading this book as it provides a baseline for witnessing to individuals who are ready to receive the message of the gospel, in line with the biblical principle of not casting your pearls before swine. I plan to personally use the approaches introduced in Fay’s book “Share Jesus Without Fear” by placing the steps on a website to make them available to fellow Christians.

Bibliographical Entry

Shepherd Evans Linda -William, Fay: Share Jesus Without Fear, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1999.

Author Information

The author of “The Unexpected Journey”, Thom S. Rainer holds a PhD from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is the founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions. Thom S. Rainer is also the president of Church Central. One of the activities that he partakes in frequently is speaking at conferences and seminars. Thom S. Rainer has served as a pastor and interim pastor in ten churches and is president of Rainer Group Church Consulting. He has penned various works to include: “The Unchurched Next Door” and “Breakout Churches”. (Rainer, Cover Biography)

Content Summary

The “Unexpected Journey” is a book about a series of separate interviews where the testimonies of twelve individuals who have come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and are coming from different religions or belief systems are given, to include; Mormonism, Judaism, Hinduism, Atheism, Jehovah’s Witness, Agnosticism, Wiccan Paganism, Buddhism, Unitarianism, Astrology, Islam, and Satanism.
The interviews are conducted by Thom S. Rainer and his wife Nellie Jo and begin in Salt Lake City ending in Augusta Georgia a year later. The author is clear to inform the reader that this book is not an “apologetic book” in defense of the Christian faith, nor is it an “exhaustive account” of the details surrounding the former beliefs of the participants, but he has attempted to educate the reader with general and elementary knowledge and facts surrounding the faiths or belief systems.
The first interview involves a convert to Christianity from the Mormon belief system. It takes place at the home of Rauni and Dennis. Rauni gives her account of how she lost her parents at an early age and was left with no family besides her Aunts and Uncles. Rauni later became a Mormon through a friendship that she made with a female who told her that she could be reunited with her family and friends forever if she joined Mormonism. Not only did Rauni join the faith, she became a Finnish translator and became very acquainted with the tenets of the faith. Rauni would go on to marry Dennis, a sixth generation Mormon. After some serious study Rauni and Dennis came to the conclusion that Mormonism did not make any sense and was full of contradictions. It was Rauni’s work, as a translator, and Dennis’s thorough familiarization with the tenets of the faith, as a sixth generation Mormon, that set the conditions for a closer look at apparent contradictions. Mormonism came about “In 1823 when Joseph Smith claimed to receive a revelation from God that all churches were corrupt. He said that the angel Moroni appeared to him in upstate New York and revealed to him the location of gold plates that contained the history of God’s people on this American continent and the fullness of the true gospel. Mormonism began with teachings of the Book of Mormon that Smith claimed he had “translated” from the Reformed Egyptian hieroglyphic characters on the plates.” (Rainer, PG 19). Rauni and Dennis eventually were excommunicated from their Mormon church which meant that their businesses would be boycotted by the Mormon community and eventually fail. Rauni and Dennis would go through a period of believing in nothing until Rauni began listening to some audio tapes of the Gospel of John and convinced Dennis to listen also. The story ends on the miraculous note of Rauni, Dennis and their three daughters being set free through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The next interview in the book involved a Jew and former believer in Judaism. The encounter took place at a restaurant in Chicago and the gentleman with whom they would be speaking with was named Steve. Steve was very enthusiastic and communicated his family’s orthodox roots, which went many generations back. The three major divisions that exist in Judaism, as communicated by the author are as follows:
- Orthodox Judaism is the oldest and most conservative branch. Orthodox Jews strictly adhere to the original form of Judaism with all of its customs and practices.
- Reform Judaism is the liberal and more permissive side of Judaism. Reform Jews follow the ethical laws of Judaism but ignore other traditional customs such as diet and apparel.
- Conservative Judaism is a compromise between the strict adherence of the Orthodox position and the permissive stance of the Reform perspective. (Rainer, PG 33).

Steve went on to explain that you can be just about anything in relation to a Jew, (Jews are tolerant of many things), except a Christian because of the animosity that has existed over the years with Christians accusing the Jews of killing Jesus. The Jews even associated Hitler with Christians because of his opposition to them during the Holocaust. Because of the ambiguity and tolerance of so many different things Steve was confused and lived a secular life until he met back up with a former girlfriend who had become a Christian and insisted that he go to Church with her where he was convicted of his need of a savior. Steve is now a leader in a church that incorporates traditional Jewish customs into the realization that Jesus is the Messiah that so long has been sought after by the Jewish faith.
The next story involves a man by the name of Dr Ravi who was a Hindu worshiper born into a very financially wealthy family that later rejected him because of a disability that resulted from an infection with polio as a youth. Dr Ravi’s family’s rejection eventually led him to run away where he met a man at a train station who presented the Gospel to him and told him of a Christian boarding school where he accepted Christ fourteen months later. Eventually Dr Ravi’s mother and father both became Christians.

Hinduism has countless gods in its belief system. But as the religion has developed, some of the earlier deities have disappeared and are no longer mentioned. Today there are three main gods among the many:
1. Brahma is the main god. He is also known as the Impersonal Absolute and the Ultimate Reality.
2. Vishnu is the god of all good causes. He has taken on human forms, the most popular of which is Krishna. Hare Krishna is the name of the movement that propagates this god.
3. Shiva is the god of creation and destruction, among other roles. (Rainer, PG 51).

The remainder of the interviews follows a similar format and each one concludes with the conversion of a new believer from a different faith.

Evaluation

The Unexpected Journey was a book that was full of demonstration after demonstration of how man can try to draw near to God through the practice of man made religion, but yet be unfulfilled in his desire to know God. God has declared in his word that the only way to know him is through Jesus Christ and this became evident to those individuals who were interviewed as they accepted Jesus as their personal savior. The Unexpected Journey is a powerful book and can be used to witness to individuals of a different faith as they are exposed to other people who thought that either they had the right way to God or that all roads lead to God. I will be passing this book over to my wife for her digestion, to the glory of God.

Bibliographical Entry
Rainer S. Thom: “The Unexpected Journey”, Zondervan Publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530, 2005.

This report is based off of my personal witnessing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to five individuals. The methods that were used to witness to the five individuals consisted of Servant Evangelism and traditional witnessing by sharing faith in Jesus. The first person that I will discuss is my wife, of close to eleven years, Katja. For years and years I have been communicating to her that she needs to take a look at what the Bible has to say about mankind’s need for a savior. As of late Katja and I have not been seeing eye to eye on a lot of things and it has caused our marriage to be in a state of disunion to the point that we have become legally separated. I am praying that we are able to reconcile, however my prayers are much more that God’s will be done because I know that when we are in his will that this is where we will, as his people, be the happiest if not in the present, then without question in the future. When an opportunity arose for me to do something to demonstrate servant evangelism, which is the meeting of a person’s need by performing an act or service, then I immediately took advantage of the opportunity to do so.

Katja and I were in a furniture store with the children, looking for a crib for my son when I noticed Katja looking at the beds on display. I immediately recalled that our bed was in need of repairs and that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to meet a need of hers, even though we are separated legally. I asked Katja if she would like to buy a new bed and she, of course, communicated that she would. The bed was purchased and I hope that it says that I care about her needs and have a vested interest in her well being in order to strengthen our relationship and set the conditions for me to present the gospel to her. I plan to witness to my wife during a time of need, which is when we are most receptive to God’s word, and have full confidence that I have helped set the conditions for at least her being willing to hear what I have to say. The next individual that I will speak about and that I will have a chance to witness to, again in the near future is my mother in law Astrid. Astrid is a very nice older lady who, unfortunately, I do not always see eye to eye with, I could say that the apple does not fall far from the tree, but will refrain from this type of humor because of the perceived harshness of such a statement. It was brought to my attention by my wife that she had been to my mother in law’s apartment and that her sofa was in need of repair or replacement, I once again so this as an opportunity to meet a need in the hope of setting the conditions and establishing a relationship with my mother in law that would allow me to sow the seed of the Gospel on ground that has been cultivated and is now fertile. I have shared my faith with my mother in law in the past but will do so once again this weekend by dropping off a tract that explains the Gospel of Christ Jesus and prayerfully she will respond by accepting Jesus Christ as savior. This concludes the two witnessing accounts that involved servant evangelism. The next three witnessing experiences involve the more traditional sharing of the Gospel by trying to ascertain if the individuals that I were speaking with were one; Christians at all and two, if they are Christians did they understand the true nature of the Gospel. Below you will find the account of my three witnessing experiences

.

The first experience that I will relay took place in an army bay that much resembled the open bays in the movie “full metal jacket”. I had took part in a conversation earlier with a Soldier that communicated that he had attended a Christian college and that it was mandatory that he take one class in religion. I told him that he was fortunate that he did not attend liberty, because liberty requires you to take five religious courses before you graduate, (which is a good thing for some, but can be tedious for others), which led me to one day ask this Soldier if I could talk to him about what he believed to be true and whether or not the Gospel of Jesus Christ is something that he believed in? The Soldier communicated to me that he did not believe that there is or is not a God and concluded that his beliefs fell somewhere in the realm of what Agnostics believe, which is that there is no way to prove that God exist, but at the same time they are open to the possibility of God if could be proven. What came out of this exchange with the Soldier is that we do not necessarily agree on the same things concerning God, although the Soldier had attended a Christian school and had undoubtedly been exposed to the Gospel. What makes one person more receptive to the message of the Gospel than others? I believe that it is the circumstances that God engineers in a persons life that set the conditions for an individual’s willingness to entertain the things of God. No identifiable willingness to join the faith on this witnessing attempt, but a seed has been sown. Maybe one day when this Soldier is facing a tough situation he will reflect on some of the things that I communicated to him.

One down and two, more witnessing events, to go. While the first witnessing event, in the traditional mode of witnessing, involved a Soldier who was my peer, this next witnessing opportunity involved a Soldier who was one rank above mine. The setting was very similar to the first witnessing experience, while at a training exercise housed in an open bay, with the exception that when asked the question of “Sir, are you a Christian”, the Soldier responded with the reply “What would make you think that I am not”. By the tone and response that was delivered I perceived that there might have been offense taken to the question that I asked. I proceeded to communicate that I was not trying to say that he was not a Christian, by the question I asked, but rather that I was attempting to find out, if indeed he was a Christian, if his understanding of the Gospel was the same as the understanding of the Gospel that I had. This one got off to a rocky start possibly because of the difficulty in talking with a superior, normally you do more listening than talking as a subordinate, and partly possibly, in my opinion, of the approach that I used. I asked the question to the Senior Soldier in a manner that would have been received better, I think, if I had not spoken it loud enough for others to hear it. The Soldier’s defenses went up from the start and the witnessing effort was stifled, however I was able to communicate to some extent what I believe and present scripture to the Soldier, so now that a seed has been sown I will leave it up to God to cultivate what has been sown. One plants another waters, but it is God that gives the increase.

The Third witnessing event took place in a unique fashion. I was on the bus coming from a firing range, reading a book titled “Radically Unchurched” when a young Soldier asked me what I was reading? I replied that I was reading a book for a class I was taking in pursuit of a Masters in Theology. The Soldier asked me a couple of questions concerning the book and later on he approached me and wanted to know more about the gospel of Christ. I was wondering where my third witnessing opportunity would come from and it was brought to me! I explained the gospel to the Soldier and he stated that he was waiting for God to send the understanding that would convict him. I in turn told him that he should pray to God for faith and read as much of the Bible as he possibly could.

My five witnessing experiences resulted in mixed results, but I know that I have been obedient to the call of Christ to be a witness to the world.

]]> http://giveyourwitness.com/witnessing-to-five-people/feed/ http://giveyourwitness.com/victory-over-pornography/ http://giveyourwitness.com/victory-over-pornography/#comments Sun, 12 Jul 2009 14:55:44 +0000 admin http://giveyourwitness.com/?p=117

I am writing this recovery testimony from the vantage point of a believer who knows that Jesus will give victory over this “particular problem” and that the battle has already been won, although I presently struggle daily with the issue. What issue is that you may ask? It is the issue of watching pornography. I grew up in society like every other young male and somehow it was implied, at least it seemed from what I could see, that interacting with pornography is a healthy and normal activity that every body engages in. I can now look back at some of the consequences of dealing with pornography and say that nothing can be further from the truth. Not to say that watching pornography is not a common thing in our society, there are many people who enjoy it and are unaware of the second and third order effects that result from watching it. With the information technology age upon us, pornography has become very access able to society via the internet. It use to be the case that VHS tapes and DVDs dominated the pornography market as the main delivery method, but the Internet is fast taking over that distinction. I at one point in time had a substantial collection of files stored on a hard drive of one of my computers, and probably still do if I am totally honest. With the advent of the Internet and the advancement in technology you can now stream media (to include pornography) directly from servers, meaning you do not have to spend time downloading a file before you can watch it. So what is so wrong with pornography you may ask?

First I will tell you some of the ways I believe pornography has affected my life negatively and then I will direct you to what the bible has to say about it and related issues. Without going into all of the details, I sadly have to admit that I know of at least one person, who is very close to me, who has participated in an extra-marital affair, a politically correct way of referring to what the Bible defines as the act of adultery. Secondly pornography shapes the mentality of it’s audience and reduces the individuals that are interacting with or participating in it to objects of pleasure and fantasy, when in reality human beings are created in the image of God and have much more to offer and be appreciated for. After years of watching pornography I can say that I would become very angry if my wife did not meet my needs sexually. I know that there are few things on the face of this planet that can drive a man crazy like not having his sexual desires met by his spouse, however I will admit that there should be a fine balance struck in a relationship. The wife should submit herself to the husband and the husband should love and respect the wife as Christ loved the church. Sexual relations within the proper constraints of marriage and what has been communicated above is the ideal situation, but what pornography does ever so subtly is to condition the mind to think that I can have my needs satisfied whenever I want without regard for the way another person is feeling. In other words, people do not watch pornography to learn how to better please their spouse in bed, (an altruistic motive indeed), and that is not to say that there aren’t any techniques that can be acquired by watching porn, but I would argue that most people watch pornography out of a selfish motivation to please themselves, (me, me, me), and that the disadvantages far outweigh the insatiable and temporary satisfaction that one may experience from watching it. Since I am a Christian I know that the act of watching pornography is not something that glorifies God and that it is displeasing to God, so whenever I watch it I feel a tremendous amount of guilt that results in me feeling distant from God. During the periods in my life that God has kept me from this particular sin I have felt an increased level of fellowship.
The Bible was written during a time when pornography was not in existence but there are verses that address issues that are related to pornography:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

“Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body.”

“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. ”

Although I still struggle with this sin presently, I know that Christ has won the battle and because of this I will be vicotorious in this area of my life as a Christian. The same can be said for you friend if you trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, no matter what it is that you may be struggling with in life; drugs, alcohol, gambling, depression, Jesus is the answer for all of the problems in life…

The “Messiah In the Old Testament” is a book about the Lord Jesus Christ and how he is revealed in the pages of the Old Testament. The book systematically goes through the books of the Old Testament after a brief introduction and description of the Messiah in the Pentateuch. There are a total of ten chapters in “The Messiah In The Old Testament” of which the first two have been communicated above. The remaining eight chapters, (Chapters 3-10), respectively are titled: “The Messiah Before and During the Davidic Monarchy”, “The Messiah in the Psalms” (Part 1), “The Messiah in the Psalms” (Part 2), “The Messiah in the Ninth- and Eighth-Century Prophets”, “The Messiah in the Eighth-Century Prophets (Isaiah)”, “The Messiah in the Seventh- and Sixth-Century Prophets”, “The Messiah in the Postexilic Prophets”, and finally the “Conclusion”. There are a few Appendixes and Indexes for the convenience of the reader to use.

The introduction poses the question of what is a Christian? The answer given by most people is “One who believes that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ the Jews were expecting” but the author indicates that this common answer is not all together accurate, while not too far off the mark, it assumes three things: “1 that the title ‘Christ’ fully categorizes Jesus, 2 that Christians are clear and in agreement on what this title, ‘Christ’ denotes, and, 3 that all, or virtually all, Jews during the time of Jesus were looking for the coming of the Messiah or Christ.” Within the introduction several definitions are given, the interpretative concepts of Dual Meaning and single meaning are introduced under the category “Starting Points” which looks at where and how to begin studying the Old Testament . Under the “Proposal” section traditional and conservative beliefs are compared and contrasted.The rest of the chapter deals with: “The Promise-Plan of God”, and “Problems in Messianic Interpretation”.

The next chapter takes a look at the Messiah and how he fulfilled prophecies within the Pentateuch, which is the first five books of the Bible, commonly referred to as the books of the law.The spectrum of prophecies fulfilled within the Pentateuch ranges from those found in the book of Genesis, Numbers and through Deuteronomy.The Appendix for this chapter examines how Christ can be found in the book of Job.

Chapter 3 is focused on “The Messiah Before and During the Davidic Monarchy” and how Samuel was the first in the line of prophets predicted by Moses yet at the same time he was the last of the Judges of the nation of Israel.The chapter alludes to the fact that Samuel predicted the coming of the Messiah in Hannah’s prophecy in reference to the anointed one.The chapter makes the point that Christ fulfilled, (and is currently fulfilling I might add), the three roles of Judge, Priest and King. The Psalms and the Wisdom books are then explained in the context of how to look for the Messiah within its pages.

Chapters four and five take off where chapter 3 ends with further study of the Psalms as is related to the Messiah in the Old Testament and communicates that “The greatest single block of predictive matter concerning the Savior to be found anywhere in the Old Testament” (Kaiser, PG 92), is the book of Psalms. Some of the themes of Messianic prophecy found in the Psalms include; David’s Greater Son (Pss 89; 132), The Mystery of the Incarnation (Pss 8; 40), The Rejection of the Messiah (Pss 118; 78:1-2 ), The Betrayal of the Messiah (Pss 69, 109), Death and Beyond (Pss 22; 2), Victory Over Death (Pss 16; 102), Messiah’s Marriage and Ministry (Pss 45; 110), and The Reign of the Glorious King (Pss 72; 68), (Kaiser Jr, 93).

Chapters six looks at the Christ through the Ninth-and Eighth-Century Prophets and makes the point that the Promise Plan of the Messiah was not over when the “covenant promises made to Eve, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David were over.”(Kaieser, pg 136).Chapter 6 also reinforces the two hermeneutical principles for interpreting Messianic doctrine, the first being the concept of inaugurated eschatology, “in which the writers of Scripture embody a “now” along with a “not yet” aspect to many of their predictions about the future.” The second hermeneutical concept is that of corporate solidarity where the context of a name like Israel must be examined in order to properly determine exactly who is in view during the passage, whether it be the “country, Jewish people, the religious body, sometimes the spiritually minded, or sometimes the NT believer.

Chapter seven is dedicated to the prophet Isaiah and cites him as being one of “the most prolific announcers of the Messiah and his times among the OT prophets”. (Kaiser, pg 155). The author also notes that forty seven our of Isaiah’s sixty six chapter are directly eluded in the New testament . The topics covered in the book are; The Messiah as King, The Messiah as Servant, and The Messiah as Anointed Conqueror. Chapter eight is concerned with the Messiah in the Seventh- and Sixth-Century Prophets and finds the theme of the Gospel interwoven in each of the books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Jeremiah speaks of the Messiah as “the LORD Our Righteousness” (Jeremiah 23:5-6), the Messiah as the Priestly King (Jeremiah 30:9, 21), and the “Inviolable Promise about the Messiah (Jeremiah 33:14-26). The book of Ezekiel examines the “Messiah as the Tender Sprig (Ezekiel 17:22-24), The Messiah as the Rightful King (Ezekiel 21:25-27) and the Messiah as the Good Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:23-31), and the Messiah as the Great Unifier of the Nation (Ezekiel 37:15-28). The book of Daniel addresses the Messiah as the son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14), and the Messiah as the Anointed Ruler Who Will Come (Daniel 9:24-27). Chapter nine takes a look at the Messiah in the Postexilic Prophets, to include; Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The topics covered in Haggai are; the Messiah as the Desire of the Nations. (Haggai are 2:6-9), and The Messiah as God’s Signet Ring (Haggai 2:21-23) The Topics discussed in Zechariah are; the Messiah’s Work as high priest (Zechariah 3:8-10), the Messiah as the King-Priest: Ruler Over all nations (Zechariah 6:9-15), the Messiah as the King (Zechariah 9:9-10), the Messiah’s Four Titles (Zechariah 10:4), the Messiah as the Rejected Good Shepherd (Zechariah 11:4-14), the Messiah as the pierced one (Zechariah 12:10), and the Messiah as the smitten Companion of the Lord (Zechariah 13:7). The Messiah in Malachi addresses the issues of; the Messiah as the Messenger of the covenant, (Malachi 3:1), and the Messiah as the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2)

Author Information

The authors of “Concentric Circles of Concern” are, original print: Oscar W. Thompson, revised edition: Thompson R. Carolyn and Claude V. King. Oscar Thompson instructed seminary students in personal evangelism prior to dying of Cancer in 1980. While Oscar Thompson had begun to work on Concentric Circles of Concern it was actually his wife Carolyn who compiled the manuscript of the first edition after the death of Oscar Thompson in 1980. Claude V. King revised the original version of Concentric Circles of Concern with the permission of Carolyn Thompson. Claude V. King served on the staff of an evangelistic church prior to attending seminary in New Orleans.

Content Summary

Chapter 1 focuses on the importance of relationships in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and how when people see the genuines of your faith through a relationship it can be an effective witnessing tool. In the introduction Claude describes how he noticed that, as part of an evangelical church staff, he was able to lead people to make a public profession of Christ but encountered a certain level of difficulty when trying to lead these same people into a local body of “Christ where they could grow”, (Thompson, pg 1). Chapter 1 begins with a story of a father and son whose relationship is broken because of the son’s wish to attend seminary and go against the desires of his father for him to continue the family tradition. The story culminates with the father accepting Jesus after arriving at the door steps of his son’s seminary. Through a broken relationship that needed fixing a father was brought to the Lord. The author goes on to say that the most important word in the English Language is relationship and discusses the significance and associations of “Right Relationships” and “Broken Relationships”. Claude says that right relationships leave you prepared for life and if you think back at all the good events that have occurred in your life you can tie them into being in a proper relationship of some sort where as in contrast broken relationships do just the opposite and are associated with bad memories for the most part. Claude goes on to say that every broken; business, friendship, home is a broken relationship, (Claude, pg 10) and if these relationships could some how be restored then society’s most complex problems would be solved because right relationships set the conditions to eliminate these problems before they are problems. Claude then goes on to explain his purpose for writing the book, which was to help the reader experience the blessings of restored relationships.

Chapter 2 speaks on how the gospel moves through relationships with the example of Andrew bringing his brother Simon (Peter) to Jesus who was used mightily by God in the early church years, the example of the woman at the well and how she through a relationship with the town’s people communicated that she had found the savior and many more examples of relationships that brought others to faith through their existence are given. It is in chapter 2 that Claude lays out the concept of the gospel moving on contiguous lines of relationships and illustrates this by placing the various relationships that a person can have within the confines of circles within circles, resembling a target. The innermost and first circle is self with the next higher and outward circles representing respectively; Circle 2: Family, Circle 3: Relatives, Circle 4: Friends, Circle 5: Neighbors and Associates, Circle 6: Acquaintances, Circle 7: Person X. Claude makes the point that often we have ruptured relationships within the lower levels of Concentric Circles and as a result of this can find our ability to effectively witness to Person X, who is the individual who we more than likely come across once and will never see again, hurt.

Chapter 3 focuses on being an ambassador for Christ and lays out seven stages for making disciples. Stages 1-7 are as follows: 1. Get Right: Get right with God, self, and others, 2. Survey: Survey your relationships, 3. Pray: Work with God through prayer, 4. Build Bridges: Build relationship bridges to people, 5. Show Love: Show God’s love by meeting needs, 6. Make Disciples: Make disciples and help them grow, 7. Begin Again: Help new Christians make disciples.

Chapter 4 discloses three barriers to sharing the gospel and they are:

1: Not knowing Jesus, 2: Fear, and 3: Broken Relationships.

Claude goes on to say that not knowing Jesus will cause you to ignore relationships that need fixing prior to reaching out to person X in the outermost Concentric Circle of Concern. The basic idea here is to first Get right with God, then yourself and then you will be able to share the gospel effectively through relationships.

Chapter 5 deals with the importance of first and foremost getting right with God.

Chapter 6 deals with the 1st Concentric Circle “self”.

Chapter 7 talks about Bearing Spiritual fruit.

Chapter 8 speaks on the Hindrances to Bearing Spiritual Fruit.

Chapter 9 contains seven stages of “Making Disciples for Christ”.

Stage 2 of the Seven Steps to “Making Disciples for Christ” begins with chapter 10, (which focuses on how to conduct surveys of family and relatives), and concludes with chapter 11, (which is focused on conducting surveys of the 4 remaining Concentric Circles 4-7.
Stage 3 places an emphasis on the importance of prayer and is discussed in chapter 12.
Stage 4 includes chapter 13 and instructs the believer on how to build relationship bridges to people by meeting a need. Stage 5 takes a look at how to “Show God’s Love by Meeting Needs”
and includes Chapters 14 and 15 which are titled “Show God’s Love by Meeting Needs” and “Loving in Concentric Circles” respectively. Stage 6 includes chapters 16 and 17 and their focuses are on “Introducing People to Jesus Christ” and “Making Disciples” respectively. The final stage is stage 7 and is placed in the set of stages to refocus the believer on the ongoing mission of bringing Jesus sheep in to the fold appropriately titled: “Begin Again: Help New Christians Make Disciples”. There is also a short Epilogue on “Things that I have Learned” and a “Concentric Circles Survey Form”.

Evaluation

Claude achieved his intended purpose of communicating the need for fixing the relationships with the seven concentric circles and how if they are broken they can detract from witnessing to person x who is in the last circle and a lot of the time the initial and primary focus of evangelist when self and the escalating levels of circles within the whole concentric circle should be the priority. The main theme is a very convincing theme, that being that relationships are very important in communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ. I thought Claude did an outstanding job of demonstrating through scripture how relationships played a role in many people being led to Jesus Christ. The presuppositions that are made when approaching the subject of relationships is that good memories are generated through good relationships and bad memories are generated through bad relationships. One other presupposition that is made is that if we could somehow fix the broken relationships in the world (i.e. broken friendships, business relationships, marriages), then we would be able to solve a majority of the worlds problems. I believe Claude is accurate in communicating that if the broken relationships could be somehow restored that we could eliminate a lot of the world’s problems because everything that occurs in this world has a relation to something else which is related to something else causing a multiplicative effect. For example the child who comes from a broken home where mom had to work two jobs consequently leaving him or her unsupervised and who later ends up in all kinds of trouble as a result. If we could find a way to restore the marriage of his parents, (a relationship), there should be less of a chance of something like what was communicated above occurring. Claude presents a very logical argument that is supported with various scripture which is ultimately the barometer that Christians should use to measure what is authoritative. The woman at the well who runs into town causing many to believe is an example of how a relationship proved to be a catalyst for the spread of the gospel. Claude and Thompson go on to conclude that in order to effectively make disciples for Jesus Christ we must first restore the broken relationships within our concentric circles. What is unique, significant and interesting about this book is that it was revised and is still practical and applicable for the believer who lives during these times. I also thought the Concentric Circles and the point that was made about how we are so focused on Person X, (the individual who we have the least interaction with in our concentric circles), that we miss the opportunities to be blessings and witnesses to others was a good point. Other than the use of charts to describe and illustrate concepts and points, I find no unusual content. There is an obvious bias of the authority of the scripture, which is a good thing. Claude teaches us that there is much to be gained from being in a proper relationship with first God, second yourself and last but not least others. The book I thought was concise as possible and used scripture to support the theme of relationships being important in the spread of the gospel. There are many members of the body of Christ and we all interact to support each other. I was very impressed with the book and will recommend it to who ever is interested in becoming an effective witness for Christ. I will never forget the principle of “meeting needs” within relationships as a tool for demonstrating the love of God and have already begun within my own marriage to see how effective it can be. This book brings home the point that relationships are a key element in life and God uses them as he does everything to accomplish his purposes.

Bibliographical Entry

Thompson W. Oscar – Thompson R. Carolyn – (Revised by Claude V. King): Concentric Circles Of Concern, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1999.

I was born into an immediate and extended family of professing Christians, although I rarely saw anybody attend church, (neither did I, I might add), if it wasn’t Easter or some other religious occasion. I was taught to say the prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep…”, by my father’s mother at the young age of 5. My mother’s mom later taught me to recite the Lord’s Prayer. My mother’s mom, my grandmother, was a Pentecostal Christian and what this particular denomination of Christianity represented, with the dreams and visions, became evident over the years as I listened to my grandmother recount stories of supernatural visitations from what appeared to be spirits. I always believed that there was a God and by birthright I claimed Christianity as my faith, I even prayed to God and Jesus. I can now say that I knew much about God and Jesus, but had not met the Savior as of yet. I can remember being young and mom and dad splitting up, my mom my brother and I went to stay with a boyfriend of my mothers, while my sister moved in with my grandmother, who could use some help and companionship around the house, In return my grandmother raised my sister like she was her own daughter. We are living in Brooklyn and life is full of chaos for my mother, my brother and I for what seems like the better part of the six years that we stayed there. I was constantly fighting, or at least it seemed that way to me and it seemed as if the borough of Brooklyn had a big black cloud over it. My brother and my wardrobe left much to be desired, but although I never started any fights, I figured out real quick that if I didn’t back down that I could earn respect amongst my peers. After my grandfather passed away coinciding with the beginning of my seventh year in school, we moved in to his apartment in the Bronx, this was a significant event considering it was the first time that my mother my brother and I lived on our own. For a mother with two growing boys and on public assistance I think she did an outstanding job of raising us, not that it wasn’t hard for everyone. I can remember coming in to the classroom and seeing the kids actually participating in what was being taught and thinking to myself: “I had better get it together, these kids are actually about business”. There was one individual, who I would later have a decent relationship with through the common interest of basketball, who thought that because he was taller, bigger and had all the cool clothes, that he could try to intimidate me, boy was he in for a surprise! By the time the school day was over I had talked so much smack to this guy about what I was going to do to him after school, that when I actually approached him after school was let out and asked him “what do you wanna do?” he replied “nothing”. I had a couple of fights that year and later I was jumped pretty bad by individuals that knew the guy that I had problems with earlier during the year. On the day after Christmas during the eighth grade I got into an altercation with some gentleman around my Aunt’s apartment and consequently was stabbed in the shoulder. The wound was half an inch deep, but what angered me was the idea of someone trying to do more than just give me a black eye. Oh by the way I happened to re-aggravate the boxer’s fracture that I had received from previous fights so I had to have my right hand wrapped in a soft cast to add insult to injury. Why couldn’t I have been given one of the cool hard casts that everyone could have signed? I ended up missing a significant part of the school year and would have been held back had I not made up a majority of the work. During the time when we were getting ready to go back to school, I had saved up enough money to buy my brother and I some cool clothes for the start of the 9th grade and a few necessary items for school like books so I should have felt a sense of satisfaction but all I felt was emptiness. Somehow I made my way to a book shelf in my Grandmother’s old house, that my Aunt now lived in and pulled down a book by the name of “Beyond Death’s Door” by Maurice Rawlings. Beyond Death’s Door is a book about an atheist doctor who comes to faith after investigating a series of near death experiences and finding that people’s recollection of things that occur after you die were for the most part in line with what the Bible has to say. The book grabbed my interest and was a tool I believe that God used to open my eyes to see my need for a savior. I prayed to Jesus that he would come into my life and save me from going to hell. I don’t know if I became saved at that very moment, but I definitely began to have a desire to do things that are pleasing to God. As I began to read the scriptures more and more, I began to try to implement what I was learning in to my own life. Ecclesiastes and Proverbs were essential in providing me “a young man without a father in the household” with fatherly advice. I had the best year in school, grades wise, that I ever had and the teachers were wondering what had gotten in to me, I knew the answer to be Jesus!! I had plans of playing professional basketball when I got older and dedicated a lot of my time towards that goal. Over the following summer as I read the scripture, I felt God was calling me to be a minister and that I would have to give up my pursuit of a basketball career, because as the scripture tells us in Mathew 6:24 - “No one can serve two masters, because either he will hate one and love the other, or be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and riches!” I felt really strong about my decision at the time and do not regret giving up the dream of being a pro-basketball player and all the luxuries that comes with that lifestyle, i.e. money, women, but rather as Phillipians 3:8 communicates to us: “What is more, I continue to consider all these things as a loss for the sake of what is far more valuable, knowing the Messiah Jesus, my Lord. It is because of him that I have experienced the loss of all those things. Indeed, I consider them rubbish in order to gain the Messiah”. Over the years I have struggled in my walk as a Christian and have not been the best example of what it is to know Jesus, but one thing that I have noticed since I made a verbal expression of my faith and asked Jesus to save me over 18 years ago is that although we may not be faithful to God at times, God is always faithful towards his children as expressed in Philippians 1:6: “I’m convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus.” You see my social economic condition contributed to me dropping out of High School and earning a G.E.D. This period of time in my life was a low point, as I struggled to walk the Christian walk it became tough to persevere. I eventually joined the military and took Jesus with me, with renewed confidence and faith in Jesus. I joined the Army Infantry and was introduced to all types of wholesome activities, pun intended. When the drill sergeant asked me if I was a Christian I denied that I was, for fear of letting Jesus down by not being able to live up to the standard of being a Christian and consequently discouraging individuals who might have been looking at me with curiosity. I am currently an Army Signal Officer in the rank of Captain and can say that all the struggles in my life both personal and professional I can see have been placed there to position me for what God would have me to do. If I had not gone through the wilderness, I would not be as prepared for what God would have me to do for him right now, neither would I appreciate as much the blessings that are being given to me from God. I started out with a G.E.D, I now hold two Bachelor Degrees, an Associates Degree and am currently working on a M.A in theology. I have a beautiful family in my wife Katja, daughters Ayleena and Angel and my son Sean. The biggest change in my life is that I know that ultimately God is in control of everything that occurs on this earth and that if something happens to me, it is God’s purpose at work. In Romans 8:28 God says: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” This gives me a sense of peace that is referred to as the “peace that passes all understanding” and it is independent of external circumstances. Would you like to have this peace, contentment and joy? Ask God if he will save you and bring you into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. God says in John 3:16 “”For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” If you are worried that you are not good enough, or have done too many things wrong and God could never forgive someone like you, God gives us the reassurance that Jesus can forgive even the worst of sinners in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.”
Friend you can experience a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ who is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Jesus will never let you down no matter how many times you may come up short: Proverbs 24:16 “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief”
This has been my witness on how I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of my life.

God’s Blessings in Jesus Christ

Lashon Bush

The Crusaders and the Church

The legacy of the Crusades, whether positive or negative, has been contested among Christians and non-Christians alike. Although there were clearly political, intellectual, and technological benefits to Europe as a result of the crusades, can it be said that the Crusades advanced the cause of Christ? Research the motivating factors of the various movements and determine whether they where representative of a Christian worldview.

This essay will serve the purpose of attempting to answer the questions of whether the Crusades advanced the cause of Christ, what were the motivating factors for each Crusade and were they carried out with the approval of the rest of the Christian world. When the topic of the Crusades of the Middle Ages arises during the course of conversation, in my experience, it has usually been the case that it is being referred to by someone who is not necessarily a Christian and would like to use the fact that the violence and loss of life that resulted from the crusades, “if that is what Christianity is about”, as a scapegoat for denying the faith. So with that being said I personally have mixed reservations about the Crusades and there effectiveness as a tool for advancing the cause of Christ, although I can not deny the fact that at least externally or commercially the Crusades of the Middle Ages were without question instrumental in the spread of the faith. Whether the right approach was taken in spreading the faith is an argument that has gone on for centuries and will continue to go on, more than likely until Jesus Christ our LORD returns.

Before we begin to address the topics listed in the above paragraph I believe it is appropriate for us to become more thoroughly familiar with the who, what, when, where and why of the Crusades. Who were the facilitators of the Crusades of the Middle Ages? The Roman Catholic Church and the Christian states of Europe at the time were the facilitators of the, “Holy Wars”, a title that is sometimes used to refer to and justify the fighting that took place. The Crusades were a series of Holy Wars launched by the Christian states of Europe against the Saracens. The term ‘Saracen’ was the word used to describe a Muslim during the time of the Crusades.” What the Crusades were has been described above as a series of Holy Wars and this is because the intent of the Crusades was to re-capture or re-establish rule of the Palestine territories, that Christ and his disciples frequented, after these territories were placed under Muslim control and consisted of a total of nine conflicts in all. “The Crusades were great military expeditions undertaken by the Christian nations of Europe for the purpose of rescuing the holy places of Palestine from the hands of the Mohammedans. They were eight in number, the first four being sometimes called the Principal Crusades, and the remaining four the Minor Crusades. In addition there was a Children’s Crusade.” When did the Crusades occur? The Crusades occurred from the early part to roughly the middle of the second millennium after Christ walked the earth. The Crusades were sponsored by the Catholic Church from roughly 1100-1400 AD. Where did the Crusades take place? The Crusades took place in the Mediterranean Area or Middle Eastern part of the world. “The Crusades were military or quasi-military expeditions launched by Christian secular and religious rulers against Muslims in the Middle East.” Why did the Crusades occur? The Crusades were the result of a growing desire for increased monetary stature and religious zeal as the Church begin to populate the globe. Religious fervor was an extremely important factor in arousing the Christians to organize military expeditions, as was the hope of gaining immense riches and increased power. Now that we have discussed the related information surrounding the origins of the Crusades or “Holy Wars” of the Middle Ages, we can begin to delve more deeply into the motivating factors for each Crusade and the effect that each of the nine Crusades had on advancing the cause of Christ from the period that the Crusades first occurred up until this present day. The first Crusade was in the year 1096 and was a direct result of the Byzantine Army being destroyed by the Turks in 1071 coupled with 3000 Christians being massacred in Jerusalem from 1085 to 1095 AD. In 1095 AD an embassy was sent to Pope Urban II regarding the atrocities in Jerusalem and resulted in the Pope calling the great council of the Church at Placentia to consider the appeal for assistance, although no decision was to be rendered until later that year at the “great council of the clergy” in Clermont France where Pope Urban II called for a Crusade against the infidels on 24 November 1095. In the summer of 1096, armed forces gathered to embark on the first Crusade, effectively capturing the city of Jerusalem by scaling the walls of the Holy city and returning one of the principal areas where Christ preached to the Christian empire on 15 July of 1099. The second Crusade was conducted from 1147 to 1149 AD and was instigated by the fall and massacre at Edessa, which was the “bulwark of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem on the side towards Mesopotamia which was taken by the turks and the entire population slaughtered or sold into slavery. The apostle of the Second Crusade was the great abbot of Clairvaux, St. Bernard who was aided by King Louis VII of France and Conrad the III of Germany who was motivated to entrust the affairs of his kingdom to his subordinates and take up the cause of Christ. King Louis’s motivation to join the Crusades stemmed from righting an earlier act of cruelty that he had apparently undertaken against some of his disgruntled and revolted subjects. Unlike the First Crusade the Second Crusade was not a success and culminated with a joint attack executed by Louis and Conrad which was spirited but far short of victorious. The failed joint attack of Damascus effectively caused the siege to be raised and ended the crusade. It was said by one chronicler that having practically accomplished nothing, the inglorious ones returned home. The strength of both the French and the German division of the expedition was wasted in Asia Minor, and the crusade accomplished nothing. The Third Crusade was conducted from 1189 to 1192 AD and was a direct result of Jerusalem being captured in 1187 by the Muslim world who found in it a leader by the name of Saladin who was the sultan of Egypt and whose character was that of a typical “Mohammedan, very devout in prayers and fasting, fiercely hostile toward unbelievers, and full of the pride of race. To these qualities he added kindliness and humanity that was not surpassed by any of his Christian foes.” King Richard I of England was the central figure among Christians in this Crusade and was key in the raising of finances to support the cause. Notable events of the Third Crusade include the death of Frederick Barbarossa, the German Emperor nearly 70 years old who had a zeal for crusading and drowned during a march that consequently disheartened the army and resulting in it returning to Germany, the Siege of Acre (one of the longest and costliest sieges), only to see the success not capitalized on by King Phillip and King Richard respectively of France and England who could not get along. King Richard and England remained in the Holy Land longer than the average length of stay for a Christian crusader due to a truce reached with Saladin which permitted Christians to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem without paying tribute after which he set sail to England, effectively ending the Third Crusade, however ironically he was later captured by the duke of Austria, whom he had offended at the siege of Acre and forced to pay a ransom for his release that was said to be twice that of what the annual revenues of England was at that time. The Fourth Crusade was marked by a dispirited and or distracted effort that was taken up by French Knights and set in motion by the famous Pope Innocent the III who revived the wishes of Pope Urban the II. The Fourth Crusade resulted in the capture of Constantinople instead of Jerusalem. The remaining Crusades were considered to be minor in fact even the Fourth Crusade was said to be of little effect, however we can see that there was evidently a great passion and root of belief within each sides of the Crusades that their faith was the true faith and effectively demonstrated the lengths that each side were more than willing to go to ensure the spread and domination of these beliefs. As a Christian I can’t help but to think of the time in the gospel of John 18:10-11 when the when Jesus was approached by Judas Iscariot and the multitude in an attempt to take him and Simon cut off the ear of the high priest only to have Jesus communicate that it was more or less necessary for him to have done what would be done. Else where Christ states that his kingdom is not of this world and that if he so desired he could have angels take up the cause. So while the spread of the Gospel has been assisted by the Crusades I feel when I speak to a non-believer or someone who is not in the faith and they bring up the Crusades, where violence was enacted on both sides, it robs the message of the cross to some effect.

THE PAPACY

What exactly is the Papacy? How and why did the Papacy become the center of power that it did? What factors contributed to its dominance of Western Europe until the Reformation? What were the positive and negative ramifications of its dominance of Western Europe until the Reformation? These questions will be addressed during this essay as we look into the origins and reasons behind the Papacy being so prevalent in Western Europe Society from a religious and social stand point. The word Pope is derived from “Papa” (Latin). The office of the Pope is referred to as the Papacy. The Papacy is responsible for the spiritual well being of the members of the Catholic Church and has it’s origins in the Roman Western Society. Presently there is a city-state titled the “Vatican City” that the Pope is Head of State of and exercises political and social rule over as well as meeting the city’s spiritual demands. The papacy denotes the office of the pope, or bishop of Rome, and the system of central ecclesiastical government of the Roman Catholic Church over which he presides. Believed by Roman Catholics to be the successor of the apostle Peter, the pope grounds his claim to jurisdictional primacy in the church in the so - called Petrine theory. According to that theory, affirmed by the Council of Florence in 1439, defined as a matter of faith by the First Vatican Council in 1870, and endorsed by the Second Vatican Council in 1964, Jesus Christ conferred the position of primacy in the church upon Peter alone. In solemnly defining the Petrine primacy, the First Vatican Council cited the three classical New Testament texts long associated with it: John 1:42, John 21:15 ff., and, above all, Matthew 16:18 ff, which have been listed respectively below:John 1:42 – “And he brought him to Jesus and when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Ce-phas, which is by interpretation, a stone. “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonnas lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him Feed my lambs.” Mathew 16:18 – “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”The Pope based his authority off of the above stated verses, which have been interpreted by the Roman Catholic Church to mean that Peter was charged with the responsibility of overseeing the formation of God’s Church, which he later passed on to subsequent Popes.“In ancient Israel the rabbis customarily used a formula of words three times in the act of solemnly transferring authority to someone in the community of faith; Christ was giving authority to Peter who was to tend His flock as Christ had tended it.” The Bishop of Rome was one of the most important Bishops of Western Europe up until the Reformation because of a number of factors; including being the city which boasted of having the first martyr, (Peter), Rome was the most prestigious city in the Western Mediterranean and with the title of bishop of Rome came the prestige that was so highly associated with Rome. Another factor which led to the City of Rome being the most dominant City in Western Europe leading up until the Reformation was the fact that there had never been a heresy that was publicly implemented within the city’s gates, few cities of this era could make this claim, leading to the preeminent position and title of leader of the Catholic Church within Western Europe. “On what basis, by what authority, did the Bishop of Rome claim power over all other bishops and over all Christians? Some of the claim was based on biblical passages, but some of it derived from political and cultural realities. Being bishop of an important city naturally gave increased stature, and Rome was (until the 4th century) the most important city in the western world. It certainly gave the Roman bishop automatic prestige in the western Mediterranean, where there were no other cities to rival it. In the east, however, there were rivals indeed: Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Constantinople. The bishop of this latter city never did bow to Roman claims. Tradition conferred further special prestige on Rome. It was a city of martyrs. The first persecutions, instigated by Nero, were at Rome. Peter himself was martyred at Rome.” As communicated earlier Rome was the lone city in the Western region of the Empire, while the remaining kingdoms, of which there were four, were located in the Eastern region of the Empire. The five dioceses with special authority, the seats of the patriarchs were Rome, Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, and Constantinople. As the two regions became more and more politically and culturally advanced the eastern region had four sees from which decisions involving the church and political life were to be made, where as Rome was the lone city, in the Western Region of the Empire that was sought out when it came time to make decisions of an important nature, whether it be of a political or religious aspect. The previously stated communication led to Rome being the Theological Center of Western Europe. The positive Ramification of the reality of Rome being the Center of Political and Religious Authority within Western Europe was that the Christian cause was furthered and Rome was looked upon by not only Western Europe as the primary voice and leader of the Christian faith, through the Catholic Church, but also recognized by citizens that resided in the Eastern region of Europe. Rome offered bishops the opportunity to appeal decisions that were made, in regards to their office and service as men of faith. Many bishops that received rulings that they felt were unjustified appealed their case or matter to the Roman Spiritual authority of the day. Some of the negative ramifications of Rome being the preeminent spiritual and political authority of their day was that eventually the lines began to blur and what was considered to be the church’s responsibility as opposed to that of government was not so clear. There was the feudal system that mirrored the spiritual hiercachy that had been preached by theologians of the past. This feudal system allowed the owner of a piece of land or property to permit servants to work the land in exchange for payment of wages or debt, however most of the time what occurred was that you had wealthy patrons who had servants that were indebted to them to the point that it was an endless cycle of service with little to no chance of ever being set free of their incurred obligations. The church also began to operate in a manner that was unintended by the founding fathers, i.e. abbots being married and the passing of monasteries down to children. The low point of the Papacy came when during the reign of Stephen VI there was a trial held where his predecessor, who had been dead for 3 days, was brought before council convicted and dragged through the streets and deposited in a common grave after have his papal robes striped and the three fingers, that he would have otherwise used to bless people with, cut off. The Catholic Church of Europe of which Rome was the primary voice, had many challenges leading up to the Reformation and played a decisive role in the spread of the Christian faith and contributed significantly to the Christian faith being the largest faith in the history of the world, presently consisting of 1.9 billion individuals worldwide.

ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION

INTRODUCTION

This paper will examine the question of whether or not the “Abomination of Desolation” spoken of by Daniel the Prophet and referred to in the synoptic gospels has to do with a time when God allows the local churches, (congregations throughout the world), to fall away and come under the spiritual authority of the antichrist, (Satan), for the purpose of judging the church and to usher in the period of time referred to as the Great Tribulation, which is immediately followed by the return of Jesus Christ upon its conclusion. One other aspect of the “Abomination of Desolation” within the context of eschatology that will be examined is whether or not the words of Christ in Mark 13:14, “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains”, means that believers should leave their congregations and run to God. This paper will be constructed with the use of extensive scripture support and scholarly journal articles as a basis for the above stated positions to include 1 Peter 4:17 (For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who refuse to obey the gospel of God?). I hope that the participants in this class will offer critiques that either support and confirm or disagree and disconfirm what I believe to be true, (using the word of God , the Holy Bible, as the basis for support or non support of the thesis), always to God’s glory in Christ Jesus……

THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION

The Abomination of Desolation that is spoken of and recorded in the books of Daniel, Mathew, Mark and Luke has to do with a time when, according to the gospel of Luke: 21 verse 20, Jerusalem is surrounded by armies and the desolation of it is nigh. Now the verbatim text as translated in the King James version reads “And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies then know that the desolation is nigh.” How do we know that Luke 21 verse 20 is concerned with the topic of the “Abomination of Desolation” and is a verse that is parallel to that of Mathew 24, verses 15 and 16 and Mark 13 verse 14? We know that Luke 21 verse 20 is concerned with the topic of the Abomination of Desolation, even though it does not mention it by name as in the case of Mathew 24 and Mark 13, because of what is discussed in verse 21 where the author of Luke communicates, as does the gospels of Mathew and Mark, that “Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains…..”. So we can equate the occurrence of the Abomination of Desolation with the time that “Jerusalem would be compassed with armies”. To further strengthen our position I offer the rest of Luke 21 verse 20 which goes on to say “then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.” (The language is similar as well as the context, that being the return of Jesus Christ). From this point on we as Christians should be concerned with this verse that is within the context of the return of Jesus Christ because it is something that God places special emphasis upon by placing the words in parenthesis in Mathew 24: (“whoso readeth, let him understand”). Once we understand that this “Abomination of Desolation” that is to take place has a lot to do with the timing and unfolding of events surrounding the return of our LORD Jesus Christ we can begin to know that it is of great importance that we fully, Look unto the hills from whence cometh our help, as we are instructed to do by the psalmist in verse one of psalm 121, (by the way I believe it to be of no small coincidence, as we will discuss later on, that in verse 2 the psalmist communicates exactly where his or her help comes from, that being the LORD which made heaven and earth). Ok, now that we have established that it is important as Christians to understand the topic of the “Abomination of Desolation”, where do we begin to look for answers that give us a clue as to when this took place or is to take place or like I believe “took place historically and is taking place spiritually during the times that we currently live in”. The Bible is a prophetic book where tens, possibly even hundreds, of things that were foretold in the Old Testament have literally and historically occurred and were fulfilled in the Old and New Testaments. With the above stated forming precedence that GOD will fulfill his prophecies. Since we know that historical events have occurred in fulfillment of past prophecies we know that we can look at history and see if there are any events that have occurred that could be considered the fulfillment of the prophecy of the “Abomination of Desolation”, which leads us to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the character of the future emperor Titus who with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in 66. The city and its famous Temple were completely destroyed. If there were any historical event that we could look at as the fulfillment of the prophecy of the “Abomination of Desolation” the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD would definitely serve as a candidate for the fulfillment of prophecy as is the claim of some. Another historical event that took place a couple of hundred years earlier that helps us with “eyes to see” understand the “Abomination of Desolation” is when “In 168 BC Antiochus Epiphanes dared to occupy Jerusalem, enter the Holy of Holies, desecrate the sanctuary by offering unclean animals upon the alter of burnt-offerings, pollute the whole building by sprinkling it with water in which pig flesh had been boiled, dedicated the Temple itself to Jupiter Olympius, and erected the statue of that deity and plundered the temple treasures.” Daniel the prophet foretold of a time when the Sanctuary would be polluted and this without question occurred historically during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. We know that the two events that relate to the prophecy of Daniel the prophet mentioned in the eschatology chapter of the gospels are without question associated with Antiochus Epiphanes and Titus in a chronologically respective order, however the “Abomination of Desolation” that is spoken of by Jesus Christ has to do with his return and the culmination of time as we know it! What then could be the answer for the question of what does the “Abomination of Desolation”, that is spoken of by Daniel the prophet refer to? If the “Abomination of Desolation” spoken of by Daniel the prophet occurred in a historical sense twice and is yet to come, we know it is still to be fulfilled because the eschatology of Christ in Mathew 24 places this fulfillment of prophecy right before the timing of the end and since the two previously spoken of “historical fulfillments” of the prophecy which point to the “spiritual reality and fulfillment” of the prophecy have come and gone and we are still occupying the earth, we can know that God has something in mind that relates to what will occur in the future just prior to Jesus’ return and the ushering in of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus Christ and the salvation of GOD’s people is the central theme that runs through the Bible. Jesus Christ came in the fullness of time, Galatians Chapter four verse four: “4 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,” The Old Testament prophesies of his coming and looks forward to Jesus’ arrival, while the New Testament reflects back to the cross and looks forward to his second coming, nonetheless the entire Bible is related to Jesus Christ and the Salvation of God’s people. No doubt the subject of eschatology, which is the study of last things, is as well since Christ is the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega; “The “last things” are not like a runaway train that takes off on its own. Everything must be tethered to Christ. He is the basis of resurrection hope. His is the promise of eternal life. All things will be subject to his judgement in the end. There is no way to the Father’s heart except through the Son. All the so-called “last things” cohere in Christ. Faith generates hope that in the end the power that God displayed in raising Jesus from the dead will transform the world and triumph over the forces of sin, death and devil. The “Abomination of Desolation” in the context of Mathew 24 has to do with the eschatology of Christ “the study of last things” and is foretold by the historical accounts of the “Abomination of Desolation” spoken of by Daniel the prophet and has to do with the external representation of the kingdom of GOD “The institution of the New Testament Church” which GOD has erected and stood up for his purposes and of which GOD has also laid out qualifications for the spiritual rulers in authority”, deacons, bishops, elders, etc…. “1 Timothy chapter 3”. According to the gospel of Luke when Jerusalem is surrounded by armies then this is the time when those that are in Judea (an area that is associated with the land of favor, Judah, Israel where the people of God have historically dwelt and that typifies where the believers dwell much the same way in which Israel typifies the kingdom of heaven). That Israel typified the kingdom of God and all the blessings that the inhabitants would inherit is no surprise once we are able to harmonize scriptures such as Mathew 15:24, which states: “I have only been sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. In Mathew 15:24 when the woman who had the devil possessed daughter asked Jesus for his intervention and he told her that he was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel, was Jesus saying that he only came to save those that were of the nation of Israel? We know that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek and that God is no respecter of persons, but Jesus Christ used this language invoking the name Israel because they were a shadow of the true kingdom of God which is in heaven. The previously stated conclusion is why in the book of Galatians 4:24-26 the author refers to the two covenants: “Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Notice the distinction that the author makes, keeping in mind what GOD tells the believer in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…”, between Jerusalem which is below, (the territory which is below that was a common dwelling place for the people that typified GOD’s people on earth) and the Jerusalem which is above which is free and the mother of us all. When we examine Mathew 24 and see the admonition for those of us who are in Judea, (a territory associated with the nation of Judah, the two southern most tribes of the nation of Israel), to flee into the mountains, (a territory that GOD associates his dwelling place to be at, reference the aforementioned Psalm 121 and the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt Sinai), we can now began to understand that since GOD made the distinction between the physical Jerusalem that typified the true Jerusalem which is above and how the focus has shifted from Old Testament Israel to the New Testament Church as the object of GOD’s favor as the command is given to preach the gospel and be a witness for Jesus Christ, how these verses concerning the eschatology of Christ begin to harmonize, Galatians 6:16 reads: “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.” “As we discover how God related to national Israel, we will learn how God interrelates with the churches of the New Testament.”

METHODS OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION

There are two prevalent methods that theologians use to interpret scripture today. The two measures that theologians use to interpret scripture the most have to do with a literal interpretation of what is being read unless, scripture explicitly states otherwise, and an allegorical interpretation of what is being read, that is to say assigning metaphoric and or parabolic qualities to verses in the Bible that suggest if not explicitly then implicitly that they are to be understood in this manner. Both measures of interpretation rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to arrive at a proper understanding of what is being conveyed in scripture and can be seen in work in the prophecy of the “Abomination of Desolation”. Those theologians that choose to use the literal approach for interpretation will favor the accounts of the desecration of the temple by Antiochus the IV and the capture of Jerusalem by the Emperor Titus as the literal historical fulfillment of the prophecy of the “Abomination of Desolation”, where as those theologians that prefer the hermeneutic of assigning parabolic qualities to scripture when called for will favor the latter approach. I personally believe that as GOD has done in the past, historical events are realized in order to assist believers, today who live in this time, with a better understanding of prophecy yet to be fulfilled completely as in the case of the abomination of desolation.

MATHEW CHAPTER 24

The determination of whether to leave the church would have to depend on one’s interpretation of the “Abomination of Desolation” spoken of in the gospels and the book of Daniel. There is ample evidence, given the context of Mathew 24, that the author, who is ultimately GOD, has in mind an allegorical interpretation for the “Abomination of Desolation” in Mathew 24 and we have seen how GOD himself has used allegorical interpretation as a basis for hermeneutic in Galatians 4:24-26.

THE BOOK OF DANIEL

Any study on the “Abomination of Desolation” spoken of by Daniel the prophet would be incomplete without an examination of Daniel the prophet himself. Daniel the prophet was a young man who from the earliest time in life had been blessed with the ability to interpret dark sayings. He rose to prominence in the kingdom by first telling the king what his dream was and then interpreting the dream for the king, satisfying the request of King Nebuchadnezzar. When Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s Son, took office Daniel was older and called to interpret a dream for him in which he told Belshazzar that he needed to humble himself before God and Belshazzar consequently rewarded him with gifts however King Belshazzar was slain the same night that Daniel interpreted his dream making way for the rule of Darius the Median. King Darius set Daniel in a position of prominence within the kingdom where he was conspired against by the counselors, rulers, and princes of the kingdom by them convincing the King that Daniel had disobeyed a royal decree to not ask anything of any GOD other than the King for 30 days. King Darius was forced to throw Daniel in prison where he successfully survived the company of a lion with the help of an angel whom shut the mouth of the lion. Daniel prospered under Darius the King. Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 record visions that Daniel had that greatly troubled him concerning Kingdoms that would be stood up and he was told that “at the time of the end shall be the vision” Daniel 8 verse 17. Daniel did not understand the vision that spoke of “the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot. Under the reign of Darius the son of Ahasuerus Daniel understood by books, that is to say by studying books, the number of years that came to Jeremiah the prophet that God would cause Jerusalem to be desolate, that being for seventy years. The rest of the book of Daniel consist of Daniel being shown visions that pertain to the “Abomination of Desolation” of which he could not understand due to the prophecy having to due with the timing of the end, Daniel 12 verses 8 and 9: “8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” The book of Daniel can be interpreted as God’s way of telling believers that it was not his intention for us to understand what the nature of prophecies such as the abomination of desolation consisted of before the timing of the end, after all if Daniel the prophet who had been given the gift of interpreting dreams and visions from an early age could not figure out the meaning and was told to “go thy way for the prophesy is concerning the events surrounding the timing of the end”, then it was not meant to be understood until the appointed time. If we are at the time of the end, and all indications are that we are, then it is safe to say that GOD is now revealing the truths from the Book of Daniel that have been referenced by Christ during the chapters in the gospels that are related to his second coming. And not only the book of Daniel but many more truths that are contained in the Bible concerning GOD’s Judgement plan and the timetable for Jesus Christ’s return.

RELATED INFORMATION THAT SUPPORTS THESIS STATEMENT

The “Abomination of Desolation” spoken of by Daniel the prophet can be viewed as a judgement against the church, being careful to apply the same distinction that GOD makes between the Jerusalem that now is and the Jerusalem which is above and free which is the mother of us all, as GOD prepares to judge the world. 1 Peter 4:17 states:” For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” “We must be reminded by the Bible that it was God’s intention that this kind of information would someday be understood by the true believers. Remember God’s declaration of Ecclesiastes 8:5-7:

Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man’s heart discerneth both time and judgment. Because to every purpose there is time and judgment, therefore the misery of man is great upon him. For he knoweth not that which shall be: for who can tell him when it shall be?

In these verses, God is teaching us that man, by nature, has no idea of the timetable of the day of his death or the details of God’s judgment process for the end of the world. However, in the life of the true believer, the individual with a wise man’s heart, it is God’s purpose that he will know time and judgment. “ Theologians such as Barbara Taylor feel that we can not know the timing of the return of Christ and quote scripture like Mathew 24:36, 44 in support of this position: “Therefore you also must be ready; for the son of man is coming at an hour that you do not expect” However we know that the true believer will know a great deal surrounding the timing of the return of Christ because he will be watching and discerning the times. I offer Revelations chapter 3 verse 3 as scripture support for the above stated position: “3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” In other words for the believers who are watching faithfully, we will know the timing of the return of Christ just as Daniel was able to figure out the period that Jerusalem would be made desolate through the study of GOD’s word.

CONCLUSION

We have discussed the biblical evidence that supports the idea that the “Abomination of Desolation” has to do with the falling away of the church and a time when GOD’s judgement is upon the external representation of the body of Christ during these last days very paralleling the judgement on Israel for their unfaithfulness. (FOR THE READERS CONSIDERATION ONLY).