Back to the Dark Ages

Last October (1996) in Bradford a group of students were arrested and charged with “disorderly conduct and threatening, insulting and abusive behaviour” for preaching in the open air. It seems that the local Muslims objected to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In January this year street preachers in York were arrested for “preaching the Gospel in a threatening manner.” In various parts of the country the authorities are coming down heavily on those preaching the message of salvation to those needing to be saved from Islam, Roman Catholicism, Anglicanism and other religious movements. (Please allow me to say at this point that I come from a Roman Catholic background and was saved from that system twenty-three years ago.)

It will not be too long before it will be criminal offence to speak out against homosexuality, Islam, Catholicism and other simply because those practising such find the Truth offensive and objectionable. How long will it be before we see men of God removed from their churches for preaching against sin? To those who think that it cannot happen here in this land let me quote from a book entitled “Sodom’s Second Coming” by F. LaGard Smith, he writes on page 184: “Under the Labour campaign for Gay and Lesbian rights, a proposed offence of incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation would mean that churches would be forbidden to preach that homosexuality is contrary to the Bible.” Therefore you would face punishment before a court of law for saying that sodomy is sin. You would be charged with a “hate crime.” “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” (Psalm 9:17) We are reaping the results of this nation turning away from the Judaeo-Christian principles which made it great and blessed in the past. The majority of the great missionary preachers came from these shores taking the Gospel to distant tribes and nations. We need another John Wesley to turn this nation back to God before it is too late - if it is not already too late! “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.” (Ezekiel 22:30)

Instead of Christians being warriors fighting “the good fight of faith” (1 Timothy 6:12), by and large we have become spiritual wimps. What will we do if the authorities tell us that we can no longer evangelise? Will we have the guts to stand up for Jesus and risk the consequences as did men like William Tyndale, George Whitefield, John Bunyan and John Wesley? Remember this, you would not have the freedom to worship God today if men such as these did not do all they could to bring you the Word of God. We would no doubt be under the dominion of papal Rome if the Reformers and Martyrs did not forget about themselves so that you could worship God in freedom and be able to read the Bible for yourselves.

We are warned by today’s church leaders that we should not witness to others of those faiths. The idea behind this is that all religions are really only part and parcel of the one faith and that we are all worshipping the same God. If all religions are the same then why did Jesus command us to reach out to the world and to call every person to Him. He declared Himself to be the only way. “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6.) So should we listen to today’s religious leaders who condemn Bible preaching and fail to speak out against homosexuality and abortion? The prophet Jehu the son of Hanani said something to Jehoshaphat that we need to take heed to: “Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? Therefore is wrath upon thee from the LORD.” (2 Chronicles 19:2.) As Christians we do not hate members of other religions, nor do we hate homosexuals (and no true believer is homophobic), in fact they have every right (according to the laws of our land) to practice what they want, but should we not also be allowed the same right to obey what we believe to be the only authoritative and infallible Word of God and to tell others about what we believe? When we speak out against such things we are not being 'hate mongers' since we too have to follow the example of Jesus Christ. He took compassion the adulterers, prostitutes, thieves and drunkards, but He also told them that such things are sin and should be given up.

When the civil authorities and the church unite to rid the world of the preaching of the Gospel, then we are in no doubt to what the future holds for born again believers. It means that the antichrist state is not very far away! The martyrs went to the stake because Church and State agreed that the message of salvation was illegal. It was not only the Roman Catholic Church that imprisoned and murdered Christians during the Dark Ages; the Church of England is guilty of atrocities against those who honour the Word of God also. It was they who threw John Bunyan into Bedford prison for sixteen years. In Germany almost all denominations stood by with hardly a murmur and even applauded as Hitler sought to wipe the Jewish race off the face of the earth.

How much we thank God for religious freedom in this country and that we are not persecuted for our faith as believers are in China, Nigeria, and other places in the world! We have failed to use this freedom to present Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. Instead the Church has wasted time and money in marches, JIM campaigns, laughing revivals and other such gimmicks. This freedom to worship according to our conscience is fragile and is being gradually chipped away at by those who hate the Gospel. It will not be too long before we will be crying out for freedom. Those who are denying us freedom to preach the message and call others to repentance make a fatal mistake: their freedom will also be denied after ours is taken away. This is why, as Christians, we do not deny others freedom of speech, for if we do so we are laying the groundwork for removal of our own liberty by governments.

The “Land of Hope and Glory” has traded its glory for the filthy rags of self-righteousness and sin. There is no hope for a nation than rejects the God of the Bible. We have come to the stage where the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah will stand up on the Day of Judgement as being more righteous than our own land. The corruption in society today goes far beyond what God destroyed those ancient cities for. “Even as Sodom and Gomarrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude :8.) Yes, there is religious freedom in our nation at present, but it will not last long for the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. As we get nearer the year 2000 and the fulfilment of the global, one world aspirations of international leaders, we can expect this liberty to decrease. The name of Jesus Christ will be mocked more and more as this day approaches, Christians will be silenced and Churches restricted in what they can say. We will see spies in our midst who will report anything that is said that is opposite to ideals of the state. The world governments and the World Council of Churches are determined to establish a one world religion. A religion that would make all gods one and one god many. Both Catholicism and Anglicanism are playing into the hands of those who are seeking global unity. It is very possible that they themselves are willing servants to those in authority. We know that international Masonic Orders are active in politics and that many Anglican priests are quite high up in the Masonic Lodges. We know also that Roman Catholicism has the involvement of P2 (an Italian Masonic Order) in their ranks. Since those who are active in these satanic organisations plan for one man to be ‘President of the World’ and he to be the head of the new religion, it goes without saying that all other religions will be swallowed up. For a moment he will allow you to worship as you want, but he will turn the screw and declare himself to be the only object of adoration, exactly as all dictators have done. “Neither shall he regard the god of his fathers, nor the desire of women (or than god that women adore), nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his estate shall he honour the god of forces (Satan): and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and with pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain” (Daniel 11:37-39.)

Those in authority in the New World Order have it all carefully planned out and are working to a schedule. They do not care one iota about religion or religious freedom! They will use any and all religions to bring about their objectives. The world will not realise this before it is too late and by then the Antichrist will have already installed himself as the god all men have to worship. “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself (proclaiming himself) that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.) There is one major problem to all these plans that the world governments have to face. That problem is what to do about Bible believing Christians who will never bow their knee to a man. If you read the Scriptures you already know too much. You know enough to have you and your church silenced. Since you are unlikely to honour the Beast or receive his mark you are a candidate for elimination in the future. Again, you may be thinking, “It cannot happen here.” Well, I’m sure that those who spent decades under the vicelike grip of Communist dictators would have said the same prior to the communist take-over.

So what is behind the governments of the world? What is orchestrating every move to unite the world and eliminate Christianity? What I am about to say may surprise you, but the surprise itself may indicate that we are not keeping our eyes open for ever possibility. The force I am speaking about may be behind the world-wide take-over that we all know is coming. We know also that our greatest danger lies where we least expect it. Would you expect a dead murderer to do any further harm to society? This force, directing world affairs, I believe to be international communism. Democratic Socialism in all its various forms is active throughout the world from America to Albania. When the Berlin Wall came down that was supposed to symbolise the death of Communism --maybe that is what we have been led to believe and force fed by the world government via the media. If the Conservatives lose the next General Election (and I am not advocating one political party over another since it is my opinion that all parties are puppets of higher powers anyway, except to say that Conservatism is unacceptable in today’s socialist climate among member states of the European Community)) we will once again see Socialism reigning as the Labour Party begin to govern the country. Check the names of the leaders of the European Community (and other nations) and I think you will be surprised to learn how many are Socialist. Socialism is firmly rooted in Marxism and other brands of Communism. International Socialism and the E.U. have much in common, especially in that both want to see a one world government and dictatorship without the constant problem of religion. World dictatorship is really not that far away and will quickly come into its own as have all Communist regimes of the past. Communism promises freedom of thought and religion as long as what you think and worship is according to their dictates. What part will the established church play in this scenario? Exactly the same as did the Orthodox Church during the reign of the communists in the Soviet Union. It will go along with the party line to save its own neck and position while at the same time condemning true Christianity and the Bible.

Communism has always seemed to be the mortal enemy of that other evil system, namely, Nazism. Is it not strange that we are seeing a resurgence of Nazism in the west at the same time the leaders of the western nations are courting socialism and federalism? Yet the incredible thing is that both systems were responsible for the imprisonment and murder of both Jews and Christians. Nazism may just be the 'bogeyman' needed that will encourage people into the arms of socialism. That Communism and Democratic Socialism are one and the same is beyond any doubt. The following article is from Encarta 97 Encyclopaedia: “Socialists or Social Democrats (the terms were then interchangeable) were members of centralised and nationally-based parties, loosely organised under the banner of the Second Socialist International, upholding a form of Marxism popularised by Engels.” That International Communism has its eyes firmly upon activity within the E.U. is also evident as the article reveals: “Given its present impasse, defining socialism at the end of the 20th century presents numerous problems. Most socialist parties have conducted a process of programmatic renewal whose contours are still unclear. Nevertheless it is possible to catalogue some of the defining features that European socialism will embrace as it prepares to face the challenges of the next millennium: (1) recognising that the domestic regulation of capitalist activities must be matched by a corresponding development of supranational forms of regulation (the European Union, once contested by most socialists, is seen as providing a terrain for controlling the new interdependent economies); (2) creating a European “social space” as a harbinger of a harmonised European welfare state. The ultimate goal of all socialists, however, is a classless co-operative commonwealth in every nation of the world.” Even the Communist Manifesto written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels has the following enlightening statement: “A spectre is haunting Europe - the spectre of Communism.” Is the ghost of communism ready to resurrect after such a deadly wound it was given a few years ago? It is my conviction that the “deadly wound” of Revelation 13:3 which was mysteriously and miraculously healed may just be the back from the dead revival of communism in the west - where we least expected it to surface. Maybe we are seeing the scarlet coloured beast coming back to life (see Revelation 17:3). If you consider Roman Catholicism to be the beast of Revelation I will not object, but please remember that Rome has always sided with whichever political power is in existence, be it Communist or Nazi. Rome will preach ‘Liberation theology’ in Marxist South America while being ultra right wing in places such as Poland.

A nation that rejects the Word of God is one that is ready for judgement. Whether Britain remains in Europe or pulls out is unimportant to us because we as Christians still have to deal with the issue of taking the Gospel to the lost. There will always be millions lost in false religion and perversion who will need the only Saviour who can set them free. Jesus said to us, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19-20). The mission of the Church does not finish until the end of the ages. We cannot reject Christ’s command to us because religious leaders and civil authorities seek to deny us the liberty of spreading the Good News. Peter said, when ordered by the religious authorities to quit preaching in the name of Jesus, “We ought to obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). Remember that John the Baptist lost his life for speaking out against corruption and sin amongst the leaders of the nation. It is time to start using the time that we have left. Paul encouraged us to be constantly “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16).

A message such as this may cause you to despair and give up all hope, but in reality we can and should rejoice. We are seeing Bible prophecy unfolding before our eyes daily. Israel is rarely out of the news just as the Bible predicted and society is crumbling exactly as the prophets foretold. More importantly, we know that we are soon going to see “The King of kings and the Lord of lords” (Revelation 17:14). Instead of fearing and worrying we can look forward to the “Blessed Hope and the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). We can “Lift up (our) heads” (Luke 21:28) as we await the Rapture of the Bride of Christ into the very presence of her Lord. No matter how much Satan may scheme and use his power to control world governments and religious organisations, we can rest assured that we are on the victory side! No, I do not believe in a “kingdom now” which really is not unlike the “paradise earth” of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I certainly do not believe that we can positively confess our way out of the coming tribulation or persecution. God’s plan for Planet earth is coming to fruition. What we need to do until the day we “look upon the face of the One who saved us by His grace” is seek revival in our hearts and in the life of the Church. We need to forsake the world and get closer to the Lord. “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from Heaven, and forgive their sins, and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

While I do not accept that there is going to be a final revival in the last days that will bring about a ‘Christian nation’ or world, I do believe that God has put us in the preaching business to bring souls to salvation through the Blood of Jesus Christ. God has given to each one of us “the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18). They will not be saved unless we are bold enough to go and tell them about the Lord. If you know that Jesus is your Saviour then God has equipped you to take the Gospel to the lost - “The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” (Daniel 11:32). No matter how strong the Antichrist’s forces may be in gagging Christianity you should remember the promise made by Jesus Christ to the Church - “The gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). We have an inward strength that can never be matched by all the forces of Hell combined. “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). The Church of Jesus Christ will always be victorious over all the forces of any antichrist government or religion. “And they overcame him by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death” (Revelation 12:11).

Though the world may be reverting back to the Dark Ages praise God that we are the “children of the light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of the darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober” (1 Thessalonians 5:5-6), because we are not in “darkness, that that day should overtake us as a thief” (:4).

Jesus is coming soon - let us be ready.

MARANATHA!

Pastor Gary J. Hall

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