5 Jul 2012
It was through the ancient prophet Hosea that God warned, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Far from being bliss, as the old adage asserts, ignorance can prove positively deadly.
How many people have fallen prey to terminal illness because of ignorance over their unhealthy practices? According to the 9/11 Commission, our country’s ignorance of Muslim terrorists in our midst resulted in the deaths of more than 3,000 of our fellow citizens?
Truly, we can ill-afford to be ignorant, especially when it comes to eternal things. It’s one thing to point the pistol of ignorance to the temple of our temporal lives, but another thing altogether to aim it at the heart of our immortal souls.
I’ve often been asked why I stepped out in faith to launch Time For Truth Ministries. I normally answer by describing today’s church as sitting around, holding hands, and singing Kumbaya in a grass hut on some picturesque beach while a undetected and unprecedented spiritual tsunami is approaching, cresting, and about to crash down upon it. In light of such a scary scenario, I simply felt compelled by God to start a ministry dedicated to educating the church about end-time lies and equipping the church to combat them with the truths of God’s Word.
To the spiritually discerning there is no doubt that the spirit of antichrist is currently rising like a tidal wave to its biblically predicted end-time crest. It will soon break and envelop the whole earth. Whether it’s the United Nations turning a blind eye to the escalating worldwide persecution of Christians, countries throughout the world passing legislation that effectively outlaws Christian missionary activity within their borders, our own country’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s revising of its guidelines on workplace harassment to inculde witnessing to a co-worker or saying “Praise the Lord” in the office, or a national news anchor accusing a well-known gospel preacher of “preaching hate” in America, the evidence of our world’s growing hostility toward Christ and His church is widespread and irrefutable.
In spite of all of the above, the majority of today’s professed believers in Christ still skip merrily along with their eyes shut tight, their fingers in their ears, and their spiritual senses desensitized to the glaring signs of the times (Matthew 16:2-3). Having been duped by the smiling positive thinking and pinky ring wearing televangelists’ doctrine of problem-free living, as well assured of an escape hatch from all end-time tribulation in the promised secret rapture of the church—a promise popularized and propagated in recent days by Tim LaHaye’s fictional and best-selling Left Behind novel series—contemporary Christians are ill-prepared for the dark and difficult days ahead.
Unlike the church throughout the ages, today’s church, especially in America, views itself as immune from suffering and destined to be snatched up into the safety of heaven before the commencement of this earth’s end-time cataclysmic events. Contrary to such pie in the sky theology, the Bible offers no immunity from trouble to contemporary Christians, who may be the most spiritually juvenilized and carnal generation in all of Christian history.
Far from promising us deliverance from all end-time persecution and peril, the Bible’s most famous prophetic book, the book of Revelation, forewarns us about it and assures us of it. It contains no escape hatch from coming end-time tribulation, as is popularly believed in today’s evangelical church, but calls upon Christians to courageously and faithfully persevere. According to Revelation, suffering is a certainty for all Christians in this unchristian world. However, God’s suffering saints are encouraged to endure all hardship and heartache by the book’s reoccurring themes.
- God’s sovereignty (God is on the throne).
- Christ’s abiding presence (Christ is in the midst of His churches).
- The Christian’s eternal reward (a crown of life awaits all who overcome).
Armed with this trio of terrific truths the church is scripturally equipped to endure the coming night. On the other hand, if it continues to wave nothing more at the biblically forecast and foreboding future than its current feather duster of fanciful notions and wishful thinking it is certain to be bowled over by what is quickly approaching.
In the days ahead, it will be imperative for us to understand that no matter how bad things get, God is on the throne. Although it may appear at times that the world is spinning out of control, we must remember that God is always in control. This assurance of God’s sovereignty over our suffering—no persecution can befall us except that which is permitted by divine providence—will enable us to persevere until the end. In addition, we will be empowered to faithfully endure by Christ’s abiding and enabling presence, as well as encouraged to do so by the promise of being eternally rewarded by Christ for having remained ever-faithful to Him.
Many is the time that I’ve been accosted by some well-meaning fellow pastor over my teaching on Bible prophecy. Many of my contemporaries contend that prophecy, especially the book of Revelation, is incomprehensible; therefore, we shouldn’t waste our time trying to understand it. Instead, we should spend all of our time trying to win people to Christ. Although I take strong exception to the ridiculous contention that God wasted space in His divinely inspired Word by concluding the sacred Scriptures with an unintelligible book, I do wholeheartedly agree with my colleagues’ intimation that evangelism must ever remain the church’s priority. Still, I fear that by arguing against the study and teaching of prophecy some of my fellow pastors are actually shunning one of our most important God-given responsibilities.
Following His famous Olivet Discourse, in which he lays out for His disciples the signs of His coming and of the end of the world, Jesus tells a number of parables. One of these parables is the parable of the faithful and wise servant (Matthew 24:45-51). This servant, according to Jesus, is made “ruler over his [Lord's] household“ for the purpose of giving it “meat in due season.” If faithful in this important task, the servant will be blessed and greatly rewarded at the time of his Lord’s return.
I believe the servant in this parable represents today’s pastors, those to whom the Lord has committed the care of His church—“household.” It is the pastor’s job to give to the church “meat in due season”; that is, to nourish God’s people with the spiritual food of His Word, in particularly with those portions of His Word that are most pertinent to the days and times within which the church finds itself. It is only by doing so that the pastor can enable his congregation to be like “the children of Issachar,” who “had understanding of the times” and knew what they “ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:32).
If faithful in this most important task, today’s pastors will be greatly rewarded at our Lord’s return. However, if they fail to meet this awesome responsibility, not only will they prove themselves unfaithful to Christ, but will fail the church, leaving it both undiscerning of the signs of the times and unprepared for the perilous times of these last days.
To fulfill my God-given responsibility of providing God’s people with “meat in due season” I have undertaken the mountainous task of writing a series of books on Bible prophecy. I’ve done so at God’s imploring, not on my own initiative. Believe me, there is nothing attractive to me about taking up so daunting a task. It will require innumerable hours of work, it will exact a tremendous toll on me physically, emotionally and spiritually, and it will undoubtedly incur the wrath of my adversary, resulting in daily bouts with spiritual oppression. Still, I feel divinely compelled to take pen in hand and share with others what God has graciously revealed to me.
In the end, it is my hope that this series of books, which I’ve entitled Piecing Together Bible Prophecy, will provide the reader with a fairly thorough and scripturally sound panorama of all the Bible says on this most important, relevant, and intriguing topic. Although the subject of prophecy is unavoidably sensational, I will endeavor in this series to avoid over-sensationalizing the subject. I’ll try to tie daily headlines to biblical timelines in a way that will stay true to Scripture and away from over-dramatizing world events.
The first book in the series—The Rubik’s Cube of Bible Prophecy—is now out and for sell by booksellers everywhere. This initial volume lays the foundation for all that will follow by familiarizing the reader with the fundamentals of Bible prophecy. It asks and answers such important questions as: (1) Why should we study Bible prophecy? (2) How should we interpret Bible prophecy? (3) How did we end up with so many convoluted and contradictory schools of thought? and (4) How should we define the prominent terms employed today in the study of this most pertinent topic?
The book is available in E-Book ($3.99), softcover ($11.95), and hardcover ($28.95). Softcover and hardcover copies may be ordered from our ministry. To order your copy, send a check or money order payable to “Don Walton” for $15.97 (softcover) or $33.98 (hardcover), prices include tax, shipping, and handling.
Time For Truth Ministries
P.O. Box 5476
Spring Hill, FL 34611
Don Walton
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