What are you doing on May 21st?

False prophet Harold Camping last predicted the end of the world in 1994. Camping is now predicting May 21, 2011 at exactly 6pm (sunset in Jerusalem). Men setting dates for the end of the world are misleading the ignorant masses for higher TV ratings and merchandise sales! An untold number of people have tried to predict the Lord’s return by using elaborate time tables. In fact, there have been dozens of failed predictions over the last 20 years.

Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:35-36). Paul added, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-4). Absolutely no one can know when the end of the world will occur. Anyone who tells you they can predict it is lying. Do not be deceived!

Kyle Campbell

Will He find us watching?

Matthew 24:37-44 says, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.”

When the Son of Man comes, will we be doing what we always do? Think about what you have said or done today. What would happen if He came while you were saying or thinking or doing something ungodly? You had better be watching!

There is no doubt that the Lord will come back. Peter wrote, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:9-10). The Flood occurred first and destroyed the world. The fire will do it at the end. Now is not the time to put off obedience to the gospel. Be a Christian, and have no fear of eternal condemnation (Romans 8:1)!

Kyle Campbell

The falling apple

Isaac Newton was 83 when he told a biographer the tale of observing an apple fall at age 23. He relates the story about how an apple falling in his garden prompted him to develop his law of universal gravitation. “Why should that apple always descend perpendicularly to the ground?”, thought he to himself. “Why should it not go sideways or upwards, but constantly to the earth’s center?”

Newton’s breakthrough was not that objects fell down, but that the force that made them fall extended upward infinitely (reduced by the square of the distance), that the force exists between any two masses, and that the same force that makes an apple fall holds the moon and planets in their courses.

Science allows us to make successful predictions about certain future states. For example, if I mix chemical A with chemical B, I expect to get result C because it has always been that way in the past. This happens the same way every time: if the conditions are the same, I will get the same result. The law of gravity, and science in general, is based on an underlying uniformity in nature. But why should there be such uniformity in nature? And how do we know about it?

With great precision astronomers are able to calculate years in advance the positions of planets, the timing of eclipses, and so on -- only because the universe operates in such a consistent way. We all know that (in basic ways) the universe will behave in the future as it has in the past. Science would be impossible without this critical principle. But what is the foundation for this principle?

The Bible provides that foundation. According to the biblical worldview, God has chosen to uphold the universe in a consistent way for our benefit. He has promised us in places such as Genesis 8:22 that the basic cycles of nature will continue to be in the future as they have been in the past. Although specific circumstances change, the basic laws of nature (such as gravity) will continue to work in the future as they have in the past.

Interestingly, only God is in a position to tell us on His own authority that this will be true. According to the Bible, God is beyond time, and so only He knows what the future will be. But we are within time and have not experienced the future. The only way we could know the future will be (in certain ways) like the past is because God has told us in His word that it will be. Apart from the Bible, is there any way we could know that the future will be like the past? So far, no one has been able to show how such a belief would make sense apart from scripture. The only nonbiblical explanations offered have turned out to be faulty. This turns out to be a very good reason to believe the Bible is true.

Kyle Campbell

God, the greatest encouragement

When was the last time you felt like you needed someone to talk to? Sometimes you need an open ear. The greatest encouragement we have is the greatest listener, which is God. The way that God listens is through our prayers. Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

The confidence of hope is expressed by John: “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14-15). Jesus said the same when He remarked, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7–8) For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

God hears the contrite and humble in heart: “Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words” (Daniel 10:12). Conversely, God will not hear an ungodly person. Proverbs 28:9 says, “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.” God is not some distant Being in the heavens, but someone who loves us wants to be close to His obedient children. He wants you to be in contact with Him through prayer. Do you want to pray to Him and receive the benefits of answered prayer? Then obey His gospel and “come boldly unto the throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:14).

Kyle Campbell

The unseen realm

A couple of passages in the prophet Daniel give us very interesting insight into the workings of our Creator. Daniel 10:13 says, “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” Similar to that verse, Daniel 12:1 says, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

The subject under consideration to which Daniel is becoming privy to through visions is the battle of good and evil occurring in the spiritual realm. It is a battle between God and Satan for the allegiance of mankind. Other glimpses have previously occurred in the Old Testament. For example, in 2 Kings 6, the king of Syria was pursing the prophet Elisha and surrounded him and his servant at Dothan. Elisha’s servant was afraid and asked Elisha, “Alas, my master! how shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). At that moment, Elisha prayed to God his servant could see the help the Lord was ready to provide. Second Kings 6:17 reads, “And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” There was help in the spiritual realm ready to fight against evil!

The book of Revelation also gives us a glimpse beyond the bright blue of this physical realm. In Revelation 12:1-3, John writes, “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.” John is recounting his vision of Christ battling the Roman Empire, who was persecuting Christians and demanding that they renounce their allegiance to Christ and worship the emperor as deity. The battle raged between God and Satan, and it ended with Satan being bound and eventually cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:10).

You can rest assured that as you gird yourself and wage your spiritual battle on earth (Galatians 6:10-17), there is a God in heaven who is fighting for you!

Kyle Campbell

"Truth is the mother of all hatred"

The ancient Latin poet Decimus Magnus Ausonius (A.D. 310-395) wrote, “Truth is the mother of all hatred.” Think about it. What gets you in more trouble today than anything you can do other than breaking the law? What you say; and if it happens to be true, or violates political correctness, or offends people’s religious sensibilities, what are you? You are hated!

Christians will be hated because of their stand for the truth. Matthew 10:22 says, ““And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” He said further in John 15:18, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” John 17:14 adds, “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

Every person who wants to be accepted by God has to love the truth, even if it means they will be hated. Love and truth cannot be separated. The apostle John demonstrates this in his letters. He wrote in 2 John 1, “The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth.” The third verse of the same letter says, “Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” Finally, the first verse of the third letter reads, “The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.” If you are hated, first make sure that you are hated because you stubbornly adhere to the truth, and secondly, rejoice that you have done the will of God!

Kyle Campbell