Timothy Ministry 2006/2007

Dear friends,

As many of you know, I will be leaving Fredericton this fall to join Open Air Outreach as we travel the colleges and universities of America preaching the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, publicly declaring that men and women should repent from their sins and trust in the saving grace of our God. The journey will be long and difficult, being on the road for the entire eight months of the school year, with one break during Christmas (which marks the middle of the trip), and confronting everything the modern, liberal, new age and western universities have to offer. I will be travelling and ministering with two other brothers from the United States, Miles Lewis and Evan Schaible, living out of a modified 15 passenger van, preaching daily, praying mainly, and trusting the Lord for all my logistical needs. Needless to say, the Lord has fulfilled the desire of my heart (Psalm 37:4).

How this came about was as follows:

Nov. 4, 2005, the eve of my 20th birthday, I was in seeking the Lord in prayer for His will concerning my coming new year when I felt Him say, "Your 21st year will be unlike all your previous years so far." By faith I believed God that this would be true, though I didn't know how it would be. After Christmas the second semester of school began at UNB and I returned to my studies, but not long into the first month I felt the Lord saying, "Leave school. I have something else for you", though He did not say anything more. It was difficult to simply drop school blindly without knowing what to do next, but I believed God and by faith cancelled my courses immediately. Having now a lot of free time on my hands, and the Lord being silent, I occupied myself with open air preaching in the Fredericton downtown area.

During the summer, a brother from Africa came to Fredericton and preached at a local Baptist Church, and my family and I went to go hear him that Sunday. It was after the service that I heard the Lord speak to me once again just as clear as He had the first two times; I heard unmistakably, "When the summer is over, leave home; preach the gospel." Of course, nothing more was said. But I believed God by faith. I went to my parents that afternoon and announced that regardless of whether I had a place to live or a purpose to go, I was leaving home in September because the Lord my God had told me so, and He is faithful and true. I am blessed to have two godly parents who love Jesus and His will more than their own. It was agreed upon.

Not two weeks later, brother Jesse Morrell (who leads Open Air Outreach) and I began contacting each other, and they (OAO) were in need of preachers for the coming year of campus ministry. Because God had worked it out that I was totally free for the fall and was already planning to leave Fredericton, I offered to join the team, and this was confirmed by Jesse who had previously felt to have me come aboard. Link this with my Lord Jesus' command to go and preach the gospel, and you have now before you my adventure for 2006/2007.

Open Air Outreach is a new up-and-coming ministry, offshooting from the recognized evangelistic ministry, the Great News Network, and focuses primarily on campus preaching and open air meetings. This year, OAO will be sending out two mission teams to reach as many university students as possible, an critically strategic field of people to reach in our 21st century. Quoting Jesse:

- 80-90% of Christian youths leave the faith shortly after entering College.

- College students are our future Lawyers, Doctors, Congressman, Senators, Presidents, etc.

- Students come from all over the world to study in America. College campus preaching reaches into foreign countries by reaching the foreign students.

- The college years are the years that many are re-thinking as well as discovering their own beliefs and worldviews.

- In the free speech areas of major campuses we are able to get listening crowds of 100-500+ students for hours upon hours every day!

- After a good open-air session in the free speech area, the entire campus is talking about the gospel!

- Above all, we are losing an entire generation to the devil, and without Christ they will go to hell forever.

The universities and colleges of America are places of paramount importance where the truth of Christ much triumph! "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:5)

What follows is the itinerary for our team from September to Christmas:


Open Air Outreach: Team 2 Itinerary

September 2006

9/5,6,7 SUNY Oswego Oswego, NY
9/11, 12 George Mason University Fairfax, VA
9/13,14 University of Virginia Petersburg, VA OR
Longwood University Farmville, VA
9/15-19 North Carolina State/University
of North Carolina @ Chapel Hill Raleigh Durham/Chapel Hill
9/20-24 SOAPA conference Marietta, GA
9/25-28 College of Charleston Charleston, SC
9/29,30 University of Tennessee/
Johnson Bible College Knoxville, TN

October 2006

10/1-4 University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN
10/5,6 Middle Tennessee State
University Murfreesboro, TN
10/7-11 University of Arkansas @
Little Rock/University of
Central Arkansas Little Rock, AR/Conway, AR
10/16,17 Dallas/Ft. Worth Dallas, TX
Abilene
10/18-20 Texas Tech Lubbock, TX
10/23 Eastern New Mexico University Portales, NM
10/24,25 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM
10/26,27 New Mexico State University Las Cruces, NM
10/30, 31 University of Texas El Paso El Paso, TX

November 2006

11/1 University of Texas El Paso El Paso, TX
11/2, 3 University of Arizona Tucson, AZ
11/6 Arizona State University Mesa, AZ
11/7-9 Mesa Community College Mesa, AZ
11/10-14 Arizona State University Tempe Tempe, AZ
11/15 Arizona State University West
Campus Glendale, AZ
11/16, 17 Glendale Community College Glendale, AZ
11/20-22 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ
11/27-29 University of Nevada Las Vegas, NV
11/30 University of California Los
Angeles Los Angeles, CA

December 2006

12/1-8 San Bernardino
Cal State University Long Beach Long Beach, CA
Cal State University Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA


As you can see, we will arrive and remain on each campus for generally 3-4 days and will be covering a lot of ground throughout the country, starting in New York State and ending up in California by December. After the Christmas break, the team will continue where it left off and a second itinerary will be made for the remaining year. This is not a one week mission tour to Antigonish! Please pray for me as I step out in faith into this enormous undertaking of gospel labour. Your prayers and support are so highly appreciated. Pray for:

-power: "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

-boldness: "And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel." (Ephesians 6:19)

-souls: "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." (Psalm 2:8)

-provision: "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

-glory: "Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." (John 12:28)


Finally, if you would like to follow us along the way, you can go to www.timothyministry.com and read the many updates I will be posting as we go. Lord willing these will include pictures, audio/video, articles, etc. as well as pray requests, campus summaries and a map of where we are. Please frequent it often and write me a note! I would absolutely love to hear from you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and so encourage my heart in the Lord. As your brother in Christ I am truly blessed for all the wonderful relationships that I have here at home and abroad, and I pray to the Lord that He would bless you all abundantly with all blessings in spiritual places, that He would strengthen your hearts together with Him as one, and that His perfect and acceptable will would be made known to each and every one, that we might know how exceedingly excellent is God's love toward us. Bless the Lord forever!

Sincerely and with much love,
Yours brother in Christ Jesus,
-Eli


"Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together." (John 4:34-36)

New Feature: Email Updates

New to TimothyMinistry.com is the ability to now receive email updates by simply adding your email address to the subscription list found at the bottom of the side menu. Starting in September, this website will become an online journal to keep readers updated on what's happening during my travels in the United States, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ on university and college campuses. The emails sent out will serve as a type of newsletter: updates will include pictures and downloadable files as well as a summary of where I am, what the Lord has been doing and what is coming up next.

You won't want to miss out on this, so make sure you sign up right away! I hope that as you receive these letters you would remember to uphold me in prayer, for this trip will by no means be easy and there will be much opposition. "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us." (Romans 8:37) Your response to this is deeply appreciated.

May the Lord be glorified, the devil be petrified, and the saints be edified!

An Epistle to All the Slothful and Careless People

Written by John Bunyan in 1698

Friends,

Solomon saith, that The desire of the slothful killeth him; and if so, what will slothfulness itself do to those that entertain it? (Prov 21:25). The proverb is, He that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame (Prov 10:5). And this I dare be bold to say, no greater shame can befall a man, than to see that he hath fooled away his soul, and sinned away eternal life. And I am sure this is the next way to do it; namely, to be slothful; slothful, I say, in the work of salvation. The vineyard of the slothful man, in reference to the things of this life, is not fuller of briars, nettles, and stinking weeds, than he that is slothful for heaven, hath his heart full of heart-choaking and soul-damning sin.

Slothfulness hath these two evils: First, To neglect the time in which it should be getting of heaven; and by that means doth, in the Second place, bring in untimely repentance. I will warrant you, that he who shall lose his soul in this world through slothfulness, will have no cause to be glad thereat when he comes to hell.

Slothfulness is usually accompanied with carelessness, and carelessness is for the most part begotten by senselessness; and senselessness doth again put fresh strength into slothfulness, and by this means the soul is left remediless.

Slothfulness shutteth out Christ; slothfulness shameth the soul (Cant 5:2-4; Prov 13:4).

Slothfulness, it is condemned even by the feeblest of all the creatures. Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise (Prov 6:6). The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold (20:4); that is, he will not break up the fallow ground of his heart, because there must be some pains taken by him that will do it; therefore shall he beg in harvest, that is, when the saints of God shall have their glorious heaven and happiness given to them; but the sluggard shall have nothing, that is, be never the better for his crying for mercy, according to that in Matthew 25:10-12.

If you would know a sluggard in the things of heaven, compare him with one that is slothful in the things of this world. As, 1. He that is slothful is loth to set about the work he should follow: so is he that is slothful for heaven. 2. He that is slothful is one that is willing to make delays: so is he that is slothful for heaven. 3. He that is a sluggard, any small matter that cometh in between, he will make it a sufficient excuse to keep him off from plying his work: so it is also with him that is slothful for heaven. 4. He that is slothful doth his work by the halves; and so it is with him that is slothful for heaven. He may almost, but he shall never altogether obtain perfection of deliverance from hell; he may almost, but he shall never, without he mend, be altogether a saint. 5. They that are slothful, do usually lose the season in which things are to be done: and thus it is also with them that are slothful for heaven, they miss the season of grace. And therefore, 6. They that are slothful have seldom or never good fruit: so also it will be with the soul-sluggard. 7. They that are slothful they are chid for the same: so also will Christ deal with those that are not active for him. Thou wicked or slothful servant, out of thine own mouth will I judge thee; thou saidst I was thus, and thus, wherefore then gavest not thou my money to the bank? &c. (Luke 19:22). Take the unprofitable servant, and cast him into utter darkness, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 25:26-30).

WHAT SHALL I SAY? Time runs; and will you be slothful? Much of your lives are past; and will you be slothful? Your souls are worth a thousand worlds; and will you be slothful? The day of death and judgment is at the door; and will you be slothful? The curse of God hangs over your heads; and will you be slothful? Besides, the devils are earnest, laborious, and seek by all means every day, by every sin, to keep you out of heaven, and hinder you of salvation; and will you be slothful? Also your neighbours are diligent for things that will perish; and will you be slothful for things that will endure for ever? Would you be willing to be damned for slothfulness? Would you be willing the angels of God should neglect to fetch your souls away to heaven when you lie a-dying, and the devils stand by ready to scramble for them? Was Christ slothful in the work of your redemption? Are his ministers slothful in tendering this unto you? And, lastly, If all this will not move, I tell you God will not be slothful or negligent to damn you, whose damnation now of a long time slumbereth not, nor the devils will not neglect to fetch thee, nor hell neglect to shut it's mouth upon thee.

Sluggard, art thou asleep still? art thou resolved to sleep the sleep of death? Wilt neither tidings from heaven or hell awake thee? Wilt thou say still, Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, and a little folding of the hands to sleep? (Prov 6:10). Wilt thou yet turn thyself in thy sloth, as the door is turned upon the hinges? O that I was one that was skillful in lamentation, and had but a yearning heart towards thee, how would I pity thee! How would I bemoan thee! O that I could with Jeremiah let my eyes run down with rivers of water for thee! Poor soul, lost soul, dying soul, what a hard heart have I that I cannot mourn for thee! If thou shouldst lose but a limb, a child, or a friend, it would not be so much, but poor man it is THY SOUL; if it was to lie in hell but for a day, but for a year, nay, ten thousand years, it would (in comparison) be nothing. But O it is for ever! O this cutting EVER! What a soul-amazing word will that be, which saith, Depart from me, ye cursed, into EVERLASTING fire!

Objection. But if I should set in, and run as you would have me, then I must run from all my friends; for none of them are running that way.

Answer. And if thou dost, thou wilt run into the bosom of Christ and of God, and then what harm will that do thee?

Objection. But if I run this way, then I must run from all my sins.

Answer. That is true indeed; yet if thou dost not, thou wilt run into hell-fire.

Objection. But if I run this way, then I shall be hated, and lose the love of my friends and relations, and of those that I expect benefit from, or have reliance on, and I shall be mocked of all my neighbours.

Answer. And if thou dost not, thou art sure to lose the love and favour of God and Christ, the benefit of heaven and glory, and be mocked of God for thy folly, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; and if thou wouldst not be hated and mocked, then take heed thou by thy folly dost not procure the displeasure and mockings of the great God; for his mocks and hatred will be terrible, because they will fall upon thee in terrible times, even when tribulation and anguish taketh hold on thee; which will be when death and judgment comes, when all the men in the earth, and all the angels in heaven, cannot help thee (Prov 1:26-28).

Objection. But surely I may begin this time enough, a year or two hence, may I not?

Answer. 1. Hast thou any lease of thy life? Did ever God tell thee thou shalt live half a year, or two months longer? nay, it may be thou mayst not live so long. And therefore, 2. Wilt thou be so sottish and unwise, as to venture thy soul upon a little uncertain time? 3. Dost thou know whether the day of grace will last a week longer or no? For the day of grace is past with some before their life is ended: and if it should be so with thee, wouldst thou not say, O that I had begun to run before the day of grace had been past, and the gates of heaven shut against me. But, 4. If thou shouldst see any of thy neighbours neglect the making sure of either house or land to themselves, if they had it proffered to them, saying, Time enough hereafter, when the time is uncertain; and besides, they do not know whether ever it will be proffered to them again, or no: I say, Wouldst thou not then call them fools? And if so, then dost thou think that thou art a wise man to let thy immortal soul hang over hell by a thread of uncertain time, which may soon be cut asunder by death?

But to speak plainly, all these are the words of a slothful spirit. Arise man, be slothful no longer; set foot, and heart, and all into the way of God, and run, the crown is at the end of the race; there also standeth the loving fore-runner, even Jesus, who hath prepared heavenly provision to make thy soul welcome, and he will give it thee with a willinger heart than ever thou canst desire it of him. O therefore do not delay the time any longer, but put into practice the words of the men of Dan to their brethren, after they had seen the goodness of the land of Canaan: Arise, say they, for we have seen the land, and behold it is very good; and are ye still, or do you forbear running? Be not slothful to go, and to enter to possess the land (Judg 18:9). Farewell.

I wish our souls may meet with comfort at the journey's end.

JOHN BUNYAN

5 Common Mistakes When Studying End Time Prophecy

There seems to be a growing interest in the study of end time prophecy (eschatology) these days within the Body of Christ, or perhaps I should say a growing emphasis upon the subject, as a reaction to the recent developments in the Middle East, in North America and in the rest of the world. This is certainly nothing new. In the past, many have predicted the return of Jesus Christ and have worked up their followers into a kind of frenzy of anticipation, embracing charts and commentaries on ancient Bible prophecy, convinced they know the hidden answers. Unfortunately, many end up deceived, disappointed and often disillusioned. Jesus said: "Take heed that no man deceive you." (Matthew 24:4) The problem lies with men teaching the ideas of men and other men falling for it. We need to be led by the Spirit of God which is the Spirit of truth.

Today I am seeing various false teachings arise within the Church, some terribly influential, others gaining strength, taking captive many to their subtle impositions. Much of this is the direct result of unintentional deception, where members are ignorantly teaching something they have only been fooled into believing; but the uglier side of this points to the schemes and lies of the devil trying to lead astray precious souls from God. We then can find ourselves dealing with false prophets and false teachers or worse. The important thing to remember is the warning and exhortation of Christ Jesus our Lord: "Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." (Mark 14:38) If ever there was a time to watch, it is now.

End time prophecy is a fascinating and relevant part of the Word of God, constituting nearly 40 percent of the entire Bible, and oh how we need Christians to begin to rightly divide the word of truth in this area for our day. Eschatology is incredibly practical, utterly fundamental and desperately essential; I wholeheartedly encourage people to dig the mines of this valuable treasury, but let us make sure we do so correctly so to avoid fallaciousness.


THE 5 COMMON MISTAKES OF END TIME STUDY

When studying end time prophecy, I have observed five very common mistakes that Christians fall into which opens the gate for false teachings to flood in. This article is written as an introductory overview in the hope of raising the awareness of these errors and curbing future misconceptions that corrupt the intended meanings of Biblical prophecies. I can only pray that the reader will remember these as he/she continues to study or be taught the subject.

1. Starting from the Wrong Place
One very common mistake people make when studying about the end times is that they immediately jump into the book of Revelation, or the book of Daniel, or any of the expressly difficult, apocalyptic books that contain much imagery and symbolism, and thereby attempt to paint a description of what will take place at the close of the age. In doing this they break one of the most elementary rules of Biblical hermeneutics, and that is: that figurative Scripture is to be interpreted by literal Scripture and not the other way around. Error occurs when people draw a scenario from the book of Revelation and then try and re-interpret the words of Jesus or the words of Paul to fit their figuratively conceived notions.

Where students of end time prophecy should start when they begin to study the Scriptures is at the very words of our Lord Jesus Christ, 'The Word of God', and secure what He has to say about the subject before proceeding further into the abstract content. Our Lord spoke very plainly and clearly about His own return; what better place to start than with the One to whom these things concern? In essence, it is like building a house. The first thing to do before assembling the frame is to lay down a solid foundation where the rest of the house will be aligned and set. If the foundation is straight, the house will be straight. It is also like constructing a human skeleton from a pile of bones. It is very difficult to deduce which bone is which and where each fits, but if you establish first the spine, then the rest of the bones fall into place one by one from that anchor point. It is exactly the same when studying Bible prophecy. Make sure you begin at the right place to avoid future error. The right place to start is with Jesus.

2. Reading Beyond the Text: Imposing a Presupposition
This fallacy applies not only to Bible prophecy but also to any study of the Word of God. It is the error of reading the Scriptures with a preconceived idea and imposing it into the text without plainly receiving what is actually being said. Simply put: it is pressing 'truth' into the content instead of drawing truth from the content. Our understanding of Scripture must be so pure that if someone else across the world were to read the same thing we would both come out with the same conclusion. I am not negating the fact that some passages of Scripture are more difficult than others, but regardless of difficulty, we must forcibly refrain from any and every speculation or interpretation that is not plainly drawn from Scripture. I believe it is for this reason that there is so much division and falsity within the Church regarding doctrine. We must remember 2 Peter 1:20 and hold to it doggedly, which is: "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." If you do not know the meaning, do not guess! Simply take away with you what is plain until God makes the rest clear.

Let me draw an example for clarity using a straightforward Scripture that has been repeatedly abused in this way. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 reads: "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." Now from this very Scripture amazing speculation has been deduced. It is said:

1) this is not the coming of the Lord Jesus
2) this is a secret snatching away of the Church
3) this will not be seen, heard or felt by anyone but the Christians
4) this preludes "the Great Tribulation"
and so forth...

Now the question is, where in this Scripture did they read this? Try going back and reading the Scripture again to find these imaginations; they cannot be found! How could a person without any previous predilection gather these points from these words of the apostle Paul? The answer is simply: they have imposed their speculation within the text. These ideas could not have been concluded by the simple reading of the passage. The important key to remember in all this so as to avoid error is to only seek the pure milk of God's Word and not the modified chocolate milk from a man-induced manufactory (1 Peter 2:2). Be ever so keen on this one.

3. Misunderstanding the Church
Biblical prophecy deals primarily with three specific groups: Jacob (the unbelieving Jewish people), the Church (the redeemed of God) and the heathen nations (everyone else), termed Goyim in Hebrew. Most people haven't any trouble understanding who the Goyim are and can identify them quite easily within Scripture, however, we cannot say the same about the other two companies. Doctrinal error can arise from failing to determine which people group is being conveyed at the time, and so it is important to take notice of the context of the passage; precisely who is speaking and to whom. Yet although it is necessary to give mention of this point, there is a far deeper mistake in this area that needs to be addressed.

Failure to discern the Body of Christ, which is the Church of the living God, and having a skewed understanding of who the Bride is, is a serious mistake commonly made today. Many Christians hold to a false idea that the Church has replaced the nation of Israel as God's chosen people (Replacement Theology), or others have believed that the Church is a totally distinct entity from Israel, so that Jews who believe in Jesus essentially give up their Jewishness (Dispensationalism). Let me remind us of some basic Biblical facts:

First of all, the word "Church" comes from the Greek word "ecclesia" which means "the called out ones". "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:5) Our Father in heaven is preparing a Bride for His Son Jesus, made up of those who are called out of the world according to the foreknowledge and wisdom of God. The Church did not begin some time in A.D., but truly began when men began to call upon the name of the Lord out of a pure heart. It is not New Testament exclusive, but has been in motion since the foundation of the world. It is the household of Messianic faith. Hebrews chapter 11, known as the Hall of Faith, records those great individuals who laid hold of God through faith and won the good report. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses... all part of the company of saints. Verse 13 states: "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." Indeed the "called out ones" span the ages of time and the old racial barrier. Jew, Greek, slave, free, male, female, old, young... there is no boundaries upon who is in Christ.

Therefore, when we speak of the Church, or the ecclesia, we are talking about all those of the household of faith, the spiritual Israel, the Israel of God. Hebrews 12:1 recognizes a "great cloud of witnesses", John sees the Bride of Christ descending from heaven comprised of those whose named are written in the Lamb's Book of Life, Paul, when speaking of the coming of the Lord, describes the whole Body of Christ being caught up to meet the Lord in the air, starting with the resurrection of the dead, and followed by those "which are alive and remain", making it clear that the Church is not simply a body of presently existent Christians (Matthew 22:31-32). This is a large topic in itself which requires further explanation, but knowing the universal nature of the Church will significantly keep you from error.

4. Misunderstanding the Great Tribulation
This one misunderstanding, deliberate or not, has cost the Church much regression in the study of eschatology. The problem lies with Christians making the mistake of calling the great tribulation (a time prophesied as occurring immediately prior to the coming of the Lord) the wrath of God (the judgment prophesied as manifesting with the coming of the Lord) This simply is not true, and just as Jesus said: "Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." There is much to be said about this fallacy, but I will only touch briefly upon it for the sake of this being introductory:

Our Lord Jesus first used the phrase 'great tribulation' when speaking of the prophecy of Daniel to His disciples on the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24:21), a conversation later called 'the Olivet Discourse'. He said: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." Now notice that Jesus does not say "then shall be THE Great Tribulation", but merely 'then shall be great tribulation'. Too often we have a romanticized picture of what that time is all about. 'Great tribulation' is translated "megas thlpsis", meaning "big pressure". The fact is, ever since the beginning of Creation until the present day there has always been the reality of pressure. Jesus referred to this as "birth pains" or "sorrows" (see Matthew 24:8). As we grow closer and closer unto the end of the age, so do these birth pains grow in intensity and frequency; simply ask a mother who has gone through labour. The nearer to the return of Christ the more pressure is applied. Jesus purely said that in the end there would be great pressure, such as the world has never before experienced. This, my dear friends, is not the wrath of God but the groaning of creation, the painful road to deliverance, the necessary labour towards the advent of Christ and the mounting opposition of the enemy, the devil, who is trying everything he can to prevent the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the Earth. But glory to God, we know what the end shall be, and what a glorious end! "Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." (John 16:20-22) Hallelujah!

Regarding the wrath of God, we know clearly from Scripture that when Christ the King shall appear, "...out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." (Revelation 19:15; see also Revelation 6:16 and 14:10) With Christ comes the wrath of Almighty God. With the Evil One comes great tribulation. There is no reasonable cause for confusion.

5. Handling Prophecy Chronologically
We come now to the fifth and final common mistake when studying Biblical prophecy, and that is in the mishandling of prophecy by assuming a neat and tidy chronological order of revelation. It is interesting to note that no well-versed Bible scholar would concede that the prophetic books of the Bible are chronological: Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Zechariah, for example, are all highly discursive (jumping from one subject to another) and segmented in their order of vision. If you were to read these books supposing an orderly sequence of events the final outcome would be confusing and inconstructible. Is it not characteristically the pattern of God to reveal unto His people discursive dreams and visions? I remember one night I received a vision in four separate segments; the first of which I saw myself as an elderly man; the remaining three I was my normal age. This may not seem logical to us, who would reason putting the eldest vision at the end, but our ways are not His ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).

However, though Christians acknowledge Biblical prophecy is understood discursively rather than consecutively, many people fail to apply that same consistency to the book of Revelation and flagrantly handle it as if it were a chronologically received vision, thus falling into two large dilemmas. First, if you consider the book of Revelation in this way, you will find the vision at odds with what Jesus, Paul and the other Bible prophets disclosed about the things of the end. Secondly, you will find numerous discrepancies within the vision itself (for example, the baby Jesus being born in the end times? After the antichrist comes? Revelation 12:5) The book of Revelation is not one long grandiose vision that John received in perfect chronological order, but a variety of short discursive visions which he received back-to-back, the junction of these scenes being his repeated phrase, "I saw". Therefore the book cannot be treated any differently than the other prophetic books before it. To do so would be hermeneutically unrealistic.


THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH

I certainly hope that by these brief points your study of eschatology and Biblical prophecy will be rooted and grounded in proper Scriptural understanding after a sincere love of the truth. The Lord did not set out to confuse His people in this area, but rather desires for us to know and apprehend these matters, even more so as the great Day approaches. May we always seek to be filled with the precious Holy Spirit of promise, that He may give light and understanding to our dark and feeble minds; light we so desperately need in this rapidly approaching midnight hour.

"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." (John 16:13)

Paul's Advice to His Son Timothy

Leonard Ravenhill preaches this excellent message on the book of 2 Timothy, highlighting significant verses of advice that the dying saint Paul had for the young up-and-coming Timothy. I thought it appropriate to post this sermon on Timothy Ministry.com and am certain that if you take the time to listen you will be challenged, impacted and blessed. Brother Ravenhill speaks from years of Christian service and experience, and in many ways is like Paul exhorting the younger generations. Download below:

Leonard Ravenhill - Paul's Advice to His Son Timothy