Watchman Blog

Cosmos, Creator, and Human Destiny

The Berean Call (Part 1 | Part 2) - Dave Hunt (January 2, 2010)

Despite all our failures to bring peace and good will on Earth, America can at least boast of her much-vaunted space program. Our astronauts have walked on the moon. Our astronomers have searched the far reaches of the universe with their telescopes and have uncovered much of its mystery. But wait. Let us face some realities.

Cosmos, Creator, and Human Destiny, my newest book, begins with a brief look at the vastness of the universe. Even if we could build space vehicles that might travel at the speed of light, it would take 100,000 years to cross The Milky Way, our relatively small galaxy, and billions of years to reach the trillions of galaxies beyond. These facts show how foolish is man’s dream of “space exploration.” Each time I board a passenger jet and glance into the cockpit at the incredibly complex instrument panel, I think of the Arctic tern. This bird breeds in the tundra of the far north, then flies for eight months across thousands of miles of trackless ocean to reach its destination near the edge of the Antarctic ice pack, only to return to its breeding grounds. It will cover more than twenty thousand miles in its lifetime. Its instrument panel is in its tiny brain and its guidance system is instinct, a capability that no evolutionary process could develop nor any man explain.

Atheism, partnering with Darwinism, is the fastest growing non-political movement in the world today. It is Satan’s master weapon in his battle with God. The world’s leading atheist, Richard Dawkins, a former Oxford University professor, is atheism’s loudest mouthpiece. His books regularly appear on the New York Times bestseller list. Becoming convinced of Darwinism at the age of fifteen turned him from a nominal Anglican into a fervent atheist. He has declared that “A belief in God is not only stupid but wicked.”

The same transformation occurred in Charles Templeton’s life. He was at one time the preaching partner of Billy Graham. Darwinism turned him into an atheist. In his book, Farewell to God, he tells of writing to Billy:

Billy, it’s simply not possible any longer to believe, for instance, the biblical account of creation. The world wasn’t created over a period of days a few thousand years ago; it has evolved over millions of years. It’s not a matter of speculation; it’s demonstrable fact.

Templeton was wrong, tragically so. Darwinism continues today to turn multitudes into atheists. Many authors have argued both sides of the creationism vs. evolutionism dispute. It is really theism vs. atheism, God vs. Satan. This ancient conflict is soon to come to its dramatic conclusion. That is what Cosmos, Creator, and Human Destiny is all about.

Unholy Trinity

Bible Prophecy Today (Link) - John MacArthur (January 3, 2010)

I don’t watch much television, and when I do I generally avoid the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). For many years TBN has been dominated by faith-healers, full-time fund-raisers, and self-proclaimed prophets spewing heresy. I wrote about the false gospel they proclaim and the phony miracles they pretend to do almost two decades ago in Charismatic Chaos (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992. See especially chapter 12). I had my fill of charismatic televangelism while researching that book, and I can hardly bear to watch it anymore.

Recently, however, while recovering from knee-replacement surgery, I decided to sample some of the current fare on TBN. From a therapeutic point of view it seemed a good choice: something more excruciating than the pain in my leg might distract me from the physical suffering of post-surgical trauma. And I suppose on that basis the strategy was effective.

But it left me outraged and frustrated - and eager to challenge the misperceptions in the minds of millions of unbelievers who see these false teachers masquerading as ministers of Christ on TBN.

I’m outraged at the brazen way so many false teachers twist the message of Scripture in Jesus’ name. And I’m frustrated because I’m certain that if these charlatans were not receiving a large proportion of their financial support from sincere believers (and silent acquiescence from Christian leaders who surely know better), they would have no platform for their shenanigans. They would soon lose their core constituency and fade from the scene.

WHY are Joel Rosenberg and Frank Peretti Appearing With New Age/New Spirituality Sympathizers?

Lighthouse Trails Blog (Link) (November 9, 2009)

Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils. (I Corinthians 10:21)

Why are so many Christian leaders continually appearing with personalities who claim to be Christian yet promote the heretical “new spirituality”? In January 2010, in Alberta, Canada, such a situation will take place at the Break Forth conference, bringing together a conglomeration of Christian figures, New Age sympathizers, and mystic/emerging proponents. From Joel Rosenberg (Epicenter), Frank Peretti (This Present Darkness), and Lee Strobel (The Case for Christ) to William Paul Young (The Shack), Leonard Sweet (Quantum Spirituality), and contemplative proponents such as Duffy Robbins (Enjoy the Silence) and Brad Jersak, Break Forth will be like drawing gray lines in the sand–blended, indistinguishable lines.

In essence, this merging together, like so many other events now taking place within evangelical Christianity, willhelp erode the distinction between truth and falsehood and light and dark.

With well-known names like Rosenberg, Peretti, and Strobel as part of the speaking platform, many Christians who otherwise might not attend or pay much attention to this emerging event, could be drawn in just by the mere mention of these men’s names. And with Break Forth boasting that 1000 Canadian churches are represented at this event, tens of thousands of church goers could easily, directly or indirectly, be impacted in a fashion ultimately leading to spiritual deception and apostasy.

The Kings Of The North And The South

Grace Thru Faith (Link) - Jack Kelley (October 17, 2009)

This is an update of an article I first posted 2 years ago. Two things prompted me to post it again at this time. First, it’s a good follow up to last week’s article on the growth of Islam. And second, last week, at the last minute, Turkey booted Israel out of a joint training exercise also involving Italy and the US. When they withdrew in protest, Turkey responded by scheduling a training exercise with Syria instead. The reason Turkey gave was Israel’s inability to deliver an order of Heron surveillance drones to Turkey on the agreed schedule, even though it was the failure of a part produced by Turkey that made on time delivery impossible.

Turkey has been distancing itself from Israel since the Gaza offensive, and on top of the canceled training exercise recently began airing a TV series depicting Israeli soldiers as child killers. Inside sources indicate that Turkish PM Erdogan has become convinced that Turkey is destined to play a more pivotal role in Middle Eastern politics by reviving the Ottoman Empire. To that end Turkey has been more involved in MidEast diplomacy, acting as a mediator between Syria and Israel, and has formed a pact with Syria and Iran that features increased military and commercial involvement among the three. Some see in this the re-birth of an end times military force known as the King of the North in Daniel 11. Let’s take a closer look.