WBVN has always expressed its ministry as a ministry of encouragement. For us encouragement is a given characteristic of Faith. We can actually be in the middle of trouble, perhaps even discouraging circumstances, but not be moved off of how encouraging the Gospel is in spite of those things. For that reason, I’m writing this letter to mix in peace and encouragement with the world which has little of either one. There’s bad news in it, and good news in it, depends on how you look at it I suppose. To simplify it a bit, I think the bad news reinforces the believed good news we all share. What we are seeing around the world today hints at the truth of prophesy. Jesus Christ is still the answer, the Light of the world, the Good Shepherd, the Bread of Life, the Savior, the Lord, the Messiah Deliverer, and much more in spite of the things we hear and see each day. It’s encouraging to know that. We don’t make Him any of those things; they are given things to us, not ones we create. Apparently, some of the future is going to be ugly- then eventually glorious. While the ugly may get to our brains, we should not let the ugly get to our hearts. No one knows the exact timeline of God’s moves, but this moment seems like a crossroads moment of the Gospel message.

In some sense, I don’t believe you can find peace if you can’t find the cause of all this trouble. I think the Bible foretold of a time like this. Forty years ago I remember a biblical teacher expressing days similar to these in our future. He characterized them as a time of ‘separation for clarification’. We are by all accounts being forced by the cultures we live in to choose sides on so many events. Today, much of what we are confronted with in this world, things seemingly delivered to our doorstep, is simply man establishing his/her own morality and ethic, pushing out the Creator’s morality and ethic. We’re seeing a lot of dividing these days, and division causes two things: it creates havoc and it creates a clear picture on which side of the fence you’re standing. It’s a marker to give us easy choices. It’s going to be our choice one or the other: be in the Light or stay in the darkness. Darkness simply by default is the absence of The Light. That absence is the only thing that gives darkness its power, but darkness is powerful without Jesus.

There’s a little something to remember in order to be encouraged in times like these: God is not mocked, what man sows, he will also reap. (Gal. 6:7) I might add in His timing. not necessarily our timing. In Acts 2, Pentecost was God’s beginning of this warfare into the entire world; reclaiming all the nations, Gentile and Jew. That continues today. I never forget that God is consistent and patient. And, I’m always aware this is a big picture project. God’s purpose for creation was simple, is still simple: relationship with the creature of His creation. First attempt ended with the failure of Adam and Eve. Second attempt Noah and his family. Third attempt Abraham. Next time, the nation of Israel is chosen. All ended in not producing the family response. Finally Jesus, and he acknowledged ‘It is finished”; he did it. By being in Christ we enter into the Father, Son and Spirit’s relationship through Jesus. Now, a new creation is set in place, one that begins with the birth, death and resurrection, this time an attempt to bring in the whole world of people, the Jewish people and the Gentiles. In spite of what it looks like today, Jesus has a kingdom and it’s in place. You’re invited to be a citizen. In Isaiah 61:1-11 we find the purpose and the heart of God for Jew and Gentile. (…preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to the bound; …)

Historically: 1Cor 2:7-8, lets us in on a mystery, something hidden from the foundation of the world. There we learn that, had evil known the whole story, it would not have crucified Jesus. If they had been aware enough to know what was happening, no way would they have killed him. What’s revealed there is that Jesus actually ‘duped’ them into killing him, manipulated them into killing him. When he went to Jerusalem it was his setting the trap, a trap that actually had the spirit of anti-Christ making Salvation possible! That hidden knowledge, a mystery, not even the 12 disciples knew it. Peter put on a pretty good show of how the disciples felt. He raised Cain when confronted with Jesus’ announcement that he was going to die. The disciples had planned on an earthly rule. They were part of an Old Testament vision of Messiah. An idea that Messiah would throw out the Romans and abolish the religious corruption. The New Testament vision in the heart of God and Jesus was quite different. The OT people understood Messiah, descendent of King David; they had no idea of Messiah, Savior of the world. They opposed Jesus dying, that was not in their plans for the future king of Israel. However, in God’s plan the spirit of anti-Christ would kill Jesus and, in effect, they would create the future kingdom of God for all mankind, all nations. The spirit of anti-Christ is in the middle of creating Jesus’ return, they do not see that but it’s true; it’s going to usher in a second coming.

Today we are left scratching our heads about how so much spirit of anti-Christ can be seemingly everywhere and in everything. How can there be so much unity against Life as the Father would have it for us? It seems that every day a new and more anti-Christ world emerges. The simple answer is that as the spirit of anti-Christ becomes more bold, more aggressive, its purpose is revealed proportionally as well. Its resistance to that Life as the Father would have it for you swells bigger and bigger. That’s the head scratching part, it’s so huge and seemingly organized we can’t explain with logic or obvious cause where it comes from except in terms of an all-out rebellion of man with the influence of the spirit of anti-Christ. Paul reminded us that resistance of that type can’t be defeated with only our power alone. The anti-Christ spirit wants us fighting in our flesh not the spiritual, whereas God instructs us to fight on our knees and by listening, following and expressing Him. Paul reminds us we’re not required to confront principalities and powers directly; our war must contain the spiritual, not just the physical battle. (Eph 6:12) (I have a pastor friend that says ‘don’t hear what I’m not saying.’) That doesn’t mean we don’t do everything we can to share this Gospel or to oppose the destruction of the Gospel message and the culture. We should certainly be active in doing so. (We’ve spent 33 years doing just that through our private home life and the public ministry life at the station. So you know I believe in effort and hard work to hold on to the treasure of this Gospel in a very practical way. I’ve had a couple friends just recently tell me they think the station ministry is more important to be shared today than any time in those 33 years.)

Personally, I expect a repeat performance similar to what they did to Jesus’ physical life in his first coming. This time, the end will be played out to His spiritual life right in front of our eyes. Today, and I think especially today, much of the world is yelling ‘crucify him’ again. More than any time in my lifetime it appears more people and cultures than ever are opposed to God’s will on earth and His will for man. Today is similar to the days of Calvary. I’m just super aware that He personally will win this battle when it is won. Just as Israel will know in the end (Armageddon) what preserves them in the final battle, I think Christians will recognize the same hand of God exposed at the end of this age.

I consider this a biblical truth: God created angels but He did not create angels to be evil. Jesus, Peter and Paul took that very seriously. We are expected to do the same. In Scripture we can see that some angels rebelled. I don’t think they were predestined to do so but they did. Angels, and we, have God-given free will. It’s possible for God to know something will happen without causing it to happen. (Isa. 14, 2Peter 2:4-6, Rev. 12: 7-12) In some ways, that knowledge of an angelic anti-Christ spirit overlays our interpretation of our daily life. I remember years ago realizing that we are the invading army here. Fallen angels had been dumped here and the original earth became void (Gen. 1:2), then God created man and gave him dominion of Eden, that resulted in the current conflict and struggle we are experiencing today.

As part of that rebellion, part of the spirit of anti-Christ stopping Life as the Father would have it for us, Jesus was offered all the worldly kingdoms (Math 4:8), everything as far as the eye could see. That sounds like today’s siren call to mankind. ‘Just do this, get rid of that God guy and trust in our thing and you can have it all. You will be moral when you accept our morality and reject that God stuff.’ Jesus had a secret, a mystery, a hidden plan. Back then, and now, what God wanted was not anything more than family, a relationship with His creation. Remember again all those attempts to do so in the Old Testament. Look at the descriptions used so frequently in Paul’s writing about God’s purpose, words: sons, children, bride, bridegroom, heirs, and adopted, i.e. family. Revelation 21:4 is where we are headed, what Jesus has prepared for us.
I’m writing this to encourage us not to get discouraged or overwhelmed with what we see and hear each day. It didn’t look good at Calvary and it doesn’t look good now. But that’s not the measure of what is going on or what the results will be. The Bible expresses the true results. We can get on board with that or cave to the stress and pressure not to believe. This thing we are seeing played out in front of us is bigger than economics or politics. We are observing spiritual warfare. Who wins? The same One that won on a dark, discouraging, bloody day at Calvary. They thought they had Him, and that anti-Christ spirit thinks it has Him now!