..A Magazine for all Christians · Nº 17 · September - October 2002
|
|
..A Magazine for all Christians · Nº 17 · September - October 2002 |
|
The difficult but important ministry of the prophets. Their call and commission. The dangers that they watch. Their message and the recipients of that message. A challenge for all Christians, without distinction, because they are the watchmen that God has today. Watchmen Eliseo
Apablaza F.
These
words show us two important things: that the Lord commits himself to do
nothing without revealing it to his prophets, and that the prophets are
not a special class of people. It is enough that the Lord speaks, and
all will prophesy. Therefore, we can say that for each Christian there
is a prophet. It is worth noting that it was Amos who spoke these words. By his own words, was not a prophet, nor a prophet's son. Nevertheless, He went and prophesied (Amos 7:14-17). The
Mission of the Prophets If
we look at the Old Testament we will find that the main mission of the
prophets was to make the people return to the ancient paths, to the good
way (Jeremiah 6:16). They had strayed, so the prophets had to make them
return to the correct road. Do
you believe that there are Christians that have lost the good way? If
so, then we need the restoration of the prophetic ministry. It is not
only apostles, evangelists, pastors and teachers that are necessary today.
We also need prophets. For the Jews, the good way and the ancient path meant returning to the law. For us, the good way and the ancient path is Jesus Christ. There are Christians that have lost the way; they have lost Jesus Christ! What a paradox: amid Christianity there are Christians that have lost Christ. Amid the cults, the worship, the preaching, amid the massive meetings, there are Christians that have lost Christ! The Lord therefore restores the prophetic ministry, so that many can find the valuable things that they have lost, and discard the vain things that they have found. ¨They must discard that straw and that useless tinsel in order to find, or find Christ anew. The
Dangers That They Watch The
old prophets and the prophets of today face dangers even to their personal
safety. Most of the prophets died tragically. However that is not the
point. The biggest danger that comes against us is, as it was for them,
the temptation to soften the message for convenience or fear. As those
prophets "sweetened their speech" (1),
many accommodated their message (Jeremiah 23:31). Many
prophets didn't want to be hateful hostil nor unfriendly so they preached
peace to the people, even though their roads were crooked. They didn't
look to God's interests, they looked to their own interests. This is a
problem that affected many prophets in the past and those of today as
well. The great majority of the "official" prophets prophesied
lies, to win the king's favor. How we need prophets today that don't look to please their audiences, that don't look to make gain from the word of God, but rather, those that are faithful to what the Holy Spirit is speaking! The official prophecy in Israel failed, and the few true prophets were ignored. Will we also fail? All
Prophets Are Watchmen All
prophets are watchmen. A watchman is a observer stationed on the walls
of a city. He has a privileged position. He sees many kilometers into
the distance, and also sees how daily life occurs inside the walls. He
is placed there so that he can see when danger is coming and also warn
those who are unaware. It
is urgent, in light of September 11, 2001, that the prophets of God make
the trumpet heard more than ever before. The world was moved and shocked
by that day. From then on, the world felt that it lost the fragile security
that it once had. I believe that people, after the 11th September attack,
are more willing to listen. And even if they don't want to listen, it
is necessary to make them responsible for themselves, because each person
has his own twin towers. Everybody has a prideful motive, a motive of
glory, and a day will arrive in which God will demolish them. God's judgment
is coming, because humanity has been corrupted and because Christianity
has been abandoned by some. It
is necessary for prophets to know the signs of the times. The Lord reproached
the Pharisees because they knew when it was going to rain or when there
would be good weather, but they didn't know how to distinguish the signs
of the times (Matt. 16:3)! How many Christians today are recognizing the
signs of the times in light of the Word, as they look at the things that
are happening? In Isaiah 56:10-11, the Lord reprimands the useless watchmen. They are blind, ignorant watch men, lazy and insatiable. They don't know how to sound the trumpet. Dear brothers, would the Lord not have to tell us in the same thing? The
Call and Commission of a Watchman Let
us review chapters 1 and 2 of Ezekiel to see how God calls a prophet.
The first thing that happens is that God reveals himself to Ezekiel. God
shows him His glory. There are cherubs, wheels and strange movements.
But in verse 26 a throne appears and Somebody is seated on the throne.
Does that sound familiar? Ezekiel saw a throne and one seated on the throne.
The one seated on the throne had an appearance like that of a man. Could
we venture to say that it was the Lord Jesus Christ? He had the appearance
of a man. The Father doesn't have a physical expression, but the Lord
Jesus Christ does. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed to Ezekiel.
He first gives a revelation of Himself. How could one speak on behalf
of God if one has never seen God? But if you have seen Him, brothers and
sisters, you can prophesy. Then,
God calls the prophet and sends him to the Israelites: "And whether
they listen, or fail to listen - for they are a rebellious house - they
will know that a prophet has been among them" (2:5) Two things
are clear here: that they are rebellious, and the other is that he should
go in spite of this, as a testimony. The Lord warns Ezekiel three times
that they might not listen to him (2:7; 3:11). The Lord was preparing
Ezekiel because he would encounter difficulties. Then,
God instructs Ezekiel to receive the word of God in his stomach and in
his heart (3:3,10). Here it does not say that he has to receive it with
his mind. It is a serious problem when the word of God is an object of
intellectual dissection, or when we accommodate the thoughts of God to
our own. If there is anything in which we must be faithful, it is in retaining
the Word which has been heard. The stomach and the heart are that intimate,
deep place, where our spirit is joined together with the Holy Spirit.
Message
to the Wicked The
message of the watchman is not directed only to the wicked (Ezekiel 33:8),
but also to the righteous (33:13). This is something novel. We may think
that only the wicked need to listen to the gospel. However, the people
of God also need to hear of the Lord. What
will we tell the wicked? According to Ezekiel 33, the wicked should be
notified that if he doesn't turn away from his wickedness, he will die.
We have to warn men that their current state is condemnation, that they
are going straight to hell. You may notice that hell is scarcely preached
about. It is not a pleasant topic. Nowadays the gospel is preached to
the consumer's pleasure, a "light weight" gospel. However, the
wicked should know that their destination is hell their destination is
in the eternal flames! We are always speaking about God's grace, God's mercy. But we have to announce that the day is coming in which God will manifest his anger on all the wicked, on all those that spoke hard words against him. Does it not say so in the Word of God (Jude vs.15)? We need to be confident in warning the wicked about where their path will end, and at the same time testify of the salvation there is in Christ Jesus. The
Great Message to the Righteous What
is our message to the righteous? Brothers and sisters, the great message
that Christian's need to hear is a message that causes curiosity simply
by mentioning it. What would be the great message that today's Christian's
in Temuco, in Chile, in Latin America, and throughout the entire world
need to hear? It can be summarized in a single sentence, taken from Paul's
letter to Timothy: "Remember Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy
2:8)! Is
Paul saying that to Timothy? It seems out of place. Was Timothy not a
trustworthy man? Yes, he was. But the time in which he was living was
a time of apostasy. Christians began to disperse throughout the world
and meet with it's hollow philosophies. Therefore, Paul has to remind
his dear son in the faith: "Remember Jesus Christ!" Today it
is the same. Many are forgetting this. There are programs that replace
Christ. There are currents, systems and traditions so deeply incorporated
in Christianity that Christ is being left out! Christ is being put second!
One of our contemporary prophets on one occasion said: "Christ is
the most undesirable character, not only in the world, but inside the
cathedrals, in the seminaries, and in the most orthodox atmospheres."
"Don't forget Jesus Christ!" "Remember Jesus Christ!" This is the great message which we have to speak to the righteous. Yet, to say this in such a simple and clear way, is, perhaps, not enough. Perhaps we have to go into detail and begin to examine all the things in which the righteous pass their time and that they have left outside of Christ. If not, perhaps they won't realize. The
Great Warning There
is another great warning that we have to give to the righteous in these
times. Scripture
declares that two signs will happen before the end of time concerning
Christians. The first is that the church will be restored. The restoration
of all things before the Lord Jesus Christ comes is announced in Acts
3:21. The other sign is the apostasy ("the rebellion" 2 Thessalonians
2:3). On one hand, restoration, and on the other, apostasy. Today's Christian
walks as if upon a slack rope: the slack rope of lukewarmness and relaxation.
On one side of this slack rope is the abyss of apostasy, and on the other
side there is a narrow path and a narrow gate: the restoration of the
church. Do you remember the words of the Lord regarding the narrow gate and the wide gate in Matthew 7:13? We will use this simile to explain the restoration and apostasy. For the Christian, the broad road is the apostasy. Therefore, the narrow gate and the narrow path is the restoration. The wide road is, of course, easy to find while the narrow gate, on the other hand, is difficult to find. There are many Christians who have not found the gate toward restoration. But when one finds it, the heart overflows with joy. One will then say: "How is it that I spent so much time enslaved and thirsty?" Now they have seen the Lord glorified and they have seen the church just as God wants it. Two
Options For the Christian There
is a book by David Wilkerson called The Vision (2).
It was published in the 1970's. I am going to mention some fragments from
this book to illustrate these two roads, that of the apostasy and that
of the restoration. "I
see the formation," says Wilkerson, "of a super world church
that will consist of a meeting among the liberal ecumenical Protestants
and the Roman Catholic Church. These churches will politically unite,
creating one of the most powerful religious forces in the earth. This
super world church will be spiritual only in name, and it will use Jesus
Christ's name without shame. However in actual fact it will be antichrist
and political in many of its activities. He also says that "in this
super church homosexuals and lesbians will be admitted. There will be
nude dances, there will be hidden practices, etc., etc. Many of these
things are already happening. In Europe (and America), there are ordained
homosexual ministers, there are ordained ministers that are divorced and
there are lesbians that occupy high positions in the leadership of some
international denominations. But
notice what will also happen in parallel to that, and which is already
happening. Again I quote Wilkerson, "I See a large and supernatural
union of Jesus Christ's true followers, gathered together by the Holy
Spirit and a common trust in Christ and His Word. This supernatural church
of biblical believers will end up being kind of a secret fellowship and
will include Catholics and Protestants of all denominations. Young and
old, blacks and whites, and people from all the nations will congregate
together. "At
the time in which the visible super church acquires political means, this
invisible supernatural church -(invisible to the eyes of the world, but
visible before God!)- will grow tremendously in spiritual power. This
power will come from persecution. The madness of the persecution that
will come upon the earth will make these Christians unite even more closely
among themselves and draw closer to Jesus Christ. Less importance will
be given to denominational concepts and more emphasis to Jesus Christ's
return. "Many
won't believe me," says Wilkerson "but I can see the day in
which many Protestants, as well as Catholics, should 'come out from among
them'. These new Christians won't call themselves Protestants or Catholics,
but simply Christians. Their fellowship won't be based on the experience
of speaking in tongues, but rather it will be centered in the Father and
in his Son Jesus Christ." And,
to finish, "suffering persecution and being aware of the signs of
the times, will cause an army of Jesus' true followers to continue arising
as warriors. They will be part of an underground church that will preach
Christ's return and the end of time. They will be like a thorn in the
side of the harlot church, and they will produce remorse and an itching
in men's consciences because of their devotion and spiritual power." Do you see these two roads? There is public apostasy -very public-, and there is the path of restoration in it's almost anonymous and secret form. The final restoration of the church won't have glory in the same way as the church in Jerusalem during Pentecost had. It will be an underground, secret restoration, in small atmospheres, in caves, and in remote places. When persecution comes, it will be invisible to the world. But when one puts their head through the door, they will see the glory of God! Three
Conditions and Three Messages This
is the great warning, and now we will see what the three specific messages
are. In
the Old Testament, during the days in which the Kingdom fell into the
hands of Nebuchadnezzar, God chose three prophets in order to take messages
to three different groups of Jews. God sent Jeremiah to Egypt, so that
as a watchman, he could warn those that had escaped to Egypt. Then He
chose Ezekiel who went to Babylon and there shared with the deported captives.
He also chose Daniel to take a prophetic message for the end of days;
a message given to a man loved by God so that through him, all those who
love God might also know it. Christians today are in three different conditions. These three conditions are represented by those three Hebrew prophets and by the respective destinations of their messages. They are three different conditions with three different necessities. Christians therefore also need three messages appropriate to their different needs. The
Secularized Christian There
are Christians in Egypt, in the world. They have escaped; they have run
away. Jeremiah had to go to Egypt because of those whom God wanted to
speak to. If you read Jeremiah, chapters 43 and 44 you will find out what
his ministry was in Egypt. Today's
Christians that are in Egypt also needs to listen to this message. What
will we say to them? They
try to redeem it, to save it from the inside. Yet what has happened? Instead
of improving the world, the world has caught them. They have left the
Lord and they have adopted the new gods of the world. We
have to tell Christians who are in Egypt that they must leave. We have
to tell them what Peter told the Jews on the day of Pentecost: "Save
yourselves from this corrupt generation!" We have to tell those Christians
deceived by the world that it is a bank destined to go bankrupt, that
it is a ship that will shipwreck! We must tell them that God's judgment
will fall upon the world, that they shouldn't invest there, that they
shouldn't dedicate their best days to the world! Let us disenchant them
from the world! Let us tell them that they shouldn't have such low goals
as those built upon the world. Let us tell them that that it is not the
way to God! 2 Timothy shows us the time of apostasy, foreshadowing what should come. There is Demas, Alexander and others that have abandoned the faith, in favor of loving the world. Wilkerson, in The Vision, speaks of three great temptations that Christians will encounter in the end time, and I believe that they will mainly affect these secularized Christians: sexual immorality, prosperity, and the relaxation of customs. How many Christians are, drinking whisky, seated in front of a 50 inch TV screen, and laughing happily! How many of them will remain behind when the Lord comes to look for his church! The
Victory Over the World We
hold in great esteem the revelation that the Father has given us about
the Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, what does that revelation say? It says:
"Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt.16:16).
Now then, if you look at 1 John chapter 5, you will find that everybody
who believes that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God (v.1), and that
everybody who believes that Jesus is the Son of God, overcomes the world
(v.5)! Do you find that faith possible brethren, amid the avalanche that
is coming over us? Those that have been born of God overcome the world!
When the devil comes with temptations and suggestions, simply tell him
that: I believe that Jesus is the Son of God! The revelation to Peter was very specific: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Then it was revealed, as the Lord told him: "On this rock I will build my church." Which rock? The Christ that was revealed and confessed, that is the Rock! We won't get tired of saying it. We will continue declaring and confessing, and we will teach it to our children: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God! And then the Lord added, as if to reaffirm our faith: "And the gates of Hades will not overcome it (the Church)" (Matt. 16:18). Hallelujah, glory to the Lord! Those
That are in Captivity Next
we turn to the Christians who are in captivity. Ezekiel was sent to Babylon
as a watchman. Babylon, being the cradle of all the pagan religions which
were on the earth at that time, represents the confused religious tangle
that has become traditional Christianity which has suffocated the life
and the testimony of God. Nevertheless, God also has people there. For these dear children of God there is a message. They have to be warned with love, but with clarity. They are more exposed than anybody to the dangers of the three "T's". The
Danger of the Three T's You
know that Judaism, as a religion, had three pillars: the Torah (the law),
the Temple and the Talmud (the tradition). These three words begin with
T. Judaism had these three pillars, and all religions that pride themselves
in such a way also have them. That is to say, they have a sacred book,
a sacred place and a system of traditions. The bad thing is that Christianity
has also copied Judaism, and has appropriated these three T's. The
traditional Christianity has its Torah, that is to say, its Bible. They
celebrate days of the Bible, and surrender homage to the Book. The Lord
told the Jews: "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think
that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify
about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life" (John 5:39-40).
It is in Christ, not in the Book that there is life! But many Christians
seem to remain ignorant of this. They hold the Bible in great esteem,
but the fact that Christ is absent among them does not worry them. The
other T is the Temple. In the Old covenant, God inhabited a temple. However,
he no longer inhabits temples. Why then do Christians follow the Jewish
pattern. Why do they still build temples for God to live in? When they
leave to go home, they say: "Lord, accompany us." As if God
stayed in the temple and they go home empty! Is this not a terrible ignorance?
How would you feel if, after a church meeting, you went home empty, without
the Lord? It is the greatest disgrace! Christ
came to live in us; he will never leave us. We, the body of Christ, are
the true temple! God no longer dwells in temples made by human hands!
He dwells in a warmer, more welcome temple which is the church of the
living God, built on the firm foundation of the apostles and prophets,
and whose living stones are our hearts! The
third T is the Talmud, that is to say, the oral tradition that has also
come to enlarge our belief system. Thus the older the denomination, the
larger their Talmud. As they have two hundred or three hundred years of
history, a history recorded in books, when the hour comes in which they
want to know the next step that they have to take, they consult their
Talmud. Christians
that are in captivity that cling to their Torah, to their Temple and to
their Talmud, should be warned. They are huddled in their temples, in
their biblical studies without revelation, in a religious tradition, aided
under the shade of a good doctrine or of an eminent man of the past. For
that reason the Lord cannot move among them. He can not lead them. The
organization and the routine replaces the Lord. It
may seem, we are suggesting that we are doing everything correctly and
that this is not our problem. But our viewpoint is subjective, and from
seeing our own deformities so frequently, we get used to them. For that
reason, we need to listen attentively so the Spirit can speak to us through
the Word. Also, we need to listen attentively to the observations of other
saints of God. Then they can make known to us all they see that is less
than Christ. We need judgment, we need the scrutiny of other servants
of God. Do not let it happen like that vainglorious one who looked in
the water and found himself to be very beautiful. Brothers and sisters, the church doesn't exist to look at itself. It exists to look at Him! It exists to glorify Him! We sometimes speak too much about the church. There are too many messages about the church. There are many books on the church. Do you know what? It is not our duty to speak about the church. The bride doesn't speak about herself. She speaks about Him, her love! Do you remember the trip that Abraham's servant and Rebecca took? Do you think they spoke about on the road? They spoke of Isaac, the groom that was waiting! The servant spoke of Isaac, and only of Isaac. He spoke in such a way that by the end of that journey, the bride had fallen so deeply in love with Isaac that she didn't find in difficult to subject herself to him the moment she saw him! I believe the Holy Spirit is speaking to us of Christ so when we see him, we surrender ourselves to him! The
Message to the Faithful Remnant Now
to finish, there is a third message to the children of God, to the beloved
and the faithful. I believe that Daniel's ministry represents these servants
of God and that the message of God is for them. Do you know, brothers
and sisters -and I will say this very carefully so that nobody becomes
conceited-.Today, just as Wilkerson says, there is a remnant on the earth.
A remnant chosen by grace. All of the remnant throughout history is chosen
by grace! They
are God's beloved. They, just like Enoch, walk with God, and in some moment
they will be taken away with Him. Their communion with God is so intimate
that God will take them away. The day will come when the beloved of God
will be raptured. These saints and beloved know that, without him, they
are nothing. They have been tested by failure. They have been in the dust
of the earth. But they are "beloved, and chosen and faithful."
But
there is also a message for the beloved: Be careful with your confidence
in your own righteousness, as it says in Ezekiel 33:13! Be careful those
of you who think that you are Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7)! Be careful
in confiding that you have the Father's revelation about Christ! Be careful,
you can still backslide. "So if you think that you are standing firm,
be careful that you don't fall" (1 Cor 10:12). Having a great knowledge
of the mysteries of the Word can make the heart fill up with presumption
and vanity. There are some of God's beloved that have fallen in this,
and today they have become Laodicea, saying: "We don't have need
of anything" (Rev. 3:17). The
worst thing that could happen to them is having so much wealth they become
conceited. And because they have the imputed justice of God they could
live ungodly lives, flirting with sin, thinking that because they are
beloved, God will treat them with favoritism. Oh, Be careful of that danger!
You could sin, and perhaps even fear of God's judgment to come, but when
the punishment does not arrive, you say, "It seems that God treats
me with favoritism." Perhaps you slip and sin again and again the
hand of God doesn't come, then you relax a little more. Oh, but in some
moment, suddenly, the blow comes! And then you realize that God doesn't
treat you with favoritism. God doesn't treat any man with favoritism.
His principles are eternal. He hates sin, in whatever form! So,
don't relax! Don't trust yourself! Assure yourself that you will not loose
the fear of God. When we have walked for a time in the Christian life,
we can appreciate what it means to fear God. Now we better understand,
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." Are
you beloved? Yes! But, be careful, you must fear as well! Fear. Fear God!
You must say, just what the psalmist in the Psalm 119:120 said: "My
flesh trembles in fear of you; I stand in awe of your laws." Lord,
I stand in awe of your laws! Free me! Speak to me at the right time, persuade
me at the right time! I don't want to fall, I am afraid! Are you a beloved,
chosen and faithful one? Tremble, tremble! Much you have been given, much
will be demanded. As watchman then, we have a message for the secularized Christian, for the Christian captured in Babylon, and also for the beloved and faithful. What
Will We Do? The
panorama that has been described allows us to visualize diverse fields
of action for God's prophets that want to participate in His work. God
is taking His purposes forward. Let us not have the smallest doubt about
this. To carry His purposes out, God will use those that are willing to
be used (2 Tim.2:20-21). In
times of crisis and apostasy, like those we are already living in, there
are two attitudes that the children of God can assume: that of Noah or
that of Lot. While
Noah prepared the ark for himself and his family to survive in, he did
not remain quiet. The Scriptures say that he was a "preacher of righteousness"
(2 Peter 2:5). A preacher is one that proclaims. And a proclamation is,
literally, "the publication of something that one makes out loud
and in public." Nobody can be a secret proclaimer. Noah did not keep
quiet regarding the announcement that God had given him, but rather he
proclaimed it aloud and to everybody who wanted to hear it. Which will our model be? I have here two clearly differentiated paths. Let us ask our blessed God to grant us the privilege of serving him, even in a small way, in His work. Thus, His work would be our work. *** (1)
This
translation appears in the Reina Valera 1960 Bible used in Chile. |