“And the angel said unto them, Fear Not: for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the City of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)

Dear Brethren,
    

There are times when we need to stop and remember all that needed to be put in place to prepare the world for the birth of Jesus long ago in Bethlehem, the birth of our Savior, Jesus the Christ.  The last Word in the Old Testament was that God was going to send the Prophet Elijah to prepare the people for the coming of their Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6).  That Word was given one hundred years or so after Israel returned from her Babylonian captivity.  The Persians were ruling the known world at that time and Israel was a province of Persia.  It wouldn’t be long before God would raise up Alexander the Great who went out and conquered that part of the world.  As a result, Israel became a province of the Greek empire.  Not long after that, the Greek empire was divided and the authority over Israel changed hands once again.  Later the Romans conquered nations and regions forming what we know as the Roman Empire.  When Jesus was born, Israel was a province of Rome.  During those centuries of preparation the Jewish people lived, suffered and died waiting for their promised Redeemer to come.  Over time the faith of many grew cold and the “church” of that day lost its focus on the things of God.  For many, religious life in Israel was more of ritual than true faith – their “church” had become a business.

Yet there was a remnant that was waiting for the fulfillment of God’s Old Testament promises.  Simeon, for one, had been told by the Lord that he would not see death before he saw the redemption of Israel (Luke 2:25-35).  Simeon died in peace and never lived to see the Christ he held in his arms crucified on a Roman cross at Calvary (John 19:17-18).  Anna the widow at the Temple, after seeing Jesus with his parents “continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (Luke2:36-38).

Today, God the Father is preparing the world for the second coming of His Son Jesus Christ.  Like Anna we should be encouraging one another from the Word.  It is only through a clear reading of the Bible that we can make sense out of what is going on in the world.  In our day God is using governments, foundations and institutions to prepare the way for a New World Order.  As in the days of Roman rule, a global government is being established that will have authority to rule over the lives of every man, woman and child on the planet.  And like the Romans of the first century, this government will have the power to impose its will on the people.  Look at the growing influence of the United Nations and its agencies which are using treaties and agreements to gain authority over the sovereignty of nations so that a system of Global Governance can finally be put in place.  Watch how leaders of nation states like America are signing away their history in an effort to help usher in a new age of global peace.

Recently it was reported that China, India, France and Russia were calling publicly for a new reserve currency for world trade that would replace the American dollar.  These nations and many others are suffering in the current global recession and crying out for financial stability.  They see the United States and her ever increasing debt as a threat to their own economies.  The time is ripe for the central banks of the world to come together and agree on a new currency for the new order.

If you Google “Tony Blair’s Faith Foundation”, you can find out more about the “One World Religion” that the Bible predicts for the Last Days.  You can read about his “Faith & Globalization Initiative” meeting held this past month in Montreal, Canada, where Blair shared his vision of a new world, a world of peace and cooperation among the world’s great religions.

Take a hard look at Rick Warren’s global P.E.A.C.E initiative to see another facet of this movement to unify the religions of the world.  These men, along with many others who present themselves to the world as Christians, are working to find “common ground” among “people of faith” from all religions.  The Bible warns the Church against this very thing.  “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers for what fellowship does light have with darkness?”  (2 Corinthians 6:14-15)  Doctrine matters.  Christians who push for a global program of religious unity are doing so at the expense of sound doctrine.  Jesus said His coming would cause division not unity.  (Luke 12:29-53). Bible faith is exclusive faith and the only way to heaven is through the blood atonement of Jesus Christ.

The only thing that Christians have in common with the world is sin.  When you read through the materials published by Tony Blair and Rick Warren you find that they are not focusing on the “sin of the world” (John 1:29) and proclaiming that Jesus is exclusively the only “way, truth and life” and that Christ declared that “no man comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:5-6)  Rather, they are doing all that they can to bring man’s “peace” to a world that needs to hear the Good News about Jesus the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).  As we watch this rapid movement towards global governance, a global religion and a global currency, can Jesus be far behind? (Revelation 22:20)

But what does this talk about a “New World Order” have to do with an angel appearing to the shepherds in the field outside Bethlehem?  When the angel spoke to the shepherds, "Do not be afraid…I bring you good news of great joy…” (Luke 2:10), God was speaking to the world today.  The Word of God has been preserved by the Lord so that we can have an anchor for our faith.  It also helps us to understand His desire that “all men come to the knowledge of His Son” (1 Timothy 2:4).  Indeed the Savior was born, His Name is Jesus, and He did come to save us from our sins (Matthew 1:21).  That Good News, the Gospel, is the gift that we must remember to give this season.  At this time of economic trial and political confusion, as it was at the time of the birth of Jesus Christ, many are afraid and worried about the future – about their future – and these struggling souls will find no true and lasting peace in what the world has to offer.  They need to hear the Gospel; they need to be encouraged to turn to Jesus.  Only then can they begin to understand why we celebrate Christmas.
 
Donald & Mignon

Please remember to pray:

Missions – Please pray for the missionaries you know who are serving overseas and here at home.  The problems in the economy and the instability of the global markets are having a great impact on Kingdom work.  With the increasing unemployment here in the states, many are unable to continue to give to missions personally; income to churches around the nation is being affected as well.  The financial strain puts pressure on the local church to make adjustments in their budgets and sad to say, in many cases, that translates into cutting support for missionaries.  Pray that we as a Body will not forsake the work of the Harvest in this time of financial trial.

We attend two Bible Study groups in the area.  Last week at the end of our Monday night meeting, we were introduced to two young men.  One has been ordered to deploy to Iraq in January, the other is leaving next week for Afghanistan.  Pray that they will take advantage of the situation and share the Gospel with their fellow soldiers, but also with any and all of the Iraqi and Afghani civilians they meet.  The war is the excuse for their being in that region of the world – the Gospel is their purpose.  The men, women and children of Iraq and Afghanistan are going to go to hell if they don’t get saved.  Remember the words of the Apostle Paul: “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent?” (Romans 10:14-15)  They have been sent – we need to pray.