Apologetics Central

February 17th, 2010

My main hobby in life turns out to also be a ministry. This hobby is the study of Bible prophecy. There are lots of us prophecy students out there. And why not? About 1/3 of the Bible is prophecy. The part that has already been fulfilled is the greatest proof of all that the Bible is truly God’s Word! And the part that hasn’t been fulfilled yet is looking more and more likely to happen soon.

This hobby became a ministry about 12 years ago when I began to maintain a website for prophecy students and teachers. It is called “Prophecy Central”. And, praise the Lord, it has become one of the top websites on the subject. I have the privilege of serving up fresh information about prophecy every day, and thousands of people visit the site daily. It takes a little time – an hour or so every morning before breakfast, but it is worth it.

Over the years I have discovered a close connection between prophecy and another area of study called “apologetics”. Christian Apologetics is a defense of Biblical beliefs. It comes from the Greek word apologia, “to speak in favor of.” So anything that strengthens a Christian’s understanding and belief in the Bible or the Christian faith is a part of this vast area of study. Some of the major areas of apologetics are: Belief in God, Creation, The person and the work of Jesus Christ, the Resurrection of Christ, Proofs that the Bible is the inspired word of God, Archaeology, Prophecy, Comparison of Christianity with other religions, and Defense of Christianity against atheism, cults and false teaching in general.

I am happy to announce that after a couple of years of preparation, we have launched a “sister site” to Prophecy Central. It is called “Apologetics Central.” It is another resource on the Internet for serious Bible students. It has separate sections for the major topics of apologetics, lists of apologetics sites on the Internet, a growing list of writers and speakers who are “heroes of the faith,” and much more.

Under each topic we list Scriptures that relate to the subject, collect news about speakers, books, and conferences that relate to that subject, answer common questions about the topic, give a list of websites that deal with that issue, and provide links to other resources, including books and video clips.

Please check it out and let me know what you think. What could be added? What changes would you suggest to make it truly helpful to you?

Apologetics Central
www.apologetics-central.com

Prophecy Central
www.Bible-prophecy.com

Posted in Apologetics | 2 Comments »

Prophecy and Apologetics

February 9th, 2010

The Codex Gigas from the 13th century, held at...
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We have just launched a companion site to Prophecy Central. It is Apologetics Central. We have been working on this project little by little for over a year, so that it would have enough substance to make it worth visiting regularly.

Christian Apologetics is a description of the work that serious scholars do to provide answers to the tough questions we have about our faith. It comes from the Greek word apologia, “to speak in favor of.” It is a defense of the Bible and of Christian beliefs.

Before saying any more, let me agree with the old saying, “You don’t need to defend the Bible, you just need to use it.” In Ephesians 6:10-18, every piece of armor except one is used for protection. Items like the breastplate, the shield and the helmet are defensive. But one piece is used for offense, and that is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God!

On the other hand, seekers and followers of Christianity have a right to know the reasons why the Bible stands alone as the one holy book in the world that is completely true and trustworthy. Skeptics can bring up some serious questions that ought to be answered. Great Christian authors from Augustine to C.S. Lewis have provided eloquent answers to these objections to the Christian faith. And today we are fortunate enough to have the ongoing wisdom of many “defenders of the faith” like Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, and Ravi Zacharias.

Apologetics Central lists about 20 of these heroes, and gives some basic information about each one of them and how you can reach their websites and obtain their resources. Many others will be added soon. In addition to the well-known leaders in this field, there are literally hundreds of sites on the Internet that you might want to visit to understand the essence of Christian belief or for help with various questions about evolution, atheism, cults, and other false teaching. We list many of them for your convenience.

Bible Prophecy is just one branch of the immense subject of apologetics. We are grateful for the privilege of starting this project and of sharing it with you. It will grow gradually, just as Prophecy Central has done over the years. Please pray that it will be beneficial to Christians. We would be honored to have you visit the site. And you can click on “Comments” below to give us your reactions and suggestions.

Apologetics Central
http:www.apologetics-central.com

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Posted in Apologetics | 1 Comment »

The Peace Process Is Upsetting the Whole World

January 26th, 2010

Jerusalem, Dome of the rock, in the background...
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Osama Bin Laden’s latest audio tape praised the attempted bombing of an airliner over Detroit on Christmas day. He said that another attack would be “highly likely.” He also directed a warning to President Obama himself that the US must stop supporting Israel. He said, “America will never dream of living in peace unless we live it in Palestine… It is unfair that you enjoy a safe life while our brothers in Gaza suffer greatly.”

Virtually every nation in the world is hoping for some sort of solution to this festering problem that has brought terrorism to their own doorsteps.

Year after year, and plan after plan, the hopes of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians has risen and fallen, always coming short of complete satisfaction to both sides.

There are many tangled issues that make it difficult for the two sides to agree. Palestinian leaders demand that all the land lost to Israel in the ’67 war be returned in any peace settlement.

The Israelis have established settlements of Jewish people in these disputed areas over the years. Approximately 300,000 Jewish people live in these outposts. However, Israel has said they would be willing to give up some of these areas in the process and trade Israeli land to the Palestinians in exchange for the others.

Recently, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s peace negotiator said it is impossible to achieve peace unless the parties change their basic assumptions. He explained that the previous method of negotiations established a premise that “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.” He said he hoped the process would be changed so that whatever is agreed upon is implemented step-by-step.

The most explosive of all these discussions is the proposal to divide Jerusalem and even the Temple Mount in order to give Palestinians the ability to establish their capital there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu objected to the idea. At a Jerusalem Day ceremony in May he said, “Unified Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Jerusalem always has been and always will be ours and it will never be divided again.”

The US, Russia, The UN, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and others have all tried their best to restart the peace process. Meanwhile, the whole world is threatened with terrorism until that elusive peace is established.

It is no wonder that God foretold this great struggle that we are witnessing today:
2 “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. – Zechariah 12:2-3 (NIV)


Osama Bin Laden - US must stop supporting Israel - Chicago Libertarian Examiner
Netanyahu: Settlement blocs are indisputable - Jerusalem Post
Netanyahu: Israel to Keep Parts of West Bank Forever - NewsMax

Posted in Middle East War, Peace, Terrorism | 3 Comments »

Is There An Increase In Earthquake Activity?

January 13th, 2010

The awful death and destruction caused by the earthquake in Haiti reminds us once again that we are very vulnerable to seismic disasters. And it reminds us that earthquakes are one of the Signs of the Times that Jesus mentioned.

Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. - Matthew 24:7-8

Ever since the monstrous 9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia in 2004, people have had a heightened awareness of the danger of seismic activity. That year, the great tsunami claimed 227,898 lives.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), more than a million earthquakes occur in the world each year, but many go undetected because they occur in remote areas or have very small magnitudes. The number of major earthquakes has been relatively stable during the past two decades- an average of 17 per year with a magnitude 7.0 or greater.

Prophecy students debate whether or not there really is an increase in seismic activity in our times. From some perspectives it certainly seems that there is, but scientists remind us that this could also be caused by better methods of measuring and reporting of events.

However, there are actually some new causes for earthquakes in our generation! By 2008 scientists were claiming that man-made earthquakes would be a problem. We have always wondered if nuclear tests could trigger quakes. But even if it turns out that these blasts don’t cause tremors, there are at least five other ways that man-made activity may cause earthquakes: by building dams, by injecting water into the ground (disposal, geo-thermal power), by mining vast amounts of coal, by draining oil wells dry, and by building super-tall buildings.

Last year, scientists in China and the United States blamed a 2008 earthquake that killed at least 80,000 people in Sichuan on construction of the 511 ft-high Zipingpu Dam, which lies just 550 yards from the fault line, and three miles from the epicenter of the earthquake. They believe that the weight of water, and the penetration of water into the rock, could have affected the pressure on the fault line underneath.

In 2004 a now-infamous geothermal project in Basel, Switzerland drilled three miles into Earth’s crust. The project set off a magnitude 3.4 earthquake that affected the whole town and caused the operation to be shut down entirely.

The Bible also teaches that the worst earthquakes ever will accompany the Battle of Armageddon.

Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every Island fled away and the mountains could not be found. -Revelation 16:18-20

Top 5 Ways To Cause a Man-Made Earthquake

Chinese earthquake may have been man-made, say scientists

How Does Geothermal Drilling Trigger Earthquakes?

Posted in Earthquakes | 25 Comments »

Is There a Prayer for Congress?

December 22nd, 2009

As debate on the healthcare bill comes to a head, most Americans are appalled at the corruption we observe in the process. Some of our congressmen are acting like barbarians. A couple of weeks ago Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, compared people who oppose health care reform to those who supported slavery in the 19th century. Last week Senator Al Franken denied the normal privilege of a couple more minutes for Senator Joe Lieberman to finish his remarks. Senator John McCain said he had never seen such behavior in the Senate. And this weekend Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn said, “What the American people ought to pray is that somebody can’t make the vote tonight.”

And now the unpopular, unread bill will go back to the House of Representatives for more drama and embarrassment.

In Fiddler on the Roof, the Rabbi was asked, “Is there a proper blessing for the Czar?” To the oppressed Jews this was nearly unthinkable. But the witty Rabbi said, “A blessing for the Czar? Of course. May God bless and keep the Czar … far away from us!”

The Apostle Paul taught us that we should indeed pray for our governmental leaders. Paul lived under the cruel and godless reign of the Roman Emperor Nero. Yet, by the prompting of the Holy Spirit, he gave us this advice:
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone- for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
- 1 Timothy 2:1-4

When we’re frustrated with our government we should call their offices or send them Email. But we should also remember to pray for them. Right now it would take a miracle for them to make the right decision, but then, that’s what prayer is all about, isn’t it?

Posted in Apostasy | 6 Comments »

One World Developing

December 10th, 2009

Events that people once thought would never happen are now coming together in rapid succession. When I was a young man, my Christian friends and I knew that the Bible taught that one day there would be a one-world government and a one-world religion, but we could not imagine how these things could happen. We thought that Americans, at least, would reject the idea of any kind of super-governmental power. In those days conspiracy theorists spoke in hushed voices about a “New World Order” to come.

During this past year, the worldwide financial crisis has caused great interest in global controls to try to restore stability and prosperity. It is no longer unthinkable for the ordinary citizen to accept the idea of universal governance.

This week two major advances toward the One World ideal have been taking place: one in Copenhagen, and the other in Melbourne.

In Copenhagen the United Nations held a highly publicized Climate Change Conference. The gathering makes another strong argument for the development of a One-World Government. In spite of the release of controversial e-mails from some climate scientists that global warming calculations are not accurate, thousands of enthusiastic delegates from all over the globe met to further their plans to limit carbon emissions and provide up to $150 billion in aid to developing countries to gain their cooperation.

Meanwhile in Melbourne, there was movement toward an eventual One-World Religion. At The Parliament of the World’s Religions, thousands of representatives from 80 nationalities and more than 220 faith traditions spent a week of dialogue about how to increase understanding and cooperation between various religious traditions. They discussed such topics as climate change and the west’s relationship with Islam.

This would be a good time for every Christian to review Revelation, chapters 17 and 18. In the last days there will be a final evil world empire, represented by the beast, and a false world religion, represented by the woman who rides the beast. This will not happen until after the Rapture of the Church, but, in the light of current events, it is not so hard to imagine any more.

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Posted in New World Order | 6 Comments »

The Manhattan Declaration - Be a part of Christian history!

November 30th, 2009

In just one week the Manhattan Declaration has been signed by more than 200,000 Christians. This statement of moral principles for this generation may be as important as Luther’s 95 Theses that started the Reformation.

Evangelical, Orthodox, and Catholic leaders have agreed that Christians must stand firm on the biblical teaching in three areas that are being attacked by today’s declining culture. The issues are:

1. The sanctity of human life. [Issues: abortion, euthanasia]
2. The dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife. [Issue: same-sex marriage]
3. The rights of conscience and religious liberty. [Issue: hate-crime legislation to discredit the Bible]

The Manhattan Declaration directs Christians to stand courageously for these things, regardless of the consequences (persecution and imprisonment), and if necessary, to practice civil disobedience.

Jesus warned that in the Last Days his followers would be persecuted.

“You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. - Mark 13:9

Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. - Acts 4:18-19

You can be involved. Read and sign the declaration.

Christian Leaders Issue ‘A Call of Christian Conscience’ - Crosswalk

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Posted in Persecution | 36 Comments »

2012 and the Apocalypse

November 18th, 2009

The movie “2012” was the ultimate action movie. The special effects were numerous and amazing throughout the show. It was based on the fact that the Mayan calendars end at 2012, and the assumption that this would mean that the Earth would be destroyed at that time.

According to Mayan historians this date would not be the end of the world, but just the end of their long cycle of time based on their study of the stars. The Egyptians had similar beliefs about this cycle. Both cultures were aware of the fact that the position of the constellations changes very slowly over time, due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis. The time it would take for the Constellations to make a complete cycle would be nearly 26,000 years. At the end of that cycle the Earth and Solar System would supposedly be aligned with the galactic plane of the Milky Way.

The movie revolves around the idea that huge explosions on the surface of the Sun, known as Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) will increase because of this alignment of our Solar System with the Milky Way Galaxy. These CMEs might supposedly cause overheating of the Earth’s core and result in worldwide disaster.

“2012” is great entertainment, but it should not be taken seriously either from a scientific or a biblical point of view. NASA, the preeminent authority on space science says that there is no scientific reason for these dreaded events to take place. They have posted a special website to answer questions about the movie’s claims.

In the movie, one person explained that many cultures and religions had come to similar conclusions about the coming disaster. He added that even the Bible agreed – sort of. The truth is, the Bible doesn’t tell the same story. The only biblical evidence given was from the so-called Bible Codes, which has already been discounted by most Bible scholars. The Bible does predict great disasters, such as earthquakes and meteor collisions. But these things will not destroy the Earth. They will be judgments from God, but the Earth will still be inhabited when Jesus returns as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19).

What the movie does do for Bible prophecy is to illustrate how world-wide disasters can develop quickly in the future. It also shows how some of the events of Noah’s flood might have taken place.

The End/ New Beginning - Prophecy Central

Concern About the Year 2012 - Prophecy Central

2012: Beginning of the End or Why the World Won’t End? - NASA

Precession of the Equinoxes - Encyclopedia Britannica

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Posted in Fearful Events | 26 Comments »

Political Correctness Is Just Wrong

November 11th, 2009

Every fair-minded person must agree that prejudice is wrong. Prejudice is pre-judging a person’s character or motives based on his or her apparent origins. The most obvious kind of prejudice is to assume that a person believes certain things or acts certain ways simply because he or she is Black or Hispanic or White. Hopefully, mature people in our generation are beyond this false reasoning.

However, we have a serious new problem. In our effort to be fair, we have a growing set of rules that we call “political correctness.”

The Merriam -Webster Dictionary defines politically correct as “: conforming to a belief that language and practices which could offend political sensibilities (as in matters of sex or race) should be eliminated.”

It appears that the many warning signs that Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan was a dangerous Islamic extremist were ignored by his superiors because of this concept of “political correctness.” The sad truth is that they might have lost their jobs for accusing him of terrorist tendencies.

So the bottom line is this: Prejudice is wrong, but political correctness has become a type of prejudice itself. Therefore, it is wrong and ought to be abandoned.

Politically Correct - Merriam-Webster

Politically Correct - Conservapedia

Senate Panel Conducting Fort Hood Probe Warned of ‘Homegrown’ Threat - Fox

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Posted in Terrorism | 1 Comment »

Terrorism at Fort Hood

November 6th, 2009

The media is playing down the Muslim connection to Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s outrageous attack on fellow soldiers at Fort Hood Texas yesterday. Earlier in the day a video monitor showed him dressed in traditional Islamic attire in public. Witnesses to the massacre heard him shout “Allahu Akbar” as he began his attack.

This story bears close scrutiny in the next few days as the facts come to light

Also read:
Islamic expert Joel Richardson Shooting at Fort Hood

Posted in Terrorism | 4 Comments »

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