How to Choose the Right Church

There are about 4,300 distinct religions in the world. Is there one right one? Are several right? All of them? 

Or none of them?

Is there a way to reason out which ones have a core of truth, and which ones are complete hokum?

Perhaps you think that I’m making an unfair assumption; that in our current politically correct world, no religion should be dismissed out-of-hand. But consider a couple examples:

• L. Ron Hubbard was a starving science fiction writer trying to live on the penny-a-word his publisher paid back in the late 1940s. Reliable sources have quoted him as saying, “The way to make a million dollars is to start a religion.” Shortly thereafter he started Dianetics and the Church of Scientology.
• Rastafarianism was born in the 1930s in Jamaica when a black political activist, Marcus Garvey, told his audience to watch Africa for a black king to come to power. He would be their redeemer. Shortly thereafter, Haile Selassie was crowned emperor of Ethiopia, and Garvey’s followers hailed him as the returned Messiah, the ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah’ foretold in the Bible. They claimed he would never die, and that he would lead black people to superiority over their white oppressors. Selassie was embarrassed by the claim. He died in 1975, but the religion lives on.

How long would it take you to study one religion in order to know if it was the right one? A week? A month? A Year? You aren’t going to live long enough to spend one year, or even one month, studying each religion. Even if you only spent a week on each one, 4,300 religions, 4,300 weeks would equal your whole life. 

There have to be shortcuts. Let's see if we can find some: 

• There are more than a dozen real religions that have their basis in UFO sightings – from Scientology to Heaven’s Gate to the Order of the Solar Temple to Ashtar Galactic Command. I believe we can safely subtract those from the 4,300.
• There are at least 5 major Satanic religions. I’m subtracting those – if Satan exists, he is the antithesis of God, so why would I want to worship him? And if he doesn’t exist... why would I want to worship him?
• Let’s eliminate religions that have come along recently.  By that I mean their teachings, not when their current organization was set up. Scientology was founded on some principles written on a bar napkin in the 1940s. Mormonism is founded on some supposed gold plates that didn’t come to light until the 1830s. In both cases, some of those principles conflict with the proven principles laid out in the Bible thousands of years ago. Wouldn’t God, if He exists, have taught humankind from nearly the beginning of human life how to have a relationship with Him? Wouldn’t such guidelines have been written down, and wouldn’t such writings have 1., substantial proof of age, 2., widespread availability? That eliminates pretty much all the Neo-pagan and New Age religions.
• Can we safely rule out any religion that glorifies a particular individual? No one is so great, so above the rest of us that he deserves adoration. That rules out the cults that formed around Jim Jones, David Koresh, Bagwan Rajneesh, Sun Myung Moon, and Marshall Applewhite. It should also eliminate religions that claim divinity or near-divinity for individuals like Muhammad. Ellen G. White, one of the founders of modern Seventh Day Adventists, is revered so highly by some of her adherents as to be tantamount to worship. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, claimed to be inspired, and his followers seem to agree with the claim, based on no proof whatsoever. The philosopher Siddhartha Gautama came to be known as the Buddha, a title that implies he reached perfection, and millions worship images of the man. 
• By that same rule, we could also relegate to ‘cult’ status those churches of Christianity that worship Jesus. Even though he was in fact a perfect man, nowhere in any scripture does Jesus ask anyone to worship him. There are, in fact, several biblical accounts where he deflects worship aimed at himself. His consistent message to his followers was to worship only God. (John 4:23; John 5:24)
• Can we also assume that God doesn’t need your money? Therefore, any religion that charges fees for its services, any religion that begs for your money is a scam. That eliminates the three richest religions – Catholicism, Islam and Hinduism. It also deletes the Buddhists. One of their primary doctrines is that good monks need to spend their time begging for money. And, of course, it also exposes all those TV preachers with their private jets and supercars and mansions.

What about religions whose practices contradict God's message? With some religions you can recognize the lies and contradictions within minutes. 

Here are a couple obvious examples:

• Some sects of Islam foment terrorism; killing – in the name of “Allah the Merciful” –  any ‘infidels’ who don’t share their beliefs. If Allah is real, and if he is really offended by some humans, wouldn’t he be able to do his own killing? 
• The attack on Ukraine by Russia has been blessed by the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, who considers the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to be an apostate organization, completely contradicting the Bible's principles. (Romans 13:10; 2Timothy 2:23,24) How many religions can you think of that preached their followers into wars, contrary to Jesus' command at Matthew 26:52?
  
• The Catholic Church has been claiming to be God’s representative on Earth for over 1,600 years. For most of that period they have claimed that the pope and, depending on the point in history, the cardinals and bishops, were infallible. Yet if you read their history, it is jam-packed with evil people doing evil deeds.

While their defense is that there are always going to be sinful men, how do they explain shuffling those evil men to other parts of the world to avoid prosecution?  Shouldn’t the Catholic Church have excommunicated:

• The thousands of priests who, over the centuries, molested so many hundreds of thousands of children?
• The hundreds of nuns who enslaved and tortured thousands of women who got pregnant out of wedlock?
• The thousands of nuns, priests, monks and schoolteachers who ripped indigenous children from their homes and in many cases abused them to death in Catholic boarding schools?

If such practices were declared from the pulpit as part of their religion, common sense would tell us they are not the true religion. The fact that those practices directly contradict the book they claim their religion represents, the Bible, proves that the religion should be avoided.

Following all these shortcuts might cut that 4,300 number down to 3,000, 2,000, 1,000, or even fewer. But that is still too many for a person to reasonably investigate in a lifetime.

What is the solution?

Well, if there is one true God, wouldn't He have the ability to reach out to you? What could happen if you prayed to Him, in sincerity, asking for His direction?

Don't trust 'a feeling'. The Bible warns us that our feelings can't be trusted. (Jeremiah 17:9) Don't expect to get a sign or hear a voice in your head. Lily Tomlin famously cracked: "When we talk to God, that's called prayer. When God talks to us, that's called schizophrenia."

But if someone knocks on your door wanting to share a scriptural message, what does it hurt to listen? You don't need to argue, but you should certainly ask them to show you proof of what they are saying. 

When some Mormon boys came to my door, I politely asked them to show me in the Bible the reason for their visit. They didn't have a Bible. Strike One. Then I said, 'As a student of the Bible, I have never encountered a situation where I felt I needed more, newer principles than are in the Bible. So show me one passage in the Book of Mormon that makes me say, 'Wow! This is a great principle that adds to my Bible knowledge.' They both began furiously flipping pages. Finally one of them showed me a verse that said, essentially, 'Woe to anyone who doesn't read this book.' Not what I asked for... 

Perhaps you'll get a handwritten letter or a personal phone call from a religious person. Don't immediately reject it. Read, or listen, and question.  Is the letter or phone call asking you to donate? Reject it. Is someone trying to scare you with claims of hellfire and eternal damnation? God has no need to work that way. Is it an invitation to some church claiming they have a charismatic pastor, or a great choir, or a safe Halloween party? Toss it.

But if the message is positive, if the person who knocked or wrote or called suggests you do your own research to learn more, what do you have to lose by learning more? What does it hurt to hear them out? If they are wrong, you’ll be able discern that. Listening to them won’t hurt you, as long as you do your own research.

It might just be God trying to reach out to you. 

Feel free to leave a comment. All the links above are to other columns I've written on various religions.

Bill K. Underwood is a columnist and author of several books, all available at Amazon.com. You can help support this site by purchasing one of his books. 

Hard Things in the Bible, Part 2: The Antichrist

The word “antichrist” has become a punchline. People have, with absolutely straight faces, claimed that the Antichrist is:

• Donald Trump
• Barack Obama
• Hilary Clinton
• Bernie Sanders
• Mark Zuckerberg
• Bill Gates
• Oprah Winfrey
• The current pope
• Most of the previous popes

... and many, many more.

“Antichrist” clearly makes a handy insult to slap on whoever your current enemy is. But should we be looking for an individual to turn out to be ‘the Antichrist’? Who or what, really, is the antichrist? Since it is a term found in the Bible, it makes sense that we should turn to the Bible to find the explanation. And it really isn’t all that mysterious.

The term is found 4 times in the Bible, all in the letters of the apostle John. Perhaps he coined the word (which is easy to do in Greek) or perhaps it was already in common use in his day. ‘His day’ is something we need to talk about.

John wrote these letters in the year 98 on our calendar. He would have been pretty old by then; perhaps even 100 or more. He addresses those in the congregations to which he wrote as “young children”, which you’re allowed to do at that age. He'd spent nearly 70 years watching the growth of Christianity. He'd also begun seeing a disturbing trend away from the teachings he'd heard straight from the horse's mouth, during the three and a half years he'd spent in Jesus' company.

One of those teachings, one of the things Jesus foretold very clearly, was that true Christianity was going to be polluted and watered down almost immediately after his death. Jesus gave a famous illustration about two roads, two gates:   

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad the road which leads to ruin, and many there are who enter by it; But the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:14, 15)

He was not here describing the difference between say, Christians and Jews, or Christians and Pagans, or even, as the world is currently divided, Christians and Muslims; no. How do we know? Just a few verses later he said: “On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.'” (Matthew 7:22, 23) Jews, pagans and Muslims do not do 'mighty works in Jesus' name'. Jesus was talking about Christians, people calling him “Lord”, who would turn out to be the opposite of Christians – anti-Christians, if you will. 

 

And, he said the fake Christians would actually outnumber the real Christians: "Many" on the broad road, "few" on the narrow road.

He made the same point in his parable of the wheat and the weeds: 

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also...” 

Jesus knew that after he fell asleep in death Satan would begin diluting Christianity with weed-like, fake Christians, anti-Christians. Furthermore, he warned that this would be the case throughout the history of Christianity. “Let both grow together until the harvest,” he said.  (Matthew 13:24-30)

Though they may not have quickly coined the phrase “antichrist”, his apostles clearly understood the warning. Paul showed he understood it: “That day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3) His words harmonize with Jesus’ own, about fake Christians, anti-Christians, being visible, notable on ‘the day’ of judgment.

A person unfamiliar with biblical wording could take Paul’s expression to suggest a single individual, but John makes it clear that “antichrist” is not singular: “. . .Young children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared, from which fact we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us...” (1 John 2:18, 19)

Notice that John repeats the point Jesus made: the antichrists ‘went out from’ Christians. Do you think they called themselves something other than Christians at that point? Of course not! No doubt they contended that they were the real Christians, and John and his friends were the anti-Christians. Jesus’ warning about Christians being misled didn’t say they would start following Buddha or Mohammad; he said, “. . .false Christs and false prophets will arise and will perform great signs . . .” (Matthew 24:24)

So, if you're looking for the antichrist, you need to look among people calling themselves Christians.

Think about the fake ‘Christian’ leaders flying around in their private jets, wearing their royal robes, boasting sacred-sounding titles, claiming that Jesus wants them to have their huge paychecks, pretending to be holy while covering up their decidedly non-Christian behavior and completely undermining Christ’s teachings... those people, individually and collectively, are the real antichrists.

If you follow one of them because, 'She's a powerful speaker,' or because 'His sermons make me feel good,' or 'He heals people', or whatever your reason is, just focus on this: Jesus promised there would be both true Christians and false Christians, anti-Christians, from his death until the end. The Christian groups you see around you all fall into either one class or the other.

If the person or church you're following teaches anything different from what Christ taught, which side do you think they're on? Click here to go to Part Three of this series.

Bill K. Underwood is the author of 3 novels: The Minotaur Medallion, Resurrection Day, and Unbroken, and the non-fiction book 99 Ways to Fire Your Boss, all available on Amazon.com.You can help support this site by purchasing one of his books.

How to understand the hard things in the Bible

If you are a Bible believer, like me, you no doubt have found many comforting passages, and many easy-to-understand life principles. But the bible also contains some things that, as Peter admitted, are “hard to understand.” (2 Peter 3:16) And Peter warned that these things would get twisted.

Over the years, I’ve heard some whoppers:

• The pope is the antichrist
• Martin Luther was the antichrist
• Trump is the antichrist
• The whore of Babylon in Revelation means New York City
• The whore of Babylon is Las Vegas
• The whore of Babylon is the Vatican
• The ‘Mark of the Beast’ will be getting a chip implanted in your hand
• The ‘Mark of the Beast’ is a vaccine

Clearly these can’t all be right. Perhaps none of them are. But if there isn’t a sure way to know, then what use is the Bible? The Bible becomes a joke. 

There is a way to tell. 

Not surprisingly, Jesus own words provide a formula: In his prophecy about the destruction of Jerusalem, he warned his Jewish followers: "When you have seen (to use the language of the Prophet Daniel) the `Abomination of Desolation', standing in the Holy Place --let the reader observe those words—then let those in Judea flee to the mountains.” (Mt 24:15)

His apostles had no idea what he meant by “the abomination of Desolation”. But they were familiar with the prophecy of Daniel; and Jesus’ counsel was for them to carefully observe Daniel’s words. What words? 

Daniel had indeed used similar words. Daniel 9:26 prophesied that “Messiah will be cut off.” Although the apostles hadn’t gotten their head around that idea when Jesus said the above words to them, a few days later, he was “cut off.” No doubt his apostles re-read Daniel 9 very closely after that. Just a couple sentences after describing the cutting off of the Messiah, Daniel said that “on the wing of disgusting things there will be the one causing desolation; until an extermination...” (Daniel 9:27)

By itself, that sentence didn’t enlighten those new Christians very much. But Jesus told them to study Daniel. He didn’t specify which part. Another prophecy in Daniel gave them another clue: “How long will the vision of the constant feature and of the transgression causing desolation continue, to make both the holy place and the army things to trample on?” (Daniel 8:13)

Those Jewish Christians would have easily figured out that the ‘constant feature’ referred to daily sacrifices on the altar in the temple in Jerusalem. “This is what you will offer on the altar: two one-year-old rams each day, continually. Offer the one young ram in the morning and the other ram at twilight... It is to be a regular burnt offering throughout your generations.” (Exodus 29:38-42) And the “holy place” had to refer to the temple itself, real estate that was then and still is considered by the Jews to be ‘sacred ground’. 

So Jesus prophecy told them to watch for something that the Jews considered “disgusting” begin to ‘trample on’ the temple and put an end to the daily, constant sacrifices there.

Thirty-three years went by. The Jews got more rebellious against Rome until, finally, Rome sent an army, complete with portable “idols” in the form of the Legionnaires’ standards – basically, a flagpole topped with a pennant and a gold-plated symbol (such as a lion, wolf, sun, snake, medusa, etc.) that represented each legion. Each soldier literally worshiped his legion's standard, and pledged to give his life for it. They brought these idols right up to the gates of the temple, and they even began tunneling under the wall so that their idols, disgusting things to Jews, were literally standing on holy ground.

That was the sign Jesus had given his followers. It was unclear before it happened. But once it happened it was obvious.

From this example, we learn two vital tools to determining what some of the “hard to understand” things in the Bible mean:

1. Use the Bible to explain the Bible.
2. Prophetic passages may not make sense until the events prophesied are happening.

With this foundation, then, let’s take a look at some of the things we mentioned at the outset: The antichrist; Babylon the Great (also called ‘the whore of Babylon’); the Mark of the Beast, and other hard-to-understand things. We’ll go there in the rest of this series.

 

Feel free to leave a comment. 

Bill K. Underwood is the author of several books, all available on Amazon.com. You can help support this site by purchasing one of his books.

Would Jesus like your church?

Christianity, so called, has changed drastically since the first century.

If Jesus dropped by your church this Sunday, would he be comfortable there? Would he recognize your beliefs? Would he even acknowledge your congregation as his followers?

At the front door he’d likely be met by a man in a flowing extravagant garment, or at least a weird collar. Would he hear you calling this man “Father,”  “Pastor,”  “Reverend,” or some other special title? Would he observe you giving this man special consideration and deference? Perhaps the man has a fancy car in a special parking spot close to the door, or a special seat inside the church.

The Pharisees in Jesus’ day had all these practices, and Jesus wasn’t shy about condemning them for it. Take a moment to read Matthew chapter 23, you’ll quickly see what I mean.

Could Jesus get through the whole service without the subject of money coming up? Would a collection plate be passed? Would the preacher claim that the lord loves a cheerful giver and He needs you to pony up? What would happen when the plate got to Jesus? What would he drop in it? In spite of numerous miracles, including raising the dead, Jesus died broke, owning literally nothing but the shirt on his back.

Or would Jesus pull out a whip and say, “Stop making the house of my father a cave of robbers!” When he sent his disciples out to preach he taught them what to say, but he gave them the stern warning, “You received free, give free.” (Matthew 10:8)

Would Jesus point out to the congregation that he sent all Christians out to preach, not just their paid minister? (Matthew 28:19, 20) Would he find evidence in your church that the parishioners know how to preach the good news of the Kingdom, that they know how to defend their faith with the Bible, that they love to read scriptures to others?

Is there a flag in your church? Or an image of Jesus on a cross? Would Jesus look at them and mutter, "Little children, guard yourselves from idols"? (1 John 5:21)

Would this be the Sunday the padre would tell you how important it was to support your country, to pray for the president or the troops fighting for your freedom? Or would the preacher catch himself just in time, remembering that Jesus specifically told his followers, “Those who take to the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) When asked by the ruler Pontius Pilate about his politics Jesus replied, “My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world my servants would fight.” (John 18: 36)

Christians in the first century certainly understood that. “Early Christians refused to share certain duties of Roman citizens. . . . They would not hold political office.” (On the Road to Civilization - AWorld History, A. K. Heckel and J. G. Sigman)

In his book The Rise of Christianity E. W. Barnes wrote: “No Christian became a soldier. No soldier, on becoming a Christian, remained in military service.”

And the Encyclopedia of Religion states: “The early church fathers… were constrained from taking human life, a principle that kept them from participating in the Roman Army.”

Perhaps Jesus would sit next to that same-sex couple holding hands in the front row, and the preacher would point out how accepting and inclusive and non-judgmental your church is. Would Jesus speak up, perhaps repeating his own words at Luke 17: 28 & 29? “The same was true in the time of Lot; they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building; but on the day that Lot left Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.” 

No? Too harsh? Would you tell Jesus to shut up and sit down and learn how to be more tolerant?

After all, you have this massive church, with thousands of seats. It doesn’t pay for itself. You need people filling those seats, no matter their lifestyle. You have a rock band on stage in front of an enormous stained glass window. Surely Jesus must love this place, doesn’t he? His church has certainly come a long way from the private homes and modest halls in which early Christians met.

At the end of the service, does the pastor direct prayers to Jesus? Even though Jesus himself said to pray to his father? “Our father in the heavens, let your name be made holy,” he said in his Sermon on the Mount. But the preacher acts as if he doesn't even know what the father's name is. Yet Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well: “True worshipers worship the father.” (John 4:23)

As he is leaving your church, perhaps he spies the calendar on the bulletin board. It shows special church events celebrating:

 

• New Year's day
• Valentine’s day
• Easter
• Halloween
• Christmas

He shakes his head as he runs his finger down the list. “Pagan, pagan, pagan, pagan, pagan,” he says. He knows the origins of all these holidays. They were around in the first century. His true followers back then knew to steer clear of them.

They knew all these things. When did Christians forget?

Yet none of this surprises true Christians. The common expression "wolves in sheep's clothing" comes from Jesus' own Sermon on the Mount. The apostle Paul, too, warned of what would happen after the death of the original apostles. "After my going away," he said, "wolves will enter in, and will abuse the flock." (Acts 20:29)

Jesus also warned, in his illustration called 'the wheat and the weeds,' that soon after his death Christianity would be infected in exactly this manner. 

He also described a conversation he will have with fake Christians at judgement day. "'Lord, we spoke in your name, and performed miracles in your name, and practiced many good deeds in your name!' And then I will tell them, 'I never knew you. Get away from me.'"

Bill K. Underwood is a Bible student and author of several books, including three 'bible friendly' novels on Amazon. You can help support this site by purchasing a book.

How We Know the Signs of the Times are Being Fulfilled

200 years ago, when war between England and France spread across half the globe, many believed they were seeing "the Sign of the Times." However, Bible scholars of that generation said, ‘This is not the end. The good news of the kingdom has not been preached worldwide.’ (Matthew 24:14)

150 years ago, Babylon the Great – all the world’s false religions taken as a conglomerate – was so strong she crowned and removed kings, made laws, punished wrongdoers, and collected taxes. (Revelation 18:1-4) Even in pre-Constitution America, churches were given parishes by the state. They too made laws, collected taxes and punished wrongdoers. Today, there are only ten countries remaining in Europe where the state gives money to the church, and every one of those countries gives taxpayers the right to opt out of supporting the churches. In most countries today churches have no power over politicians and little over the people. In the United States there is a law - rarely enforced - against churches influencing elections. There is more and more talk about removing the churches' tax-exempt status. The Bible foretells that the governments will soon turn on organized religion. 150 years ago such a thing was unthinkable. But if religions were outlawed tomorrow there would be very little protest from the general population.

 

120 years ago, people had to be scratching their heads when they read in the Bible that there would be "from heaven great signs." (Luke 21:11) But within 10 years from the Wright Brothers first powered flight, the airplane was being used 'from heaven' to send terrifying weapons to the earth. Missiles and rockets soon followed.

110 years ago, no one would have found it noteworthy for someone or some group to say “Peace and Security!” Peace was the norm right up until World War broke out. When world events in the near future prompt a cry of ‘Peace and Security!’ it will be a significant departure from what we've become used to. (1 Thessalonians 5:3)

100 years ago, if anyone had said, “Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation,” (2 Peter 3:3, 4) it would have been a reasonable question. Anyone who has said it since World War One, however, can be viewed as exactly what the prophecy calls them: ridiculous.

75 years ago, anyone who suggested that man had the potential to ruin the earth would have been locked up in an asylum. (Revelation 11:18) The planet was seen as a huge, self-regulating entity that puny man certainly couldn't harm. That view changed with the detonation of atomic bombs in the 1940s. 

 

When the world calmed down after WWII, people tried to go back to normal lives. But they were shocked out of their complacency in 1962 when Rachel Carson revealed in her book “Silent Spring” that, rather than “Better living through chemistry,” as the ads were saying, mankind’s chemicals were threatening to destroy the earth. 

 

Today no one questions the very real possibility of man ruining the earth.

65 years ago, The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom reached a milestone 100 languages, giving it the ability to serve 85% of the world’s population. The other 15% represent languages spoken by fewer than 10,000 people each, and in most cases those individuals are fluent in other, more common languages. In the years since, however, the number of languages of The Watchtower has continued to grow. 

 

Whether you agree or disagree with the teachings of The Watchtower, it cannot be denied that its message has consistently preached the "good news of the kingdom", as Jesus foretold would be declared. (Matthew 24:14) Today it is the most widely read magazine on Earth. Jw.org, is the most widely translated website on earth, currently in over 1000 languages, available to more than 98.8% of the earth’s population. There is virtually no person on earth whose only language is so obscure that he cannot hear the good news of the kingdom. To put that number in perspective, the official website of the Catholic Church is in 10 languages (if you count Latin). The next largest 'Christian' religion's official website, for the world's Baptists, is in 7 languages. The Mormon website claims 100 languages, though many of them are machine-generated. Few other religions even have an official, worldwide website.

 

That may seem like religious propaganda, but as we pointed out above, when people in Napoleon's day believed they were seeing the sign, Bible scholars pointed to Matthew 24:14 as a roadblock: The Good News of the Kingdom needed to be preached in ALL the earth before the end came, and that hadn't happened. Even as Bible societies proliferated over the next century their message was consistently, 'Join our church' or 'Buy a Bible'; It was not, 'Let me explain the Good News of the Kingdom.'

60 years ago began what has been called ‘The Golden Age of Terrorism.’ Jesus foretold that the last days would be marked by “fearful sights.” (Luke 21:11) According to Greek scholar A.T. Robertson, the word translated fearful sights means: 

“Terrors. This rare word phobêthra is used only here in the N.T. It is from phobeô, to frighten, and occurs only in the plural as here.” 

While it’s true that people could have understood “terrors” in many ways over the centuries, what we now think of as “terrorism” began in the 1960s. The first mass shooting of random people on a campus happened in Texas in 1966; plane hijackings proliferated from the 1960s on; Muslims killed 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics, and held 56 Americans hostage for a year in 1979 and 80 in Iran. Combined with the ‘terrors’ of airliners flown into buildings, nuclear weapons mounted on missiles, satellite surveillance, stealth drones firing rockets, air-borne radiation from broken reactors and other pollution coming down “from the heavens,” we have seen unprecedented ‘fearful sights and great signs’ in our lifetime.

This generation: Jesus said quite explicitly “when you see all these things, know that he is near at the doors…Truly I say to you that this generation will BY NO MEANS pass away until all these things happen.”  (Matthew 24:33, 34) Since the things discussed here have stretched over the past 110 years or so, there could be no one person who saw them all. But the word "you" here is plural. Jesus was speaking to a group - those 'brothers' of his who did see - and understood that they were seeing - the Sign of the Times beginning in World War One. As they aged they also actively shared their observations, and discussed the significance of them, with other younger 'brothers' of their generation. The last possible associates of that generation are now in their fifties or older. BY NO MEANS will they all die before the end comes. 

If you struggle with that concept, here's a perhaps not-very-good illustration: The Star Trek show called "The Next Generation" was set about a century after the original series. The title and the story lines had little to do with the children or grandchildren of the original characters. Rather, the term 'Next Generation' described how this new crew was drastically different - in the thinking, the technology, and the problems they faced - from the original crew. In the same vein, the world we live in today, despite computers, the internet, cell phones, walking on the moon,etc., is the same mess that began in the 20th century. A new 'generation' - with a completely different world experience from what we are living through now - would be what? Flying cars? No. How about World peace, clean air, free energy, food for all? That would certainly be a new generation. But it will BY NO MEANS begin until this generation sees the end of the current drama.

 

Please feel free to leave a comment. To read another of my columns on a similar subject, click here. 

Bill K. Underwood is the author of several novels and one non-fiction self-help book, all available at Amazon.com. You can help support this site by purchasing one of his books.

The UN’s coming attack on Religion, Part 3

In Part One we discussed the unprecedented move of the UN not only in castigating the Catholic Church for hiding its pedophile priests instead of protecting children, but going beyond that and criticizing their doctrines on homosexuality, abortion, celibacy and birth control. It ended with the question, Does the UN have any teeth?

The UN and religion, Part 2

Is the UN a paper tiger? Does it have any teeth?

It is not an academic question. There will come a time when it will need teeth.

A Texan might describe the UN as 'all hat and no cattle.' Sometimes it seems like they can't agree on when to break for lunch. Since its inception the General Assembly has passed over 14,000 resolutions. Unfortunately, nearly all of them have been “non-binding.”

 So basically they are suggestions.

---

The Security Council is different. Their edicts have teeth. They have 15 members, 5 of which are permanent members: France, Russia, England, China, and the U.S. The other 10 are filled in rotation by General Assembly members. Only the “Permanent 5” have veto power.

For most of its existence, that has meant deadlock: nearly everything the U.S wanted Russia vetoed, and vice versa. But not always.

In the summer of 1950 the ambassador from the Soviet Union boycotted the UN because of its refusal to admit Communist China. The U.S. used that absence to pass a resolution and, on June 25, the Security Council began sending UN troops to Korea.

The incident prompted the General Assembly to pass resolution 377-A. 377-A states that, in cases where the Security council is deadlocked in a crisis, the General Assembly may issue any recommendations it deems necessary to restore peace and security.

Since that time, the UN has sent blue-helmet-wearing soldiers on 60 missions, 16 of which are still ongoing. 10 years ago, 36,000 military personnel wore the blue helmet. Last year, over 100,000 did.

The UN doesn’t have a standing army. When they need troops, they borrow them from members. There are two problems with this arrangement:

• Response time: Countries are slow to supply the promised troops – 4 to 6 months, typically; not a good thing in an emergency.
• Loyalty. Borrowed soldiers tend to be loyal to their own country first, to the blue helmet second.

One solution the UN has tried is hiring mercenaries, contractors such as Halliburton or Blackwater. These names may be familiar to you. They have been in the news for their less than ethical record in conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and other places.

There have been instances of these ‘security employees’ kidnapping, torturing, even murdering both combatants and innocent bystanders. When the crimes came to light, their bosses whisked the offenders to another country.

Loyalty is an even bigger problem with mercenaries than with rank and file soldiers. A mercenary’s first loyalty is to his paycheck. His second is likely to his own country. Loyalty to the UN, if it exists at all, would be far down the list.

The UN’s ‘working group’ on mercenaries has, for the past 10 years, been consistently recommending against hiring mercenaries, at least until a mercenary code of conduct is agreed to. Though that issue is still not resolved, they continue to employ mercenaries.

If borrowed soldiers are too slow, and mercenaries are unethical, what is the solution? Many members of the UN believe the solution is for the UN to have its own standing army: soldiers whose loyalty is not to a paycheck, nor to their birth country, but to the UN itself. Watch the news for developments on that front. (Revelation 17:12)

Now, what does any of this have to do with the UN attacking religion?

The UN has a love/hate relationship with religion. They refer to them as FBOs – faith-based organizations.

From the beginning, religion has lent legitimacy to the UN. After World War One, Pope Benedict XV pushed for the creation of the predecessor to the UN, the League of Nations. The Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America went so far as to suggest that the League would be a better peacemaker than God’s Kingdom. Since then, various popes have said:

• “If ever an assembly of men, gathered at a critical crossroad in history, needed the help of prayer, it is this Assembly of the United Nations.” – Pius XII
• It is a “duty of all peoples to accept the autonomous force of the United Nations as an international police.” – John XXIII
• “This organization represents the obligatory path of modern civilization and of world peace.” - Paul VI
• The UN is “the supreme forum of peace and justice.” – John Paul II
• “My presence at this Assembly is a sign of esteem for the United Nations.” - Benedict XVI
• “I look forward to continuing cooperation between the United Nations and the Holy See, under the wise leadership of His Holiness Pope Francis.” – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Another reason the UN loves FBOs is that they are better suited for humanitarian aid. They are often first on the scenes of disasters with medical care, food and water… the UN simply doesn’t do anything fast enough to be useful in an emergency.

But: the UN also hates FBOs. They refer to governments based on a religious text, such as the Koran, as “theocracies,” and they don’t mean that in a good way. They mean that theocracies such as Iran, as opposed to Magna Carta-based governments, are radical and difficult to reason with. In the last year, the UN’s news agencies have pointed out that:

• Christians are slaughtering Muslims in Central African Republic
• Muslims are slaughtering Christians in Pakistan
• Sunni Muslims are slaughtering Shia Muslims in Iraq
• Muslims and Catholics are slaughtering each other in the Philippines
• Buddhists and Muslims are slaughtering each other in Myanmar
• Muslims and Coptic Christians are slaughtering each other in Egypt

A recent study showed that fully one third of the world’s governments, comprising 75% of the world’s population, severely restrict religion. Worldwide, religious hostilities are up 24% since 2011.

Another reason the UN hates FBOs: FBOs meddle. If a special interest group can’t get the laws they want at a national level – issues such as abortion rights, birth control, same-sex marriage, drugs, stem cells – they dub themselves an FBO and take their case to the UN.

In 2008, after studying the problem for several years the UN created an agency called Global Interfaith Network for Population and Development that brought together over 400 different FBOs.

It’s getting out of control. And, as noted in Part 1 of this series, pendulums always swing back. Some in the UN are beginning to see that their faith in Faith-Based Organizations was misplaced. They argue that “religion is too contentious and should not be involved in public life,” and cite the many UN representatives that have been killed in the Middle East, Africa and other trouble spots in the name of “religion.”

There’s another UN-linked threat to religion: The growth in funding for FBOs is threatening the NGOs – non-governmental organizations, such as Red Cross, Red Crescent, and women’s rights groups, that have had influential and lucrative partnerships with the UN. As the FBOs start impacting the NGOs pocketbooks, we should expect to see NGOs lobbying for the UN to turn a cold shoulder to religion.

Finally, the latest accusation is that more than 70% of the NGOs and FBOs working with the UN are ‘Christian.’ So now Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and Jewish organizations are pressuring the UN to correct what they perceive as a bias toward Christian programs.

Can you see how one or more of these issues might finally drive the Secretary General of the U.N. to step up to the microphone and order the destruction of religion, similar to what I fictionalized in my novel Resurrection Day.  

Okay, so maybe it won’t happen exactly like that. But, as we’ll see in the final part of this series, it will happen…

 Read Part One of this series.

Read another of my columns about the U.N.

Bill K. Underwood is the author of several novels and one non-fiction self-help book, all available at Amazon.com. You can help support this site by purchasing a book.