Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

Authored By  :
Published On :
Last Updated :

NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



As I concluded in part one, contrary to the picture that has been painted by the Roman Catholic Church, Jesus Christ is very much alive and well. He is no longer a baby in a manger, and neither is He agonizing on a Roman Cross. At this current time, He sits -- as a full-grown adult -- on the Right Hand of God, His Father, and He is the second most powerful Being in the entire Universe. Furthermore, it is clear from the Scriptures, that someday Jesus will return to this Earth, in order to rule and reign over it with great Power and great Glory. The Bible informs us that at that time, He will also eliminate all Earthly opposition, and He will rule with a Rod of Iron. As I point out in articles such as "From Armageddon To The New Earth", the Bible has a number of verses which state this very thing, such as the following ones:

"Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."


"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever."


"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."


"Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."


"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."


"And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power."


"And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven."


"And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."


"And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."


"Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God."


"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,"


"Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day."


"And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father."


"And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne."


"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God."


Once the Lord has subdued all Earthly rulers and brought the nations under His absolute control, Jesus will then present the Earth to His Father as the spoils of war; for Satan will have been completely defeated once and for all, as we see by the following verses:

"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."


"Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all."


Returning to our main topic of discussion, of course, I knew that Jesus Christ is no longer dead, but this incident with my daughter emphasized for me once again how important it is that we watch what we say in front of our children, and how we say it. It also made me realize exactly how much she has filled her mind and heart with the Word of God. My daughter just blurted it right out quite naturally, "But daddy, Jesus said 'Before Abraham was, I am'."

In other articles I have stressed how our children are like little spiritual sponges, especially while they are in their formative years. They suck up and absorb everything, whether it is good, or whether it is evil. They can be filled with positive good thoughts from God's Word, or else they can be filled with negative thoughts and ideas from the world. One verse which comes to mind is the following:

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."


To give you an example of the deep, subliminal impact the world has on our children, consider the following. I suffer from certain health problems which sometimes get the better of me. So I was laying on the bed because I was in no shape to be working on any articles. My daughter, realizing that she had a golden opportunity when daddy wasn't busy at his computer, came over and asked if we could play doctor. I conceded, and she began writing down my personal patient data.

Whenever I am tired and exhausted, I sometimes tend to get a bit silly and foolish; so I was giving all kinds of silly answers to her questions. Upon being asked my age, I stated it as being one hundred and fourteen. Upon hearing this, my daughter immediately said, "Why, you should already be in the freezer!" At the time, it was extremely funny, and we both had a good laugh and kept joking about it for a while. At the same time, I was wondering to myself, "Where did she ever learn that?"

To give you a little background so you can fully understand the significance of my daughter's answer, allow me to inform you that at the time that I originally wrote this series in 1998, it had been four full months since we had last watched television; and it was -- and continues to be thirteen years later -- great! We had a major tropical storm blow through our area which completely devastated the room in which the television set was located, including taking out one window with metal storm shutters on it. The television, the VCR, and even the window air conditioner were all thrown to the floor and broken to varying degrees.

Aside from that, even when our television set was working, I tried to monitor my daughter's viewing as much as possible. That basically meant watching just one educational television channel; and even then, it was still full of Satan's lies and deceptions concerning EVILution. So upon asking my daughter where she had learned about dead bodies in the freezer, she informed me that she had seen it on an American hospital drama called "Chicago Hope".

As far as I can remember, at that time, it had been several years since I had last watched that TV program. I simply no longer have the time for, or the interest in, such things. I am growing old, and time is too short for me to indulge in such wasteful activities.

To continue, according to my daughter, two years earlier, in 1996, while I was watching "Chicago Hope", she saw a doctor slide out a freezer; and there was a frozen corpse in all of its ghoulish glory. Imagine; this happened two years prior to the time of her funny reply; yet it had obviously left an indelible impression on her memory. This clearly demonstrates how impressionable young children are. It reveals how quick they are to absorb things, whether they are good, or whether they are evil. While "Chicago Hope" seeks to highlight the love, valour and sacrifice of those who try to save lives, at the same time, it contains its share of blood, guts and gore. Perhaps I should thank the Lord that this occurred on a medical program and not on one of those violent cop shows! I am reminded of the following verse:

"Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths."


Having shared the above incident with you, imagine now how most young American children are constantly bombarded on a daily basis, at school, at home and during playtime, with the wicked lies and evil influences of Satan. Tragically, just as I explained in part one, he is waging a great battle in their minds, and in most cases, I would dare say that he is in fact winning. Stop to consider how much their personalities, their way of viewing the world, their manner of reacting to others, their thoughts concerning God and Truth, their way of dealing with their problems, etc., have already been influenced -- and most likely already permanently shaped -- by the things which they have seen, heard and been taught at such a tender age.

Parents of the world who don't know the Lord, and who have children who don't know the Lord, have a good reason to be alarmed. Because of their rebellion against God and His ways of love and peace, they are breeding a generation of violent little monsters whose consciences have been seared with a hot iron, to the point that some of them no longer even know how to recognize or understand the difference between right and wrong. Personally, it took me a great while to recognize and accept this fact. It just didn't seem possible to me, but it is indeed true.

I am reminded of how the Apostle Paul informs us that even if we were never properly instructed regarding what is right and what is wrong behavior, God has still seen fit to write His Laws upon the tables of our hearts. This is what some people refer to as the voice of our conscience. Paul writes:

"For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)"


On the other hand, consider also the sober warning which Paul issued concerning the spiritual conditions which would exist during the Latter Times, that is, the Endtime:

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth."


In the previous verse, the word "seared" is derived from the Greek word "kauteriazo". Pronounced kow-tay-ree-ad'-zo, it is from this ancient Greek word that we derive our English word "cauterize"; which means to stop a wound from bleeding by applying a hot instrument. As a result of performing this technique, what often happens is that the nerve endings are numbed. In other words, they become deadened so that one can no longer feel anything in that part of their body.

So what the Apostle Paul is actually saying in the previous verses is that in the Endtime -- which is the time in which many Christians believe we are now living -- some people's consciences will become completely numbed to the conviction of God's Spirit speaking to their hearts. They will become so spiritually dead, that they will be like walking zombies. They will become as stiffnecked and resistant to God's Spirit as the unbelieving Jews of two thousand years ago, of whom the martyr Stephen said the following right before those very same people stoned him to death:

"Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye."


In his Epistle to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul made very similar remarks when he warned the Christian brethren there to not be like their spiritually blind, calloused countrymen, who foolishly worshipped the false love goddess, Diana, and who stubbornly resisted the Spirit of God speaking to them, through the preaching of the Christian Gospel. Paul wrote:

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness."


Sadly, it seems to me that this is exactly what the so-called Christian United States of America is breeding today; that is, a generation of children, many of whom are totally darkened in their understanding of the Lord; who are totally alienated to the life He can offer them; who are totally blinded to His ways of peace and love; and who are totally past feeling when it comes to committing acts of unimaginable violence. Some of these kids have actually said that they didn't know that what they were doing was wrong. As I stated earlier, when I first learned about this, I just couldn't believe it. How can this possibly be? The answer is shockingly simple. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said the following:

"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."


The children who commit these terrible acts of gun violence, who don't want to have anything to do with Jesus Christ, are the rotten fruit of a generation of adults who have likewise turned their backs on the Lord. They are the wicked spawn of a generation of adults who, because they do not know the Lord themselves, have not been able to plant the Seed of Faith in their children's hearts and minds. As a result of their own failures, these backslidden parents are losing the spiritual battle. Because they do not know the Lord, and because they have not taught their children about the Lord, and because they have not even given their children the godly discipline that they require, these rebellious, materialistic, ungodly, secular, humanistic parents have now reaped exactly what they have sown. This is a Divine Principle which simply cannot be ignored. Consider the truth of the following verses:

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."


"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap."


"He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels."


"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."


Because these parents have sparingly sown the Seed of the Word of God in the lives of their children, if at all, they are now reaping the negative consequences of their inaction. Some of them have watched in horror as their children have grow up to be both mentally and spiritually unbalanced, even to the point of having a sick fascination for evil, violence and death; and apparently with no respect and little regard for the sanctity of human life.

This tragic development in America is clearly reflected in their attitudes, in their style of dress, in the kinds of music they listen to, in the alarming increase in teenage suicides, etc. If you think that my view is extreme, then consider the terrible tragedy involving gun violence that occurred at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas, U.S.A. during the last week of March 1998. Following is a short news clip from CNN, the Cable News Network, which is based in the United States Of America:

----- Begin Quote -----

"Two male cousins, 11 and 13, wearing camouflage and hiding in the woods nearby, opened fire on their classmates on Tuesday as they assembled outside during a prank fire alarm. Four girls were killed. One teacher died in the hospital. Eleven others were wounded, including another teacher. Police caught the two suspects as they were running from the scene. Because the suspects are juveniles, they cannot be prosecuted as adults under Arkansas law, officials said. The ATF says it will trace the weapons."

----- End Of Quote -----

When a pre-teenage boy, and another boy who has just become a teenager, are not only able to obtain weapons and live ammunition, but are also able to walk to a public school area, dressed in camouflage, and freely open fire on their fellow classmates in a planned ambush, it is obvious that something is terribly and seriously wrong in America. In the Book of Proverbs we find the following verses:

"The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother."


"Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father."


I have no doubt that the parents of these two boys must be going through a lot of emotional turmoil right now, and must be terribly ashamed by the cold, calculated actions of their children. How are they possibly going to be able to answer to the Lord for their dismal failure to train their children properly? Imagine; the lives of these two young boys are now stained with cold-blooded murder! They and their parents are scarred for life, and the families of their innocent victims are also scarred for life. If I were the parents of one of those two boys, I would probably want to leave town as soon as possible just to avoid the embarrassment!

How did the American president react to this terrible event? While he obviously expressed grief and shock, in another CNN news clip, U.S. President Bill Clinton, who happens to be a Southern Baptist, stated in part that he did not understand the "dark force" that led to the tragedy. Rather than use the incident to shock and wake up America to how far she has gone from the Lord, Mr. Clinton simply said that he did not understand the "dark force" which motivated these kids to do what they did.

What a terrible, man-pleasing compromise! I dare say that there are probably very few true, Bible-believing Christians reading this series who don't realize what that "dark force" is, or why these tragedies are happening in America. But, as the old saying goes, a country gets the leader that it truly deserves; just as backslidden Israel was given rebellious King Saul when it too turned against and abandoned the Lord.

To further emphasize how dangerous some American teenagers are becoming, and apparently how easy it has become for some of them to obtain lethal weapons, consider the following CNN news report regarding another incident involving gun violence that occurred in the state of Idaho. Can there be any doubt that America is in serious trouble?:

----- Begin Quote -----

"A standoff Thursday at a Pocatello, Idaho, school for troubled youths, begun when a 14-year-old boy pulled a gun on the principal, ended peacefully when the boy surrendered nearly five hours later. The principal escaped unharmed, no one else was hurt and the boy walked out after trading his two handguns for cigarettes, pizza and soft drinks. Police said the boy had fired a shot into a wall or ceiling."

----- End Of Quote -----

Here is another CNN report concerning a high school shooting which occurred in Kentucky in December of 1997. This tragedy involving gun violence also left three girls dead. As with the previous incidents, the shooter was another teenager:

----- Begin Quote -----

"A 16-year-old girl who was the most seriously injured of the survivors in a Paducah, Kentucky, high school shooting rampage has returned home. Missy Jenkins was paralyzed from the waist down in the December 1 attack that left three girls dead. She spent the last seven weeks recovering in a Lexington hospital. Michael Carneal, 14, is charged in the shootings."

----- End Of Quote -----

While one truly hopes that this teenage gun violence would come to an end, such does not appear to be the case. CNN also reported the following shocking incident involving another fourteen-year-old with a gun, which occurred on April 24, 1998. Like previous incidents, this tragedy has left another teacher dead, and two students injured:

----- Begin Quote -----

"A 14-year-old-boy fatally shot a teacher and wounded two students at an eighth-grade dance in northwestern Pennsylvania Friday night, authorities said. After firing the shots, the boy fled the dance hall until the owner caught up with him in a nearby field, police said. The suspect, an eighth grade student at J.W. Parker Middle School, is now in custody and state police are preparing a murder charge against him. "It seems we are now joining a growing list of communities that have had to deal with this type of violence," a police spokesman said."

----- End Of Quote -----

Only two days after the above incident, the Cable News Network released yet another shocking news report; this time involving a four-year-old and a six-year-old. Neighbors say that at the time of the accident, it appeared that the two toddlers were playing toy guns. Sadly, it wasn't a toy gun whatsoever, and one boy was shot dead by the other:

----- Begin Quote -----

"GREENSBORO, North Carolina (AP) -- Two boys appeared to be playing their usual game of pretend gunplay when a 4-year-old boy fatally shot his playmate on his sixth birthday.

Carlos Gilmer was shot in the neck Saturday at the home of his godmother, Beulah Lindsay, who took care of him. The younger boy is Lindsay's grandson, who visited her home regularly.

Authorities said the boys found the .38-caliber pistol in a purse in the house."

----- End Of Quote -----

In my view, the blame for such incidents can only be placed on the shoulders of the stupid, irresponsible, negligent parents. How could they possibly have left a loaded handgun in an area which was easily accessible by a four-year-old? Personally, I even find the idea of children playing "play guns" revolting. If it were within my power, I would remove every single toy gun, toy soldier, jet, laser robot and any other violence-oriented toys, completely off of the shelves of American stores. I would make it illegal to manufacture, purchase, sell or possess such demonic inventions. Sadly, we all know that this is never going to happen.

As far as I am concerned, from the manufacturer who is out to make a profit, to the Saturday morning advertisers who unscrupulously brainwash children into wanting to buy their violence-oriented toys, to the stupid parents who actually waste their money by purchasing toy guns, they are all guilty, guilty, guilty! And then they wonder why children grow up and do the things that they do! What insanity!

Please go to part three for the conclusion of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

Click or Tap Icons to Share! Thank you!

---

---

Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.