Volume 26, Issue 1 _________________________________Bible Prophecy Ministry
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On the recent Papal visit to the Holy Land, the Pope
stated that all religions are a blessing, and necessary for
the purpose of building a commonality among mankind
for the purpose of building an ideal and peaceful world,
where people of all creeds and religions can find dignity
and freedom.
Now, I fully realize that peace is a noble venture, and
that the brotherhood of mankind is a very commendable
endeavor, but the fact remains that God has commended
the only possible means for men to live in peace.
The Pope has utilized the apology to Israel to allay
Jewish concerns over proselytization. Rome has not only
compromised the gospel of Christ by officially according
Islam as a legitimate entryway to Heaven; but has given
a commendation to Judaism by stipulating that Jews
have no need of conversion.
The recent controversy over Southern Baptist efforts
to reach out to Jews with the true Gospel is by Roman
Catholic standards an insult to Jewry, and an intolerant
attitude towards a fellow legitimate world religion.
I cannot overstate the significance of the Pope's recent
efforts in attempting to provide an environment for the
mutual harmonious religious tolerance and acceptance of
the three major Middle East monotheistic religions. Those
efforts constitute an attempt to build a Heavenly Tower
in Jerusalem, with a new Temple on top!
I have witnessed for several months now a growing
comradeship among many of the world's religious elite!
Over the Christmas and New Year's holidays, prior
to the Pope's visit to the Holy Land, I was astonished
at the many millenium religious conferences attended
by many well respected religious leaders, which spoke
in glowing terms about Inter-faith endeavors.
The World's Parliament of Religions expressed that
God is truly transcendant and embraces all the worlds
religions as one. Those religious leaders were in accord
that religions should stop trying to convert peoples of
different religious faiths, because as Mr. Schuller stated;
we have lost humility and disregard for the values and
positiveness all faiths possess.
That sounds to me as a far distant cry from what
a man named Jesus said nearly 2000 years ago when
he said "No man comes to the Father, but by ME"!
The Lord God of Heaven came down to that early
crowd of Tower builders working jointly to manipulate
the entryway into heaven and scattered them to the
far flung corners of the earth. The next visitation from
God to man's new tower will not result in a scattering
but in a trampling display of righteous indignation!
Ezekiel 34 announces a dire warning to Shepherds
that point the sheep in pathways of falsehood.
Job 5:12 He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so
that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
Luke 1:51 He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath
scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
While the world's religious leaders consort amongst
themselves seeking to build a more harmonious village
of utopia for mankind to enjoy his own individual idea
of self dignity and security; the one true God of heaven
watches their building endeavor to construct a stairway
to his heaven without any credence being given to the
single solitary message that God has already built man
a pathway into Heaven; by sending his only begotten
son to live among mankind for the express purpose of
pointing out the Only way to get there!
Did not Jesus say: "I am the way"?
Man cannot in a million years ever build enough
towers, nor build even one single tower high enough
to gain even a remote distant glimpse of God's glory.
There is a very dangerous philosophy prevalent out
in the religious world today which is forging a strong
foothold even within evangelical Christianity; and that
idea is that Christians ought not be so snobbish
as to condemn any other religious teaching about how
one gets into heaven. Todays churches are now being
taught to accomodate, or to be open minded to other
avenues pertaining to the entryway to Heaven.
Some one has accurately stated that God did for
man what man could not do for himself. Immanuel
was the name God appointed for his son; meaning;
"God is with us". Because of the futilty of building
towers into Heaven; God came down to earth, lived
among men and built a tower from Heaven down
to man.
Psalms 18:2 says: The Lord is my rock, and my fortress,
and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
my Buckler, and the Horn of my Salvation, and MY HIGH
TOWER!
Why can't mankind see that the only Tower man
needs to get into Heaven has already been provided?
The Devil seems to have incorporated a mass media
campaign to enslave men into building a tower for
Satan to climb up on top of.
Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a sure Tower;
the righteous runneth unto it, and is safe!
There is only one name under Heaven which is a
strong enough Tower to get men through the Gate
of God. That name is Jesus, which eliminates all other
names or towers! Jesus has done all the building that
needs to be done. Man can choose to accept Gods
way to Heaven or rely on building his own tower.
And not one single person has ever gotten there by
building his own tower!
In Luke 14:28 Jesus himself told us a story about
building towers:
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not
down and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to
finish it?
Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not
able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to
finish.
I think it is very ironic that Jesus told this Tower
story immediately after teaching the multitudes about
the great feast and the cost of discipleship.
Many had been invited to the great feast, and yet
began to make excuse as to why they couldn't attend.
Jesus concluded that none of those who were bidden
to his feast shall not taste of his supper. Then, in verse
27 Jesus announces that if any man does not come to
follow after him, they could not be his disciple.
At this point Jesus began to talk about a man that
sought to build a tower! No doubt Jesus was thinking
back to Babel and man's efforts to build a tower into
Heaven, and used that analogy to point out the futilile
attempts of mankind to work his way into Heaven!
In the course of one's life all must inevitably come
to the point whereby he must seriously analyze his own
case for entry into Heaven. For a christian; God grants
his assurance of passage through the Gate of God when
that person accepts Jesus as his propitiation for sin. The
Tower of assurance was built by the Lord himself, as he
personally lives within each of his own.
For those people who have no assurance of gaining
access through God's Gate, surely at some point in time
they must place a faith in either the advice of religious
priests, or they must expect that their very own work at
building individually his own tower will be sufficient to
storm through the Gates of Heaven!
The foundation of such prideful towers will not hold
even the weight of the individual; let alone sustain the
massive weight of needing to do what Jesus already did.
Psalms 61:1-3 Hear my cry O God; attend unto my prayer.
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my
heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than
I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong Tower
from the enemy!
In these last days, prior to our Lord's second coming
all Christians need to be on guard against the religious
efforts of Satan's False Prophets to entice men to come
together in unity with all faiths; and work together to
build cities and towers that portend heavenly sounding
themes!
Remember, Satan is logistically scheming to place
his Antichrist on top of a new Babel Tower!
Copyright©2000 |
In today's modern world, the efforts of building a
Tower to Heaven takes on a much different form as
the gospel message also now is in a different form. In
Hebrews 1:2 we are informed that God spoke in time
past to the ancient Hebrew prophets, but today that
word is conveyed by Jesus himself. Prior to the times
of the prophets God spoke by other methods, perhaps
even through the message of his creation as has been
suggested. Whatever method of speech, or teaching has
been utilized of God to preach the gospel; there has
always been one constant adversary of the Truth; and
that would be the Old Liar himself, the Devil! Satan has historically sought to keep the Holy Bible
out of the grasp of the people. The days known as the
"Dark Ages testify to that effort by the Popes of Rome.
Beyond that failed attempt, Satan has schemed to erect
his own Towerly Priesthood to misinterpret the Gospel
message of God! 
When religious leaders theorize among themselves,
and find it fashionable to compromise with any other
system of faith, they ignore the ultimate question of
whether or not that compromise will lead to finishing
the course of human endeavor to reach Heaven.