Wednesday, January 18, 2006

God, the Author of Confusion

God, the Author of Confusion?



After the Twin Towers fell in New York mankind lifted their hands in despair. Some were terrified beyond human comprehension and asking the question why did this happen? Can you even imagine the thoughts as they stood in their offices going about their daily business? They must have wondered if this was the beginning of Armageddon and the world was coming to an end. Book stores everywhere were reporting an all time sales high of end time prophecy books.

The world is fascinated by the end of the world topics such as the battle of Armageddon, the Antichrist, the Beast and his number, 666. Lies concerning these end times have been passed down for years. Some of these end time subjects don’t have anything to do with our end times in the 21st century. Did you know that there isn’t just one Antichrist there are many? Do you also know that the battle of Armageddon isn’t a physical type of battle that will take place at the end of time? Do you realize that Christians fight the battle of Armageddon everyday? These are not the most popular views however you can see that they differ.

The statement has been made that the Bible is so full of conflicting assertions and contradictions that it is impossible to comprehend. Society is confused because there are so many different doctrines you don’t know which one to believe. So if we are saying there are no contradictions in the bible then how do you figure out who is right and who is wrong? One of the best ways that I found is outlined in my book End Time Secrets. To begin with you have to know when it was written, the audience, who it was written for and to as well as knowing under what conditions it was written. Just like any story if you can use the what, when, where, why and how that you learned in school it makes it easier to understand. The Bible being a puzzling book to some degree each chapter is in complete harmony with one another. To know who is right or wrong the doctrine cannot disagree with the purpose of the Bible as a whole. If a person, doctrine or theory disagrees with any point then one or all could be wrong.

It’s no wonder that the world is in a constant upheaval about Christianity. There are so many denominations no one knows who or what to believe. I don’t think that God intended it to be this way. In New Testament times there weren’t all the denominations that we have in our present day. There was only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. Ephesians 4:5. Today we have many faiths, churches all teaching something different, creeds and baptisms. God is not a God of confusion but of peace. I Corinthians 14:33. The 1st century Christians were instructed by the apostle Paul to agree and that there were to be no divisions among them but yet there are so many divisions today. I Corinthians 1:10. The problem is if the early Christians were told to agree is it possible today in the 21st century? The point I would like to make is if it isn’t God and the Bible, then who is the author of confusion.

The confusion is going to continue until Christians get back to the basics. Some believe a certain way because that’s the way they have been brought up or it’s the popular viewpoint. Christians need to start examining the church they attend as well as their own beliefs. They shouldn’t just accept something because that’s the way everyone believes about a subject especially concerning end times. End time type of preachers has some scared into a tizzy. When something is said you should be like the Christians of Berea as described in the book of Acts. They took the time to search the scriptures to see if what they were being told was true. Acts 17:11. The apostle John also said to test the spirits to see if they were from God. He says to not believe everything you hear. I John 4:1. In other words examine what you are being told and if you cannot find it in the scriptures then it has to be rejected. In first century times they foretold the fact that Christians would fall away from the faith and find teachers who would preach what they wanted to hear rather than what the truth is. I Timothy 4:1-5; 6:3-4; II Timothy 4:1-5.

I challenge you today to start examining your beliefs as I do everyday. Having an open mind to the possibility of being wrong will be the hardest challenge. If you can overcome that then I am sorry to say it’s still uphill from there but at least the hardest test will be over. When examining scripture don’t twist it to make it agree with what you believe but rather read it to understand what to believe. Using a lot of common sense goes a long way. Lastly don’t take my word for it get your paper, pens, highlighters and examine the scriptures also everything I have said as well. Come now and let us reason together. Isaiah 1:18.


CF. Bettridge is a writer for http://endtimesfact.com

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