In 2016 I wrote a discernment essay raising troubling concerns about Ravi Zacharias. I noted his slide downward, his praising of Catholic mystics, some untruths regarding his credentials, and his refusal to take a position on whether the Catholic Church is false (saying the two churches have merely ‘doctrinal differences!), creationism vs evolution, the Doctrines of Grace, or most of eschatology.
A Christian Apologists’ job is to take a stance on the doctrines of the Bible and proclaim and defend them, so the refusal to be clear on 40% of the Bible seemed a nonstarter to me. I’d also noted that I had attended a live speech event, and had listened to many of Ravi’s other speeches online. I said that he seemed to me more of a spellbinding anecdotal storyteller and secular philosopher than a Christian Apologist or evangelist. Lots of mentions of Jesus, not a lot of talk about sin, wrath, and repentance.
I wrote later that year that Ravi had spoken at false teacher Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church and called Warren’s church “one of the greatest”. I’d noted that he had also appeared on false teacher Joyce Meyer’s television program, and said Joyce puts out “great Bible teaching.” His partnering with false teachers spoke volumes both about his lack of discernment and his lack of courage.
Two months ago, in December 2020, I updated the situation when the Ravi Zacharias International Ministry (RZIM) itself had investigated their founder (who had recently passed away). They announced confirmation of newly revealed sins Mr Zacharias had performed. RZIM made this preliminary report public. The RZIM organization promised to be forthcoming with the conclusions of their hired investigation ended. I attached the RZIM updated facts to a discernment lesson, here.
RZIM’s hired investigators submitted their final report this past week and what they found was disheartening in the extreme.
I wrote this series in 2011, ten years ago. Things are worse now, as we know. Things have worsened exponentially. So I’m bringing back this series for another round in hopes it might help someone in this decade.
I’ve been mulling over some things about apostasy. This is because in the course of my online and real life discernment and encouragement ministry, I see that the essential doctrines of our faith not only are being eroded “out there”, but also “in here”, in Christian places and in people close to me. I am horrified at the depth and breadth of the erosion of what I believed were the obvious givens. I am grieving over the adherence of many people to the destructive heresies.
We’ve all heard and seen how Grace Community Church led by Pastor-Teacher John MacArthur has continued to meet and preach despite California’s attempts to shut them down, or to enact measures that would be so onerous it would effectively shut them down. They resisted, and have paid the price. The price is literal, there is an accumulation of fines they’ve set aside for the day they must pay it to the government officials, and they’ve paid by having come to the notice of scandal mongers, cacklers, and yellow journalists who smear the church and disrespect the pastor and elders continually.
We know also that there are many other churches that are resisting shutdowns and over-the top infringes on religious liberty in America and abroad. One such church came to my attention when a friend up in Canada sent me the link to their church’s statement on why they remain open and preaching.
Before I share the statement, here is what the Bible has to say about churches and preaching. Paul urged Timothy to “preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and exhort, with great patience and instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:2).
Recently an article was published by a yellow journalist against a well-established, reputable ministry, charging its leader with the sin of wealth, hypocrisy, and comparing him to false teachers. The organization she wrote negatively about is Grace Community Church, Grace To You, and John MacArthur.
There are two issues with the article. One is the brand of “journalism” displayed in the article, and the other issue is whether a well-known pastor or teacher having money or wealth presents an immoral problem in and of itself, which is what the yellow article intimates.
Joyce Meyer is a very popular female Bible teacher and preacher. She has been on the scene for decades, and shows no signs of slowing down. She has 10 offices around the world and employs 500 people. Her brand of charismatic/name-it claim it religion has deceived many. This is sad, but the Bible says that many will be deceived by false teachers. I pray that anything here will spark a further Berean investigation by the reader and through prayer, come to the other side of discernment in understanding why Meyer should be avoided.
Joyce Meyer preached that Jesus was a sinner, had been born again, stopped being the Son of God, paid for our sins in hell (from 1991 Booklet called The Most Important Decision you Will Ever Make), and was tormented there. Meyer preaches a different Jesus. She is a heretic.
Joyce Meyer preaches to men and mixed gender audiences in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12.
Joyce Meyer operated as an associate pastor in a church in violation of 1 Timothy 2:12.
Joyce Meyer preaches that it is normal and expected to hear directly from God, when contrary to her claim, the scriptures claim they are sufficient (2 Timothy 3:14-17), and the Word is closed. (Revelation 22:18-19). Yet she teaches that God speaks individually to people today. Example, in essay “It’s not that complicated” she wrote -“Do you ever wonder if God speaks to people? You’ll be happy to know the answer is yes. But first let me explain how distractions can hinder His voice” and taught more from her book How to Hear from God or in this video.
Joyce Meyer claims she is not a sinner. This is in violation of 1 John 1:8, which says that such people are deceived and the truth is not in them.
There’s more, but these should suffice to illustrate to the reader that Joyce Meyer’s teaching is not edifying.
Please do not allow a teacher’s longevity lull you into thinking they must be good. Please do not allow a ministry’s global breadth to lull you into thinking he or she is good. In fact the Bible says that popularity is often a mark of falsity. (Luke 6:26). The world wants their ears tickled. In 2 Timothy 4:3 we read
For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires,
If you follow Joyce Meyer, please consider these things. Please stay in the pure, undefiled faith, and find some good Bible teachers to follow, beginning with your own pastor and elders at your own church.
The title of this essay is the name of a book by Erwin Lutzer, but I want to explore the concept today. I’d seen a blog recently (I’m sorry, I forget where) but I’ve read the book and combined with the recent blog I’d read, made me think even more about heaven. We should have an eternal perspective and think about our heavenly home as home, and this earth as a temporary sojourn. Because it is. Here is the blurb for Lutzer’s book,
“One minute after you die, you will either be elated or terrified-and it will be too late to reroute your travel plans. When you slip behind the parted curtain, your life will not be over. Rather, it will be just beginning-in a place of unimaginable bliss or indescribable gloom. One Minute After You Die opens a window on eternity with a simple and moving explanation of what the Bible teaches about death.”
I think a lot about heaven. I named this blog The End Time because we are in the end time, and the next event on the prophetic plan of Jesus is the rapture. After that, the Tribulation, the Millennium Kingdom, then the Great Throne Judgment where everyone is judged in front of Jesus, then sent to their final destination in a body that can withstand either the due punishment in hell )lake of Fire) or the glory of the Lord in heaven.
But even before that, the right now times, means that people are dying every day and they are sent to their temporary destination. Let’s be real. There is a hell and there is a heaven.
If a person dies as an unforgiven sinner, if they had not repented of their sins to Jesus and submitted to His Lordship of their life, then they go to hell to be punished for their sins. This happens immediately when a person dies, as in, the body becomes dead. No blood pumping. Yet there is a soul in each one of us, and the soul lives on forever. When the body dies, the soul and body are separated and the soul goes to heaven or hell, with a temporary body (probably) until the time of final judgment at the end of ALL things when you are fitted for a body that will withstand the place you’re destined to dwell. As Lutzer said, you are either elated with boundless joy, or you are distressed beyond understanding, to the point of gnashing your teeth (Luke 13:28) for all of time.
If your destination is hell, you will live in utter darkness. (Matthew 8:12, Jude 1:13).
The newly restored and fortified body will undergo fire for all time. The fire is variously called a blazing furnace (Matthew 13:42), the fire of hell (Matthew 5:22), an eternal fire (Matthew 18:8), unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43; Isaiah 66:24). or tormented with fire and brimstone (Revelation 14:10).
Of course, the people populating the lake of fire are separated from God (but not His wrath). Even while on earth unbelievers are not separated from God totally in their fleshly lives. They receive blessings from Him just by virtue of living in the creation, receiving rain for their crops, being gifted with children, and being sustained in this life for however many days are allotted to them. However, in the Lake of Fire there is no laughter, no joy, ho hope, and no blessing of any kind.
They are an abhorrence to all who see them, (Isaiah 66:24). They are a shame and a contempt. (Daniel 12:2).
On a more joyful note, those who die in Christ arrive in heaven to much brighter future.
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4).
Imagine, a place where there are no tears, no crying, no grief, no pain, and no death. Wow!
The place is unimaginable! “But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
It is a better country and a better city! (Hebrews 11:16)
It is a city where nothing unclean will EVER enter it, nor anything detestable nor anything false! (Revelation 21:27)
The place He is preparing for us is bright, crystal, light glinting off crystal walls and no darkness at all! (Revelation 22:1-5).
The city is pure gold, clear as glass as well as its street! (Revelation 21:18). The walls of this better city are adorned with every kind of jewel! (Revelation 21:19)
The Lamb is present, and we worship Him! (Revelation 22:1-5)
Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32).
What must we do to enter this glorious kingdom, whose designer and builder is God, (Hebrews 11:10) where everything is perfect, where we dwell WITH our savior? First recognize you and I are sinners. We rebel from the moment we are born, even in the womb our very flesh is already saturated with sin. Sin means thinking, saying, or doing anything that breaks God’s Law. He is holy and pure and perfect. We are not. Therefore we cannot dwell with Him. Moreover, He is a just Judge, and cannot let the guilty go unpunished. (Exodus 34:7).
But He is also merciful and loving, and He sent His Son Jesus to live the perfectly righteous life He demands. Jesus was obedient, lived that life, and was sacrificed on the cross. His shed infinite blood atoned for our infinite sins, but even more, He transferred His righteousness to those who will repent of their sins. If we repent of our sins, and claim Jesus as our Savior from that place of torment and darkness, we will live with Him forever. God declared us righteous, He justified us as ‘not guilty by way of Jesus.
Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven.
John 14:6 says, Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1–4).
Heaven and hell are real places, not metaphors. All flesh will dwell forever in one or the other. Please consider these things.
I particularly enjoyed this piece from poet Kay Cude. I hope you enjoy it too. May it encourage you, strengthen you, or simply allow your thoughts to linger on the wonders and glories of our Savior.
I’m watching the Netflix series, The Crown. As she is portrayed in the series, the Queen (Elizabeth II) doesn’t seem approachable, relaxed, or in any way inviting toward friendliness. She is royalty, majesty, remote.
As her TV-husband character put it regarding the immediate royal family, “Everyone in this system is a lost, lonely, irrelevant outsider, apart from the only person person that matters. She is the oxygen we all breathe. The essence of all our duty.”
That’s how we view Jesus as royal king. He is our raison d’etre, the oxygen we all breathe, our sole focus. He is high and lifted up, remote, unapproachable, as a King should be.
It is raining here today and tonight we are supposed to receive snow showers. Here in north Georgia the word ‘snow’ elicits squeals of excitement and also more than a little fear. In other words, it’s rare.
I’m from Rhode Island. I lived through the Blizzard of 1978, one of the worst blizzards that ever fell in America anytime in weather recorded history. I moved to Maine just afterward and stayed for about 30 years. I am quite familiar with snow, and lots of it. I do not squeal with excitement when the forecasters say the word, I groan instead.
My life ln Maine included a lot of snow…
Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, And have you seen the storehouses of the hail, (Job 38:22)
For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the gentle rain, ‘Pour out a mighty downpour.’ (Job 37:6)
But I do love to ponder His creative work. I particularly enjoy His work as Creator. Jonathan Edwards did too. Edwards said,
The end of the creation is that the creation might glorify [God]. Now what is glorifying God, but a rejoicing at that glory he has displayed? ~Jonathan Edwards
Edwards took a horseback ride or a walk every day, and pondered great thoughts, and enjoying thinking of God as creator. Edwards enjoyed the creation he admired so much, and praised God for it always.
It’s hard for me to imagine the infinite capability God has in creating every snowflake differently. If one snowflake is this beautiful, how gorgeous will heaven be?
And even more amazing, He created all the souls on earth that ever were, uniquely and individually. Each person looks different, has different DNA, and a different personality. What an amazing creator God we have!
But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”— (1 Corinthians 2:9)
I’ve had pets continuously for 35 years. Then my last cat, Murray, died five months ago. I was content to take a break from pet ownership and not have any more cats. (I’d had 2 dogs in the 1980s, and my husband had a dog in the 90s, but I discovered I’m a cat person).
I was enjoying, for once, having the apartment the way I liked it. No pet toys to step on. I could put flowers around and they wouldn’t get eaten. Nothing was swiped off any surface onto the floor, meaning I didn’t have to tape my coasters down and I could display my knick-knacks. And best of all I didn’t have to deal with the litter box. Ahhh, peace at last.
I was enjoying the financial release, too. No litter, food, beds, cleaner, or toys to buy, which was better on my weekly grocery budget. Best, were no quadruple digit vet bills. For once I had some discretionary income.
Then one day recently I emerged in the pre-dawn to go to work, and a kitten was on my stoop. He tried to get between my legs and go inside! Stray cats don’t act like that! Nor do feral cats. They’re skittish of people and stay away, hovering in interest at a distance, maybe, but certainly not attempting a home invasion!
I brushed him away with my foot but he followed me to the garage. He ran inside and would not come out. It took a while to coax him out, all the while trying not to run over him when he did. He was meowing. Little, cute scrawny thing. He watched me sadly as I backed down the driveway, huddling against the garage door.
I hadn’t seen this cat in the yard. There are some strays that live under the shed. It’s where Murray lived before I tamed him and brought him inside. A black cat lives there now. There are also some neighborhood cats. A Butterscotch that likes to sit on the roof of the shed and sun himself on the tin roof. An orange cat that’s a bully and yowls around the yard all night. I’d never seen this little gray kitten before the moment he appeared on my doorstoop and tried to come in.
I thought about him during my day. The unusual behavior. The friendliness and willingness to be near people. His little body, a bag of bones, really. He was young, and also a handsome cat.
I was feeling worse and worse about the situation. I decided that when I got home, if he was still there, I’d bring him in. It was obvious to me that the Lord had sent him. Well, pretty obvious, as obvious as you can read into circumstances. I was still dithering, but when I got home I called out all over the yard. Kitty! Kitty! No kitty.
I poked my head out and continued to check periodically. No kitty. After a few hours, it was getting dark, so I tried one more time. There he was! KITTY!!
I went over to him and he about leaped into my arms. He sure was friendly! Also unusual for a cat. Normally it takes some doing for them to be held, but he was purring and loving it all. I could see he was socialized. His tail was mangled and had been bleeding. Deciding to get him some water, I put him down on the patio table and went the few steps to the front door. As I opened it, HE RAN IN.
Now is the time I must concede the point to Jesus. It’s obvious He sent me another cat.
Long story short, the cat was not coming out. He sat there just out of arm’s reach for me to pick him up to get him out. He was in and he was staying. I took a chance and left him, an unknown stray animal, in my apartment while I ran to the Dollar Store just around the corner. I came back with kitty litter, a litter pan, and some food. And a flea comb.
The next morning I called for a vet appointment and they said they had nothing for a week and a half. I was sad because that tail was bleeding and a chunk was taken out of it. Then suddenly they said, “Oh! There was a sudden cancellation just now! We can get you in today.” (Jesus).
The vet said later that it was good to get him in then, because the tail was “broken” and would have become a gangrenous mess before long. They had to amputate. He also has two ear infections and he’s really skinny, but otherwise OK. (They confirmed it’s a ‘he’). It’s been two weeks tomorrow since I brought him home from the vet. He is still wearing his cone and I’m still giving meds for his ear. His hunger and food insecurity make him go bonkers whenever I cook anything in the kitchen or prepare to feed him. I hope that settles down soon, and I think it will. He’ll realize that food is always coming and he doesn’t ever have to go hungry again.
Mulling over this unexpected change in my life caused me to ponder the Lord’s hand in this. I know it is not a huge change. Other people have lost their children to illness or death, have endured dread diagnoses, gone bankrupt or lost their homes, real traumas. Having a cat thrust upon me doesn’t sound like a very big change, especially since I’d had cats continuously since the 1990s. But it is a traumatic change for me, because any change is traumatic for me. Especially unexpected change. Most especially unwanted change.
What have I learned from this? What life lesson is the Lord teaching me? We learn about Him through the Bible, the only place there is inerrant truth. But we do not live in a doctrinal vacuum. We live lives, have things happen, work to please the Lord, and learn from our experiences. The Spirit teaches us from His word, but also from circumstances. Paul was blessed enough to have the Lord explicitly state why he had to go through so many circumstances, (to suffer for His name’s sake, Acts 9:16; and so he would not become conceited, 2 Corinthians 12:7). But unlike Paul, we are not so blessed to have direct correlations about events
Since I’m not so blessed as to have the Lord explicitly tell me why this or that is happening, I have to learn life lessons through circumstances, and go from there.
So far this experience has reminded me (and in a gentle and graceful way) that my life is not my own. My time, my money, and my energy is to be poured out for others. Even if it’s a cat.
Patience…lots and lots of patience. Every time I eat or prepare food I’m literally under siege as he meows, climbs, and tries his best to get at whatever food I’m eating or cooking. I protected the kitchen counter with cardboard covered with double sided sticky tape to deter the kitten from jumping up there, including a hot stove (which he has done). The kitchen is not pretty looking and it’s hard for me to navigate the small space when I have to move the cardboard, wash a dish quickly, and put it away before the cat gets a clue there is a bowl I’d emptied with food somewhere. I mean, he even got up on the counter and tried to eat the steel wool scrubbing pad! I found it on the floor one morning. It had had an oatmeal flake on it. (No, he does not have parasites).
Finances. I think this is the main lesson. Every time I clear a debt or come into money, something happens to force me back. My tooth crown breaks. I pay off the dentist and the day after, my car breaks down. I pay off the mechanic, and the cat gets sick. I pay off the cat bill and the car breaks down again. Literally happens that day or the next day after I clear a big bill. Every time. I used my $1,200 stimulus money to pay off the vet bill from Bert’s last days, and the $600 stimulus came in and went out a week later, to pay for Sully’s tail amputation. I cannot get ‘ahead’ and accumulate a cushion to save my life.
I believe the Lord wants me utterly dependent on Him financially. And you know what? I’ve never gone hungry. I’ve never not been able to pay a bill. I’ve never gotten behind on rent. I live close to bankruptcy every moment. Any little emergency could send me off the cliff. But it never does. I need to remember the Lord is sovereign King over all, but that also He is a good, good father who takes individual and perfect care of His children.
So those are some things happening with me lately. Life lessons, under the sun in a world where the Lord providentially manages the circumstances of my life to the good of those who love Him.
Sully after he ran into my apartment the first evening and laid down at my foot.
the-end-time.org 