15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Experts in Bible prophecy, in observing events on the earth, believe that the signs of this occurrence have been fulfilled; one of the most notable being the regathering of Israel as a nation. It is said that Israel is a barometer to which we can look and see how God is setting up the events to occur during a period of great tribulation before which the Church will be taken by Jesus to meet Him and to be with Him. We can be watchful, full of anticipation for what Jesus will do, according to the Bible.
Jesus teaches that we are to be faithful and watchful until He comes. We are to "occupy," as the Bible says, which means that we are to continue to live a life of obedience, in anticipation of His coming to take His Church to be with Him. Jesus said in Luke chapter 19:
11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.
12 Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.'
A cult leader in Kenya certainly twisted those concepts, leading followers into a lifestyle predicated on fasting and waiting for the Lord's return - resulting in the deaths of over 100 people. The Christian Post reported last week:
The Kenyan cult preacher, Paul Nthenge Mackenzie of the Good News International Church, appeared in court on Thursday, accused of encouraging followers to starve themselves to death, the BBC reported.
The BBC spoke with Stephen Mwiti, who believes his wife and their six children disappeared into a thick forest which has become the headquarters for this cult group. The Post article said:
The police raided the Shakahola forest last month after receiving information about “ignorant citizens starving to death under the pretext of meeting Jesus after being brainwashed” by Nthenge. Six of Nthenge’s associates have also been arrested in connection with the case.
The cult established a new Holy Land, partitioning the area into villages named after biblical locations, the BBC said, adding that Mwiti learned from escaped children in police custody that his wife and children had died. While their bodies have yet to be identified, Mwiti is certain they starved to death in the forest.
As of last Friday, there have been 110 confirmed deaths, and authorities believe that it could increase. Apparently, followers were commanded to fast and wait for the return of the Lord. There is evidence that those who wanted to leave the group were beaten. The article says:
Former church members have claimed they were forced to starve as part of their adherence to its teachings.
BBC quoted Titus Katana, an escapee, as saying that those who tried to leave the cult were branded as traitors and violently attacked. He also suggested there was an order in which people were supposed to die, with children being the first to go.
As for Nthenge, the BBC article states:
Pastor Mackenzie was arrested in March when two children were found dead in Shakahola. He and their parents were accused of starving and suffocating them before burying them in the forest.
However, he was released for lack of evidence.
He is now back in custody but has not commented on the charges of murder, radicalisation and threatening public safety that he faces.
President William Ruto has promised to set up a commission of inquiry into what happened but the authorities themselves face tough questions. Not least about what took them so long to figure out something was going on.
Around the end of April, according to the BBC, "the Kenya Red Cross reported that 410 people, including 227 children, who were thought to have some connection to Pastor Mackenzie's church, were missing."
The Christian Post also related that, "In a similar incident last July, police in Nigeria rescued at least 77 people, including 23 children, who pastors had ordered to stay in a church basement and wait for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ."
These unfortunate incidents remind us that there are those who, for whatever reason, notably power and control, put others into bondage and force them in the name of spiritual practice to do remarkably unspiritual things. Jesus took on the Pharisees for adding to the Scriptures by placing excessive restrictions on them. We can be mindful to make sure that we steer clear of legalism and follow the Word first.
Nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to find 40 acres somewhere and wait for the coming of the Lord. Or go up on a mountain to await the rapture. There is a world that desperately needs to hear the message of salvation, of a Savior who came to earth once, purchased salvation for us, and will come again, meeting His Church in the air, and later coming to judge the earth and create a new heavens and new earth. A question for each of us is: are we ready? We can also consider the extent to which we are truly "occupying," being good stewards of the space to which God has called us and shining the light of Christ to people who need to know His love.
No comments:
Post a Comment