I feel the turning and revival increasing soon. When do major movements of Yehovah occur? During times of testing, trial and tribulation. You may hear many people talking about this being the very last days based on the events happening in the world, and specifically in America, right now. While I do feel the end is close, I do not feel it is that close. When you take a look at the events that occur just before and into the Great Tribulation, there is a lot that has to happen before those seven years start. Not to mention what's happening now is not even close to what Christians will experience as the Anti-christ rises and rules.
No, what I feel is this is a final push of our Father before all that occurs. I feel that He desires us to shed extraneous things that are keeping us from hearing and feeling His Holy Spirit. Things that keep us from being close to Him. Things that may lead us astray as the world descends further into darkness, and things that will keep us from hearing Him lead us to safety as this happens.
One of the things that we can do as we have this season of preparation is reflect on our beliefs and doctrines. We can review them to reprove them to ourselves and strengthen them in our mind, or discard ones that we determine are false. This will remind us of our foundation as we enter the times of trouble ahead, and help us identify false teachings as false prophets and pastors arise in greater numbers.
How do we determine if a belief or doctrine is false? Well personally, and I know it sounds odd, but I turn to the scientific method. I know, weird, right? But just hear me out before you close this!
The scientific method is based on logic. I know logic and science has gotten a bad rap, and I don't disagree that today's "science" and "logic" is a backwards, distorted, politically-influenced farce. Science and logic, when they were originally developed, were sound. Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were even believers in God! In fact, logic comes from the Greek word logos, which was translated to "the Word" in John 1:1. Our Father gave us logic for a purpose: to show Himself to us through it, not to "logic" our way out of His existence.
Have you ever wondered about sunsets or rainbows and why they're so beautiful? Maybe not, but I ask you to take a moment to do that now. If you're a believer, think about how wonderful our God is to give us such beauty to enjoy and move us. If you're a non-believer or maybe on the fence, ask yourself why the beauty. You can go all science-y and talk about refraction and water molecules and the angle of the sun, but go deeper than that. If this were a phenomenon that was truly created out of a random confluence of events, why didn't it come out dull? Why did it even result in anything? It could have just ended up that the sun just dipped below the horizon with nothing but a darkening sky, or just shine through water droplets with no color at all. How about the "logic" of believing the universe and everything that is in it, including us, was created out of nothing? That doesn't even follow the scientific "law" of thermodynamics that says energy can neither be created nor destroyed!
Ok, sorry about that side track, but back on the main track! The scientific method involves making a hypothesis and developing and conducting experiments to determine if your hypothesis is true or false. The logical part is that your experiments can NOT tell you with absolute certainty that your hypothesis is true, but it CAN tell you with absolute certainty if it is false. I know that's not what current scientists like to make you think, but that's how the scientific method was developed and properly used it is logically sound. To make an experiment that would prove with absolute certainty that your hypothesis is true would require you to account for all possible variables, even the ones you don't (or can't!) know. Not just variables in your experiment, but in your hypothesis as well.
So how does all that relate to rooting out false doctrines? Well, think of your doctrine as a hypothesis. And think of scripture as your experiments. If you find one verse or passage which, in proper context, proves your doctrine is false, you have your answer. If you find a passage that agrees with your doctrine, keep looking! There are many false doctrines, and even whole denominations, based on being "proven" using one, or a handful, of scripture verses. I've said this a few times, but just as a reminder, all scripture is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and God is true (John 8:26) and unchanging (James 1:17). His truth is in scripture from beginning to end, and it all comes together in one cohesive unit. If a belief does not jive with all of scripture it's false, simple as that.
So I encourage you to take a hard look at your beliefs and re-evaluate them. Strengthen or discard them as necessary. And remember, if you find verse after verse agreeing with your belief, keep looking! In this way, you will always be seeking the truth and be willing to accept it even if it goes against what you previously believed.
Shabbat Shalom and God bless you!
Comments