A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR JACK VAN IMPE

We want to continue our study this week dealing with the coming peace in Israel and the world.

Peace in the Animal World

Even the animal world will be at peace with man. Both Jews and Christians knew the terrifying experience of fighting lions to entertain the Romans. During the reign of the Prince of Peace, the enmity between men and animals will be removed, creating conditions similar to those that prevailed before the Fall:

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’ den (Isaiah 11:6 — 8).

Economic Peace

The Millennium will bring economic peace. Because of their business ability, the Jews have been the scapegoat for the economic ills of many nations. Their success has given birth to envy and their skill in handling money has often brought them grief. Hitler’s excuse for the holocaust was in large part the claim that the Jews had monopolized the wealth of Germany. Few have recognized Jewish prosperity as the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham as recorded in Genesis 12:1 — 3.

The kingdom of Christ will sweep away all economic conflict and will provide fair and enjoyable working conditions. Strikes by workers and oppression by employers will be unknown. Food will be plentiful and there will be sufficient housing for all:

And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them (Isaiah 65:21 — 23).

There will be religious peace during the Millennium. The depravity of man is demonstrated in his countless cults and fighting factions among those who claim to be the people of God. Jewish blood flowed in the Rhine Valley from the swords of zealous Crusaders who t hought their killing was in the will of God. The Spanish Inquisition preyed on both Jews and Christians in the name of the church. Religious persecution has come from religious rulers as often as from atheists in power.

The kingdom of Christ will find Jews and Gentiles worshipping the Lord together. There will be no mistake about the identity of the Messiah and Savior. He will be known as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and all people will praise and honor Him:

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious (Isaiah 11:9,10).

And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted (Isaiah 12:4).

The Jews will experience peace with God in the coming kingdom. Scattered and chastised for generations, these troubled people have wandered and wept, not knowing that peace with God lay but a step of faith away. Their brother Paul had written: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). He longed for them to know the peace he had found in Christ. Most missed it then, but there is a Jewish revival in the future:

For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them (Ezekiel 36:24 — 27).

Peace in Their Own Land

Finally, in Christ’s coming kingdom, the Jews will be at peace in their own land. It will have been a long journey. The promise of this Jewish homeland was first given to Abraham (Genesis 12:1 — 3), and it has echoed through the centuries. Sometimes the Jews have embraced it and possessed their land. Heroes like Moses, Joshua, and David each had their day in approaching, conquering, or ruling that promised property. Too often their descendents have been disobedient and have suffered defeat and captivity as a result.

The return of the Jews to their land was painful and full of dangers. Their survival in the face of almost certain annihilation must be called miraculous.

Hungry for peace and security, they will make an agreement with the treacherous final world dictator, the Antichrist that will promise protection and tranquility. The treaty will be broken after three and one-half years. And the forty-two months that follow will decimate their land, destroying the fruit of their long labors.

Still, peace will come to Israel. The promise of the prophets will be fulfilled. The Jews will yet dwell in peace in the land of their fathers:

And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God (Ezekiel 36:28).

And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God (Amos 9:15).

Apart from prophetic revelation, one might doubt that lasting peace in the Middle East will ever be more than a Jewish dream. But the Bible is clear: Although born in war and beset by continued threats of destruction, Israel is bound for peace.

When?

When Christ rules there as King. He is the source of peace in any life or land, and He is the One to know and trust in these perplexing hours of closing time.

How to find Peace with God

The Jews have waited long for peace in their land, and it will come to Israel. But a greater peace is promised by the prophets-individual peace with God.

Isaiah wrote of that peace in his prophecy of the death of Christ: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).

People lack peace with God because sin separates them from Him. In recognition of this, for centuries Jews offered animal sacrifices to atone for their sins. Each sacrifice looked forward to the day when all sins would be paid for by the coming Savior: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6).

John the Baptist said of Jesus: “. . . Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Now full payment for sin has been made. The death of Christ on the cross fulfilled all the righteous demands of the law. Forgiveness for sin is available: “. . . the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Do you want to have peace with God? It can be yours through faith in Jesus Christ: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1).

To take Jesus Christ by faith is to turn from your sin (repent) and place all trust (confidence, belief) in Him as your personal Savior and Lord.

Now it is time to act on this truth. Here is a prayer to guide you:

“Dear Lord Jesus, I come to you just as I am, a sinner. I turn from my sin to you. I now take you by faith as my own Savior and Lord. I trust you to save me and guide me in the Christian life. In your name, amen!”

Repeating a prayer does not bring peace with God. But heartfelt faith in Christ does: “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:10).

Think carefully about the words of the prayer above. Are they an expression of genuine faith in your heart?

If so, you now have peace with God.

Thank Him for His peace and salvation.

FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE

“No, thank You God!”

When I was a little girl, the one day of the year when I never had any difficulty waking up early was on Christmas morning. I knew that Mom and Dad – and, of course, when I was very young, Santa Claus – had gaily wrapped presents waiting for me under the Christmas tree. Oh, how excited and thrilled I was to get those gifts.

At our house, gifts were a very important part of the love we shared one with the other, and my brothers and I were always very anxious to see what we were getting. For every gift, we would say, “Oh, thank you, Mama … thank you, Daddy!” Or, “Look what Santa brought me!”

My parents were always careful to teach and stress the true reason for the season and the real meaning of Christmas. We children learned early on that the gifts we gave and received were just reminders of God’s greatest gift of all, His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior and soon-coming King.

Sadly, in our society today, it seems the focus is on holiday gifts rather than the Gift of Christmas. And if the story of Christ’s first coming is even told, many people glance at the baby in the manger and fail to recognize Jesus for who He really is. How tragic to trade the greatest Gift that could ever be given for commercialism’s flash and glitter or the secular emphasis on feasting, partying, and sensual celebration.

The Gift of Christmas is not a throwaway present to be swept away with the wrappings and ribbons. It is a for-all-the-year Gift. It is not something to open up and then forget about, but Somebody to receive and have forever. The Gift lasts all our lives through … and into eternity. The Bible says, “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

We live in two worlds, one outside our being and the other inside. The outer world is filled with conflict and turmoil, hatred and international tension, struggle and strife. Inside we must deal with hurts and disappointments, discouragement and fear – none of us are free from difficult situations. But if we receive the Gift of Christmas, we have an inner peace and strength to overcome negativism and chaos. We have faith and hope for today and the future.

The Miracle of Christmas

The first miracle of Christmas was that Jesus was born as a result of what has been called an immaculate conception. The word immaculate means “spotlessly clean.” The Word of God says that the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, came upon a young Jewish virgin, and the power of the Highest overshadowed her, and she gave birth to the Son of God (see Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:30-35).

Some time ago on our weekly telecast, “Jack Van Impe Presents,” my husband was addressing the momentous new development of man’s scientific ability to create clones. A number of different animals have now been created in laboratories – sheep, cows, and several other species. And scientists now feel sure that it is possible to clone a human being. Jack said, “This means that the skeptical preachers who have questioned the virgin birth over the years now have a real problem – because every clone is a virgin birth! If man is able to do it now, why is it so difficult to believe that God accomplished this more than two thousand years ago?”

My husband also pointed out that a clone is an exact image, and the Scriptures teach that Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God – a clone as far as His birth is concerned!

The human race cannot take credit for the Gift of Jesus

I think it is tremendously important to realize that Jesus was not man’s invention -man’s genius or effort did not develop Him – Jesus was and is the Gift of God. His story is not of a man becoming God, but of God becoming man.

A few years ago a fine Christian doctor, a gynecologist, sent us an article he had written that explained the role of the father and mother in the conception and birth of a baby. Dr. Strohshein, now gone home to be with the Lord, had done years of research, proving that while the mother carries the child for nine months as it develops, feeds the unborn baby, and gives birth to the new life, none of her blood is within the child. Dr. Strohshein’s article went on to show how the seed of the father determines the blood and the crucial characteristics of every offspring. The Bible says, “The Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass (or surround) a man” (Jeremiah 31:22).

Why is this so significant? It means that when Jesus later sacrificed His life for the world on the cross, the blood that was shed did not come from Mary, but from His Father God! So it was not human blood, but divine! What an awesome thought. That’s why the Gift of God that mankind received on that first Christmas is so remarkable and unfathomable.

Remember that Mary was not a princess with a huge estate or a great prophetess with a large following. She was a humble teenager who was engaged to be married to Nazareth’s local carpenter, a good man named Joseph. And when it was time to give birth, she was not pampered or given special care and attention. Rather, after riding a donkey over rough trails to accompany her husband to Bethlehem to be taxed, she ended up in a rustic stable – probably a cave – surrounded by barnyard animals. There, on a bed of straw, she gave birth to a son, wrapped him in rough-woven cloth, and laid him in a hay-filled manger.

The familiar Scriptures tell us that His first visitors were not society’s elite, the wealthy and powerful. Instead, angels announced Jesus’ kingly entrance into this world to the lowliest, poorest people of all – the shepherds who watched their flocks outside the city. And they came to find the Lord quickly, gladly, still in awe that the King of glory had come to dwell among them.

They came to find Immanuel – God with us … with ordinary people (see Isaiah 7:14). Imagine common folks being able to come into the presence of divinity and have fellowship with the Son of God! How could such a thing be?

God with us meant the end of loneliness … the end of facing life’s trials alone. As the popular Southern Gospel song declares, “I don’t know a thing in this whole wide world that is worse than being alone.” So God gave us Immanuel. No wonder the apostle Paul exclaimed in awe and wonder, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

Rejecting the Gift As incredible as it seems, down though the ages – in fact, from the very beginning, starting with Cain, the son of Adam and Eve – mankind has rejected the Gift of God. As we know, the Old Testament saints were saved and redeemed exactly as we are, the difference being that Jesus hadn’t come yet. So they looked forward to the Redeemer while we look back. They offered the blood sacrifice of animals, knowing that it was not sufficient to take away their sins but only to cover them until the Gift of God came.

We look back to Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary and say, “Yes, the Gift was good enough. Jesus’ blood can wash away the stain and the penalty of my sin.”

But Cain killed his brother Abel in a dispute over the proper sacrifice (see Genesis 4:1-8). In effect, Cain said, “No, thank You, God. I choose not to follow Your plan. I will offer my own sacrifice of the fruit and vegetables I have grown. I want to do it my way, not Yours!” (Hebrews 11:4; 1 John 3:12).

The Bible records examples from virtually every generation of people who turned from God’s way and “every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). They were saying, “No, thank You, God. I’ll try to make it on my own.”

Tragically, even in our society today people are still rejecting the Gift, saying “No, thank You, God, we’ll go our own way.” The Supreme Court of Alabama ruled that a display of the Ten Commandments could not remain in the courthouse. Military academy cadets will no longer give thanks at mealtime. The European Union new constitution has removed all references to God. And, of course, for years in America’s public schools, prayer has been forbidden.

More and more today, our nation is being molded by what is “inclusive,” culturally acceptable and politically correct. “Well, that might be one way, but we must be sensitive and recognize that it’s not the only way.” Or, “Yes, that is one religion, but there are many great religions in the world, and we must be tolerant and accepting of all of them.”

But what is really being said is, “No, thank You, God. We’ll find our own way of getting to heaven … if it really exists. Or maybe we can mix all the religions together and make a unified belief that everybody can accept.”

A giant step in the wrong direction

What happens when society says, “No, thank You, God. We don’t want to go that way”? The historical record is painfully clear. It is a giant step in the wrong direction – toward doom and death and destruction.

Mohammed is dead. Buddha is long gone. Hinduism’s 100,000,000 (one hundred million) idol gods are not the answer. No other religion offers the Gift. Jesus is the only living Savior, the only God the human race cannot take credit for creating. Like it or not, the Word of God unequivocally declares, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

So any time anyone turns to the man-made religions of the world, he is saying, “No, thank You, God.”

This Christmas, the world’s people will again seek to celebrate a wonderful, fun holiday season. They will grasp for the benefits of Christmas, without making any personal commitment to the Gift.

Merchants will publicize Christmas, encouraging everybody to shop and to buy gifts. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Families will come together to enjoy fellowship, sharing, and a great feast together. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Those in the travel industry love the holiday because so many people take to the highways and airlines to visit friends and relatives around the world. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Where we fall short during this time is in forgetting the Gift of Christmas – of either willfully or negligently communicating, “No, thank You, God, I don’t need what You have to offer.”

Watch out! Don’t make the mistake of the Laodiceans, who said, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” The Spirit replied, “You don’t even know that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (see Revelation 3:17,19).

I realize that this is a very different Christmas article from those the Lord has laid on my heart in the past. But we are living in very different times … and this could well be the last time some of us will celebrate Christmas. I am not trying to be overly dramatic. Our world is filled with terror and uncertainty, and seems to be careening towards disaster.

There is only one certainty … and His name is Jesus. He is the Gift of God. What He offers is salvation, peace, and life – abundant life, eternal life, now and forever.

Make the right choice!

A Sunday school teacher once gave a little boy his choice of two gifts. One was in a beautiful box, with shiny foil paper and multicolored ribbons. The other was a plain and simple metal can. The little boy wisely chose the plain container.

The teacher said, “First we will open the package you did not choose, the one that is so beautiful on the outside.” When she opened the lid, the box contained only old, shredded newspapers.

Then she handed the very plain can to the little boy, and he pried off the lid. A big smile spread across his face as he saw that the can was filled with holiday cookies and candies.

What is the lesson? Don’t be deceived by the outward appearance – it is what’s inside that counts. Jesus came to the world in very humble surroundings, and associated with the poor and humble people of the world. But He brought – and is – a Gift beyond description, for which mankind can’t take the credit.

That wonderful Gift is offered to you again during this holy season. Oh, yes, the world also offers its counterfeit present, so don’t choose the wrong package. Please don’t make the mistake of saying, “No, thank You, God.” This Christmas – right now – accept anew the wondrous benefits He has to offer and join in singing, “Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for You.”

CHANGED LIVES-one at a time

I give thanks to our Father through Christ our savior for the gifts he has given us in Jesus. One, being teachers and encouragers as you both. What a gift you are and yes I love and look forward each week to your emails. I beg your forgiveness I am unable to financially show my appreciation for your ministry but also thank my brothers and sisters for their generous giving to Christ’s ministry through you.

Larry F.

Greeley, CO.

PS. Am 63 and remember you both from my early years, wow.

I have listened and watched your program for many years. You have been steady, never wavering in your beliefs and teachings throughout. I want to thank you both. I am proud of you. I try to emulate your lives. I fail a lot, but pick up pieces and try again. I am certain God loves me. You can be certain I love you two.

Timothy M.

To one of my heroes in my life,

I am so thankful to you for all your dedication to our Savior and King Jesus. I share and take notes as best I can so i can share the truth to others. Truth is that we all so lack in the Word of God and our flesh always makes up its desires and we fool ourselves and others unit believing sin is ok with God.

Thank you for being truthful with us!

I continue to pray for you and Rexella.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving! I join my faith with you.

George and Joanie V.

Just humble servants 🙂

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