FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE

WHO ARE YOU? Part 2

God walks with us in life

Have you ever needed to know that you were not walking life’s road all alone? Did you ever need the strong shoulder of the Lord to lean on in life’s hard places?

Thank God, the Word says, For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee (Deuteronomy 23:14).

I believe all of us have plenty of occasions when we need to be delivered. The longer I serve the Lord, the more times I recognize His presence in my camp, walking close beside me to deliver me from all harm and danger.

I remember getting up to sing one night to an audience of eight thousand people. As I looked over the crowd, I saw four men in the fifth row with stockings over their heads. God gave me peace so I was not afraid to go ahead and minister although it was obvious the men were there to try and disrupt the service or intimidate Jack and me. We later learned there was great turmoil in that city because a number of drug dealers had been converted, and the drug bosses wanted to threaten our lives. But God protected us from violence.

Another time in South America, we were on our way to the airport when a huge riot broke out. We were trapped in the middle of the violence, but God’s hand kept us safe.

Over the years we’ve received threats in the mail and over the phone, but Jack and I never were afraid, knowing that: There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways (Psalm 91:10-11).

More recently, I was not afraid when Jack was attacked by a serious, life-threatening physical illness. Somehow the Holy Spirit reminded me that God was in control and that my husband would be delivered. And he was!

How sad when people-even believers-lose contact with the presence of the Lord who is always with us. How tragic when they can no longer see the hand of God at work in their lives and are overwhelmed by despair. Thinking that nobody cares for them or is looking out for them, they try walking alone through the dark valleys of this world and are overwhelmed. The sad statistics reveal that more and more people are committing suicide, taking matters into their own hands.

Recently our long-time friend and team member, Chuck Ohman, told us of a friend of his who committed suicide. Some time ago, a pastor friend of our family in Detroit, took his own life. Another Detroit pastor we knew well had lunch with his daughter, kissed her and sent her on her way, then went into his office bathroom and hanged himself.

How sad to see these precious souls reach such a state of futility that they ended it all. Oh, if we had known their need! It hurts so much to see people destroy themselves in despair. Oh, if they had just come to us-or some other believer-for encouragement and help. Perhaps someone could have helped them find the answer to the question, Who are you? The answer for them-and for all of us-is: “I am the beloved child of my Father, God almighty!” If we know who we are, then we know there is help for the helpless and hope for the hopeless in Jesus. Nothing or no one is more powerful than God, and no one cares more than the Lord.

God remembers us in death

Several years ago I was in Israel interviewing some of the more influential members of the Israeli government, including members of the Knesset and various other leaders. One person I was to interview was the heroic military leader, General Moshe Dayan.

He was standing on a staircase, in uniform, complete with his trademark eye patch, ready to begin. As I greeted him, he suddenly said brusquely, “I am not going to do this interview!”

I was stunned because I had worked hard to make all the necessary arrangements, and politely inquired what had happened to change his mind. “Oh, it’s nothing you have done,” he said. “I’ve just realized that this is pointless because no one will remember me when I am dead anyway!” And he walked away.

I believe General Dayan was wrong. A great many people knew and cared about him. They appreciated his patriotism, and his heroic efforts to preserve the nation of Israel in the face of overwhelming odds. To this day, his name is remembered and revered as a great soldier and leader.

But even if no one on earth remembered Dayan after his career and his life were ended, there is Someone who will not-who cannot-forget who you are in birth, in life, and in death. This friend is aware of even the most minute details of our lives-He is the Lord!

The Bible says, But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered (Luke 12:7).

I have interviewed some 250 outstanding leaders and world figures, and I made it a practice to try, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to share something uplifting with them as well as seeking information and comments from them. I wish I’d had the opportunity to witness to General Dayan. I’d love to have been able to tell him that, indeed, someone would remember him-and walk with him-after death. Someone would remember, and walk with him through the valley of the shadow of death. He is God almighty!

Perhaps you think your life has been less distinguished and noteworthy than someone like General Dayan. But you are not less important to God. He has been with you before birth, and throughout life. And He will not desert you when you come to the end of life in this world. Who are you? You are God’s child…and one of His favorite traveling companions!

The time will come for all of us when it is time to cross over from this world to the next. And the Lord will walk with us, faithful to the end, until the shadows of life are illuminated by the light of heaven. So we can make that final walk in confidence.

The Bible says, We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8). My husband, Jack, says that the phrases “absent from the body, present with the Lord” in the Greek are both instantaneous and simultaneous! When the time comes, just as you close your eyes-you’re there!

And He will have been with you all the way!

A CLASSIC MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE

Revelation 10: 1 – 4

In chapter 10, we again discover a parenthesis similar to the one in chapter 7. Between the sixth and seventh seal judgments, there was a lull before the storm. Now we experience a break between the sixth and the seventh trumpet blasts. The study of this parenthetical period continues through chapter 11, verse 14.

Verse 1: And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire.

This angel is Christ. Remember, Christ was and is eternal. In fact, He was before the angels because He created them. For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him (Colossians 1:16). Thus, I believe that such Theophanies and Christophanies were appearances of Christ throughout the Old Testament, usually in the form of angelic manifestations. This angel of Jehovah has always acted and worked as a deity. Proof? Isaiah 63:9: In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

On three occasions to this point in time, we have observed this angelic messenger in action. In chapter 7, verses 2 and 3, He holds back the tides of judgment for a special hour of grace. In chapter 8, verse 5, He stands as the messenger of the covenant, pouring out the fire of judgment upon the earth. Now He appears again in the text before us. In the first appearance, He is a prophet, in the second, a priest, and now, in the third, He appears as a King. This is the threefold ministry of the Saviour. Hence, this angel is Jesus. As He comes down from heaven, He is clothed with a cloud, has a rainbow upon His head, exhibits a countenance that shines like the sun, and has feet like unto pillars of fire. What do these attributes signify?

First, Christ, in His deity, is usually surrounded by a cloud: Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne (Psalm 97:2). Bickering Israel witnessed the glory of the Lord [appearing] in the cloud (Exodus 16:10). When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments of judgment, He descended in a thick cloud, and immediately the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud…and it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount (Exodus 19:9,16). At the completion of the tabernacle, a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34). This was the cloud of the Lord (Exodus 40:38). On the Mount of Transfiguration, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him (Matthew 17:5). When Christ ascended to heaven, a cloud received him out of their sight (Acts 1:9). And as He departed He said, they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory (Luke 21:27). When He returns, He will come with clouds; and every eye shall see him (Revelation 1:7).

Second, the God of all eternity made a covenant with Noah, placing a rainbow in the sky as a symbol of His mercy. The rainbow pictures mercy in the midst of judgment. Ah! Who but the Lord could wear it?

Third, Christ is often pictured as One who has a shining face as unto the sun. In fact, Saul of Tarsus met this One whose countenance was and is light: And as [Saul] journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus (Acts 9:3-5).

Finally Christ’s feet as pillars of fire picture judgment, as we saw in chapter 1, verse 15.

Verse 2: And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,

This verse pictures Christ preparing to take control of the earth and sea, which have always been rightfully His. He created them, for all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3). When Christ came to take control over 2,000 years ago, He was rejected, crucified, and buried, but He rose again. Since then He has been at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for His people (see Hebrews 7:25). At a given moment He will rise from the throne and make a request. The picture is presented in Psalm 2:6-8. God says, Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree. Then Christ says, The Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Immediately the Father asks His Son to make a request, saying, Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. At the granting of the request, the Lord Jesus sets His right foot upon the sea and His left foot on the earth, and He unrolls the scroll (or book) which contains the record of the judgments He plans to unleash.

Verse 3: And [he] cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

This is the cry of the Lion of the tribe of Judah (see Hebrews 7:14). Immediately prior to executing the judgments listed in the book, He cries loudly (or roars as a lion) to warn of impending danger. Other portions of Scripture also speak of His roaring when He comes as the Judge of the universe. Hosea 11:10 states: They shall walk after the Lord: he shall roar like a lion: when he shall roar, then the children shall tremble from the west. Joel 3:16 adds: The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. Again, Amos 1:2: The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem.

When the Lord roars, seven thunders utter their voices. Though thunder is usually associated with judgment, no attempt will be made to explain the meaning, since God forbids it in verse 4.

Verse 4: And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

Well, someday we will know! For the present, however, God commands that this one portion of Scripture be kept secret.

We will continue our study of this parenthetical period in our next newsletter.

CHANGED LIVES-one at a time

I have really enjoyed these letters. As a Bible teacher they and of course other studies I am more sure than I’ve ever been of my Salvation and future. Thank you for your consistency.

In your will to preach the Gospel.

Rod

Dear Rexella

What a blessing I received from

Your post, you are so uplifting

Thank you for your love for Jesus, & Bro. Jacks message Really put the joy of living for Jesus in my heart.

Flora M.

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