FROM THE HEART OF DR. REXELLA VAN IMPE

Looking Through the Window

Have you ever heard the old gospel song that says, “This world is not my home, I’m just ‘a passin’ through …?”

Lately that’s how I’ve been feeling – like “a stranger in a strange land.” I’m completely out of step with a world filled with child abuse, wife abuse, animal abuse … with a world filled with hatred, violence, war, and famine. I can’t adjust my mind and heart to a place where many people accept no responsibility for their actions and feel no remorse for the bad things they do to others.

Nor am I able emotionally to cope with the throngs of homeless people on the streets of major metropolitan areas. It’s one thing to watch the news and hear statistics about the down-and-out people living in alleys and under bridges – something else altogether to meet these unfortunate ones face to face and look into their eyes. While in Toronto, my heart was abruptly opened to the real tragedy of homeless people.

One night Jack and I went to dinner in a downtown area and decided to walk back to our hotel several blocks away. Our route took us past Eaton Center – an enclosed mall which is open late, with people milling around inside until all hours. We started across a busy intersection near a major department store, amazed at the throngs of people out and about so late at night. Jack and I have always felt very safe in this wonderful Canadian city.

Before we made it across the intersection, a beautiful young girl we’d passed on the corner came running after us. She came up behind me and fell into step. “Hello there,” she said. “Where are you going?”

“Well, my husband and I have been to dinner and we’re on our way back to our hotel,” I said, noticing that she seemed to be one of the homeless crowd. Her face was smudged, and her clothing wrinkled and soiled. But I went ahead and asked, “Are you going home?”

“Oh, no,” she responded, “I am home!” And she pointed to the streets.

We walked the final step or two across the street and stepped up on the sidewalk – beside the department store, its window ablaze with a display of television sets and video equipment. The girl touched my arm and peered up into my face and Jack’s. “I told my friends who you were,” she said. It was obvious she seemed to recognize us.

“Sometimes at night when I can’t sleep,” she continued, motioning toward the display of TV sets, “I look through the window and watch you!”

As soon as she said it, she was gone, running, back to her friends on the street. Then a rush of people gathered behind and carried Jack and me on down the block. I looked back but I never caught sight of her again.

But I will never forget the touch of her hand and her simple words that seemed to bring the whole burden of her desperate situation crashing down upon my heart. “I look through the window and watch you,” she said.

How I wished I could have held her hand and brought her along with me, to tell her she could have a better life. I have no idea what she had run away from or where she was trying to go. I do know that life on the streets so often ends in tragedy. If only I could have a little more time to talk with her, I would tell her about God’s love, about the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I feel almost compelled to go back to Toronto soon and spend some time in the area where I first saw her. I can only hope the Lord will allow me to find her and spend some time witnessing to her. Somehow, my heart is so impacted by her words that I just can’t let go until I’ve at least tried to find her again.

For days now the Lord has been impressing upon my mind the fact that there are countless other people floundering in life who are looking through the window of our lives, seeking for answers and hope. Oh, you may not be on TV like Jack Van Impe and I, but your life, your light, is on view to someone trying to find a better way.

What would people see if they looked through the “window” at you? Are you living a life “like Christ,” filled with love, joy, peace, and purity?

Is the glass of that window dingy and soil-streaked, or is it bright and clear, clean and sparkling? When someone who has lost their way looks through your window, can they see Jesus in you? Or is what you claim blurred by who you are and how you act?

Since I met that homeless girl who said she looked through the window and watched me, I’ve been checking up on myself. The Lord has given me three checkpoints:

1. Living the life.

The great gospel singer, Mahalia Jackson, cried out, “I’m going to live the life I sing about in my song!” The life we live for God must be the same on Tuesday as on Sunday. We must treat our family and neighbors, the people at work and in the marketplace, the same way we treat the people at church when everybody is watching. I promise you that the way you act when you think nobody is looking is exactly what someone will see when they look through your window!

2. Offering a pure and simple testimony.

The most effective testimony is simply to uplift Jesus – He will do the rest. We do not have to know scores of scripture verses, or be able to explain the complexities of doctrine. All that is necessary is to say, “This is what Jesus has done for me.” As one great Christian described it, “Our witness is really just one beggar telling another where to find bread” – the Bread of life!

3. Being consistent.

A nursery rhyme describes a little girl who, “when she was good she was very, very good, but when she was bad, she was horrid.” Have you ever known a person who, on one day, was helpful and kind … and on the next was cranky as can be? What does this kind of erratic behavior say about the depth and validity of our Christian experience? Our Lord is described as Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). And we are to be like Him!

Being on television these last several years has been a real challenge and amazement to me. One thing I’ve learned is that the TV camera sees through our facades and reveals us as we really are to the view of the people. On screen you simply can’t hide who you are. I believe this is why people say so often, “I know you. I’ve seen you on TV!”

I can never forget that the Lord has His divine TV camera on us all the time. He looks past our outer front and sees inside us to our very heart and soul. Lord, help me to live for You consistently.

Although I know our programs are seen throughout the United States and Canada, and in numerous places overseas, it still boggles my mind to consider the numbers of people and the kinds of individuals in different walks of life who are being reached and touched by the program.

I could never have imagined a homeless street girl going up to a department store window late at night to watch Jack and me on TV through the glass. I hope and pray that something she saw and heard will stay with her … and that God and His wonderful grace will reach her.

On that day when we stand before the Lord, this young woman will discover that she need not stand outside on the sidewalk wistfully watching through a glass. For as her eyes catch a glimpse of Jesus and she reaches out to take His hand, He will throw open that window and make it a door – a grand entrance through which she can walk freely into His presence.

Waiting to go home

Never in my life have I felt more of a longing for the coming of the Lord than in recent days. “Oh I want to see Him, look upon His face, there to sing forever of His saving grace.” I long to see Him and feel His arms wrapped around me. I can’t wait to hear His voice saying, “Welcome home, thou good and faithful servant!” Oh, how I pray that my life will allow this salutation to be so.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9). How wonderful that will be.

God is so good to me even here in this life. His presence never leaves me, and I take joy in intimately communing with the Holy Spirit inside my heart. But more and more I feel a strange longing to be in heaven. And I sense that time is running out. Our Lord Jesus is coming soon.

First Corinthians 13:12 says, For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

But until then, I will keep on keeping on. I will try to use all my time, all my talents, all my opportunities to shine out the story of Jesus to help all who may be looking through the window of my life. With God’s help, I will keep on living the life of love, joy, peace, and purity. I will keep on giving my pure and simple testimony about what the Lord has done for me. And I will endeavor to be consistent in my living for Jesus, daily keeping the window glass, looking into my life, clean and unsmudged.

You can do it, too, God will help you. Join me in making a new commitment to Christ’s commission and calling. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Mathew 5:16).

A CLASSIC MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE

Revelation 14: 9 – 20

Verse 9: And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

Verse 10: The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Verse 11: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

This third angel announces the doom of those who are worshipping the Antichrist and his image, and who have received the mark “666” in their foreheads or hands. For the weak-kneed sisters of Christendom who claim that “the God of love could never punish sinners,” verses 9 through 11 are probably the Bible’s most graphic picture of judgment. Although the text before us is self-explanatory, I feel it prudent to practically state the same truths twice, in order that mockers may see that there is a judgment of hellfire taught in this book, as well as throughout the Bible. Those individuals who have received the mark of the beast taste of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture [without dilution or weakening of his wrath as it is stirred up] into the cup of his indignation. The judgment is so horrendous as it is administered in the presence of Christ and his angels that the smoke of [the Antichrist’s partners and pawns] ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Contrary to the teaching of certain cultists, this judgment is also endless. The words everlasting for the lost and eternal for the saved are identical in the Greek, both places-heaven and hell-last for the ages of ages-eternally, everlastingly. Thus, Matthew 25:46 states: [The lost] shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. I repeat, both are of equal duration.

Some may raise an objection that this punishment cannot be eternal because of the words “day and night.” Nonsense! The apocalypse, or Book of Revelation, constantly uses this terminology in place of “unceasingly.” For example, in chapter 4, verse 8, the four living creatures before the throne of God rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. Isaiah declared this truth in chapter 66, verse 24, For their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched. Jesus himself had this text in mind when He said in Mark 9:43, And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off. it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.

The most terrible experience of time and eternity is to be lost. My wife, Rexella, sings a song that creates a soul-winner’s heart within those who hear it. The chorus states:

Think what it means to be lost forever,
No one to guide you across that cold river.
Darkness, crying, none to deliver
Think what it means to be lost.

Thank God, this awesome portrait does not have to be the future of any human being, for Romans 10:13 victoriously announces that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Don’t delay making life’s most important decision.

Now, the subject of fire also causes us to recall that time during the Tribulation hour when one-third of the earth’s population is reduced by fire, smoke, and brimstone (chapter 9, verse 18). Possessing a foreknowledge of all these events, and knowing that earthly sorrows can last only as long as one has life, the Holy Spirit, through John, gives an assuring promise about the future.

Verse 12: Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Verse 13: And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

This will be especially true during the Tribulation hour when the toils of life are so great. Remember, this is the worst time of heartache in history. Jesus said, For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be (Matthew 24:21). Now, at last, it is over for some. They have died and happiness is theirs. They rest from the heartbreaks of life, exchanging them for rewards as their good works and deeds follow them.

Verse 14: And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

A white cloud-the Shekinah or “glory of God” cloud-is usually associated with Christ. This is the same cloud that went before the Children of Israel as they wandered through the wilderness (Exodus 13:21, 22). It was also present at the giving of the Law (Exodus 19:9). This glorious cloud illuminated the transfiguration scene (Matthew 17:5) and received [Christ] out of their sight at His ascension (Acts 1:9). At the Rapture, all church-age saints, living and dead will be caught up together… in the clouds (1 Thessalonians 4:17). Finally, when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to planet earth, he cometh with clouds (Revelation 1:7). Thus, in verse 14 of this chapter the Son of Man is seen situated upon the cloud as He comes to thrust in His sharp sickle of judgment.

Verse 15: And another angel came out of the, temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

Verse 16: And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

One cannot get away with sin forever: Be sure, your sin will find you out (Numbers 32:23). Sin will catch up with you, and when it does, they that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same (Job 4:8). The time of reaping has come, and the sickle, sharp and steady, does its judgmental work. Verses 17-20 describe this hour as the greatest bloodbath in history.

Verse 17: And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. Verse 18: And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

Verse 19: And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

Verse 20: And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

This final scene of Revelation 14 describes the work of two angels. The one with a sharp sickle comes from the temple in heaven, while the other with power over fire emerges from the altar. The one in command is the angel from the altar. He immediately orders that the vine be cut off and cast into the great winepress of the wrath of God. Since true children of God are branches of the vine (see John 15:5), the members of the one-world church of the Antichrist and false prophet are called members of Satan’s vine. The time of their pruning or destruction has arrived at last, and they are cut off and cast into the great winepress of God’s indignation.

Oh, what a purging of branches takes place during this hour! The conflict begins in the Valley of Jehoshaphat and becomes centered in the Valley of Jezreel, which is on the plain of Esdraelon near the hill of Megiddo (chapter 16, verse 16). I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down: for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision (Joel 3:2, 10-14). Eventually the battle encompasses the entire nation of Israel and is, of course, global in involvement as the armies of the world meet in the Middle East for the final holocaust of history-the Battle of Armageddon (see Zechariah 14:2).

The result is a 200-mile-long area soaked with blood, (one thousand six hundred furlongs, in American mathematics, is a distance of 200 miles.) Interestingly, the nation of Israel is 200 miles long, from north to south. According to Ezekiel 39:8-16, seven months will be required to bury the dead and the armaments of war will be burned for seven years afterward! The tense Middle East situation certainly signals the return of Christ.

In light of the unprecedented devastation just described, a few additional thoughts are appropriate at this time. First of all, when Russia, under the names Gog, Magog, Mechech, Tubal, and Rosh, invades Israel, the largest armies in the history of the world will converge on the Middle East. Ezekiel states that they will come up like a cloud (see Ezekiel 38:16). John tells us that the number of the army of the horsemen [is] two hundred thousand thousand-or two hundred million (chapter 9, verse 16). No wonder the conflict is so incredible.

Secondly, the weapons are the deadliest ever used in the history of mankind. A fire goeth before him (Psalm 97:3). For, behold, the Lord will come with fire (Isaiah 66:15). The flaming flame shall not be quenched (Ezekiel 20:47). A fire devoureth before them (Joel 2:3). Who? The northern army from Russia that is driven back to Siberia. Hear God’s statement: But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things (Joel 2:20).

The retreat is effectual in Joel 2:30, for the prophet states: And I [saw] wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars [or literally columns] of smoke. These are the exact characteristics of a nuclear blast! The whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy (Zephaniah 1:18). For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven (Malachi 4:1). Now we understand why the nation of Israel will be drenched with blood. No wonder Jeremiah 30:7 says, Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it. Daniel 12:1 adds, There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was. This time is so horrendous that there will never have been anything like it in the past nor shall there be anything like it again in the future. Jesus agreed. He said in Matthew 24:21, For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. Revelation 9:18 adds, By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

Finally Russia is going to be smashed in the Middle East. Proof: Therefore, thou son of man prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee (Ezekiel 39:1,2). Later, the Battle of Armageddon will be fought and will assuredly become history’s most terrifying holocaust. However, the good news is that, as a Christian, you will not be present-and if you are not yet a believer, you do not have to be present. So I plead with you to receive Christ without delay.

CHANGED LIVES-one at a time

Dear Rexella,

I want to thank you for all your years in the TV ministry. I remember visiting my relation in the U.P. when I was a child. While visiting, one of my Aunts had your program on. It made me stop in my tracks and listen to you for a moment until I was called by my cousins to continue playing in another room. Well, little did I know I would again be drawn to watching your program as an adult. Jack was very personal about the alcoholism in his family and I too had a Belgian alcoholic father. I fell into the demons of alcohol also but when I finally quit 14 years ago, your program helped me through each week and I continue to watch every weekend. From one cat lover to another, thank you both so very much!!!

Your sister in Christ,

Lisa C.

HIGHLIGHTED MINISTRY OFFERS

Reclaiming & Restoring Biblical Christianity

Do Not Let Your Family Be Led Astray!

The Bible says in these latter days the love of many will grow cold – apostasy will set in – and supposed religious leaders will have a form of godliness but lack its power.

We’re seeing these prophecies fulfilled today!

You and your family deserve to know the facts – the truth that many supposedly ‘Christian’ leaders want to hide from you!

There is only one way to heaven, through salvation in Jesus Christ. Choosing Christ means a change in lifestyle … and many preachers today just don’t want to tell people that they must be transformed!

But Drs. Jack and Rexella Van Impe set the record straight in their landmark teaching video, Reclaiming and Restoring Biblical Christianity.

Animals In Heaven?

For anyone who has ever lost a beloved pet, Dr. Jack and Rexella Van Impe have good news! You will see your furry or feathered friends again – in heaven! Explore this exciting truth taught by twelve of the greatest Christian theologians.

You will see and hear the exact spine-tingling statements from the pens of men like Dr. John Walvoord, Dr. Billy Graham, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, Dr. John Calvin and many others. This video study deals with animal intelligence, animal communication, and how animals literally teach humans some valuable lessons.