In order to realize the worth of the anchor we need to feel the stress of the storm.
- Corrie Ten Boom
by Robert R. Pennington
Times and Seasons is offered by Quantum Christianity, a unique topical Biblical commentary designed to help assess the true nature of our existence and relationship with God in light of both life's daily challenges and ultimate questions.
The Bible uses the concept of Times and Seasons in a variety of ways. Yet, none more instrumental than in recognition that human history, and creation itself, has a beginning and end. Regarding the eternal councils, the Holy Spirit and Scripture helps clarify God’s plans. Enabling honest and diligent Christians to prepare as the end times draw near. And with them unprecedented crises and opportunity.
Considerations all the more important given the exceptional challenges presented in 2020 - 2021. As well as those soon to be thrust upon us.
Geostorm
In many ways, the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, are unique in human history. Beyond concerns as to the origin and spread of the virus, the handling of treatment options and statical analysis are troubling. As is the creation and world wide distribution of the first genetically engineered RNA vaccine without what normally passes for proper consideration and clinical trials. Further alarming has been coinciding sociopolitical upheavals, seemingly instigated by governmental, medial and business power-brokers fostering an incredibly obvious and aggressive campaign of disinformation. On a variety of fronts. Including ludicrous support for BLM rioting and looting, violence and murder. Domestic terrorism on a national scale.
Scripture is clear manipulations of facts and logic, much less the rebellion and anarchy they promote, are forbidden and will prove disastrous for all parties involved.
Such sociopolitical gerrymandering and worse grieve, if not infuriate, the Holy Spirit. As does the participation of Christians who fail to rightly determine God’s stated will in such matters. All the while failing to accurately discern the rapidly deteriorating Times and Seasons threatening all we know and love.
One of the fastest growing podcasts in the world is The Ben Shapiro Show, also on the Daily Wire. Episode 1159 is entitled, Do You Speak Woke? Ben details how this new language claiming to promote inclusivity is actually an effective tool, employed by the aristocracy and media, to signal solidarity with liberal intelligentsia’s strategy to divide and conquer America. And the world. An anarchist and antichrist sociopolitical agenda gaining ground by leaps and bounds.
Some, like Matt Walsh, a cultural and political commentator, have spent years daily pinpointing blatant lapses in judgment and common sense. For example see Matt’s insightful post Biden inauguration review of Republican and Democratic Parties.
Others forward more nefarious social and spiritual scenarios. Regarding a COVID-19 vaccine, there are a great many reasons for caution, including genuine concerns in regards to efficacy and safety. Not to mention medical professionals questioning plans to roll out genetic manipulation and even nano technology. QC highly recommends watching Dr. Carrie Madej video, Human 2.0 A Wake -up Call To The World. If video link fails to play click here to download an important 20 min video.
All this as the specter of apocalyptic events loom large on the horizon, leaving some to speculate such rapid and radical, national and global changes are structured to promote sociopolitical control. Escalations designed to forward the infiltration of global society, leading to the introduction of a New World Order. Possibly even the ushering in of the long foretold Antichrist, as well as the Mark of the Beast. The appearance of both, as Scripture plainly warns, predating Christ’s prophesied Rapture of the Church. It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where the primary, secondary and tertiary effects of global catastrophes such as COVID-19 play a significant role in the beginning of sorrows warned of in the gospels, epistles and Book of Revelation.
These circumstance and more testify to the glaring crises and opportunity for individual and corporate wholesale repentance and serious prayer. Yet Christ’s repeated and all but deafening knocking at our door continues be largely ignored.
Unfortunately, spiritual reality, like visible nature, abhors a vacuum. Thus darkness, particularly of the Satanic variety, is ruthlessly opportunistic. Instantly occupying even the smallest recesses abandoned unfought by modern Christianity, thereby vacating any realistic hope of improvement. A principle lesson of conflict theology eloquently noted by Florence Nightingale, the celebrated English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing:
- “Life is a hard fight, a struggle, a wrestling with the principal of evil, hand to hand, foot to foot. Every inch of the way is disputed. The night is given us to take breath, to pray, to drink deep at the fountain of power. The day, to use the strength which has been given us, to go forth to work with it till the evening.”
- “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16 The Message
Only a fraction of a percent of Christendom care to carefully consider, much less admit and appropriately respond to, any or all the above observations. For a variety of reasons.
To their credit, conscientious Christians are often involved in ministry of one type or another. As a general rule, they also tend to be at least passingly familiar, if not somewhat well acquainted with, at least parts of Scripture. As such, few and far between are those willing and able to imagine they and those with whom they fellowship, or even minster, might have misconstrued something seriously significant.
This goes double for leadership. Suggesting that after years or decades, if not entire lifetimes of study and service, members of the clergy or even lay leadership might have missed the forest for the trees seems absurd.
Then again, with differing doctrines of hundreds of denominations offering various Christs and versions of Biblical truth, such an argument wears a little thin.
As does our failure to admit that if society is rotting and descending into darkness, and we are called to be the “salt of the earth” and “light of the world,” then the quality of our Christianity must be wanting.
All the more if many, if not most, of societal sins can be found within Churchianity. As Jesus warned, “If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
Simply put, it’s one thing to fight and fail, it’s another to fail to fight.
In 2020 Easter, Pentecost and even Christmas came and went with church doors all but closed for the first time in 2,000 years. Yet judging by millions of messages before, during and after, it was largely business as usual. Merely temporarily reduced in scale. Multitudes joined in cautious and joyful reunion, to fellowship and worship, enjoying various formats of renewed albeit limited freedom.
Conspicuously absent from these major religious remembrances were remarks targeting, much less prayerful confessions regarding, our own many doubtful habits and besetting sins. Beliefs and lifestyles having reduced modern Christianity to its current deplorable state.
False doctrines embraced by scores of sects were happily resumed, rather than repentantly redressed. Habitual justification of anemic faith, by teaching and obeying half the Gospel or less, continued unabated. Reinforced by the false comforts of assumed salvation and presumptive worship.
Subdued services on these anniversaries failed to note the height of irony. For example, few if any gathering remotely or in some cases in person wearing mandatory masks and practicing social distancing on the memorial of Pentecost, the birth of the church by Holy Ghost fire dancing on the heads and tongues of fully sanctified 1st century believers, soulfully lamented the spiritual pandemic of powerless so blatantly pervasive in the 21st.
After months of costly and mountainous evidence, growing concerns regarding conspiracies and conspirators arose here and there. Yet none concerning our own. A conspiracy of silence through designer doctrine artfully concealing the loss of the gifts of the Spirit offered and imparted on the original day of Pentecost. As both Christianity‘s birthright and responsibility. Particularly telling has been the wholesale theft of the children's bread of authentic and demonstrable deliverance and miraculous healing.
Pulpits were silent on the issue for obvious reasons. Not the least of which being the need to placate parishioners and replenish bank accounts.
Elders were shielded from suspicion, much less inquiry, regarding their unacknowledged and unmet New Testament mandate to heal the sick and forgive sins through the prayer of faith.
Ministries and worship teams were not only given a pass, but were celebrated for their resolve and resourcefulness in employing technology and social media to provide comfort and assurance.
While understandable and seemingly sensible, all such efforts and activities were in fact in direct opposition to the genuine spiritual Koinonia and unity marking the first Pentecost. Rather than gathering in Biblical brokenness and heartbroken humility, Churchianity joined in misplaced and false harmony proclaiming, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.”
What fingers were pointed targeted ubiquitous and growing levels of temptation and deception, immorality and sin. All conveniently outside the camp. While right to do so, we were equally wrong in failing to discern and confess the plain and simple heart of the matter.
Here, as ever before, little or no heed was paid to the more numerous fingers pointing back at us. Thus the primary and principal lessons from not only the global health and economic crisis of COVID-19, but the coming and going of Easter, Pentecost and Christmas was lost on the spiritually shuttered eyes, ears and hearts of modern Christianity.
Even Prophetic Christians failed to enter the crucible of James 4's Prayer of Anguish. Thus tragically, the only people on earth possessing even a remote hope of hearing and rightly responding to what "the Spirit is saying to the churches," yet again refused to listen. Thus continuing our long history of failing the litmus test of Scripture.
Gale Force
We also fail to realize that sin not only warps and transforms individuals and society at large, but Churchianity. So much so that once begun, any and all sin faces only one of three possible outcomes:
1. Repentance: Genuine Biblical repentance is best exemplified in the military command, "Halt, about face, march." Complete and abiding repentance for rebellion against God's authority and/or harm to another includes developing lifestyles of brokenness and contrition, sanctification and restitution if and when appropriate. While this preferable option remains open to humanity, mankind has yet to fully repent of a single sin. Much less such pinnacle sins as immorality and abortion.
2. Commensurate Judgment: Outside of God and His Word, all things change. Unrepentant, corporately and individually we face the specter of God's judgment. In time and/or eternity. Should justice be satisfied in this life, a rarity, without complete repentance the cycle of sin would simply begin again. As evidenced throughout the whole of Scripture from Cain's murder of Able and Noah's flood, to Christ's denunciation of His people and Revelation's warnings. One can only imagine what the commensurate judgment of such sins as abortion's holocaust of 5-10 times the planet's entire population in Christ's day might be.
3. Mutation: Should sin proceed without repentance or eradication by judgment, it must continue to grow in scale. Eventually to the point of mutating into another kind of aberration altogether. Such a principle holds true from the least to greatest of sins. Inside and outside of modern Christianity.
And what has been our response to the modern devilish campaign of temptation and deception, entitlement and sin? Continuation of the nearly wholesale substitution of assumed salvation for repentance, presumption for faith and inappropriate worship for sanctification.
The last half century has produced hundreds of millions of spiritually anemic believers. The vast majority of which are unable to quote ten Scriptures in row, or in most cases five, much less interpret and implement them correctly. Thus leaving the average church attender functionally Biblically illiterate.
Adding to our sloth is prayerlessness, easily demonstrated by the fact that most refuse to stop and seriously pray even ten minutes a day.
Such a one-two punch of apathy and worse has created a generation of largely practical agnostics believers.
Contributing factors to our deteriorating spiritual, and often physical condition, are unprecedented levels of overindulgence in worldly temptations and deceptions, doubtful habits and sins. Major contributors to individuals and marriages, families and society at large figuratively and literally coming apart at the seams.
While the Bible offers a cure for such a glaring lack of discipline, any honest assessment clearly indicates we are unfit for the rigors of radical Christian discipleship. Which according to the Scripture, may be the only kind Christ accepts.
Tragically, we may soon find that squandering our time and resources has left us woefully unprepared for the increasingly dark and diabolical challenges arrayed before us. Not to mention our inability to provide necessary aid to the pitiful and unsuspecting world for whom we were called to be salt and light.
God have mercy. Christ have mercy.
Surviving The Storm
While topics presented in this book may seem offensive, they are not unnecessarily so. Quantum Christianity dare not be silent given the a sudden and drastic shift in the Times and Seasons in which we now live. Particularly when they clearly testify of humanity’s entering a new chapter of Conflict Theology, which while constantly overlooked and/or minimized, is nothing less than the originating and overriding context of Scripture.
Thankfully, the Bible provides an "In case of emergency break glass" option. There remains a way for Prophetic Christians to discern the truth behind the Times and Seasons in which we now live and that which swiftly approaches. To escape the temptation overtaking us, that we might endure it and become "more than conquerors through Him who loved us."
With such thoughts in mind, we do well to individually and collectively practice the vanishing arts of brokenness and repentance, honesty and humility. Let us cease trading presumption for faith, in our prayers and worship, teaching and fellowship. Having done so, by all means let us seriously consider and redouble our efforts to cautiously yet boldly approach Omnity’s “throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
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