Michael Link – Page 18 – Church of the Eternal God

Should a Christian Use Marijuana Under Any Circumstances?

September 22, 2017September 21, 2017

To answer this question, we need to distinguish between recreational and medical marijuana. Much controversy exists in the USA and around the world, especially when it comes to legalizing marijuana either for recreational or medical purposes.

The Bible does not specifically mention marijuana but it gives us some principles that we can apply for guidance on this subject. We will show why recreational marijuana is not to be consumed by Christians under any circumstances, but why a different perspective might have to be considered in certain circumstances regarding the use of medical marijuana.

We will begin our discussion with a general overview over marijuana’s history.

History.com states:

“Marijuana, also known as cannabis or pot [also known as hemp], has a long history of human use. Most ancient cultures didn’t grow the plant to get high, but as herbal medicine [as well as for clothing, paper, sails and rope, and its seeds were used as food]… likely starting in Asia around 500 BC.

“The history of cannabis cultivation in America dates back to the early colonists, who grew hemp for textiles and rope. Political and racial factors in the 20th century led to the criminalization of marijuana in the United States, though its legal status is changing in many places. The cannabis or hemp plant originally evolved in Central Asia before people introduced the plant into Africa, Europe, and eventually the Americas.

“In the early 1600s, the Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut colonies required farmers to grow hemp. These early hemp plants had very low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical responsible for marijuana’s mind-altering effects…”

Focusing on the history of medical use, the Huffington Post wrote on May 25, 2011:

“History tells us that the medicinal properties of cannabis have been recognized for centuries. The medical use of marijuana is documented in Egyptian papyri dating back to 1,550 BCE. It was used in ancient India to treat insomnia, headaches and labor pains. And the ancient Greeks used cannabis for tapeworms, nosebleeds and ear infections.”

History.com continues to say:

“In the 1830s, Sir William Brooke O’Shaughnessy, an Irish doctor studying in India, found that cannabis extracts could help lessen stomach pain and vomiting in people suffering from cholera.

“By the late 1800s, cannabis extracts were sold in pharmacies and doctors’ offices throughout Europe and the United States to treat stomach problems and other ailments.

“… the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved two drugs with THC that are prescribed in pill form (Marinol and Syndros) to treat nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy and loss of appetite in AIDs patients.”

Addressing the history of recreational use, History.com states:

“Hashish (a purified form of cannabis smoked with a pipe) was widely used throughout the Middle East and parts of Asia after about 800 AD. Its rise in popularity corresponded with the spread of Islam in the region. The Quran forbid the use of alcohol and some other intoxicating substances, but did not specifically prohibit cannabis.

“In the United States, marijuana wasn’t widely used for recreational purposes until the early 1900s. Mexicans that immigrated to the United States during the tumultuous years of the Mexican Revolution introduced the recreational practice of smoking marijuana to American culture.

“Massive unemployment and social unrest during the Great Depression [resulted in] 29 states [outlawing] cannabis by 1931. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was the first federal U.S. law to criminalize marijuana nationwide. The Act imposed an excise tax on the sale, possession or transfer of all hemp products, effectively criminalizing all but industrial uses of the plant…”

With this background, we are now going to address the hot topic of marijuana’s legalization.

History.com states:

“As part of the ‘War on Drugs,’ the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, signed into law by President Richard Nixon, repealed the Marijuana Tax Act and listed marijuana as a Schedule I drug—along with heroin, LSD and ecstasy—with no medical uses and a high potential for abuse…

“California, in the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, became the first state to legalize marijuana for medicinal use by people with severe or chronic illnesses. Twenty-nine states now allow the use of cannabis for limited medical purposes… Cannabis is still illegal under U.S. federal law…”

What makes marijuana such a controversial topic in the USA is the rather disturbing fact that the federal government still classifies it as a Class I controlled substance, which is illegal to possess, but over half the states in the U.S. have approved the prescribing of marijuana for medical purposes. Many other countries around the world prescribe medical marijuana to some patients.

We need to point out that presently, this unique American conflict between federal law and state law has been addressed by President Obama in a directive and has not been revoked by President Trump, to the effect that the Department of Justice is not to prosecute people possessing and consuming marijuana in states where such practice is legal. The New York Times wrote on October 19, 2009:

“People who use marijuana for medical purposes and those who distribute it to them should not face federal prosecution, provided they act according to state law, the Justice Department said Monday in a directive with far-reaching political and legal implications.”

In addition, USA Today reported on August 29, 2013 about another directive, clarifying the previous one:

“… federal authorities still will prosecute individuals or entities involved in: The distribution of marijuana to minors; Directing revenue from marijuana sales to gangs and cartels; Diverting marijuana from states where it is legal to other states where there are no laws allowing for marijuana use; Using legal sales as cover for trafficking operations; Using violence and or firearms in marijuana cultivation and distribution; Driving under the influence of marijuana; Growing marijuana on public lands; Possessing marijuana or using on federal property.”

To obtain a better understanding of the different schedules and classes in federal law, we are quoting from verywell.com:

“Schedule I: [According to the federal law:] These are drugs that are the most easily abused but have no known, researched, medical application. They include heroin, LSD, marijuana, and ecstasy… these drugs may not be prescribed for any reason…

“Schedule II: [According to the federal law:]… Their use can lead to dependence, both physical and psychological. They include morphine, opium and opioids, methadone, oxycodone, and fentanyl.

“Schedule III: [According to federal law:] Drugs which may lead to high psychological dependence, but lower levels of actual physical dependence. Included in Schedule III are many of the combination pain relief drugs such as those which combine hydrocodone or codeine (Vicodin, Tylenol with Codeine).

“Schedule IV: [According to federal law:] [These] drugs have a low potential for abuse… and may include Xanax, Valium, and Restoril.

“Schedule V: [According to federal law:] These drugs may contain limited amounts of narcotics, and are considered to present a very low risk of abuse. Many cough medicines and antidiarrheals are listed in Schedule V such as Robitussin and Phenergan with Codeine.”

In reviewing these categories of classes, we must point out that many of these drugs listed above in Schedules II to V carry dangerous side effects which most certainly affect the body and mind and have led to many deaths due to overdosing and mixing medications, yet these prescription and “Over-the-Counter” [OTC] drugs are considered “legal” by the government and covered by (profit-making) insurance companies.

A 2014 mercola.com article, titled “The Benefits of Medical Cannabis,” explains:

“Many fail to realize that prescription drugs actually have FAR greater potential to turn you into ‘a junkie’ [than medical marijuana]. Legal drug addiction is also taking lives in record numbers. In the UK, one million people are addicted to over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription painkillers and tranquilizers…

“Pharmaceuticals in general are among the leading causes of death in the US, and some medicines have killed tens of thousands of individuals. The painkiller Vioxx is one classic example, which killed over 60,000 before being pulled off the market.

“The diabetes drug Avandia is another, and most recently, a study estimated that in a five-year span, some 800,000 people in Europe were killed from inappropriate use of beta-blockers in non-cardiac surgery patients…”

Whatever medicines one may take, God expects of us to be responsible, having done diligent research beforehand. Suffering and dying Church members were given morphine, which was prescribed by their doctors, to ease their pain, and the Church never felt that this would have been inappropriate or ungodly. Also, if one is in a hospital recovering from surgery or going through a lot of pain, one needs some relief, and morphine and dilaudid are the two most commonly used drugs.

In light of this, we will address now the medical benefits of marijuana.

In an article titled, “Medical Marijuana: The Pros and Cons of Legal Cannabis” by the Huffington Post, it was stated:

“The medicinal use of marijuana is well known to be of benefit in the treatment of nausea and other side effects from chemotherapy. It also helps improve the diminished appetite that patients undergoing cancer treatment can experience. It lowers intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients, decreases spasticity and other neurologic symptoms in multiple sclerosis…

“Its value in medical practice in allopathic, herbal and homeopathic forms is an open-and-shut case. Any resistance to its medical use from the mainstream medical community is likely to be a function of political expediency because to reject it on scientific grounds is just plain silly. When we consider that physicians legally prescribe powerful and addictive drugs like morphine, codeine, oxycodone (OxyContin) and hydromorphone (Dilaudid), to name just a few, it is hard to see the justification for outlawing medical cannabis.”

According to verywell.com:

“Marijuana is effective at relieving nausea and vomiting, especially caused by chemotherapy used to treat cancer. It can relieve the spasticity of the muscles that is sometimes associated with multiple sclerosis and paralysis, help treat appetite loss associated with HIV/AIDS and certain types of cancers, relieve certain types of pain…”

The 2014 mercola.com article, titled “The Benefits of Medical Cannabis,” explains:

“A good candidate for medical cannabis are those suffering from various types of cancers, mood disorders, pain disorders, Degenerative neurological disorders such as dystonia, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, PTSD, Seizure Disorders and also… nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, improving appetites for cancer and AIDs patients, reduction of pressure in the eyes, depression, cramps, panic attacks, itching, chronic pain, glaucoma (relief of eye pressure), HIV, rheumatoid arthritis, sleep apnea and Tourette’s syndrome.

“Research has found that, compared to other pain drugs, cannabis takes less of a toll on the liver, kidneys and possibly other organs.”

The Washington Post stated the following in an article in December of 2016, titled, “A powerful new form of medical marijuana, without the high”:

“What makes CBD [cannabidiol, an ingredient of marijuana] especially appealing is that it doesn’t get the user high… Its safety and lack of psychoactivity undermines any argument that it should be illegal… Studies have shown that CBD may have benefits in both heart disease and diabetes. One key area of CBD research is epilepsy… Patients receiving CBD in addition to their usual medicines had 39 percent fewer convulsive seizures than patients who remained on their normal drug regimen…

“German researchers showed in 2012 that giving CBD to schizophrenic patients reduced psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and disordered thinking. CBD seems to have anti-cancer properties, too. At the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco, researchers Sean McAllister and Pierre Desprez have found that CBD can block cancer cells from metastasizing…”

In February of 2017, the website of endoca.com published this article, “CBD medical marijuana without the high”:

“The cannabinoid that is most famous, or perhaps infamous, is THC or… tetrahydrocannabinol, known for the high or euphoric effect it has… But THC is only one of the many cannabinoids. Not all of them share its psychoactive properties.

“THC is used to treat pain, loss of appetite, or wasting in cancer and HIV patients, nausea and many other conditions. Generally, breeders find that cannabis plants, or hybrids of the plant, contain inverse amounts of these two compounds. In other words, strains high in CBD will be low in THC, and strains high in THC will be low in CBD. What’s more, CBD naturally counteracts the psychoactive effects of THC…”

However, patients must be aware and responsible enough to know what they are taking for whatever condition they are suffering from. They ought to be under medical supervision, and medical marijuana, if at all, should be prescribed by a licensed doctor and experienced physician who specializes in medical marijuana. It should never be obtained by other means, as the next quote explains:

Consumerhealthdigest.com states in an article, entitled, “Pros and Cons Of Using Medical Marijuana”:

“Some street dealers have been known to lace their product with powerful drugs in order to enhance the high, or its inherent potency may be higher. According to Rehab Center Rankings, there is a discrepancy between the motivations of licensed medical practitioners and drug dealers which affect the buyer’s intended outcome.”

The discussion in this article regarding the potential use of medical marijuana does not apply to recreational marijuana. Just like with anything that we do, we need to be careful and also make sure that we don’t affect our godly character. Insofar as recreational marijuana is concerned, the Church of the Eternal God and its affiliates teach against it because there is no basis for it and its use can lead to emotional and psychological problems.

Consumerhealthdigest.com continues to state:

“… marijuana has a clear tendency to diminish motivation, blunt ambition and generally stunt normal emotional growth. While it can stimulate the mind it seems to interfere with emotional maturation in some individuals. It can also cause confusion and disorganized thought patterns…

“Marijuana is well known to be able to induce anxiety disorders, including panic attacks. More rarely, when used by the wrong individuals, it may serve as a trigger for psychotic states, including schizophrenia. The problem with recreational use is that it usually happens in uncontrolled situations with no serious purposeful agenda other than to get ‘high.’”

When we apply biblical principles to the use of recreational marijuana, we need to keep these Scriptures in mind:

We are to glorify God in body and spirit and we shouldn’t intentionally do things that hurt our bodies, as recreational marijuana might do (1 Corinthians 6:12-20).

We need to be sober minded, and recreational marijuana may affect our minds (1 Peter 5:8-9).

We need to discipline our bodies and keep them under control (1 Corinthians 9:27).

However, when addressing medical marijuana and its undeniable benefits, a different picture might emerge. Ultimately, as is the case with ANY medication, it is an individual decision. The Church does not take any position on the particular use of any medication, and neither endorses nor rejects it, but biblical principles should be kept in mind.

Obviously, no medication should be used which is clearly detrimental to our health, or which hurts our bodies and our minds. In the case of medical marijuana, the complicating factor emerges in the USA that it is legal in some states, while still illegal, rightly or wrongly, under federal law, and that Christians are to be subject to the law of the land, while obeying God rather than man (who wants all of us to be healthy and of a sound mind). This requires an individual decision, considering the fact that under President Obama’s directive to the DOJ, medical marijuana users are not to be prosecuted by the feds, if certain conditions are met.

Generally, we read in Genesis 1:29 that God created herbs, which are good for food and, in some cases, for medicine, and our free booklet, “Sickness and Healing… What the Bible Tells Us,” gives further examples of healing medicines in the chapter, “What about Medicines?”, beginning on page 13.

We know that God created everything but we also need to be wise in discerning the use of something made by God. Some uses of various products do not involve ingestion. God created poisonous mushrooms but we know that they are deadly as food. The same is true for the prohibited consumption of the meat of unclean animals. God created various natural plants that can be used as food, material and also as medicine. It is the individual’s decision as to what to use.

Lead Writers: Michael Link and Norbert Link

Unified in Trials

September 15, 2017September 14, 2017 by Michael Link

Should it come as a surprise when we go through trials, especially prior to the Feast of Tabernacles? Sometimes we may experience “heavier” trials, perhaps having the feeling of being alone, that there is nobody out there who can help or comfort us. It’s quite normal to have that feeling at times but we need to understand that EVERYONE goes through trials and EVERYONE suffers in their own way. We go through trials for the purpose of our individual course towards perfection.

These particular tests affect each and every one of us. Not all trials are the same for each of us. Our responses and reactions, our strength and our faith are always being tested. Do we pray to God when we are facing difficulties, asking Him to give us strength through His Holy Spirit? Or is it in the back of our minds, not valued as important enough? Is prayer just something we do when we have the time for it, when it’s convenient, sometimes even forgetting to pray altogether? Do NOT neglect the power of prayer for anything, because, as Paul says in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

But we are human and we still think like humans, process thoughts by using our carnal minds, and at times give in to sin. We can quickly change that way of thinking because we have something the people of this world don’t have who have not been called by God. We have the power of the Holy Spirit that we received during our baptism! God’s Holy Spirit helps us distinguish between right and wrong, which is why it is important to pray to God to grant us more of His Spirit when we are going through difficulties, and why it is so important to replenish it daily.

We shouldn’t be afraid when we go through trials, but it’s never a bad thing to ask ourselves why we may be going through certain trials. Isaiah 41:10 tells us, “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” And 2 Timothy 1:7 continues on saying, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

David understood this, and he also faced many difficult trials. He pleaded with God with fasting and prayer and knew that he had to change. He was not too proud to admit that he sinned when he recognized it and bitterly repented. He was still punished, but God accepted his repentance and he was forgiven. After all, he was a man after God’s own heart. His heart was in the right place. He loved God’s law and he received strength from God. He didn’t have anything to fear since his absolute faith was in God (compare Psalms 27:1; 118:6).

Our trials may be different from other’s trials, but we all go through trials for we are ALL being tested. And that is why we pray for and comfort one another, because we are never alone. It’s a unified effort!

Just as our beliefs and what we preach is unified, we then are to speak the same thing, agree that there are no divisions, be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment (1 Corinthians 1:10). We need to be of one mind (1 Peter 3:8). Romans 12:16 adds that we need to be of the same mind toward one another and not be wise in our own opinion. If we think that we can make it on our own, saying that we don’t need the church or the ministry, don’t need to keep God’s law and just do what we believe is correct in our own eyes, we will fail. Where do we put our trust? Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us the answer. Yes, God will direct our paths, but God also provides help because we are not alone. Who can understand the Bible without direction, explanation and guidance? God provides help for the purpose of teaching (compare Ephesians 4:11-13; Acts 20:28). We are to be helped by the ministry because we have a work to do. But we need to be of one mind. How can two walk together unless they are agreed? (Amos 3:3).

To be truly unified we also must have humility (Philippians 2:1-8), we must have peace (Ephesians 4:3) and we must have love, which is the bond of perfection (Colossians 3:14). Are we doing enough?

We ALL go through various trials. Through unity of like mind, we receive strength and comfort from God and our brethren (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). We must allow God to help us when we go through difficult times. We must not take Him for granted nor His Church nor all the things that He has given us. Rather, we need to really think about what His purpose is for us. Why are we here? What are we commissioned to do? We ALL have a part—individually and as a whole.

Angels, Demons and the Spirit World

September 14, 2017February 1, 2025

To Request a FREE hard copy of this booklet, please write to: contact@eternalgod.org

Do Angels and Demons exist?

Should we pray to angels or worship them?

Do UFOs and aliens exist? Could there be any connection with demons?

What activities must we avoid as to not come in contact with demons?

Should we try to communicate with the dead?

What are angels and demons doing today?

Could they affect our lives?

Discover the truth about Angels, Demons and the Spirit World by requesting a FREE copy of this booklet.

Clean and Unclean

September 9, 2017September 10, 2017 by Michael Link

What sets us apart from those who are of this world and have not been called yet? How are we to live clean in an unclean world?

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True Freedom

August 5, 2017August 5, 2017 by Michael Link

The Declaration of Independence written 241 years ago contained some familiar information that has been remembered throughout the years as a symbol of freedom. Interestingly enough, the Bible shares some similarities that the Declaration touches upon, such as liberty, happiness, slavery, and divine protection. What does the Bible have to say about these very issues and what does it take to become truly free in God’s eyes?

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A Road Less Traveled

July 21, 2017July 20, 2017 by Michael Link

Roads are important as they lead us from one place to another, and there are many types of roads with different purposes and conditions. We depend on roads to travel on daily, to get us from here to there. But with all the roads that we count to reach our destination, how are we doing on our spiritual road? We chose to go down a specific road, a road that will hopefully lead us in the right direction. This is no ordinary road but one that contains many hazardous conditions—perhaps some detours and delays—and it is not an easy road to travel. Only a SELECT FEW will travel on this road.

Matthew 7:13-14 starts off by giving us a choice – we can either select the narrow way or the wide way. When we have reached a fork in the road, which one do we take? To put it into perspective, one road looks more appealing than the other, at first glance. The “left” road looks very attractive, tempting, enticing, and the majority would choose to take it full speed ahead, but they fail to see the trap that is set before them as it will ultimately lead to a dead end. The road on the “right” looks less appealing, not to mention incredibly narrow requiring a considerable uphill effort as far as the physical eye can see, which may fail to realize where the road ends – far from death. What choice will we make? Many will choose the “left” way, but we must choose the “right” way. Remember how Lot chose wrongly when he saw how “appealing” Sodom and Gomorrah looked in Genesis 13?

Focusing on our own road and the challenges we must go through to travel on it, we can see that, on occasion, the road can be quite hazardous and we need to be cautious at all times, pay attention by not letting distractions get in the way, watch what we are doing, and watch out for what lies ahead so we are prepared. To elaborate on this analogy, there may be times when we may come across a road block. This happens quite often where we face a condition in our path and get stuck, but it is only a delay. As a result, we need to find an alternate route, such as a detour, which still leads in the right direction. We have to be careful that we don’t drift off course, meaning we must obey the signs and not try to put matters into our own hands, like finding a short cut that could lead us right into a “lake” if we’re not careful. We must realize our mistakes, as we are still human, and get back on track and find the connector that leads us right back onto the main road we are traveling.

The road of the world is difficult to avoid, that road on the “left,” as it will from time to time travel parallel with our road, and we have to make sure that it does not intersect, giving us an easy pathway to enter the wrong way! There will be many opportunities and temptations along the way—wrong signs that we must ignore and warning signs that we must heed—if we want to reach our final destination. We must be aware of U-turns as we are traveling on a one-way street. We need to avoid going back into the world as we have come out of it.

Isaiah 35:8 talks about this road in the future, the road that we are presently on, which will become a Highway of Holiness—a road to Jerusalem, to Christ—and the time will come when everyone will have that chance to travel that road. The New American Standard Bible translates it as: “A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it.” The unclean shall not pass over it, referring to those who choose not to be clean, who do not want to go the Way of Christ, but it shall be for others – those who want to live righteously, those who were blind and now can see, who were deaf and now can hear.

This is why we have chosen this road. We are still traveling on it and we will eventually reach our final destination and enter the narrow gate IF we remain focused, fruitful and faithful (Luke 13:24).

Miracles Do Happen

June 24, 2017June 25, 2017 by Michael Link

Have we experienced or even witnessed some kind of miracle in our lives? The Bible has several examples of miracles that have been performed. What can we learn from these?

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Longsuffering for Righteousness Sake

June 3, 2017June 4, 2017 by Michael Link

Why do we suffer? Is it necessary for our eternal salvation? God has long-suffering for us just as we do for Him as we eagerly wait for Christ’s return. How do we live a life pleasing God and what does He promise us in return?

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Heavens and Earth… Before and After the First Man!

May 27, 2017February 1, 2025

To Request a FREE hard copy of this booklet, please write to: contact@eternalgod.org

What is the history of planet earth?

Is everything that exists today a product of evolution or did God create everything?

Did man coexist with dinosaurs?

Did God create ferocious dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus-Rex?

Does the Loch Ness monster and creatures such as Bigfoot exist today?

Who was the Neanderthal Man?

Did Angels or Demons have sexual relationships with women?

Were there giants on the earth?

Who ruled the world prior to Adam, and who has been ruling it ever since?

What does the future hold for this planet and for mankind?

Is it the potential for humans to become God beings?

That Which Is Unavoidable

May 19, 2017May 18, 2017 by Michael Link

The current situation which our nations face looks grim and is headed towards self-destruction. This is certain to happen – it is unavoidable. Unfortunately, there really isn’t anything that we can do about it, in terms of the economy and other various laws that the government has put into place, and we in the Church feel the effects as well. Yes, our nations are in a big mess and solutions to fix the problems are becoming more and more extreme. This should be no surprise to us as the Bible is clear not only about the future of our nations, but also the whole world.

The book of Isaiah is full of prophecies of what is to come in the future. We read about how Assyria (modern German speaking nations) will fight against Egypt in due course; how Judah will fight against Jerusalem; how our nations will also be in war and will lose. It is hard to imagine this right now and many people do not take it seriously because they also don’t believe it. It will most certainly happen. But why? What have the nations of this world done to make God so angry?

The first chapter of Isaiah talks about the wickedness of modern Israel (mainly the USA, Great Britain, Canada and Australia) and Judah. “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: ‘I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me; The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.’ Alas, sinful nation, A people laden with iniquity, A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward. Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment… Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; They are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood” (Isaiah 1:2-6, 13-15).

The modern nations of Israel and Judah have forsaken God and taken matters into their own hands, either keeping feast days not of God or keeping godly days in a wrong way, and, due to their sins, God has not listened to their prayers. God is angry because of their pagan-related worship (Isaiah 2:6-9), and as God responded in the past to their sinful conduct, He will once again respond to their wickedness (Isaiah 5:24-25). For us however, the true Church of God, He tells us to continue to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God until the end (Matthew 24:14).

God has instructed us to be vigilant and NOT to stumble as many have (compare Isaiah chapter 8), for they go the way of the pagans and not of God. The leaders of the people are to blame (Isaiah 9:13-17). They do not look to God for answers, but they look to their own reasoning, what appears best in their own eyes and to the eyes of the public, to gain popularity. For all those who don’t put their trust in God will have to face serious consequences (Isaiah 31:1-3). This is inevitable! This happened back then; it is happening now and it will continue to happen until Christ’s return.

What about us? The Bible is very specific on what we are NOT to do. In a prophecy in Deuteronomy 28:15, it also warns those who disobey, saying, “But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.”

Yes indeed, the terrible things to come, because of man’s selfish desires, are certain to happen. We have to be prepared for what is to occur. There are certain things that are out of our control, but we have to recognize the fact that it is God who will take care of us. We are often times faced with situations which might lead to doubt, and we may question why things are happening the way they are, especially during these times of uncertainty. It is easy to lose focus, to get off track, to sometimes forget about God. He tells us in Matthew 6:25-34 not to worry about our future. Christ’s death was inevitable. It had to happen for the sake of mankind, or we would all die the eternal death, and we could not experience everlasting life. There would be no purpose for us. We could never be in God’s Kingdom, which is why God created us in the first place!

The immediate future for the entire world is heading towards a destructive and terrible time, leading to the Great Tribulation, as the Bible predicts, and it is unavoidable, since mankind is unwilling to repent and change. At the same time, we know what God has in store for us when Jesus Christ returns. We will experience the end to all the misery, so we can finally live a peaceful and eternal life in God’s Kingdom, and teach mankind God’s Way of happiness and tranquility, and that too is inevitable and unavoidable.