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Volume
IV No. 1 Nicholas Scrolls January 2008 Life’s Adversity – Death & Renewal Greetings Brethren, friends and neighbors, The New Year is upon us and there is much at play in our
lives both, domestically and geo-politically. I first want to extend my
greetings of shalom to each of you and your households and I pray that our Lord
richly bless you all with wisdom, discernment, strength and courage to face
what lies ahead in the coming months. If the political scene and economy wasn’t
bad enough then this winter’s weather patterns sure seem to be keeping us under
constant adversity. Record breaking floods, windstorms, wildfires, snowstorms
and unseasonable tornadoes have wreaked havoc with many of us this winter. My prayers
and thoughts go out to all that have become victims loosing loved ones and
property the last two months. Winter has just begun and already untold millions
of dollars in damaged property and dozens of precious lives have been lost
across this country. Add to that the ever-increasing murder rate in our
metropolitan areas and their surrounding suburbs and we all have good reason to
wonder if God is not beginning to chasten us sorely. Please pray and stay
focused on the Lord’s will for your lives. The beginning signs of God’s
judgment are most certainly upon us and I don’t expect much of any relief to us
Americans as long as our current administration continues its agenda of
dividing up On Personal Loss…December’s Scroll included a personal sharing with
you all that my sister Callie was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and she did
not have long to live. My sister Callie passed on the morning of Christmas Eve
at 9:46am. She was 43 years old and a single mother of three beautiful young
children. It came to pass as I discerned that she would not live past Christmas
Day. My mother was able to attend the funeral and services and was very moved
by the tremendous support of Callie's friends and her past and current employers from as far away as What's done is done and there is only her children's
health and welfare to be mindful of now. I pray the kid's father, Richard, will
be moved and awakened as I was so many years ago to do the right and just thing
by those kids and see to it that they are truly loved as Christ loves them. I
know that's alot to ask for but I too am one who believes in miracles. If I
could be brought into a closer relationship with our living God through great
travesty and adversity, so too can Richard's heart be softened and moved to
draw near unto God and seek out His will for their lives. No doubt, Richard is
going to need a lot of help in managing a very difficult task single-handedly.
Please join with me in keeping the Cribbs children in prayer. Personal Adversity & Challenging SeasSpeaking of miracles... The very fact that I am
writing you now is something of a small miracle considering my New Year's
adventure on the high seas. I was contracted to tow a 65' yacht from We no sooner cleared the It did not take long before
the windshield wipers were blown off by surging waves. Turning the vessel
around and going back to At one point Don was forced to
go out on the aft deck to re-secure a 100-gallon spare fuel tank we had mounted
for the trip on the aft deck. We almost lost it completely but Don is a huge
man, 6'7" weighing in at about 400 lbs. He managed to turn the fuel tank
upright and place it back on its cradle securing it with extra line to our tow
post. He noticed that the valve broke off and it was spilling diesel fuel out
onto the deck so he had to jury rig the cylindrical tank turning it to keep the
broken valves above the remaining fuel level. I estimated that we lost about 35
or 40 gallons of fuel overboard. It seemed like it took forever but we finally
crossed through
Upon our arrival I made a few phone calls and learned that the US Coast Guard was attempting to reach us thinking that we were another distressed vessel calling for assistance. I heard the hails but could do nothing to answer them because I couldn't take my hand off the wheel for a second. Everyone was relieved to hear that we arrived safely. After a good night’s meal and rest, we spent two hours the next day effecting repairs and necessary maintenance on the vessel before departing for home at 1400 hours. We finally arrived back to homeport at 2100 hrs and were glad to get back to solid ground. Overall, the trip was a success and I would do it all over again. The pay was good and those kinds of adventures make one moreso a God fearing sailor than men who know only smooth seas. It is through great trial and adversity that a man discovers his limits, builds his character and can oftentimes develop a more intimate relationship with God. I wouldn't trade the life God has given me for anything. I think that the number of trials and great adversity I have encountered through my life has been preparing me for tougher times ahead when many Christians, especially those of the mediocre modern Church age will be struggling with their faith as we enter the end days of increasing adversity. Men of unwavering faith and courage will be needed to assist the weaker of our brethren be it finding refuge or safe harbor or food to keep one's family sustained. I still don't know what my role will be exactly but I understand many will be terribly disappointed that God did not rapture them prior to the tribulation and their faith will be under the greatest of testing. The weaker among us will need the support and faithful guidance of Godfearing men who have been made "overcommers" through great trial and adversity. These are men who know the power of God's grace personally, witnessed true miracles and have overcome the greatest struggles life threw at them. Selling out or going with mainstream ideals will otherwise lead one straight into apostasy and support of the ecumenical heresy now unfolding before our eyes. The modern Church is becoming more and more antichrist. 1 Timothy 4:1 “But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,” Death Strikes Yet Again Just as I was writing this Scroll recounting recent
events, I received a phone call from my brother Brad informing me that our Dad
had taken a fall hitting his head pretty hard and was in the hospital. We
talked about driving out to We all spent a week together with three other
sisters who reside in Earlier that evening, my Dad's Pastor from the local
Pastor Terry did confess that our Dad was a formidable man and appeared to become more and more holy in practice and application. After about a half-hour of contending with Pastor Terry, he suggested we all gather around to hold hands and say a final prayer for Dad. I agreed. Of course, Pastor Terry assumed a position right next to my Dad rather than allowing one of his own sons to stand near. I thought that was rather presumptuous and arrogant of him to do so but I readily dismissed it. Then when Pastor Terry attempted to utter a prayer aloud... his voice became a jangle of uhmm's, and uhhh's and ahh's and was for the most part made speechless. At first, he couldn't utter a clear intelligible word in our presence but was finally able to at least utter a portion of the Lord’s Prayer. Needless to say, all my family members were terribly disappointed so I... being filled with the Father's Holy Spirit chimed in and lead everyone in a moving and passion filled prayer acknowledging Dad's repentant state and all his finest and most memorable attributes giving thanks for the work of God's Holy Spirit in him and through him and with the greatest of confidence... acknowledging his place in the resurrection to come. Then I said, "Now that the Holy Spirit is in our presence, if anyone has anything else to add, please speak up." Shelley in a broken and tearful voice said, "We agree with everything you said Nick." And then everyone in unison said, “Yes, thank you - AMEN." Immediately afterwards with an embarrassed posture, Pastor Terry said, "I have to leave." He practically ran out the door. I guess I got to him and everyone marveled saying how disappointed they all were in his performance. I responded by saying, "I think he was intimidated by me. He has never been very comfortable around me." My brother Brad replied, "Everyone is intimidated around you Nick." Then we all laughed. There were arrangements to make and a meeting at the
Funeral home the next day. Our three stepsisters from Dad's last marriage were
also there, Shelley, Christi and Katie. Shelly was given power of attorney to
handle most of dad's affairs. Dad had requested to be cremated and be given a
sea burial off of Point Defiance near where Brad and I reside. Everyone agreed
that I being a Captain with certain Godfearing credentials was to handle those
arrangements this spring (May) and will write the Eulogy and perform the
services. We will all gather together again aboard my friend’s 54' sailing
Ketch, Chalupa, which is equipped with a real cannon. We will fly his
veteran's flag from the halyard and give him a proper gun (cannon) salute as
well before committing his ashes to the deep. Until then...
Dad's remains and flag will remain with me on my boat, m/v CEPHAS. The rest of the week was spent celebrating his life, recounting precious childhood memories, laughing, joking and ribbing one another in true Stivers tradition. That's the way he would have wanted it. Brian and Kim returned home on Thursday and Brad and I stayed until Saturday. Brad wanted to show me his hunting grounds about 27 miles east of town and so we took dad's Ford Explorer out in the wilderness and promptly got stuck in a snow-covered barrel-pit for four hours with snow drifting up all around us. Though we were in a blizzard at the time, we did get to see Mule Deer feeding around us. It was only about 15 degrees outside and the winds were blowing about 35mph. A Ranch owner finally happened by and went to get his son to come and pull us out. We evidently damaged the front right tire because we drove the last few miles back into town on a tire rim - the tire was completely gone! Just another famous Nick & Brad adventure. Something about the chemistry between the two of us always seems to make for interesting and laughable memories.
It feels strange - stranger than when my sister Callie died. I'm all alone with my thoughts and a lifetime of memories to cherish. I know beyond any reasonable doubt - I will see my dad again. He gave me many gifts but the greatest of his gifts to me was the passion I hold for life at sea. More than any of his sons that was the one thing him and I shared intimately. Of him, I will always have the fondest of memories and be ever thankful that he adopted me as a young child and gave me his name. Following the Right Example Humanity has for millennia followed the best and worst of its own example. Throughout the ages men of old and men of renown were often times inspiring examples and as such became for us role models to pattern our lives by. Within the Christian culture of the last two thousand years, many believers have been able to look upon the Apostles examples and identify with their human nature thus patterning their lives after them. In so doing, there has grown many leader type personalities within the established churches creating a Master – servant culture. Unfortunately, the contemporary Church has become more and more the apostate institution that it was prophesied to be. Rather than men following the pattern of Christ implicitly, men more and more followed the pattern of other men and the further we traveled through time forward, the further we became removed from the actual witness of Christ Jesus – the Son of GOD. From one religious branch to another we see the same classic error being repeated over and over. The oldest and still most powerful institution today is the Roman Catholic Church, which to this day still falsely claims to be the Church built upon the Apostle Peter. Others followed over the centuries becoming much like the original Roman design. Martin Luther spawned the Protestant movement in the 1500’s and at about the mid 1800’s the Mormon Church elevated Joseph Smith as a Prophet to model a perversion of Old Testament histories after. The 1800’s saw a plethora of change within the varied Christian sects. Dave MacPherson, author of “The Unbelievable Pre – Trib Origin,” has completed an extensive
study detailing the truth about where this seemingly argumentative doctrine
came from. In the 1820’s, a religious movement began to grow among a few
Christians in the “ Expectations of the soon coming of our Lord were
being voiced, This was no new thing, but what was unusual was the teaching by a
Presbyterian minister named Edward Irving that there had to be a restoration of
the spiritual gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12-14 just before Christ's
second coming. To “These events were the beginnings of what some call
present day Pentecostalism. Indeed, some church historians have called Irving "the father of modern
Pentecostalism." What does all this have to do with the origin of the
Rapture doctrine? Very much indeed. Let us look at
what happened in the year 1830 -- two years before “On one particular evening. The power of the Holy
Spirit was said to have rested on a Miss Margaret Macdonald while she was in a
state of illness at home. She was dangerously sick and thought she was dying.
In spite of this (or perhaps because she is supposed to have come under
"power" of the spirit for several successive hours during which she
experienced the manifestations of "mingled prophecy and vision." The
message she received during this prophetic vision convinced her that Christ was
going to appear in two stages at His Second Coming -- and not one! The
emanation revealed that Christ would first come in glory to them that look for
Him and again in a final stage when every eye would see Him. It was this
visionary experience of Miss Macdonald, which represents the prime source of
the modern Rapture doctrine as the historical evidence compiled by Mr.
MacPherson abundantly shows.” The Influence of John Darby “Many people have thought that John Darby, the
founder of the Plymouth Brethren, was the originator of the Rapture doctrine.
This is not the case. Darby was a brilliant theologian with outstanding
scholarly abilities. Even those who have disagreed with his teachings admit
that he, and many associated with him, helped to cause
a revival in biblical learning throughout the evangelical world (which even has
been perpetuated down to our own present day). All who love biblical research
ought to be thankful for what Darby and especially his associates accomplished
for biblical scholarship. They particularly helped pave the way for the renewal
of modern lexical studies of the languages of the Bible. The doctrine of
"Dispensationalism" was also a dangerous teaching they brought to the
attention of the Protestant world. “It had long been thought by many Christians that
the Rapture doctrine originated with, John Darby. It is now known that this is
not true. Darby only popularized it. Scofield and others who took over Darby's
mantle later helped to make it popular. Today, many of those in the evangelical
sphere of Christianity are so certain of its veracity that it is accepted as
the absolute truth of God. The fact is however, John Darby received the
knowledge of the doctrine from someone else. The source was Margaret Macdonald.
“The studies of Mr. MacPherson show that her
sickness during which she received her visions and revelations occurred
sometime between February 1 and April 14, 1830. And by late spring and early
summer of 1830, her belief in the two phases of Christ's coming was being
mentioned in praise and prayer meetings in several towns of western Visions and Dreams “While it is possible that visionary revelations can come
from God, it is always prudent to be cautious in such matters. Near the same
time that Miss Macdonald was receiving her visions, Joseph Smith in Deuteronomy 13:1-3 “If there arise among you a prophet, or a
dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the
wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other
gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken
unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your
God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart
and with all your soul.” Among the many divisions that continue to take place today there are always similarities between dividing factions, which seem to get carried on from one sect to the next. The one most significant parallel between all these divisions within the history of Christianity is the propensity of man to honor and worship other notable men forming an ever-changing appearance of the established Church. This changing appearance is evidenced in the diverse formation of varied sects and followings. Among the many diverse sects we see newer movements growing today following after Watchman Nee and Lee. These men are no less honored and worshipped because of their works and inspirational testimonies left behind much like the sects, which were spawned in the 1800’s. We’ve seen the recent growth of Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven movement sweeping nearly all churches across America including the Southern Baptists and other stranger groups still forming that are quite alien to true Christianity. What is this all leading to? When will the clergy and church leaders wake up and see what has become of their selfish religious empires? How far removed from the scriptural witness does the modern Church have to become before the majority of believers will admit all are apostate? 1 John 4:1 “Beloved,
believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” The Only Remedy to Cure Apostasia Who is your master and who is your servant? Are you a follower of men or of Christ? Do you test what you hear another man profess and measure that against the scriptural witness or have you not bothered to read your Bible for a long while? The above accounts summarized by Dr. Ernest L. Martin show proof of man’s propensity to follow mankind’s carnal nature. This excerpt also once again exposes the idea of the errant Rapture doctrine being unbiblical when tested against the litmus of unadulterated scripture. If we are going to call Jesus Lord then we better start living our lives as though He is our Lord without exception! To do anything less is to fall victim to deception and eventually be afflicted with degrees of unbelief. The above accounts clearly indicate that Margaret Macdonald, John Darby, Ellen G. White and Joseph Smith along with many others fell victim to profound spiritual deception. The 1800’s in particular were a time of great deception creeping into the Church. The only cure to falling victim to apostasia is to live completely surrendered lives to Christ Jesus and trust His Word over any other. Since this Scroll deals with a number of subjects related to death and adversity and my own personal losses of late bring to mind the hope of resurrection and eternal life, I desire to once again share with you the truth about the order of resurrection so that you may be comforted in knowing that death in Christ is a new beginning. The following will of course refute the errant nature of a Pre-Trib Rapture but it will not leave you feeling hopeless in knowing that we all must undergo adversity and tribulation in our lives before our mortal bodies perish. Now Paul, describing the mystery of resurrection,
ministering largely to Gentile Christians in In order to fully appreciate and confirm the above
verse you must also look at the same usage of words in their appropriate
context as seen in the book of 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. "For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise
first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with
the Lord." Our New Bodies
There are two important Greek words used in the
above verses. The first is harpagesometha, translated as "caught up."
This refers to a specific moment in the future when Christ Jesus will catch up
believers as He descends from heaven. The other word is "meet"
translated from the Greek phrase eis apantesin (1519, 539) which means "to
come into the presence of, to meet." This occurs after the dead have been
raised (I Thess 4:16-17). Then the bodies of those who are alive will be
transformed into new bodies (See II Cor. 5:1). 2 Corinthians 5:1 "For we know that if our earthly
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
So the hope that Paul was sharing was neither in preserving our current
physical bodies nor escaping the first death but the hope is
centered on receiving new bodies, which shall not die nor be corrupted. The
hope therefore is in receiving the new life and not in preserving the old life
or corrupted body of flesh. Understand
this! "... if our earthly
house of this tabernacle (tent)..." What Paul is saying here is
that the Spirit is the real person found in the body. The body is represented
by the Greek word skenon (4633) meaning "tent" which refers to the
material portion of a person. Paul continues to explain that though this
earthly body ("house") will be "dissolved," God has promised
that there will be a "building of God." Though
this is a literal description of the death of a mortal body, it is intended for the believer to be
encouragement as he looks at death. The word that is translated as "building,"
is the Greek word oikodomen (3619) which means "the process of building
something." The basic idea here is that God is building a new house for
the believer's spirit, which will be disembodied at the point of death, leaving
the body remaining on earth. This indicates that God will create something
"new." John 14:2 "In my Father's house
are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to
prepare a place for you." Then Paul uses the word, oikian (3614),
"dwelling place," which refers to the completion of the "eternal
body."
There are two qualities of this new body that must be understood. First, it
will be similar to the present one and identifiable, yet not identical because
it is not going to be made by human hands, but God will produce it. The word
translated "not made with hands" is acheiropoieton (886). This is the
same word that the Lord used in Mark 14:58 when He spoke of "destroying
the temple," Which was made by the hands of men, and in three
days, building another not made by the hands of man. Though Christ was
literally speaking of His body during the resurrection, He was also speaking of
a pattern and type of the "body of believers" that would also be risen in three days. For we who are gathered unto Christ are
"the Church of the first born," not mere believers but
the very "temple" in which God chooses to dwell. This is confirmed
by the prophet Hosea 6:1-2 "Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for
he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After
two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall
live in his sight." Do Not Be Ignorant
Apostle Paul reaffirms his faith when speaking of
the "dead in Christ" in his address to Thessalonia; 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18 "But I would not have you to
be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not,
even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose
again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we
say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto
the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead
in Christ shall rise first: Then we
which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore
comfort one another with these words." Pre-tribulation Bible Scholars all say that the
above statements by Paul describe the rapture of the Church thereby ending the
Church age or when the "time of the Gentiles" is completed. These
same scholars say that after the Church is "taken up" God will then
turn His attention back to the remnant of Furthermore, Jesus said that His angels would be
dispatched at this time with the sound of the trumpet to gather together all
His Elect from the four winds and that this event would take place "immediately after the tribulation." In the
entire Bible, where does it ever indicate that the Lord comes back a third
time? Where is the word, “rapture” ever used? That is what some of the
pre-tribulationalists would have you believe if you took their view. But the
Bible describes Christ's "Second
Coming" and two main resurrections. Nowhere does it make reference to
a third coming or rapture. Those who are referred to as the Elect in this verse
are the ones who shall rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years. The
rest of the dead will not be resurrected until near the end of the New
Millennium. If you care to see the fuller version of this
Scroll, it can be found on my website and is listed as "The Order of Resurrections" on Volume III No. 8. http://nicholas-scrolls.com/archive_volume_3_number_8.html Contrasting my
Grief and Joy
Brethren, I know that with God, there is a “greater
grace” and there are still yet many mysteries contained in the scriptural
witness that we have not yet understood. My sister Callie considered herself a
Protestant and attended a happy little Church in the My Dad on the other hand was ready to go home and be
with the Lord. His Pastor in Considering all who died in faith before Christ… Hebrews 11:13-16 “These all died in faith, not having
received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of
them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on
the earth. For they that say such things
declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful
of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to
return. But now they desire a better country, that is, an
heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath
prepared for them a city…” And for all that have and will die in faith after Christ’s completed
work… Hebrews 11:40 “God having provided some better thing for
us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” Hebrews 12:1-3 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and
the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race
that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such
contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in
your minds.” With
all sincerity and love for the truth and our scattered brethren abroad, Nicholas
A. Stivers, a humbled God fearing man, disciple, scribe and messenger. Author;
Apostasy Revealed published
2003 by Mountainview Publishing ISBN: 1-928602-92-4 http://abide-in-truth-events.cephasministry.com/ |