the HIDDEN FACTS OF THE HOLY BOOK-BIBLE

End of the World

2010-06-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

We are living in a period of time that is of overwhelming interest to all. Political leaders and legislators, men and women who hold positions of trust and authority, thinking men and women of all classes, have their attention focused upon the events taking place around us. People are watching the strained, restless relations that exist between countries. Thousands observe the intensity that is taking possession of every earthly element, and they realize that something great and decisive is about to happen--it appears that the world is on the verge of its most tremendous crisis. Even with all the signs that are taking place, there are many people who scoff at the idea that this world will come to and end. There is even popular song, "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", by REM, that mocks at the idea of the end of the world and being prepared for it.The Bible gives us the truth about what is really happening, it says that Angels are even now restraining the winds of strife, that they may not blow until the world shall be warned of its coming doom. But there is a storm is gathering, ready to burst upon the earth; and when God shall tell His angels loose the winds, there will be a scene of strife that no pen can picture. The Bible, and the Bible only, gives us the correct view of these things. In it are revealed the great and final scenes of the history of our world. The events taking place today are a precursor to the final events which even by their approach cause the earth to tremble and men's hearts to fail them for fear. "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. . . . They have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

THE END OF THE WORLD

2010-01-22T05:24:00.000-08:00

"FEAR, DISTRESS, PERPLEXITY among the Nations "...upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth..." Luke 21:25-26 "The world as we know it is going under." (9-18-2008)
Sea and the wave roaring - Fulfilled Prophecy"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;" Luke 21:25
Philippines Mobilizes Armed Forces for Second Storm in a Week (10-1-09)
Manila Hit By Tropical Storm "Ondoy", 25 Provinces Under State of Calamity, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Saturday. (reported by an EndoftheWorld Prophecy.com viewer in the Phillipines) (10-1-09)
Earthquake in Samoa - 30ft waves (9-29-2009)
Ike, Worst to hit Texas in 50 years! - 20ft wall of water likely? (9-12-2008) Hanna (8-30-2008)Gustav "Mother of all Storms" Mayor orders Get OUT!(8-30-2008)Fay (first storm in history to hit Florida 4 times - see graphics)(8-30-2008)
"Tornado Season Deadliest in a Decade" (5-12-2008)"Cyclone death toll could reach 100,000 soon in Burma" (5-11-2008) "Over 2,200 Die in Bangladesh Cyclone" (11-18-2007) "One Million People Affected by Mexico Flood..." (11-2-2007)"UK Official: Worst Floods In Modern History..." (7-23-2007) "Half of China on Flood Alert" (6-11-2007) "Tsunami Hits Solomons; 8 Reported Dead" (4-1-2007)

Recent Signs of the End-Hundreds of Fires Start in Northern California after Storm (6-24-2008) Is EVERYTHING SPINNING OUT OF CONTROL??? (6-21-2008)

Perilous Times -Fulfilled Prophecy"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;" 2 Timothy 3:1-4 "Horrifying - Girls video tape their own ruthless attack on friend?" (4-7-2008)"Deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history" (4-16-2007)

Pestilences - Fulfilled Prophecy-"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these [are] the beginning of sorrows." Matthew 24:7-8
"Downer Cows Have Entered the Food Chain" (2-18-2008)"One worry when an animal collapses is that it may have bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the infection known as "mad cow disease..." Mystery Disease Gives Sensation Of 'Bugs Eating Skin' (1-18-2008)"Beef Recall Expanded Millions of Pounds." (6-10-2007)"Pandemic - California is out front in trying to prepare for disaster." (6-3-2007) "Superbugs Emerge Among Urban Poor" (5-28-2007)
Fires, Droughts, and Famines- Fulfilled Prophecy -"The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered. How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate. O LORD, to thee will I cry: for the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field. The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness. Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for [it is] nigh at hand; " Joel 1:17-20, 2:1 "Rat Plague hits Bangladesh " (5-18-2008)"World food stocks dwindling rapidly" (12-18-2007)"Town Runs out of Water" (11-02-2007)"California's Fires" (11-02-2007)"Europe's Summer of Wild, Wild Weather... Fires, Droughts and Floods Leave Wake of Destruction" (8-2-2007)"The Wrath of 2007: America's Great Drought" (6-11-2007)"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these [are] the beginning of sorrows." Matthew 24:7-8

Days of Noah and Lot- Fulfilled Prophecy-"And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man...Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot;... Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Luke 17:26-30"We have created human-animal embryos already, say British team"(4-2-2008) "Ethical storm as scientist becomes first man to clone HIMSELF"(1-18-2008)"Scientists given green light to create human-animal embryos"(1-17-2008)"Animal-human embryo research is approved" (1-17-2008)"75% of Americans overweight by 2015" (7-19-2007)"Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw [good]." Ezekiel 16:49-50
Earthquakes in Diverse Places - Fulfilled Prophecy-"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these [are] the beginning of sorrows." Matthew 24:7-8
Thousands feared dead after Indonesia 7.6 quake (10-1-09)VERY Large Earthquake in Samoa (9-29-09) View a List of Earthquakes
"Two Large Quakes in Asia" (9-11-2008) "China Fears Aftershocks after 8.0 Quake that killed Tens of Thousands " (5-19-2008)

Animal World Suffering- Fulfilled Prophecy-"For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." Romans 8:22 •"Why Flowers have Lost Their Scent" (4-20-2008)•"Downer Cows Entering Food Chain" (2-18-2008)•"Are Mobile Phones killing our bees?" (4-15-2007) •"The search for missing bees" (3-8-2007)•"Mad Cow-Like Disease Spreading to Moose"(11-30-2006)•"Mad Deer Disease?"(11-30-2002)

Rumors of Wars - Fulfilled Prophecy-"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, and the end is now." Matthew 24:6 "Russian Nuclear Bombers Land in Venezuela" (9-11-2008) "Russia threatens military response to US missle defence deal" (7-9-2008) "Putin Threatens to Target Europe with missiles." (4-2-2007) "Russian intelligence sees U.S. military buildup on Iran border" (3-27-2007)

False Christs - Fulfilled Prophecy -"For many shall come in

my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Matthew 24:5

Last Days Mystery - Like a thief in the night

2009-09-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail.

In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.

The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

This century is remarkable for the number of apparitions of Jesus and Mary. Our Lady of Fatima is perhaps the most well known, but since then, three separate visitations of Jesus and Mary stand out in terms of the importance of the message that was proclaimed.
In each case the message to us is that God loves us with infinite love and compassion, and calls all of humanity to a loving friendship with him by repenting of our sins and converting our lives into conformity with His commandments.
We are told that we must choose whether we will meet Him through the gates of His Mercy, or the gates of His Justice.
There are no other options: indifference or indecision is, in effect, a choice for God's Justice!

Justification By Faith: Catholicism And Protestantism

2009-08-29T22:11:00.000-07:00

Four hundred ye&s ago the religious world was involved in the greatest religious conflict that this world has ever witnessed. A tremendous number of books have recorded a blow-by-blow account of the epic Catholic-Protestant struggle. Yet, after more than four centuries have gone by, the professed sons of the Reformation generally have very little idea of the real issues of the conflict. If you ask a Protestant what Roman Catholics teach concerning justification, you will most likely be told that Catholics believe that a sinner may be justified by his own works of merit. But listen to what an authoritative Catholic catechism teaches:

Q. What is justification?
A. It is a grace which makes us friends of God.

Q. Can a sinner merit this justifying grace?
A. No, he cannot; because all the good works which the sinner performs whilst he is in a state of mortal sin, are dead works, which have no merit sufficient to justify.

Q. Is it an article of the Catholic faith, that the sinner cannot merit the grace of justification?
A. Yes, it is decreed in the seventh chap. of the sixth sess. of the Council of Trent, that neither faith, nor good works, preceding justification, can merit the grace of justification.

Q. How then is the sinner justified?
A. He is justified gratuitously by the pure mercy of God, not on account of his own or any human merit, but purely through the merits of Jesus Christ; for Jesus Christ is our only mediator of redemption, who alone, by his passion and death, has reconciled us to his Father.

Q. Why then do Protestants charge us with believing, that the sinner can merit the redemption of his sins?
A. Their ignorance of the Catholic doctrine is the cause of this, as well as many other false charges.
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Many Protestants are awakening to the fact that the Roman Catholic Church does teach a doctrine of justification by faith. With surprise they are saying, "I always thought that Catholics taught that a sinner could be justified by his own works of merit. But they do not teach this. I have been subjected to some uncharitable Protestant propaganda about Catholic doctrine. Why, they believe in the saving grace of God the same as we do!"
There is no question but that Catholic doctrine has always taught that a sinner is justified by a grace that comes from God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Then what was the doctrinal bone of contention between the Catholic Church and the Protestant Reformation?

Three Aspects of Redemption
There are three great aspects of salvation:

1. God the Father's choosing of his people--election.

2. God the Son's (Jesus Christ) work for his people--atonement.

3. God the Holy Spirit's work in his people--faith.

The Father's choosing of us. This aspect of redemption occurred before we were born, before we had done any good or evil, even before the creation of the universe. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world.... In love he predestined us" (Ephesians 1:3-5).

The Son's work for us. This work of redemption, like election, was done entirely apart from us and without our assistance. Jesus Christ lived a perfect life of obedience for his people. He "died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3). He "was delivered for our offenses" (Romans 4:25). He entered the sanctuary, "having obtained eternal redemption for us" (Hebrews 9:12). He appears "in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24). By his obedience and satisfaction of divine justice, Christ earned salvation for his people and gives it to them freely, from beginning to end. "Whom he predestined, these he also called; whom he called, these he also justified; and whom he justified, these he also glorified" (Romans 8:30).

The Holy Spirit's work in us. The Holy Spirit gives to the elect the gifts that Christ earned for them. Some of these gifts, but not all, are done in the believer's mind: Faith is the principal work of the Spirit in the believer. But justification is not an internal work: It is an external act. It is a legal act consisting of God's pardoning of sin and his imputing of Christ's righteousness, his good works, to the believer.

The Catholic Concept of Justification
The Roman Catholic Church does not teach that a sinner can be justified by his own works of merit. Briefly, its position on justification is this: Christ's work for us has made the gift of the Holy Spirit available to believers. Men must receive an infusion of righteousness by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit must work repentance and charity (love) in the believer. God then pronounces the believer just because of the work that the Holy Spirit has done in him.

Or to express it another way: The Roman Church teaches that a man is justified before God because the Holy Spirit has given that man a just nature. God the Father merely recognizes the work which the Holy Spirit has done in the heart of the believer. Justification means to make just or righteous, according to Roman Catholic theology.

The Birth of Protestantism
The Reformers abandoned the idea that the Holy Spirit's work in them could make them righteous in the sight of God. These men knew what it was to struggle for holiness of heart. Never were there more earnest Roman Catholics than Martin Luther, John Calvin, William Farel, Philipp Melancthon, and William Tyndale. They believed that holiness came only from God, and they tried to apprehend enough holiness in their lives in order that they could be accepted before God.

Yet, being honest men, they could never see enough of God's grace in their own experience to give them any confidence toward God. Indeed, as they looked deep within their poor hearts, they saw sin in the form of pride, selfishness, unbelief, unresponsiveness to God's love, and egotism. They despaired of ever being justified by virtue of God's work of grace in them.

Then came their enlightenment in the Biblical faith. They rediscovered Paul's doctrine of justification through belief alone. In the book of Romans the apostle sets forth the Gospel truth that the sinner is not justified by an infused righteousness but by an imputed righteousness--meaning a righteousness that is found wholly in Another. A believer is not justified by virtue of what God has done in him but by virtue of what Jesus Christ has done for him (Romans 3:21-28 & Romans 4:4-11).

In these words of the apostle Paul, the Reformers found a certain ground of hope. They saw that men need not look within their own experience to find something that will give them any assurance that they may stand acceptable before God. The Reformers were confronted with the great Gospel truth that Christ has already satisfied the wrath and justice of the Father, that justification--God's declaring them righteous--was evidenced by belief in Christ alone. By faith in God's perfect work, the finished work of Jesus Christ, they could now rejoice that the righteousness of Jesus was freely imputed to them.

Good Works and Justifying Merit

In returning to the Bible, the Protestant Reformers utterly rejected the idea that works wrought by the power of the Holy Spirit in us can obtain the grace of justification. Although the Roman Catholic position on good works and infused grace was clothed with the appearance of sanctity, Luther discerned that it was a diabolical doctrine devised to lead men astray from the objective Gospel. Roman Catholic doctrine teaches men to trust in God's work in them. God's work and their own works become indistinguishable. Roman Catholic theology leads them actually to depend upon their own works. Armed with the great teaching of the sinfulness of man's nature, Luther was able to show that the good works of the best saints are defiled by the sinfulness and imperfection of human nature. "For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6). "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). Good works, declared the Reformers, can only be considered good if the merits of Jesus are added to them to make up for their deficiency and imperfection.

Wrote Luther, "No one can be certain that he is not continually committing mortal sin, because of the most secret vice of pride." The pope condemned this statement in his bull excommunicating Luther, but the Reformer responded, "Therefore I must retract this article, and I say now that no one should doubt that all our good works are mortal sins, if they are judged according to God's judgment and severity and not accepted as good by grace alone." Again he declared, "Every good work is sin unless it is forgiven by the mercy of God." In A Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (176, 177), Luther thundered that the merits of all works, "before grace and after," should be thrown down to hell. Thus did this man of God teach that we can never look within us for any work of justifying merit.

Contrary to Roman Catholicism, the Protestants taught that while sanctifying grace within a believer enables him to do good works, only the merits of Christ can make those good works acceptable to God. Sanctifying grace does not make us the friends of God, they said, but is rather the result of Christ's work done wholly outside of us.

The most thorough and Biblical of the Reformed confessions of faith, the Westminster Confession of 1648, describes justification in these words:

Those whom God effectually calls, he also freely justifies: not by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins, and by accounting and accepting their persons as righteous; not for anything wrought in them, or done by them, but for Christ's sake alone; nor by imputing faith itself, the act of believing, or any other evangelical obedience to them, as their righteousness; but by imputing the obedience and satisfaction of Christ unto them, they receiving and resting on him and his righteousness by faith; which faith they have not of themselves, it is the gift of God.

The Gospel

Before his enlightenment, Luther vainly looked within his own heart for enough repentance or conversion to assure him of his acceptance with God.

"How dare I believe in the favor of God, while there is nothing in me like true conversion? I must be changed before He can receive me." Such was the Roman darkness that enveloped his soul. He dreaded those Scriptures which speak of repentance. But after his enlightenment in the Gospel, the passages so much dreaded became his delight--to use his own words, "an agreeable sport, and the most delightful recreation." All the passages of Scripture which frightened him seemed now to rise up from all sides, smiling, and leaping, and sporting with him. (J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, Vol.1, 130, 131).

Luther contemplated with great joy the words of Paul, "[Christ] loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:29). Luther perceived that the Lord of glory had chosen him in Jesus Christ and bestowed upon him all the treasures of eternity. Luther understood that he could receive justification solely by believing in what God had done for sinners, and that this belief itself was a gift of God.

God justifies the ungodly through faith, without works. "By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Galatians 2:16). To the Reformers who had struggled for years to find favor with God through the work of the Holy Spirit in them, justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ was a message of unspeakable joy. God in eternity chose those whom he would save; Christ actually saved them; and no man can pluck them out of God's hand. The Holy Spirit applied the salvation that Christ earned for his people to those whom the Father had chosen. All three persons of the Godhead work together in saving God's people. Those who believe are justified, declared righteous, because of what Christ did at Calvary 2,000 years ago, not because of what the Holy Spirit is doing in their lives today. Believers are justified through faith (and faith itself is a gift of God earned by Christ for his people), but not because of faith or any other work that the Holy Spirit does in them.

Christ came to save sinners, and he actually saved them. There is no better news under heaven than that. The message of the Gospel is that God loves his people so much that he sent his Son to die on the Cross for their sins so that whoever believes that Jesus is God and rose from the dead will be saved. In the Gospel of the imputed righteousness of Christ, Christians can see the smiling face of the heavenly Father. The Gospel is the good news of what God has already done to save sinners.

The Reformers did not deny the necessity of God's work in the hearts of men by the power of the Holy Spirit; in fact, they insisted upon the absolute necessity of belief in the truth of the Gospel, a belief that can only he caused by God. Nor did they make light of good works. One need only compare the lives of the Puritans with the lives of the Jesuits. What they did was to get their theology straight. They understood that Christ's work for his people earned the benefits of the Holy Spirit's work in us, and other benefits besides, including the forgiveness of sins and our justification before God. The result is the Biblical answer to the question, What must one do to be saved? "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).

The rediscovery of this truth during the Reformation shook Europe to its foundations and changed the course of world history. Through the preaching of justification by faith alone, the Roman church received a deadly wound. If we again believe and teach that one can be justified only through faith in the righteousness of Christ, and that God will grant the gift of faith and forgiveness to all who ask for it, the course of world history will be changed again.

Are You Catholic or Protestant?

The meaning of justification by faith alone has been largely forgotten in the professing Christian Church. The meaning of justification has been forgotten, and so has the meaning of faith. But mere forgetting is not the whole issue. In addition to our sinful tendency to forget God's truth (a tendency that the writers of the New Testament were well aware of, for they repeatedly said that they were writing to remind believers), false teachers, wolves in sheep's clothing, have worked diligently to twist the Scriptural doctrine of justification. The teaching of the Roman Catholic Church is a prime example of this. The following ten questions are designed to test your knowledge of justification by faith. After you have taken the quiz, perhaps you could ask a teacher in your church to take it as well. You might be surprised to find that many more than you expected are confused on this cardinal doctrine of Christianity. In each of the following 10 choices, mark either (a) or (b), whichever is correct.

1. (a) God gives a sinner right standing with himself by mercifully accounting him innocent or virtuous.

(b) God gives a sinner right standing with himself by actually making him into an innocent and virtuous person.

2. (a) God gives a sinner right standing with himself by placing Christ's goodness and virtue to his credit.

(b) God gives a sinner right standing with himself by putting Christ's goodness and virtue into his heart.

3. (a) God accepts the believer because of the righteousness found in Jesus Christ.

(b) God makes the believer acceptable by infusing Christ's righteousness into his life.

4. (a) If a person becomes "born again" (regenerate), he will achieve right standing with God on the basis of his new birth.

(b) If a person becomes "born again" he achieves right standing with God on the basis of Christ's work alone.

5. (a) We receive right standing with God by faith alone.

(b) We receive right standing with God by faith which has become active by love.

6. (a) We achieve right standing with God by having Christ live out his life of obedience in us.

(b) We receive right standing with God by accepting the fact that Christ obeyed the law perfectly for us.

7. (a) We achieve right standing with God by following Christ's example by the help of his enabling grace.

(b) We follow Christ's example because his death has given us right standing with God.

8. (a) God first pronounces that we are good in his sight, then gives us his Spirit to make us good.

(b) God sends his Spirit to make us good, and then he will pronounce that we are good.

9. (a) Christ's intercession at God's right hand gives us favor in the sight of God.

(b) It is the indwelling Christ that gives us favor in God's sight.

10. (a) Only by faith in the doing and dying of Christ can we satisfy the claims of the Ten Commandments.

Nepal's crisis brings hope

2009-08-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

KATHMANDU, Nepal (BP)--There's seldom been a more critical time to pray for the 28 million people of Nepal.The south Asian nation has been torn in recent weeks by strikes, curfews and violent political protests that all but shut down Kathmandu, Nepal's capital. Hundreds of thousands of Nepalis flooded the streets for days on end to demand greater democracy.At the height of the protests, at least 14 people died as police and soldiers fired on crowds. Many more suffered hunger as blockades prevented food shipments and other essentials from reaching the city.All this intensified a bitter struggle between Nepal's ruler, King Gyanendra, and the nation's political parties. In the poverty-ravaged countryside, meanwhile, a long-running Maoist rebel insurgency has killed thousands.Hope and celebration broke out amid the turmoil in late April, however, when the king announced he would reinstate the national parliament, which was dissolved four years ago. That met one of the key demands of the main parties. Opposition leaders formally ended the nationwide strike, curfews were lifted and food supplies were restored to the Kathmandu Valley. In early May, the Maoist rebels declared a three-month ceasefire, which the government reciprocated.Relative calm has returned to the capital, but the situation remains volatile."This is certainly not the end of Nepal's problems," a Christian observer based in Kathmandu cautioned. "But at least there is hope for the moment. The Nepali economy is in ruins as a result of two and a half weeks of total strikes and several days of curfew. The violence may continue for a while yet, but everyone's hope now is that the newly elected government leaders will be able to negotiate successfully with the Maoists and bring them back into the mainstream."Whatever happens politically, Christians are praying that freedom to share the Gospel and worship will increase, not decrease."There's a fear that there will be a backlash against foreigners and Christianity, that they'll clamp down a bunch of new restrictions and churches already meeting will get increased persecution," said a Christian worker assigned to Nepal. "That's what we're hoping doesn't happen. Coming from this is a real possibility for actually having more freedom across the board, including religious freedom. That's what we're praying for. It could go either way." Yet, some used those tense days to share hope with their neighbors."Everyone here is hugely relieved that the curfews and strikes are over, at least for awhile, and we are so thankful that God has shown His power in such great ways," one worker said. "There have been many Nepalis who have chosen to follow Jesus in the past few weeks as they have sought answers to eternal questions in a time of extreme uncertainty and fear. Once again, God has brought joy and hope to people in the midst of despair and darkness!"Nepal is the world's only officially Hindu kingdom. Hinduism is the national religion and claims some 80 percent of the population. Nearly 11 percent are Buddhists -â€“ including the 100,000-strong Sherpa people. Muslims account for another 4 percent.Christians were forbidden even to live in Nepal before 1960. In the decades since, persecution and increased religious freedom (with the coming of constitutional monarchy and democracy in 1990) have combined to push the number of believers to more than 500,000. Persecution continues, but so does the spread of the Gospel.Still, more than 18 million Nepalis -â€“ and 116 of Nepal's 128 distinct people groups â€“- remain unreached by the Gospel, according to missions researchers. "Please pray for us to have wisdom and discernment in this situation," a Christian worker in Kathmandu asked. "[Pray] especially that we would not become paralyzed by watching the political situation so that we forget our main task here, which is to share the love, joy and peace of Christ in the midst of all this fear and suffering."

Nepalis Believers' Faith and Witness Increase Amidst Persecution:-

2009-08-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Imagine heading to church on Sunday with your family. This week, however, you are in for a surprise. You walk in the doors – not of a large brick building with a cross ascending from the roof but of a fellow believer’s humble home. “Rather than using podiums and pews, the whole group sits on the floor, including the presenter. The music is performed with traditional instruments, not Western keyboards or drums,” a Nepali believer said, describing the indigenous worship at house churches in which he is involved.“Bible messages are presented as stories, not in ‘traditional’ three-point sermons,” he continued. “Leaders are trained not from Western theological schools but through mentoring by local leaders in sound biblical practice and in the local tribal language.” Christian worship has not always occurred in this form in Nepal, a country of 29 million people. In fact, many churches started out very similar to those you might attend in the United States. Royce Allard*, an international Christian who mentors Nepali believers, said that because of multiple threats that Nepali Christians face, two Western-style churches in Nepal now see many benefits to practicing indigenous forms of worship. “Both churches were successful in raising financial support from outside of Nepal for building meeting centers, in one case supporting the local pastor with foreign funds and in the other case constructing a school facility,” Allard said. Then the country’s instability interrupted the churches’ plans. Nepal’s political volatility stems from short-lived governments whose promises of progress have fallen flat as well as from the recent escalation of the violent Maoist movement in the country. The Communist Party of Nepal (the Maoists) began as a political party in Nepal in 1994. The Maoists launched a “People’s War” against the government early in 1996.Nepal – the only official Hindu state in the world – was ruled totally by a monarch until 1951 when the monarch instituted a cabinet system of government. In 1990, reforms established a multiparty democracy within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, according to “The World Factbook” published by the U.S. Department of State. In 2001, the crown prince massacred the royal family, including the ruling king, and then killed himself.In 2002, the political situation underwent a dramatic change when “the (new) king made the decision to remove the standing government and directly take on the Maoist insurgency,” Allard explained. A negotiated ceasefire between Maoists and government forces broke down early the next year. “The Maoist insurgency has forced the closure of the (church’s) school, the elimination of outside funding for one pastor, and the restriction of meeting in the outside-funded buildings,” Allard said. “Now the churches meet in believers’ homes, rotate leadership among local elders, grow with greater autonomy from the original leaders and demonstrate more dependence on the teachings of the Bible.” The goal of the Maoist party was to replace the constitutional monarchy with a communist republic that they say would give the people more direct control. Their goal is peace, but, according to many in Nepal, the Maoist insurgents’ methods have been anything but peaceful.“One insurgent who visited a church shared with the pastor that the insurgency was seeking to ‘bring peace to the people of the nation through guns, but you (the church) are seeking to bring peace to the people of the nation through inner spiritual renewal,’” Allard related.Throughout Nepal, Maoists have targeted Christians for persecution because of the perceived foreign influence they represent. The violence has not diminished the faith of Nepali Christians, however. One such example is a Nepali church leader named Narayan*. Maoist forces have approached Narayan on more than one occasion. He has “used this experience to share with the Maoists, sometimes while at gunpoint, that he has chosen faith in Christ freely because of the inner peace and joy it brings, without any material gain,” Allard said.“Many have had to deal with war and the difficulty in the country that goes along with it so long,” said Trevor Perrin*, an international Christian serving in the country. “Often you would get a sense of just despair.”Conditions continued to deteriorate in the beleaguered country until late 2006 when the opinion of the people convinced the king to reinstate a parliamentary government. Since that time, power has shifted from total control by the monarchy to control by Parliament and the prime minister, with the monarchy serving a significantly reduced position in the government. Not long after the political shift occurred, the Maoists declared a cease-fire, which Parliament reciprocated.The agreement, signed Nov. 21, 2006, ended a 10-year conflict that had resulted in 13,000 deaths, explained Rebecca Millsapp*, an international Christian who serves in Nepal. “Now, the people have a great deal of hope that things are finally getting better,” Perrin said.The largest demonstration since the change in government occurred Feb. 13, 2007, the eleventh anniversary of the beginning of what the Maoists call the “People’s War.” However, even this political demonstration turned out to be a display of how God’s name can be glorified despite difficult circumstances. “The (Maoist) party arranged to bring in thousands of supporters and observers from the countryside and forced many private individuals and groups to house and feed the out-of-town attendees,” Allard reported. “One church here was ‘invited’ to house a group of several attendees of the rally and responded that they would do so, but on the condition that those staying must take time to listen to the church’s Gospel presentation,” he said. “During that presentation, many heard the Gospel clearly for the first time.” Through this ministry, the church gave out 100 Nepali Bibles to the Maoist supporters they took in, and all 120 guests heard the Good News, Allard reported.Nepal now has a new government, a new declaration making the country a secular state, new peace deals in the works, and new hope for the future of the country. The government has scheduled an election for a constitutional assembly in June. “A new constitution will be made by the people of Nepal for the first time in Nepal’s history,” Allard said.This action has brought an end to the tense stalemate between the Maoist party and the interim government, but the agreement has not stopped the violence completely, Perrin said.Nevertheless, Christians serving in the country said they believe there is reason for hope in Nepal that reaches far beyond any political circumstances.“With the government change in Nepal and a newly elected secular state, some international Christians decided to test the waters,” said Truman Cleversey*, another international Christian who serves in Nepal. “They set out for a new ministry area, where they asked God for men and women of peace (see Luke 10:6) and for five new (house) church plants.”These Christians went out armed with tracts, audio Bibles and “JESUS” films. While passing these out and sharing their testimonies, the Christians met a group of Nepali believers who asked to join them.“As the day went on, they were emboldened and went to the bus park, where hundreds of people were waiting,” Cleversey said. “Within 10 minutes, they had given away about 800 tracts telling the story of Jesus’ life. They were able to share with many who were headed all over Nepal.”As hope spreads through the country, God’s people are also working to spread His Word and His peace throughout Nepal. “What has happened in the past and is happening now in the land of Nepal is a miracle,” Allard said, “although it has taken many lives and properties and infrastructures have been destroyed as a result of the political upheavals during the course of the people’s movement for over 10 years. “What was impossible for people was possible for God, who is the true source of peace, justice and reconciliation,” he said.With so many changes occurring around them, the Nepali people now seem more open to the Gospel, Perrin said. “They have seen the lives of believers in the midst of the chaos, and they are interested in what we have to offer that makes us behave like we do,” he said. “The Nepali Christians often are an inspiration to us in this time, standing for the Gospel in difficult circumstances.”

The Unbelievable Truth-A royal mess

2009-07-20T21:08:00.000-07:00

Conspiracy is easier suggested than done. Conspiracy is cold and rational; malevolence is irrational. Conspiracy has a purpose larger than murder or assassination. Few conspirators are suicidal. They are ambitious, not depressive maniacs; there can even be a psychological case to be made that conspirators are optimists, if desperate ones, justifying murder, even parricide, by the vision of a radically different future in which they play a crucial part. Conspirators are inherently selfish; they want something for themselves in this life. They do not turn a gun on themselves. A useful lesson of history is that no conspiracy can be as bizarre as facts. The senseless mind is far more dangerous than an evil one. Since being a columnist makes me neither omnipresent nor omnipotent, I make no claim to knowledge of the real events that took place in the palace at Kathmandu in which an apparently denied lover allegedly killed his parents and other relatives at a family dinner before putting a gun to his own head. But enough details have emerged, including from eyewitnesses, to encourage hopefully intelligent comment. Friday night was mania, not conspiracy. Nepalis, understandably, want an explanation, more so because they are still devoted to the institution the family represented, royalty. The truth is difficult to accept because part of the problem lies in the institution, in that anachronism called royalty.The first explanation that went around and still carries momentum, is that Crown Prince Dipendra was not allowed to marry the woman he loved. This may be true. There are other young men across the subcontinent with similar problems. Each individual lives, and occasionally dies, by the culture of his mindspace. Dipendra was a product of a value system and legal principles that placed him above the law of the land. From there it was one psychological step that took him beyond the law of human relationships. Nepal was not part of the British Empire; its royalty represented its national status and so continued, not without hiccups, into an era at serious discord with the logic of inherited and inevitable power. Nepal's kings would not surrender this power easily. Under pressure, they were forced to cede some ground to nationalist democrats, but they recovered and brutalised their own people. It took another popular revolution, in 1990, to make them see reason. Nepal's royal family lost its power, but not its habits. And royalty is a self-winding trap. The moment they were removed from politics, the royal family began to return to the affections of the people, becoming a symbol and reassurance of national identity. This is why it is difficult for Nepalis to accept that there can be a deranged maverick in the midst of a family they need. Unfortunately, I am seriously underwhelmed by the mystique of royalty. This false mystique is protected by instruments of state, including coercion. This is why Yubaraj Ghimire, editor of Kantipur, is in jail. His sin was not bad journalism, though I do not agree with what he published. He was indulging in mordant India-baiting fashionable in that section of the Nepali middle class that has gained most from the India connection. India has a great deal to answer for in its relations with Nepal, but massacring the royal family is not in question. Accusing RAW of being a co-conspirator with the CIA and the new king is not particularly intelligent. Ghimire's treason lay in attacking the new monarch. Everything pales before lese majeste. Nepal's monarch is truly monarch of all he surveys, including the press. Democracy has in this respect changed little. This tragedy has lit up the truth of Nepal's monarchy. The thought should make one shudder: if this is what Dipendra could do to his family when denied his will, what havoc would he have wrought on his country if he had been denied a wish? It is difficult to comprehend what would be worse: a spoilt child in total control, or a spoilt child fretting at the restrictions upon monarchy inherent in a system where power must be shared with civilian politicians. The new king's son Paras is also not famous for his maturity. This is not the best time to throw facts at monarchs. But alibis are of little use, even in the guise of heroic journalism. This is not a tragedy created by India or the USA or China. This is a tragedy built into Nepal's compromise, into the imperfect revolution of the Nepali Congress. When the monarchy wanted to throw the late, great BP Koirala and the democratic leadership into prison, it did not blink. When the people overthrew the king's government, the democrats turned sentimental, reinforcing the monarchy. Today this has reached such proportions that people refuse to believe eyewitness accounts of the massacre, and the government and the new monarch find it expedient to feed extravagant assumptions although they know the truth. This diet of fallacy can only feed a moment or two of history. The young men who are shaving their heads in sorrow were, ten years ago, seething at the palace. There is deep grief for the dead. But when the mist evaporates Nepal will have only two options: it will have to believe the crown prince massacred his family in a horrible act of insanity; or that the new king is tainted, like Hamlet's mother. Perhaps, Hamlet-like, doubt is the destiny of this generation. Either way, there is no doubt about who is guilty. There is something spurious in the state of Nepal.

11 Major Faiths In Kathmandu,Nepal

2009-07-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

Kathmandu ENI -- Representatives of 11 major faiths gathering in Nepal, have vowed to mobilizemo·bi·lizev.1. To make mobile or capable of movement.2. To restore the power of motion to a joint.3. To release into the body, as glycogen from the liver. ..... Click the link for more information. billions of believers to conserve the world's natural resources. Representatives of the Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Shinto, Taoist and Zoroastrian faiths met in Kathmandu to address a range of international environmental challenges and to unveil theft "Sacred Gifts for a Living Planet" initiatives to promote environmental responsibility and sustainability. Among the 26 initiatives, the China Taoist Association, the umbrella organisation for 40 million Taoists in China, is calling on its members not to use endangereden·dan·ger tr.v. en·dan·gered, en·dan·ger·ing, en·dan·gers1. To expose to harm or danger; imperil.2. To threaten with extinction. ..... Click the link for more information. animals such as tigers, rhinos, brown bears and musk deer musk deer, small, antlerless deer, Moschus moschiferus, found in wet mountain forests from Siberia and Korea to the Himalayas. In summer it ranges up to 8,000 ft (2,400 m). It is from 20 to 24 in. in the preparation of traditional medicine products. The Nepal gathering was a joint initiative of the World Wide Fund for NatureThe World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization for the conservation, research and restoration of the natural environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in the United States and Canada. ..... Click the link for more information. (WWFSee Windows Workflow Foundation. ..... Click the link for more information.) and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), and coincided with the WWF's annual conference, also held in Kathmandu.

MULTICULTURAL COUNTRY

2009-07-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

Nepal Culture & Religion

Culture is embedded in the high peaks of Nepal, tradition flows with its rivers, art traverses through its valleys and religion lies in the heart of its people. Nepal, in short, is a country where art, culture and religion are a part of life of the inhabitants. People celebrate every moment with aroma, adding novelty to the traditions without affecting their essence.

Art of Nepal
The art and architecture of Nepal is deeply influenced by the religion. Unique craftsmanship can be found in temples, architecture, shrines, fountains and the design of religious objects. Art and religion is so deeply interlocked that it is impossible to separate the one from the other. All art forms express both Hindu and Buddhist iconography.

Buddhism in Nepal
Buddhism, the fourth largest religion all over the world, has strong roots in Nepal. Buddhism in Nepal dates from the birth of Siddhartha Gautama himself, therefore Buddhist influences are evident on the culture of Nepal. Nepal is the meeting point for Indian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

Culture of Nepal
The culture of Nepal is a assemblage of music, architecture, religion and literature. This mountain kingdom is multi-ethic and multi-lingual. The land is rich with unique cultural groups like Tharu,Yadav, Ahir, Newars and others.

Food of Nepal
Nepalese are great foodies and their food varieties are hot, spicy and nutritious. Newari and Thakali cuisines are the original taste of Nepal. Otherwise, Nepalese style of cooking has been influenced by Indian and Tibetan cooking. Dal Bhat tarkari is the staple food of Nepal. Meat curries and monos are the hot favorites among the tourists.

Music of Nepal
The rhythm, beats, bounce of Nepali traditional folk and classical music is spiritual enough to sooth you and entertaining enough to cheer you. Music is associated with every event in Nepal, then be it birth, marriage, festivals or national events.

People of Nepal
The people of Indo-Aryan community are the original inhabitants of Nepal. No wonder their descendents form the majority even now. Other major groups in Nepal are Gurungs and Magars who live mainly in the western region; Rais, Limbus and Sunwars who live in the eastern mid hills; Sherpas, Manangpas and Lopas who live near the mountains of Everest, Annapurna and Mustang respectively.

Religion of Nepal
Religion in Nepal is not only a system of social coherence based on certain rituals and beliefs, rather it is the binding force that ties the mountain kingdom together. Though Nepal is famous, as the world's only Hindu Kingdom, equal respect is given to other religions as well. Buddhism is the second largest religion followed in Nepal, others being Tantrism, Islam and Christianity.