The True Nature of History
By Ron Auvil
History can be defined as a record of past events given with interpretation as to the causes of such happenings, along with an assessment of their importance.
Applying a biblical worldview to history will find a relationship or competition between false ideologies, philosophies, religions, political structure and the Kingdom of God. The resulting picture of this competition is the true nature of history.
Unfortunately, most Christians, especially in the West, can neither explain nor understand the conflict of these kingdoms. In my experience, most saints are willfully ignorant of history as a whole, let alone history from a Christian perspective. Indeed, they regard history as a long-forgotten high school subject, rather than what it is if interpreted properly. This correct view of history is one of the greatest faith building weapons a Christian may possess.
Thus, having forgotten the heritage of Christ's advancing kingdom, Christians have been robbed of their birthright of past, present and future Kingdom glory.
How then can this tide be turned? Only by direct intervention of the Holy Spirit illuminating pastor, professor, and parishioner as to the truth of God, the purposes of God in history, and the destiny of God's people for the future! For truly a proper view of Kingdom history can not only give us a view of redemption through the ages, but can give us a vision of the end of all competing worldviews versus the plans of God on earth.
This will give the saint a confidence and sense of destiny even amidst chaos. The saints will be encouraged to erase opposing historical forces! The tide of ignorance, apathy and failure shall be turned when we grasp by faith some basic biblical truth as follows!
1. History must always be viewed on the centrality of the Lord Jesus Christ! To the believer all things are evaluated and controlled by Jesus Christ. This eliminates worldly, humanistic views of history, as well as cultic views and the wild conspiracy theories so popular in the Church today. Believe it or not, history does not revolve around the Antichrist, the European Economic Community or the nation of Israel! Rather history revolves around the expressed image of the Father's glory, Jesus Christ and His finished work at death's tree - the Cross. (Colossians 1:16).
2. Not only is history subservient to the glorious Christ, He is the essence of history. His purposes in the earth, alone, are worthy of consideration or value to the believer. While all believers "live and move and have their being" in Christ, even the idolatrous mass of humanity today are subject to His awesome, history controlling power!
3. We must find out what God has been doing in history and align ourselves with it! We can live this view of history in a practical way. Listed below are some basic principles to follow.
A. The activity and ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant has, through Christ, allowed the Church to participate in this glorious vision of fervent missionary activity, reaching every people group with the testimony of Christ and His kingdom.
B. Violent Kingdom expansion through Holy Ghost anointed preaching will harvest countless multitudes into the Church.
C. The prophetic ministry of the Church will confront idolatry, sin, and corruption in our generation.
D. The restoration of society due to the "Sun of Righteousness rising with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2b).
There is a great need for an all-encompassing, mighty evangelical revival and spiritual awakening in this generation. Because all power has been given to an exalted Christ, the Church can confidently proclaim the full testimony of God to all the nations of the earth and thus fulfill the divine vision of history.
Ron Auvil is a staff member of Christian Evangelistic Endeavors, a ministry dedicated to bringing a great and mighty revival to the Church and spiritual awakening throughout the nations. C.E.E. sponsors Intensive Revival School, a two year discipleship training program designed to prepare students for the ministry. Revival Flame, a bi-monthly newsletter published by C.E.E., contains articles written by staff members and revivalists of old concerning revivals past and present.
Auvil and C.E.E.'s president, Jeff Ziegler, are frequent contributers to The Forerunner. If you wish to receive Revival Flame completely free of subscription cost, or obtain more information about Intensive Revival School, you may do so by writing to the following address:
Revival Flame
c/o Christian Evangelistic Endeavors, Inc.
35155 Beachpark Dr.
Eastlake, OH 44095
Up one level
Back to document index
The Real Jesus: Who is the Real Jesus? Ever since the dawn of modern rationalism, skeptics have sought to use textual criticism, archaeology and historical reconstructions to uncover the "historical Jesus" -- a wise teacher who said many wonderful things, but fulfilled no prophecies, performed no miracles and certainly did not rise from the dead in triumph over sin. Over the past 100 years, however, startling discoveries in biblical archaeology and scholarship have all but vanquished the faulty assumptions of these doubting modernists. Regretably, these discoveries have often been ignored by the skeptics as well as by the popular media. As a result, the liberal view still holds sway in universities and impacts the culture and even much of the church.
|
This presentation explodes the myths of these critics and the movies, books and television programs that have popularized their views.
Presented in ten parts -- perfect for individual, family and classroom study -- viewers will be challenged to go deeper in their knowledge of Christ in order to be able to defend their faith and present the truth to a skeptical modern world – that the Jesus of the Gospels is the Jesus of history -- "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the real Jesus. Speakers include: George Grant, Ted Baehr, Stephen Mansfield, Raymond Ortlund, Phil Kayser, David Lutzweiler, Jay Grimstead, J.P. Holding, and Eric Holmberg. Ten parts, over two hours of instruction! Running Time: 130 minutes
|
| The Beast of Revelation: IDENTIFIED
Who is the dreaded beast of Revelation? Now at last, a plausible candidate for this personification of evil incarnate has been identified (or re-identified). Ken Gentry's insightful analysis of scripture and history is likely to revolutionize your understanding of the book of Revelation -- and even more importantly -- amplify and energize your entire Christian worldview! Historical footage and other graphics are used to illustrate the lecture Dr. Gentry presented at the 1999 Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is followed by a one-hour question and answer session addressing the key concerns and objections typically raised in response to his position. This presentation also features an introduction that touches on not only the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue -- but just why it may well be one of the most significant issues facing the Church today. Ideal for group meetings, personal Bible study -- for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of John's famous letter "... to the seven churches which are in Asia." (Revelation 1:4) |
(Available in DVD only) $17.95 ORDER NOW!
|
INCLUDES A FREE Sixteen Christian leaders and scholars answer some of the most common questions and misperceptions related to this volatile issue: Download the free |
Perfect for group instruction as well as personal
Bible study. Speakers include: George Grant, Howard Phillips,
R.C. Sproul Jr., Ken Gentry, Gary DeMar, Jay Grimstead, R.J. Rushdoony,
Steven Schlissel, Andrew Sandlin, Eric Holmberg, and more!
Ten parts, over four hours of instruction! Watch over 60 streaming videos from God's Law and Society at:
Price reduced! |
| Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism
Over four hours of instruction! Just what is “Calvinism?” Does this teaching make man a deterministic robot and God the author of sin? What about free will? If the church accepts Calvinism, won’t evangelism be stifled, perhaps even extinguished? How can we balance God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility? What are the differences between historic Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism? Why did men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards and a host of renowned Protestant evangelists embrace the teaching of predestination and election and deny free will theology? This is the first video documentary that answers these and other related questions. Hosted by Eric Holmberg, this fascinating three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer. |
$19.95 ORDER NOW!
|
|
The Forerunner Forum is the discussion group for this web site. The purpose of the group is to engage in discussion about the articles on-line. If you want to discuss any article or video on this web site, visit The Forerunner Forum. |
| VIDEOS | WORDS | BLOG | DISCUSSION | WHAT'S NEW | ABOUT US | FEEDBACK | SEARCH | DONATE | JAY'S BIO | HOME |
For more information, contact:
| The Forerunner jrogers@forerunner.com |
|
P.O. Box 362173 Melbourne, FL 32936-2173 |
