Jim Bakker Show

Here we go into a new year!  This is not just any new year, but 2012, which I believe is a pivotal year in the “Beginning of Sorrows.”  This year could be our last full year to get our houses in order.  God has spoken to me that this will be a year of great CONFUSION in the world.  God needs His Church to be in full force for what is coming!

These are the days of 2012, they have arrived with all the ominous warnings of ancient prophets, contemporary watchmen and Biblical prophecies of being prepared (spiritually and physically) for the months ahead.  People have been talking about 2012 for centuries, and now it is upon us.  We’re not on the precipice or the verge or the brink.  We are there!

“What does it all mean?  Can somebody please break it down?”

This week on your TV, Rabbi Jonathan Cahn and I will be discussing his new book, The Harbinger.  You can also view these broadcasts in the Video Archive section of our website. I want everyone who can to tune in – this is  one of the most important series I’ve ever done and I don’t want you to miss it.  Time is very short and unless we are fully aware and spiritually tuned to prophetic events, even those who have been in the Church all their lives might miss the signposts of the most important time in the history of the world.

The word “harbinger” means a sign, omen, warning, herald of something to come.  Rabbi Cahn unravels the prophetic events surrounding the great 9/11 calamity and warns us of what is coming next.  He left most of us speechless with his teachings regarding the judgments of God upon this nation.

The World Trade Center bombing on 9/11 was a warning from God.  That warning went unheeded, and for the most part, it was responded to with prideful defiance and a powerful denial of its purpose.  Why does God send his judgment as a warning to a nation?  It is for one reason and one reason only – so that they will repent, turn around, and honor Him.

I remember the outrage of the world and especially of some in the Christian community, when anyone dared suggest that perhaps God was warning this nation through the devastation of 9/11.  “Why God wouldn’t do that!  He’s a Good God!”  Yes, God would and God did…  BECAUSE He is good and He doesn’t want any to perish in their sin, not even one.

Though this nation was founded upon Godly principles, we have turned away from His ways and now we must turn back – or we will receive the full wages of our sins (Romans 6:23).  I believe even at this eleventh hour, if we put 2 Chronicles 7:14 into radical action, we could stay the hand of God in His righteous judgment of this nation, and lessen the misery of the consequences of our rebellion.

“Then if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, if they will pray and seek me and stop their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land.”

At this time, however, the prophetic clock is still ticking away and the events preceding the Second Coming of Jesus will happen (are happening), just as it says and is foretold in Matthew 24, Luke 21, countless other Old and New Testament passages, and especially in the Revelation.  We are not going to change the prophetic unfolding of End Time events, but we can change what judgments are meted out and we have a choice how God deals with us individually and as a nation, based upon our responses to His warnings.

The economies and the governments of this nation and the world are falling apart, natural disasters are at an all-time high, and the whole of humanity is ready to plunge right into the doomsday scenario that is presented in the Book of Revelation.  Food could disappear off grocery shelves in a matter of hours.  Electricity and gasoline may be completely unavailable.  The world is on the brink of World War III.   Iran and Israel are  poised to unleash weapons of mass destruction at each other, not to mention the U.S., Russia, China, and others. THE STAGE IS NOW SET for the arrival of the antichrist.  We are on the very threshold of more calamity than the world has ever seen before.

The antichrist will use everything in his power to try to get Christians to deny Christ and renounce their faith.  Some people think we, as Christians, won’t have to go through that part of the tribulation – that God will take us all out of here before it comes down to that.  But what if He doesn’t?  What if we are so dull in our spiritual senses that we’re like that proverbial frog in the pot – you back off a little at a time from God’s standards and before you know it, you’re in hot water.  Could we even recognize our spiritual condition that has been so compromised with the world that it feels normal?

You can if you stay in God’s Word!

How then, should we try to live?  When the world comes apart, people everywhere will flock to the churches for answers.  There will be a last great awakening – a last great harvest of the ages.  We need to have ourselves ready spiritually and physically, and be ready to show others our faith in Jesus, the One that purchased life eternal for us on the Cross over 2,000 years ago.  That requires some practical preparations like food and water so that we will be able to minister the Gospel and help to bring souls into the Kingdom for all eternity.

As Christians, we sometimes forget that this life is but a vapor (James 4:14) and there’s an eternal life that quickly follows.  Eternal means everlasting, unending, perpetual, endless, ceaseless, and timeless.  That’s the life that God wants to spend with you, not just this life only.

You can’t go wrong serving God with all your heart, all your mind, all your strength.

Get into the Word!  Know God’s Word!  Be ready to recognize the enemy’s movement and his tactics.  Know what righteousness is.  “Be ye Holy as I am Holy!”  (1 Peter 13-16)  We have made far too much of ‘religion’ and far too little of ‘holiness’.

There will be a lot of people running “to and fro” in the church world too – Confusion – and that means in a spiritual sense as well as a natural sense.  Don’t be confused.  Know what God says! (2 Timothy 4:3)

Some might say “well, if it gets that difficult, I’d rather just go be with Jesus.”  Do I need to remind you of Luke 12:47 or any of the other parables that deal with this kind of attitude?  “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes… for to whom much is given, much is required.”

You don’t have to store food, but it will be easier for you to avoid entering an antichrist system if you do.  You don’t have to get as healthy as possible by eating right and exercising, but you can minister to more people in the Times of Trouble if you do.  You don’t have to have survival plans and equipment, but what good are you to a dying world if you’re dead too?!  “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”  Matthew 9:37 NAS

There is also a dangerous philosophy of waiting until the last minute to get right with God and to get prepared – not only by the world but by Christians.  The twinkling of an eye is not much time, people!  It’s faster than you can snap your fingers!

So, get ready for the ride of your life!  We are about to enter a time when you need to be rock solid about your priorities, and nothing will deter you or cause you to waver, or even be distracted.  I’ve been telling people about the CONFUSION the enemy is going to throw at us this year.  It will take all of our resolve and great faith, coupled with God’s Amazing Grace to get us through.  If I could break it down to the simplest of terms, here is what I am endeavouring to do and I hope you will too:

1. Get yourself still so you don’t have so many distractions
2. Study your Bible
3. Hear from God
4. Do what God says!

Join us on TV this week too, if it’s at all possible.  Rabbi Cahn will take our world’s events and break it all down for you.  I’m confident this series of shows will leave you as speechless as it did all of us at Morningside when we taped them on Grace Street – but it will leave us more aware than ever before.

Love,

In the entertainment crazed society we live in, very few people, even Christians, will endure a message of what they consider ‘gloom and doom.’  They would much rather hear some cleverly told story containing a lot of humor!  Nevermind that we are living in the days that demand a sobriety and a vigilance to understand and be ready for the events of Revelation.

As I begin a series of blogs titled “Woe is Me”, I guess I feel the need to try and preempt some of the negativity to such a serious subject.  I felt the same way back in the mid-nineties when I was given the message that was contrary to what a lot of people had been preaching, including myself, of the prosperity gospel.

Well, I never wanted to swim upstream of the flow or be a ‘prophet of doom’ - it is always easier to go with the flow.  But I didn’t choose the message, I’m just the messenger.  And that’s the way it is today with this series.  You are not going to hear a lot of ‘happy talk’ in this series.

As a Watchman for the Lord, the message I have been given to deliver to whoever will listen, takes on a very serious nature because of the Times we are living in.  Things are accelerating NOW.  NOW is the time to do exactly what you are told to do by God’s Spirit.

With that in mind, I am going to write a series of blogs about the Woes of the Bible.  They have never been more relevant than at this moment in time.

A Reluctant Messenger

Before stowing my briefcase, I retrieved the package and held it warily in my hands. Why, God? I thought as I stared at the package. Why have You given me this assignment? You know I’ll do anything You instruct me to do; but I confess, I’m scared. I don’t really want to be the one to deliver this. But I have promised to obey no matter what the cost, so I’ll do it.

Nearly a day and a half later, as I unpacked my luggage in a hotel room in Singapore, I took the package out of my briefcase and opened its contents.

Inside a leather three-ring notebook was a message—the most explosive, exciting, frightening, yet exhilarating message I had ever received from God.

The message had been ten years in the making; five of those years I had spent in a federal prison while God got my undivided attention and brought me to the point where I was willing not only to hear this message and accept it as the truth, but to proclaim it.

After my release from prison, the message remained sealed in my heart, burning within me, refining my own thinking and lifestyle. It was not until a few days before Christmas 1997 that God gave me the go-ahead to speak it aloud.

It was not the kind of message most people want to hear. It was a warning from God, and I felt that He had called me—of all people—to sound the alarm.

By and large, most of the church in the United States does not want to hear an apocalyptic message. It wants a message of health and wealth, hope, healing, and financial prosperity mixed with a measure of blathering psychobabble focused on getting our needs met. Rarely does anyone talk about sacrifice, repentance of sin, or our failure to be what God has called us to be. When, for example, was the last time you heard a message on the cost of discipleship? When was the last time you heard someone preach on the judgment of God or the horrors of hell? How often have you heard a message encouraging Christians to bear one another’s burdens?

No, we simply want to be happy Christians.

After all, who wants to be known as a prophet of gloom? Who wants to be the bearer of bad news? My temperament is one that cries out for people to like me. I have never enjoyed confrontations, arguments, or battles (although I’ve been in more than my share). My personality is that of a peacemaker. It is simply not my nature to bring a negative message. My desire has always been to bring joy and encouragement, and that is what I tried to do in a variety of ways during most of my ministry.

Yet now, as I studied the Scripture and contemplated the warnings I believed God had placed in my heart and mind, I came to realize that even this dire word was a message of hope, an encouragement for the body of Christ, the family of God, the true church. But it was genuine hope based on sound doctrine, rather than foolish spiritual slogans propagated by pleasure-loving disciples. This message had been formulated by considering a mass of scriptural evidence rather than contrived concepts derived from one or two obscure passages or the twisting or shading of biblical truths to one’s personal interpretation.

 

For those who heed this word from God, it will be life; those who do not pay attention to God’s final warning will be sealing their own tombs.

 

1998 in “Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse”

Woe is Me – Part 1
Woe is Me – Part 2
Woe is Me – Part 3
Woe is Me – Part 4
Woe is Me – Part 5
Woe is Me – Part 6
Woe is Me – Part 7
Woe is Me – Part 8
Woe is Me – Conclusion

This was the question that Moses asked the people of Israel.  In those days, Moses stood as a type of Christ.  Exodus 32:26 says, “Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the LORD’s side?”  Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.”

Moses issued that confrontation to the people of Israel, God’s people, who had turned to worshipping idols as they waited for Moses’ return.  Only the sons of Levi came forward to separate themselves from the idol worship.  Only a select few answered that call to repentance.

Today, the Lord is drawing the same line in the sand.  He is calling out to His People “Who is on My side?”  The seriousness of the days we live in demand a sobriety and attention to the things of God.  They demand a concentration and a fixed gaze.  These are Revelation Days that we’re living in.  It’s no ordinary time in history – it’s an appointed time for which we have been chosen.    

If there ever was a time to consider the things of God and understand that the enemy (the devil) is engaging us in a spiritual battle, it is NOW.  Yet, people go on about their business as if this time is common.  It’s not!  The Word of God speaks of these Revelation Days in order to alert us to be ready and to be on guard, because your adversary (the devil) still roams about, seeking whom he may devour.

The fact that there is another side is something that most people miss in today’s church environment.  Spiritual warfare is greatly ignored by those who teach and those who call themselves shepherds.  These are the Revelation Days and that means these are days of intensified spiritual warfare against principalities, powers and spiritual wickedness – yet most Christians deny the battle and continue as if that reality wasn’t genuine.  Spiritual warfare is a serious reality in the Revelation Days and the Lord is again issuing the call.

When we answer that call  and step over the line in the sand to the Lord’s side, we identify ourselves as those who belong to the family of the living God, we arm ourselves with the armor of God, and we stand ready to do battle with the enemy.  We are shaken out of our lethargy and we are able to focus on His priorities.  We are no longer distracted or nonchalant.  We are no longer concerned with silly things that try to capture our spiritual attention and strength.   We never, never, never give up!  We keep on going even when we’re tired. 

We are on the Lord’s side!

I recently returned from a mission trip with my crew to several states where flooding and storms have caused death and destruction in the lives of many people.  We are emotionally spent.  You can’t look on that much human suffering without it taking its toll.  Everything else that may be going on, pales in light of it.  I have seen other newscasters unable to speak or describe the scenes they were looking upon – it was all so overwhelming.  We are doing what we can to alleviate some of the suffering.  It will take the efforts of millions of people, organizations and especially churches to reach out with whatever they have to give – and everyone has something to give!

In the meantime, the Middle East is still in turmoil, Israel is surrounded by its enemies, and earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters are increasing dramatically.  Yet, people everywhere refuse to repent (but that’s another blog).

The news headlines have described the events of May as “epic” and “biblical” and “apocalyptic”.  These are the words of the secular media, not religious men.  Even the world knows that what we are witnessing is a global turmoil unlike anything ever before it.  They may not know what to call it, but we do.  It’s called the Times of Trouble, the Last Days, the Revelation Days, and the Tribulation.

We know what these Times are because God gave us the Scriptures so that we would know!  He did not give us these warnings in Scripture so that we would be fearful – NO!  …just the opposite!  In Matthew 24:6 Jesus says “See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.”  And in Matthew 24:32-33 Jesus says “  “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.”  Now that is Good News to those who know Him!

Then, in Matthew 24:42-46, Jesus tells us what we should do,  “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”

“Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.”

Jesus gives us this spiritual instruction using a natural principle.  The principle is that when you see the warning signs of an impending disaster, you should prepare.  This is a natural, practical preparation – as well as a spiritual preparation.  He tells us that we should be alert to the times in which we live and to pattern our lives accordingly, making every effort to be found faithful.

As these Revelation events increase, we need to increase in faith and preparedness for what is coming upon the world – it is not something that anyone should ignore.   We can increase and grow in our spiritual knowledge and our peace when we have heeded the instructions given so lovingly so many years ago.  Don’t just be a hearer, be a doer!

God loves you!  He really does!

Jim

The Origin of the Pretrib View

When I dug into the matter further, I was surprised to discover that many of the ideas associated with the pretributional Rapture originated not in the Bible, but in an extrabiblical vision experienced by a young Scottish woman named Margaret Macdonald in 1830.  The woman sent handwritten copies of her “revelation” to Edward Irving, a controversial minister, who, with his great gifts of oratory and his magnetic personality, was drawing large crowds to his church in London.  In his pamphlet, “Why I Believe the Church Will Pass Through the Tribulation,” David MacPherson described what happened after Irving got hold of Margaret Macdonald’s vision.

It was from this supposed revelation that the modern doctrine and modern phraseology respecting the pretribulational rapture arose; it came not from Scripture, but from that which falsely pretended to be the Spirit of God.  Irving accepted this teaching and it was taught at prophetic meetings at Powerscourt House in Ireland, attended by Plymouth Brethren organizer John Darby.  Irving’s views influenced Darby, C. H. Mackintosh, and C. I. Scofield, whose Bible popularized the new theory.  Later, some of the leading Plymouth Brethren scholars, including Benjamin Newton and S. P. Tregelles, rejected this pretrib theory.  For 1,800 years the Church had believed only in a postrib coming which, during persecution, was occasionally thought to be imminent.  There is not a shred of historical evidence before 1830 that the Church ever believed in a double coming, or rapture before the Tribulation.

David Mac Pherson goes on to list some of the elements of Margaret’s radical vision, which included splitting the second coming of Christ into two phases – first, a pretrib rapture; then later, after the tribulation, the return of Christ to earth.  Her own statement clearly contains more of the major tenets found today in pretrib dispensationalism – meeting the Lord in the air, secrecy, suddenness, invisibility, immanency, a pretrib separation of believers and unbelievers, distinction between the raptured bride and the tribulation elect.

How, you may wonder, could a vision experienced by a relatively unknown young woman with no platform or sphere of influence have such an impact?  Actually, most people of her time did not know the vision was Margaret Macdonald’s.  They thought the new truth was something Edward Irving had discovered in the Bible.  Keep in mind that Irving was a popular preacher in those days, and his views were quickly adopted.  In The Rapture Plot, David MacPherson lists four reasons why he believes the young woman was not “credited” with her vision at first:  “She was a female in the male-dominated theological world of 1830; she was young; she was uneducated; and she had been a Christian only a year.”  Interestingly, many of the tenets in the teachings of highly respected prophetic teachers, and other advocates of a pretribulational Rapture, are similar to those first espoused by Margaret Macdonald.

(To Be Continued)

Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 1
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 2
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 3
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 4
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 5
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 7
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 8
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 9
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 10
Will We Go Through the Tribulation? – Part 11

Excerpt from Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse

Published in 1998

When the Lord told me back in December that this would be a “Major March”, I knew the events that were coming would be remarkable. I felt that there would be major events that would shake the World this month and it would be a wonderful time of healing and blessing for some of God’s people.  Today, I know that what is happening in the world is only going to accelerate and NOW is the time for the Church’s finest hour.  Listen to me now, and believe me when I say that when the world is coming apart, the true Church will come together and be prepared!

The Bible tells us that when the events of Revelation start to happen, they will happen in rapid succession – this is the generation that will not pass away before we see the coming of the Lord!

God showed me that an earthquake so big would shake Japan and it would cause a financial crisis of their nation that would cause great financial distress to the United States.  A week before this Great earthquake hit Japan, I felt God spoke to me that there would be a 9 point earthquake soon and I said so on our program.  God has spoken to me over the last few years that  there was coming a massive earthquake to California that would devastate LA.  The next few days and weeks could bring a shaking over the West coast from from top to bottom!

When I told a prophet, whom I trusted, of the Japan and LA earthquake God had told me about, he said when the earthquake that God showed me hits Japan,  the big one – the California earthquake is coming next!  (see page 110 of my book, Prosperity and the Coming Apocalypse) There may be many more earthquakes coming to Japan and one of them, a big one, centered near or under  Tokyo.  I believe we all had better be prepared for a Time of Trouble that Jesus told us about. WE ARE IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION NOW! 

A trusted friend, Dr. Paul Williams, called me yesterday and told me in a very somber tone about a dream he had where he had seen a green road sign.  The road sign simply said “Advent 2”.  When Jesus came the first time, as a baby in a manger, it is known as “The First Advent” or Advent 1.  Friends, this dream was clearly telling us that Jesus is coming again very soon!  How much clearer can He make this?

But before Jesus returns the second time, He tells us what will happen on this earth, and those things are happening NOW!  The Bible tells us that the foolish know what is coming, but do not prepare.  If you listen to our broadcasts, we have been saying over and over:  GET PREPARED – THE TIMES OF TROUBLE ARE UPON US!

BY FAILING TO PREPARE, YOU ARE PREPARING TO FAIL!

Preparation for the Time of Trouble preceding the Lord’s second coming is first, spiritual.  People, you need to EAT the Word of God.  Devour every spiritual Word of God you can by reading your Bible and digesting its instruction.  Get your heart right with God!

Then, get yourself and your family prepared physically, as much as you can!  Jerry Jones has friends in Japan.  Within one day, the shelves in the stores in Japan were emptied because all logistics (ways to get the food to the stores) had broken down.  Jerry was absolutely delighted to hear from Tom and his wife and kids and they said that they were not standing in the long lines in Japan for food handouts.  No!  They were eating from the food buckets of emergency food they had gotten from Food for Health, the same food we send out to our friends over television. They were prepared!

This week, we are talking with Carl Palmer on the show – the founder and inventor of our Seychelle water purification products.  I have no doubt that this is one of the greatest developments ever and it is for “such a time as this”.  You are going to need food and water!  You are going to need a way to purify your water sources!  You can get the very best water purification products available right here!  Go to our online store or call 1(888)988-1588.  We are here to help you!

When the Church sees the signs of what is foretold in the Bible, they will start to see and recognize the times and truly comprehend what is important and they will prepare.

How much more can we do than tell you and plead with you – JESUS IS COMING SOON – but before He comes, there will be Times of Trouble.  Get ready NOW! 

Love,

Jim