Conflict of the Ages (The Complete Series)

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Where did hundreds of millions of Christians, over the last 2,000 years, ever get the notion that the way to eternal life was narrow, and that few would enter by the narrow gate to be saved? That notion, of course, came directly from the lips of our beloved Lord Jesus himself:

when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not. This cookie, set by YouTube, registers a unique ID to store data on what videos from YouTube the user has seen. The Lord warned us in His Word that we are to earnestly contend for the faith, for false prophets would come and turn the grace of God into a license to sin (Jude 1:4). Rob Bell is turning the finished work of Christ into an open sesame, a license to sin with impunity in this life while guaranteeing a shot at Heaven after spending time in Hell! Under the blessing of God this book is given to the world with the prayer that the Lord by His Spirit will make the words of this book words of life to many souls whose longings and desires are yet unsatisfied; that they “may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings,” and finally, throughout a blessed eternity, at His right hand, share in “that fullness of joy,” and “pleasures forevermore,” which will be the ripened fruitage of all those who find in Him the all in all, “the Chiefest among ten thousand,” and “the One altogether lovely.” Conflict of the Ages Rob Bell wants us to believe that the words translated “eternal,” in relation to Hell’s duration, like the noun ‘aion’ and the adjective ‘aionios’, only mean ‘age’. The truth is that the words ‘aion’ and ‘aionios’ can refer to an age or, ‘all eternity’.God has been pleased to communicate his truth to the world by human agencies, and he himself, by his Holy Spirit, qualified men and enabled them to do this work. He guided the mind in the selection of what to speak and what to write. The treasure was intrusted to earthen vessels, yet it is, none the less, from Heaven. The testimony is conveyed through the imperfect expression of human language; yet it is the testimony of God; and the obedient, believing child of God beholds in it the glory of a divine power, full of grace and truth. {GC88 d.3} Conflict of the Ages When you listen to Bell, you have to ask, “What ever happened to the holiness of God and the sinful nature and depravity of man? How about the wrath of God? Or, the straight gate and the narrow road that Jesus speaks of?” There is no official single Emerging Church or Emerging Church doctrine so there is no unified structure to examine. But, there are a lot of Emerging Church writings. The more I read them, the more concerned I become. It is apparent that the movement as a whole is off-center and is sacrificing time-honored biblical truths for a let’s-get-along kind of attitude. There are five stages of evolution in Age of War. You can advance to a new age when you’ve earned enough XP from killing your enemy’s troops! The five ages are: Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” –Luke 13:22-24

For Rob Bell, Hell, is merely an emergent ‘purgatory’ where men like Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin are being held for “pruning” and “correction.” It has nothing to do with the wrath of God. Hell is simply what we make it. If you change your mind and want to go to Heaven, all you have to do is find the exit. If Hell is too uncomfortable, you will have infinite chances to get right with God by accepting his love; which, Bell claims will ultimately melt the heart of every man. Tragically, this deception misleads people into believing that they will be able to escape Hell long after they have been dead and buried. Jesus promised his disciples, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” “When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; … and he will show you things to come.” John 14:26; 16:13. Scripture plainly teaches that these promises, so far from being limited to apostolic days, extend to the church of Christ in all ages. The Saviour assures his followers, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20. And Paul declares that the gifts and manifestations of the Spirit were set in the church “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:12, 13. {GC88 e.1} he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,Jesus stated as clearly as it could be stated, that only a “few” find the “narrow door”… and “narrow… Road”… that “leads to life,” while “many” take the “wide” and “easy” road that “leads to destruction.”

Haggai calls Him “the Desire of all nations,” and we may well call Him “the Desire of all ages,” even as He is “the King of ages.” Conflict of the Ages In harmony with the Word of God, his Spirit was to continue its work throughout the entire period of the gospel dispensation. During the ages while the Scriptures of both the Old and the New Testament were being given, the Holy Spirit did not cease to communicate light to individual minds, apart from the revelations to be embodied in the sacred canon. The Bible itself relates how, through the Holy Spirit, men received warning, reproof, counsel, and instruction, in matters in no way relating to the giving of the Scriptures. And mention is made of prophets in different ages, of whose utterances nothing is recorded. In like manner, after the close of the canon of Scripture, the Holy Spirit was still to continue its work, to enlighten, warn, and comfort the children of God. {GC88 e.1} Conflict of the Ages Great reproach has been cast upon the work of the Holy Spirit, by the errors of a class that, claiming its enlightenment, profess to have no further need of guidance from the Word of God. They are governed by impressions which they regard as the voice of God in the soul. But the spirit that controls them is not the Spirit of God. This following of impressions, to the neglect of the Scriptures, can lead only to confusion, to deception and ruin. It serves only to further the designs of the evil one. Since the ministry of the Holy Spirit is of vital importance to the church of Christ, it is one of the devices of Satan, through the errors of extremists and fanatics to cast contempt upon the work of the Spirit, and cause the people of God to neglect this source of strength which our Lord himself has provided. {GC88 e.1} Conflict of the Ages May God give us the grace, in these times of apostasy, to hold fast to Jesus’ teachings and remain faithful to our loving and Holy Lord to the end. May God deliver His bride from the cotton candy Christianity that is endemic in Emergent Churches and among false prophets who lead the lost into believing they can put off repentance until after death.

Prophets and Kings continues the story from the time of Solomon through the remaining kings of Israel and Judah and the times of the prophets, down to the coming of the Messiah, providing an extraordinary look at the unity of the Holy Bible. According to Bell, who views Hell through rose-colored glasses, Hell is just one last pit stop a person makes before Heaven. After a long life of rebellion against God…if it’s too hot…don’t worry, you can choose to accept God’s love and you will be whisked away to the streets of gold! There is no hint or indication that anyone will receive a second chance in Hades or the lake of fire. Rather, Jesus revealed that there will be no rest, day and night, forever and ever (Revelation 14:9-12). Hell is our refusal to trust God’s retelling of our story,” and “We create hell whenever we fail to trust God’s retelling of our story.” A cookie set by YouTube to measure bandwidth that determines whether the user gets the new or old player interface.

Bell claims that by softening the message, the Gospel will become more attractive to non-believers. It is true that a watered down message will increase the number of non-believers at ice cream socials and Christian love feasts; but, at what point does changing the message of the Lord Jesus Christ make the true Gospel a ‘different’ gospel? What right do we have to change the everlasting Gospel?In contrast, God warned Ezekiel that he had better be faithful to preach His warnings or the blood of the lost would be on his head: You’re amending the gospel so that it’s palatable to contemporary people who find, for example, the idea of Hell and Heaven very difficult to stomach. So here comes Rob Bell, he’s made a Christian gospel for you and it’s perfectly palatable, it’s easy to swallow.”