2 Peter 3:3—4 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”
Dear brothers and sisters,
We are thankful to the Lord for the Bible Seminar that served as a timely reminder to us of the Second Coming of
Christ. Today we can see,
1. The increase of apostasy;
2. The spreading of Gospel to all the four corners of the world; and
3. The nation of Israel, are prominent signs before the coming of Christ.
Several months ago, we visited an old neighbor who once lived next door to us and is now in her 70’s. It was a meeting that came after twenty long years; when it was time for us to leave, we gave her the promise that we would come to visit again. But we have not returned since we left off the last time. Will we keep the promise and when will it be is the question.
The Lord Jesus Christ died, resurrected and returned to heaven but before He left, He made this promise to those who loved Him in John 14:3, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”.
Answer this question for yourself, “Will Jesus come again?”
The Bible teaches that Jesus is coming again and the Bible also mentions that in the last days there will be scoffers.
1. The character of the scoffers is to mock, to ridicule and to make fun at the Word of God.
2. The conduct of the scoffers is to deny and to reject the truth of the coming judgment of God.
It is nothing new today if critics mock, ridicule and make fun of the promise of Christ’s coming; for in the days of the apostle Peter, Christ’s coming was already doubted.
The scoffers can laugh all they want but God will keep His side of the promise that His Son will come again. The character and the spirit of the scoffers in the past as well as now have not changed. Like their predecessors; the scoffers of our days will not yield to Christ, if to acknowledge the truth would mean that they have to give up their sinful lifestyles? That was the way it used to be in the days of Noah, in the days of Sodom’s and now in our days, that men love their sins too much to turn over their lives to God.
Instead of saying, “what will we do with Jesus; they ask “where”, implying that it will never happen.
God answers no one about His delay but He gives assurance from His infallible Word to those who are ready for His coming. There is even a purpose in what men may call a delay or procrastination. If He had returned earlier how many of our loved ones who have not believed will be lost. He tarries to give them opportunities to repent that soul and body may be saved.
As long as Christ is delaying in His return, there will be scoffers and more in the last days but the bottom line is this, will you be taken up at Christ’s return or will you remain here to go through the Great Tribulation and then to be lost forever in hell?
V is for Valentine
Did you know that centuries before Christ, the pagan Romans celebrated February 15 and the evening of February 14 as an idolatrous and sensuous festival in honour of Lupercus, the ‘hunter of wolves’?
When Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, there was some talk in church circles of discarding this pagan free-for-all. But the Roman citizens wouldn’t hear of it! So it was agreed that the holiday would continue as it was, except for the more grossly sensual observances. It was not until the reign of Pope Gelasius that the holiday became a Christian custom: As far back as 496AD, Pope Gelasius changed Lupercalia on February 15 to Valentine’s Day on February 14.
But how did this pagan festival acquire the name of St. Valentine’s Day? And why is the little naked Cupid of pagan Rome so often associated today with February 14? And why do little children and young people still cut out hearts and send them on a day in honour of Lupercus, the hunter of wolves?
Valentine was a common Roman name. Roman parents often gave the name of their children in honour of the famous man who was first called Valentine in antiquity. That famous man was Lupercus, the hunter. But who was Lupercus? And why should he have also borne the name Valentine among the heathen Romans?
The Greeks called Lupercus by the name of Pan. The Semites called Pan Baul, according to the Classical Dictionaries. Baal – mentioned so often in the Bible – was merely another name for Nimrod, ‘the mighty hunter’ (Genesis 10:9). It was a common proverb of ancient time that Nimrod was “the MIGHTY hunter before the Lord”. Nimrod was their hero – their strong man – their VALENTINE!
But why do we associate HEARTS on a day in honour of Nimrod – the Baal of the Phoenicians and Semites? The surprising answer is that the pagan Romans acquired the symbol of the heart from the Babylonians. In the Babylonian tongue the word for heart was bal (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible #H1168). The heart – bal – was merely a symbol of Nimrod – the Baal or Lord of the Babylonians!
Nimrod – the original St. Valentine – was also known as Saturn, the Roman-Babylonian god who hid from his pursuers in a secret place. The Latin word Saturn is derived from the Semitic-speaking Babylonians. It means ‘be hid’, ‘secret’. The original Semitic (Hebrew) word, from which the Latin Saturn is derived, is used 83 times in the Old Testament (see Young’s Analytical Concordance to the Bible under ‘Sathar’, also ‘sether’).
According to ancient tradition, Saturn (Nimrod) fled from his pursuers to Italy. The Apenine mountains of Italy were anciently named the mountains of Nembrod or Nimrod. Nimrod briefly hid out at the site where Rome was later built. The ancient name of Rome, before it was rebuilt in 753BC was Saturnia – the site of Saturn’s (Nimrod’s) hiding. There he was found and slain for his crimes. Later, professing Christians in Constantine’s day made Nimrod – the St. Valentine of the heathen – a Saint of the Church and continued to honour him under the name of a Christian martyr.
But why should the Romans have chosen February 15 and the evening of February 14 to honour Lupercus – the Nimrod of the Bible?
Nimrod – Baal or sun god of the ancient pagans – was said to have been born at the winter solstice. In ancient time the solstice occurred on January 6 and his birthday therefore was celebrated on December 25 and now called Christmas. It was the custom of antiquity for, the mother of a male child to present herself for purification on the fortieth day after January 6 – Nimrod’s original birth date – takes us to February 15, the celebration of which began on the evening of February 14 – the Lupercalia or St. Valentine’s Day.
On this day in February, Semiramis, the mother of Nimrod, was said to have been purified and to have appeared for the first time in public with her son as the original ‘mother and child’.
Another name for the child Nimrod was ‘Cupid’ – meaning ‘desire’. It is said that when Nimrod’s mother saw him, she lusted after him – she desired him. Nimrod became her Cupid – her desired one – and later her Valentine! So evil was Nimrod’s mother that it is said she married her own son! Inscribed on the monuments of ancient Egypt are inscriptions that Nimrod (the Egyptians called him Osiris) was ‘the husband of his mother’. As Nimrod grew up, he also became the child-hero of many women who desired him. He was their Cupid!
It is about time we examined these customs of the pagans now falsely labeled Christian. It is time we quit this Roman and Babylonian foolishness – this idolatry – and get back to the faith of Christ delivered once for all time. Let’s not teach these pagan customs in memory of Baal the sun god – the original St. Valentine – and teach them instead what the Bible really says!