Sermons on menno simons: showing 436-450 of 11,152

Reflection B.14 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / Daniel 7, Daniel’s Fourth Beast And The Horn Which Made War With The Saints

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

Daniel anticipates persecution of 'the saints' to an extent that he describes it as war. Some commentators today have used the word 'war' or 'genocide' to describe persecution of Christians today. Daniel's prophecy seems to be fulfilled.

Today we move on to Daniel. We’re familiar with many of the stories in the first half of Daniel, the fiery furnace, the lion’s den, and so on. But we’re less familiar with the material in the second half. Daniel has a lot to say about ‘End Times’. One thing that Daniel tells us is that there ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection B.15 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / Daniel 7, Daniel’s Fourth Beast, Identifying The Horns

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

How can we identify the horns that come out of Daniel's fourth beast? Revelation can help us.

On the small Greek island of Patmos there is a place called ‘the Cave of the Apocalypse’. It is here, according to tradition, that John had the vision which we now have in the form of the last book of the Bible, Revelation. However, in the Book of Revelation, the word ‘vision’ is used just once. ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection B.16 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Daniel 7, Daniel’s Fourth Beast, Trampling And Devouring

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

The description of Daniel's fourth beast fits with the identification in the previous 'Reflection'. It looks very much like the westernised nations at the present time.

We are trying to read signs. Are we in a time of God’s judgement? Are we in ‘End Times’? As we look at possible signs, I can imagine several errors we might make: We can take something as a sign that is not a sign. In Greek mythology, the beauty of Europa inspired the love of Zeus. He ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection B.17 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / Isaiah 65:17-25. Heaven, Or The Millennium? Either Way, It’s Good.

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

The description of 'End Times', and prophecies of judgement may seem gloomy and depressing. No doubt these will be difficult times. But having gone through that, we will come into a very, very good situation.

In today’s Reflection I’m looking at why we can be encouraged, even as we think about ‘End Times’ and God’s judgement. We don’t know if we are in such a time, but suppose we are? Jesus described the various signs that will accompany ‘End Times’ as ‘the beginning of birth pains.’ Painful, but the ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 65:17-25

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection B.18 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / "Are These Questions Really Necessary?”

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

Someone may ask, 'Why do who even need to think about whether God might be behind coronavirus?' Here's part of the answer, at least.

I’ve often mentioned that I’m asking three difficult questions. In reality, there are two main questions: ‘Is coronavirus a judgement from God?’ and ‘Are we living in end times?’ But are these important questions to ask? Suppose you don’t feel well and go to the doctor. The doctor checks your ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:12

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection B.19 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? / Summary So Far. Do We Imagine God Has Something To Say?

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 11, 2020

This is a summary of the Reflections on coronavirus so far (series A and B). I will follow with a series based on the New Testament excluding Revelation, and then another on Revelation, in the coming weeks.

Today we’re at a milestone in our Reflections. We’ll be leaving the Old Testament! Do I hear ‘hooray’? 🙂 After a short break we’ll move on to the New Testament. A milestone is a good place to take stock. It’s probably impossible to summarise 23 Reflections in a short space but I’m ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 9:12

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.1 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Two Wrong Goblets

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 23, 2020

There is a danger of prematurely imagining that we are in ‘End Times’. There is also a danger of failing to recognize ‘End Times’ when they are on us.

There’s a great family film called ‘The Princess Bride’. It’s definitely worth watching if you enjoy a romance with lots of action and humour. A farmhand, Westley, is in love with a beautiful young woman called Buttercup. A Sicilian named Vizzini kidnaps Buttercup; Westley, wearing a mask, goes ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:4

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.2 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? End Times Will Be Tough

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 23, 2020

Jesus' disciples asked a question about 'End Times'. But before answering, Jesus warns them that 'End Times' will be tough.

We want to know if God could be behind coronavirus. Could it be connected to God’s judgement or to ‘End Times’? To answer that we want to know what judgement from God looks like and what ‘End Times’ will be like. We started in the Old Testament and we’ve now moved on to the New Testament – ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:9-11

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.3 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? The Gospel Reaching All Nations

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 23, 2020

Has the gospel reached all nations? I think so!

Today we continue to look at Matthew 24. On Monday we noted Jesus’ warning of the danger of ‘premature eschatological excitement’. (‘Eschatology’ is another word for ‘End Times’.) Yesterday we noted Jesus’ warning that ‘End Times’ will be tough. As part of his warning, Jesus said this: ‘…you ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:14

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.4 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Destruction Of Jerusalem By The Romans – Still Relevant To Us

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 23, 2020

Jesus' prophecy regarding the abomination of desolation relates to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. However that event is still relevant to our enquiry about 'End Times'.

We have two more Reflections to do on Matthew 24. Today, we look at verses 15-22. So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:15-22

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.5 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Israel Is An Important Indicator

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 23, 2020

When Jesus refers to a fig tree in Matthew 24, he is thinking of Israel. Israel is relevant to 'End Times'.

Today, we’re on to our last Reflection on Matthew 24! This Reflection contains some relatively complex arguments. I just can’t make it shorter. Sorry. If you’re in the mood for something stretching, read on! As Jesus starts to wind up his answer to his disciples’ question, he says this: 32 ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 24:32-34

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.6 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Waves?!

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 27, 2020

Matthew, Mark and Luke have a lot in common. But only Luke mentions waves in connection with 'End Times'. It sounds strange. But perhaps it isn't.

Luke 21:25 says the following: And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves… The first part of the verse has a parallel in Matthew and Mark: ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:25

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.7 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Antichrist

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on May 27, 2020

Antichrist is a mysterious figure. But scripture gives us some important pointers regarding antichrists in the past and the future antichrist.

Today we are going to look at the mysterious figure of ‘antichrist’. The word ‘antichrist’ only comes in John’s letters. However, there are other passages of scripture which seem to be about antichrist even though they don’t use the word ‘antichrist’. Historically, there have been many views ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 2:18-27

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection C.8 Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Summary Of New Testament So Far...

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 3, 2020

In the previous seven 'Reflections' I've looked at what the New Testament, excluding Revelation, says about 'End Times'. In this Reflection I try to draw the threads together and show how they are relevant to our question.

Today is a milestone – the end of the second stage of my study. At the end of March, I decided to try to answer the question, ‘Could God be behind coronavirus?’ I knew that people were asking the question and it seemed like a good question. I decided to split the task into three parts. I would ...read more

Scripture: Luke 21:25, 2 Thessalonians 2:3

Denomination: Baptist

Reflection D.1 / Does God Have A Purpose In Coronavirus? Starting To Look At Revelation

Contributed by Simon Bartlett on Jun 3, 2020

If we think coronavirus might be God's judgement or a part of 'End Times' then we need to know what God's judgement and 'End Times' look like. We now turn to Revelation. This Reflection provides an introduction.

Today we start on Revelation. However, before diving in I’d like to do a quick introduction. When we start to talk about Revelation we quickly find that there are a lot of different views. The main views are ‘preterist’, ‘historicist’, ‘idealist’ and ‘futurist’. Preterists believe that most of ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 7:13-14, Daniel 7:27-28

Denomination: Baptist