STEPPING in as speaker at the last minute, Terry Beadon presented his view of modern Christianity and the role the founding of Israel in 1948 has had on the world at the Christian Men’s Association (CMA) breakfast on Saturday morning.
Probably due to the cold weather the CMA was a little light on numbers, but that was more than made up for by the intensity of Beadon’s testament as he spoke of the significance of Israel, and how the minds of men have been influenced by the rise in awareness of the anticipated return of Jesus.
“We often struggle, attempting to understand the mind of God,” he said, “but that is because we are human. We speak of the darkness and the light, and it sometimes appears that darkness and evil are winning.
“Daniel warned us that there will be a time of troubles. This is allowed by God, and Jesus warned us of a time to come just before His return when darkness will engulf us like a flood. A time when the love and faith of many will be lost and fear, anger and outrage will take over.”
Beadon asked how believers could keep their hearts and minds clean under these circumstances.
“There are three parts to the spiritual ripples flowing through the world [since the founding of Israel in 1948]. After a 1 800 year gap it was regarded as practically impossible for Israel to become a country, but it was not a theological impossibility. The Bible prophesied it. The re-emergence of Israel is a clear indication that God has not abandoned his people, our older brothers and sisters.”
Beadon referred to the Messianic Jewish movement, “Jesus people” and the charismatic revival of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. He also spoke of the number of Muslims who have had prophetic dreams of a white-robed prophet and converted to Christianity.
“Asia is becoming the centre of gravity for the Christian revival, having been the mid-Atlantic region for several hundred years before,” said Beadon. “Many Chinese, Korean and other Asian countries have taken up the cause and are converting to Christianity.”
“The second part is the strengthening of the root stock of Christianity,” said Beadon. “In Messianic Judaism there are no denominations, and they maintain their Jewish ways. They are not worried about the doctrines, but simply the ‘doing’. They take the gospel to the Palestinian Arabs, who are the most rejected people on Earth, consumed by spiritual rejection.”
Beadon asserted that Jewish worship challenges the way that Christians practice their faith. He said that everything Christians do, such as prayers and rituals, are an empty religion if it does not change their lives.
“The Messianic Christians are afraid of nothing as it has cost them everything to profess a belief in Christ,” he said.
Beadon also spoke of his journey to Jerusalem during the feast of tabernacles in September and October.
“It is not just a celebration of the years since the foundation of Israel, but also of the coming of the bride of God to come,” said Beadon.
