I just read an article which the Emergent Village Twitter feed via Global Voices. Emergent Village raised the idea that there is an Emergent Islam. Now, before someone jumps to conclusions (and you know who you are LOL!) this does not mean the Tony Jones has set up a new camp in Morocco and changed to the Islamic faith. No, the idea that many miss is that other faiths are emerging as the Christian faith is. Now this is a side of emerging that is probably the most controversial and may be considered by some the most dangerous. It is the idea of questioning or "deconstructing" one's faith. Yet, many miss this is not just a "emerging Christian" phenomenon. In fact it is happening in many other faiths such as Judaism and Islam.
These religions are also looking at their belief systems and some in them are even challenging the systems and sometimes even the authorities. I point of interest to me is that all of these religions are based in the Biblical Patriarchs. In one way I see this as just a sign of the times. We are on a major time of "shaking" which I see is the prophetic "shaking" spoken in Luke 21:25-27
25. "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Now don't get me wrong I do not mean this like the Left Behind series... though I believe in the Resurrection with the bodily return of Jesus to bring the regeneration of all things, I do not believe in the Rapture theory that we will be whisked away and not face tribulation. I also am a partial preterist though I see some of the prophecies as "near/far" meaning that though they have been fulfilled in one sense the often are fulfilled in a fuller sense later. (Some other time I will go into that deeper). Yet saying all that I point to this verse in that we now live in a time were people are living in fear and signs are all over that great changes are about to happen. I think that even that we in the USA have just voted a new president over his promise or "Change" should be an indication... though I do not see that this "Change" is coming as expected.
Yet, I do see that there is a shaking that has come where people of Islam, Judaism and Christianity are looking for something greater. I point of interest is that there is a rise in Messianic Muslims who are looking for the return of Jesus to set things right. Now debate whether this is the True Messiah could be very interesting, the point is that Jesus seems to be more and more a focal point in this time. The "heavenly bodies" to me could be the powers that run this worlds system being of a spiritual nature. These powers are being shaken in their authority and challenged on many levels. Not all call Christian is of true faith. There is much that is man-made that needs to be shaken as that is not of Christ will fall away.
It is an interesting and yet terrifying time. For some it is exciting as we see this unfolding of God's hand doing His works, yet it is also a time that could be terrifying for some that do not have the security of knowing the True God. The end times will come with judgment. For the faithful this judgment will be a time of the Blessed Hope yet for those without Jesus this will be a time of fear and condemnation. We need to be missional minded to reach those we consider as "others" for Jesus. This means to look for what God is doing in people which often we might not expect God is doing anything in. Also, this is a time where prayer is of the most importance, and that we seek God for direction and a heart to see His work in all around us so we can bring reconciliation to them.
These religions are also looking at their belief systems and some in them are even challenging the systems and sometimes even the authorities. I point of interest to me is that all of these religions are based in the Biblical Patriarchs. In one way I see this as just a sign of the times. We are on a major time of "shaking" which I see is the prophetic "shaking" spoken in Luke 21:25-27
25. "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Now don't get me wrong I do not mean this like the Left Behind series... though I believe in the Resurrection with the bodily return of Jesus to bring the regeneration of all things, I do not believe in the Rapture theory that we will be whisked away and not face tribulation. I also am a partial preterist though I see some of the prophecies as "near/far" meaning that though they have been fulfilled in one sense the often are fulfilled in a fuller sense later. (Some other time I will go into that deeper). Yet saying all that I point to this verse in that we now live in a time were people are living in fear and signs are all over that great changes are about to happen. I think that even that we in the USA have just voted a new president over his promise or "Change" should be an indication... though I do not see that this "Change" is coming as expected.
Yet, I do see that there is a shaking that has come where people of Islam, Judaism and Christianity are looking for something greater. I point of interest is that there is a rise in Messianic Muslims who are looking for the return of Jesus to set things right. Now debate whether this is the True Messiah could be very interesting, the point is that Jesus seems to be more and more a focal point in this time. The "heavenly bodies" to me could be the powers that run this worlds system being of a spiritual nature. These powers are being shaken in their authority and challenged on many levels. Not all call Christian is of true faith. There is much that is man-made that needs to be shaken as that is not of Christ will fall away.
It is an interesting and yet terrifying time. For some it is exciting as we see this unfolding of God's hand doing His works, yet it is also a time that could be terrifying for some that do not have the security of knowing the True God. The end times will come with judgment. For the faithful this judgment will be a time of the Blessed Hope yet for those without Jesus this will be a time of fear and condemnation. We need to be missional minded to reach those we consider as "others" for Jesus. This means to look for what God is doing in people which often we might not expect God is doing anything in. Also, this is a time where prayer is of the most importance, and that we seek God for direction and a heart to see His work in all around us so we can bring reconciliation to them.
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