By Van Yandell
Revelation 20:10, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Many of the differences we find in people from one country or area to another are dissimilarities we initially may not notice. I have come to believe, the differences that separate us are not those differences we may think, but cultural, traditional/historical and even certain environmental conditions.
Of the seven continents and 195 countries identified in 2022, God has given me opportunities to end up in some really unusual situations. In Brazil in the city of Vila Velha, I helped celebrate a World Cup win for Brazil. The sport was futebol, (football-American soccer) about which I knew absolutely nothing. The Brazilians left the construction site to celebrate and this American went with them.
In Bhaktapur, Nepal, I was told not to step on a bug on a sidewalk because it might be someone’s reincarnated grandmother. In Kathmandu, I sat on a river bank and watched a Hindu cremation. I have spun prayer wheels in Buddhist temples and removed my shoes to walk in mosques on Mount Moriah and in Cairo.
I was told I’d have to bow to Buddha before I could go into a temple in Taebeck, South Korea. That was one experience I chose to miss.
In Lakoni, Kenya, East Africa, a witch doctor tried to run us out of his village with a club. In Keragoya, I tried to eat a plantain, thinking it was some type of banana. It puckered me up like a green persimmon. The Kenyans got a good laugh from that. I suppose it was kind of funny. I did manage to laugh at myself.
In Jerusalem, I drank wine at a communion at the tomb of Jesus. The wine samples at Cana tasted awful and I stand firm that the wine Jesus made was much better (John 2: 10). At Tiberus, I picked up a rock off the shore of the Sea of Galilee that had been washing around for well over two thousand years. I like to think Jesus may have picked up that very oddly shaped rock and examined it, or perhaps He stepped on it or for sure walked very near it.
I’ve been in monasteries high in the Himalaya (Tengboche Monastery) and at sea level in Korea (Donghae Temple), in cathedrals from Rome to Oslo to Halifax. I saw Pope John Paul twice at the Vatican. On a second visit to the Sistine Chapel, realized it was built to the dimensions of King Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 6: 2). I was denied entrance to a cathedral in Venice because I was not wearing long pants.
I have walked around sacred cats in Egypt and sacred cattle in several Asian cities. I ran the 10K in the Mombasa marathon. I was taught by an Australian Aborigine how to correctly throw a boomerang and he is still my friend.
But, one place I will remember forever is Sagana, a little town about 100 miles north of Nairobi, Kenya. We traveled up highway A2 to Kabati and turned left at Wamuru and then back a dirt and mud road out through the bush for miles. We camped in tents with local men armed with bows and arrows standing guard during the nights.
One morning I awoke before the others and went into Sagana looking for fruit for our breakfast. That morning in Sagana will be etched in my mind forever. I was walking down a street, more like an alley, when I saw a sign over a witch doctor’s door. I stood for several minutes reading the very interesting sign written in both English and Swahili; it was a list of the services he offered. He could rid one of all kinds of ailments, including any mental illness one may have. For 30 schillings, he could cast a spell on one’s neighbor. Then, the neighbor would pay him another 30 schillings to remove the curse. He could make a wife more submissive and stop her nagging. American doctors would be envious of the trust and power.
And above all, Mr. Witch Doctor was a very highly respected member of the community. Or, maybe that’s Dr. Witch Doctor? He was capable of handling most any problem one might have. I wondered where he did his residency. One in Harambe did not respond very well when I tried to tell him about Jesus. Never forget, everyone is a false prophet or infidel to someone.
Jesus said in Matthew 24, in verses 4, 11, and 24, “Beware of false prophets and false teachers.” You do not have to go to Sagana or Cairo to find false teachings. A classic case of the world’s deception is documented in Acts 17: 22-23 “Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship.”
Paul was pointing out to the Athenians they were really worshiping an “Unknown God,” but the God he preached was very much known because of His sacrifice on the cross, resurrection and ascension into Heaven.
Several religions are teaching that Jesus was not virgin born. Without the virgin birth and Jesus being fathered by the Holy Spirit of God, He could not have lived a perfect sinless life (1 Peter 2: 22). His perfection was necessary for Him to have been an acceptable sacrifice for the atonement of the sins of the world.
Deuteronomy 17: 1 “Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evil favouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.” The sacrificial lamb had to be perfect! This of course is an Old Testament (Mosaic) law but this connection of the testaments verifies to us the sacrificial necessity of the death and shedding of Jesus’ perfect blood.
In John 10: 30 “I and my Father are one” Jesus verified the fact He was and is God. Colossians 1: 16 “All things were created by Him and for Him.” John 1: 1 substantiates beyond any doubt who Jesus was and is.
The Bible proves itself from within itself. No other religious writing has accurately predicted the future as has God’s Holy Word, the Bible. It tells us science concepts that no person had any way of knowing 2500 years ago. The Bible gives indisputable information about life and living.
There are billions of people all over the world accepting the teachings of false prophets and worshiping unknown gods as did the Athenians. One may live next door to you and most certainly in your community.
We are simply told that we are to believe Jesus was crucified for the remission of sin and resurrected from the dead. The Bible contains volumes of information, but this fundamental of the gospel means eternal life for those that believe.
Van Yandell is a retired industrial arts teacher, evangelist and missionary.
