God's Generals - The Martyrs Order Printed Copy

Author: Roberts Liardon
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About the Book

"God's Generals - The Martyrs" by Roberts Liardon is a compilation of biographies of Christian martyrs who gave their lives for their faith throughout history. The book highlights their courage, faith, and devotion to God, serving as a tribute to their sacrifice and a source of inspiration for readers to stand firm in their own faith.

John Owen

John Owen’s life was incredibly difficult. Born in 1616 and dying in 1683, Owen lived through the deaths of his first wife and all of his children, several of whom died in very early childhood. He supported his last surviving daughter when her marriage broke down. He contributed to a political revolution, watched it fail, saw the monarchy restored and wreak a terrible revenge on republicans, and lived in and around London during the persecution that followed. For twenty years he would have seen the decapitated heads of his friends on display around the city. He died fearing that the dissenting churches had largely abandoned the doctrine of the Trinity and justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone; and, with Charles II about to be replaced by his openly Catholic brother James, believing that the English Reformation was almost over. Owen was one of the most published writers in the seventeenth century. He published around 8 million words. These writings included books on theology and spirituality, politics and economics, and ranged in length from the largest commentary ever published on the epistle to the Hebrews to a short Latin poem that has never been reprinted. For not all of Owen’s works have been kept in print. The most widely circulating nineteenth-century edition, most of which is published by the Banner of Truth, did not include Owen’s sermon manuscripts that are kept in various English libraries, nor the book for children that Owen published in 1652. Owen was one of England’s earliest children’s authors. The catechisms that Owen published (1645) outlined what he expected children in his congregation to know. These catechisms were published before the Westminster Assembly published its better-known examples. But Owen’s catechisms are in many ways simpler. The Primer (1652), which Owen prepared after the death of several of his children during the years of poor harvests and disease at the end of the 1640s, showed what Owen expected of an ideal Christian home. Its routine would be built around Bible reading and prayer, he believed, and his little book included sample prayers that children could learn to pray in mornings, evenings, and at meals. Owen argued that those who led church services should take account of the needs of children. Services that were too long, he believed, did no one any good. Adult believers should not need written prayers, he believed, and these should be banned from public worship. But children were different and needed all the help they could get. Owen enjoyed many warm friendships. His social network included many of the most famous writers in seventeenth-century England. Among his friends and rivals were John Milton, Andrew Marvell, John Bunyan, and Lucy Hutchinson. Owen fell out with Milton and became the subject of one of his sonnets. Owen helped Marvell publish one of his most controversial political pamphlets. He encouraged his publisher, Nathanial Ponder, to publish Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. And he appears to have supported Lucy Hutchinson during her move into London, when she attended and took notes upon his preaching and translated large parts of his Theologoumena Pantodapa (1661)—a translation of which has been published with the title Biblical Theology. Owen’s letters reveal his kindness and care as a pastor, especially to mothers grieving their children’s death. Owen was deeply political. He preached to Members of Parliament on the day after the execution of Charles I, and pinned his hopes for the reformation of church and society on their efforts to transform England into a protestant republic. During the 1650s, under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, Owen served on important committees that sought to establish a religious foundation for the new regime. But he grew dismayed by the ways in which the Cromwell family, and the administration they led, seemed to turn away from godly values. In 1658, he worked with leading army officers to create a crisis that, he likely hoped, would call the regime back to its earlier ideals. It failed, and instead created the crisis that was resolved by the restoration of the monarchy, the return of Charles II, and the persecution of dissenters that followed. During the Restoration, Owen kept his head down, and, as persecution slackened in the later 1660s, published pamphlets that argued that dissenters were the economic lifeblood of the English nation. But he was chastened by his attempts at political intervention and came increasingly to realize that his focus should be on things eternal. Owen often changed his mind. As his developing attitudes to political intervention suggest, Owen committed himself to some beliefs and behaviors that he came to regret. In his early years, he changed his churchmanship from Presbyterianism to Congregationalism. He innovated as a Congregationalist, installing as a co-elder and preacher a man who would not be ordained for several years. He argued for the weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper, though it is not clear that he ever persuaded any of his congregations to practice it. He thought carefully about the end times and came to believe that, in the latter days, a large number of Jewish people would be converted to Christianity and would return to live in the Promised Land. He dismissed a great deal of discussion about the millennium, but became convinced that the binding of Satan had yet to be achieved. Owen changed his mind because he kept on studying the Bible. Owen was biblical, through and through, and depended just as much on the Holy Spirit. He certainly believed in a learned ministry–after all, he had taught theology at Oxford and done his best to promote godliness within the student body. But he also trusted the Holy Spirit to guide ordinary Christians in small group Bible studies that did not need to be policed by a formally trained expert. Aside from his own Bible study, which advanced on the serious scholarship represented by the three thousand titles that were included in the catalog of his library published soon after his death, Owen encouraged church members to meet together to study Scripture in private. Owen trusted the Bible and the work of the Spirit after writing about both. Owen was not a philosophically-driven, rationalist theologian. His writing abounds in biblical citations. It is molded and contoured by biblical revelation. But he warned that Christians could approach their study of the Bible with absolutely no spiritual advantage to themselves. Christians who approached the study of the Bible without absolute dependence upon the Spirit who inspired and preserved it would gain no more benefit than Jewish readers did from their Scriptures, he argued. Christians should never choose between entire dependence upon the Bible and the Spirit. Owen believed that the goal of the Christian life was knowing God. Before Owen, no one had ever shown clearly how Christians relate to each person of the Trinity. Owen described the goal of the gospel as revealing the love of the Father, who sent the Son as a redeemer of his people, who would be indwelt, provided with gifts, and united together by the Spirit. Owen’s Communion with God is among his most celebrated achievements—and no wonder. It is the exhalation of his devotion to Father, Son, and Spirit, and the discovery of the limitless love of God. Owen is much easier to read than many people imagine. There is a mystique to Owen—a widespread feeling that his books are too difficult and best left to expert theologians. But Owen’s greatest books were written as sermons for an audience of teenagers. Publishers have begun to modernize Owen’s language in new editions of his works. Now more than ever, it’s time to pick up Owen and find his encouragement for the Christian life.

Positive and Negative Spiritual Signs of the End Times

Dear Roger, When I think of the signs of the End Times, I usually focus on the outward, visible signs. I’m familiar with what the Bible says about what will happen in nature, like oceans turning to blood, earthquakes, nuclear holocaust, and the battle of Armageddon. But too often, I think we all neglect the fact that there are spiritual signs as well, maybe because they’re not taught or discussed nearly as often. Could you please help me understand the spiritual signs leading up to the End Times? Sincerely, Peter Dear Peter, I’d be most happy to do that. Many today are preaching about the signs of the times. Yet, the world continues to scoff at the message of Christ. They don’t want to hear the truth, and they certainly don’t want to change their behavior for anything. You must understand this, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own passions … Thank you. (2 Peter 3:3, 8) The prophet Jeremiah also tells us that the heart of man is desperately wicked! The result is that mankind usually ignores the signs of God. For example, Noah's preaching fell on deaf ears! The testimony and miracles of Christ fell on deaf ears! Even when people watch in horror as a sign is fulfilled before their eyes, many refuse to believe the signs and repent. Instead, they curse God. The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch men with fire; … yet, they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues, and they did not repent. (Revelation 16:8-9) As followers of Christ, the Bible encourages us to watch the signs of the times in preparation for Christ’s return. Jesus will come like a “Thief in night. … But you aren't in darkness for that day to surprise you like a thief!” (1 Thessalonians 5:2-4) So, read the signs and be ready. Jesus is coming like a thief! First, notice that these spiritual end-time signs involve the perversion of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here are four negative spiritual signs that will herald the Lord’s return: 1. False Prophets Will Lead Many Astray “And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray” (Matthew 24:11). “For false Christs and prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead many astray, if possible, even the elect” Matthew 24:24). Sure enough, the landscape today is polluted with false prophets, both inside and outside of the Christian faith. For example, outside the Christian faith, we find Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists, and thousands of other non-Christian’s religions that pervert, replace, or contradict God’s Word. This isn’t a statement of “intolerance” as our culture would claim. It’s simply the truth, according to the Bible and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have little trouble seeing these for what they are. But the real danger is when they are within the church! These false prophets use Christian language and Christian symbols, but they do not know or profess Jesus Christ, who said, "I am the only way to God.” Witness some of the things taught in the name of Christ that are not true. Jehovah's Witnesses preach Jesus as the “Archangel Michael.” The Church of Christ Scientists and Unity Churches proclaim a Jesus who is a Spirit only. Both have very little to do with the real Jesus Christ who was both God and man. But without a physical body, there was no way for Jesus to resurrect from the dead! He must be fully God and fully man to pay the price for our sin and give us eternal life. Mormons erroneously teach that Jesus and Adam are brothers who have grown and matured into being higher planes of god. In fact, Mormons proclaim that Jesus is just one of a thousand gods. They teach that anyone can become a god. Unitarians speak of Jesus as nothing more than a good moral man. We are besieged on every side by these false prophets, so let me encourage you to keep constantly in mind the warnings of the Apostle Paul: Preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander in the myths.” (1 Timothy 4:1-3) A black apple with a black background 2. A Worldwide Revival of Satanism Will Occur Satan has ruled the world through deception since the Fall, and his rule will intensify as during the End Times. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3) For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (Mark 13:22) Think carefully about Satan’s deceptive powers in the Garden. If he could deceive perfect Eve, think what he can do with us! Evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:13) Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (2 Thessalonians 2:3) You may notice that we hear of overt demonic battles in Third World countries. Spiritual warfare is obviously engaged there. You may wonder why we don’t see the same manifestations in America. The answer is simple. Satan doesn’t need to bring out his big guns against American Christians. He already has us trapped in materialism. And don’t miss this; Satan is also reading the signs of the times. He's launching his last great ego trip which Revelation says will reach its high point during his rule of the earth through his possessed puppet, the Antichrist. Satan is bold and brazen in his deceptions. He thinks he can win the final battle. He cannot. 3. Many Will Fall Away from Jesus and Commit Apostasy Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. (Luke 8:13) Jesus also said, “Those who endure to the end shall be saved” (See Revelation 3:10). In other words, Jesus was saying that those who navigate the end days well will make it through the End Times. Placed in historical context, Revelation 3:14-19 Jesus shows us the state of the Christian church during the End Times. It is not a very pretty picture. Jesus said that the church at Laodicea was lukewarm. It was neither hot nor cold. He was about to spit it out of his mouth: You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. … Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person and they with me. (Revelation 3:17, 19-20) This church is wretched, poor, blind, and naked, yet it thinks it is rich! This church is so apostate that Christ is on the outside looking in! And this is the type of church that will be in existence when Jesus Christ returns! In fact, we are in the End Times. This is the state of the Christian Church today. It is not unusual to find Christian ministers and organizations condoning abortion, extramarital sex, and defending homosexuality. The Roman Catholic Church is shot through with corruption, superstition, pedophiles, and unbelief. Mainstream Protestantism is rushing toward a renunciation of the fundamental truths of Christianity. The World Council of Churches has rejected the Gospel of the Lord Jesus for the rankest form of liberal humanism! In Revelation, the apostle John also says this attitude of apostasy will result in a church that will unite politically with the revived Roman Empire and the Antichrist. He also illustrates it as the great harlot, drunk on the blood of saints, with which kings of the earth commit fornication. Truth and false word blocks on a scale 4. Many False “Christs” Will Arise In the New Age Movement, we are all Christ. What a damaging, dangerous claim! And how this deception perverts the truth that we are sinners and Jesus alone is our Savior. In Matthew 24, Jesus says, “For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. … False messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” Be wary. Be ready. Be wise. Not only are we used to looking at natural, earthly signs of the End Times, we are also likely to catch onto the negative ones. But there will be several positive spiritual signs… ones that we can be inspired and encouraged by as we wait for Christ’s return. Here are 3 positive spiritual signs that will herald the Lord's return: 1. The true church will make herself pure and holy as the bride of Christ. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7) In this unparalleled season of persecution during the End Times, those who are alive shall realize a level of holiness and blamelessness of the quality in which Jesus Himself walked. Persecution and suffering always make the church grow stronger! 2. There will be a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Spiritual renewal will thrive throughout our world. We will see a sweet aroma of love and unity among Christians. I look forward to the day the prophet Joel described; I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Joel 2:28-32) 3. “The gospel will be preached to all nations, then the end will come!” The Good News of the Gospel is going out around the world in ways that have never before been possible, thanks to the advent of the internet and other technology. The Bible has been translated into 75% of the languages on earth, with more translations happening every day. Missionaries are on the field in nearly every nation. The number of “unreached people groups” is decreasing fast. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14) Our God is a God of great mercy and incredible love. And it is out of His mercy that Christ has yet to return … to give as many people as possible the opportunity to hear the Gospel and respond. Let me leave you with this. We are blessed to be living in the most exciting times of the Lord's return in triumph! But these days are a blessing only to those who know the Lord. Without knowing Jesus and the eternal hope we have in Him, these must be terrible days as we are confronted daily with wars and rumors of wars and natural catastrophes and famines and inhumanity and breakdown of values and morals and collapse of the economy. Therefore, as we watch for signs of the End Times, may we seek to share His love far and wide. May we never be discouraged by the negative spiritual signs we encounter, because they point directly to Christ’s return. And may we be encouraged that eternal life with Him is near! Dr. Roger Barrier