DIETRICH BONHOEFFER writing in 1932 for a 2012 audience. . .

“But Christ, [in Matthew 24:6-14] who knows that his path leads to the cross, knows that the path of his disciples also does not lead peacefully and safely straight into heaven; rather, they too must pass through the darkness, through the cross. They too must struggle.

“That is why the first sign of the nearness of Christ – strangely enou

gh! – is that his enemies become great, that the powers of temptation, of apostasy, of unfaithfulness become strong, that his church-community is led close to the brink of doubting in God.

“The first sign will be that his enemies hide behind the name of Christ and only under the guise of Christianity seek to lure us away from him. Oh, the name “Christ” doesn’t do it. And how easy it is in times of confusion like today to fight in the name of Christ against the real Christ.

“But then, once the spirits are confused, the power of the world will break loose openly, unconcealed. The powers that want to tear the disciples away from him, that try to show them that it is madness to go with him, that Christ has no power, only words, but that they, the powers of reality, speak the language of facts; and this language is more convincing than the language of Christ.

“The world gangs up on the spirit of Christ. The demons rise up. It is a rebellion against Christ. And one great power of this uprising is called war! The others are called pestilence and famine.”

Friends, I ask you to consider what Bonhoeffer said in 1932 about those that would “hide behind the name of Christ” [the third paragraph above] and the quotes we have heard recently from the American president when he says, “I went to Trinity United Church for ah, 20 years” and “I pray to Jesus” and much more, and then we see how much he and his administration have done that is against what Jesus would have condoned or what Scripture would have us do and believe.

I ask you to prayerfully do all you can to draw this to the attention of your family and friends, for their sake, for the sake of their children and their grandchildren, and for the sake God’s true Church, the Body of Christ.

Sincerely, Ken Godevenos.

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