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July 2014 / Edition 726 / www.impactoevangelistico.net

The magazine that edifies your life

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Hero of faith

Polycarp, Martyr of the Word Testimony

Hatred led him to sin International

Thorough scientific study dismisses Darwinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s theory

Christians attacked in Nigeria

Is this the end of

Evolutionism? July 2014

WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT America • Europe • Oceanía • África • Asia

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EDITORIAL

A dear act Rev. Gustavo Martínez International President of the WMM

“And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord… And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him…And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing…” Samuel 24:21-24

od deserves to be offered the best at

goals will come to our lives sooner or later. Of cour-

the right time, and He reserves the right

se, human nature is very prone to seek comfort and is

to accept or reject an unpleasant sacrifice.

eager to get everything nice and easy without doing

For example, God had respect unto Abel and to his

any effort.

offering, but unto Cain and to his offering He had

Who said that a Christian must rely on others

not respect (Genesis 4:5). Cain knew that God had

while not praying? No doubt many believers live a

not accepted his sacrifice and he became very angry

Christian cheap and convenient life, with many rides

about it.

and amusements, but without a genuine search for

God likes obedient hearts better than many sacri-

God’s face.

fices and vain works we may do in His name. What

David did not let Araunah make the sacrifice he

good is it to bring offerings and other things for

had to offer in order to stop the slaughter in Israel. It

God’s work, if we are disobedient and do things our

would be very easy to make ours what did not cost

way and not God’s way? Saul did things his way and

us any effort, other people’s tears, sweat, sufferings,

as he assumed they had to be done; but his disobe-

and then say that we achieved everything by our-

dience cost him the kingdom and his own life later.

selves.

Araunah the Jebusite wanted to give King David

Cheap and easy things do not please God, and it

all the elements of sacrifice, but David did not want

is an insult to give God what we have to spare or

to accept nor offer a cheap costless worship to God.

what is worthless to us. King David knew this, and

Likewise, the temptation to offer the Lord a cheap

therefore did not want to offer what had cost him no

costless sacrifice that does not affect our interests or

effort and no price. God bless you

July 2014

WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT www.impactoevangelistico.net America • Europe • Oceanía • África • Asia

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Founder Director: Rev. Luis M. Ortiz July 2014 / Edition N° 726 (USPS 012-850) OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT The World-Wide Missionary Movement, Inc. is a non-profit church with a vision to plant new churches in the United States of America and its territories, and also with a missionary vision to plant new churches wherever God opens new doors all over the World. PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY Movimiento Misionero Mundial, Inc World-Wide Missionary Movement, Inc San Juan, Puerto Rico Washington, D.C. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936

POSTMASTER: send address changes to Impacto Evangelístico P.O. BOX 363644 San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936-3644 Phone (787) 761-8806; 761-8805; 761-8903

INTERNATIONAL BOARD MEMBERS OF WMM INC. Rev. Gustavo Martínez President Rev. José Soto Vice President Rev. Rubén Concepción Secretary Rev. Rodolfo González Treasurer Rev. Álvaro Garavito Director Rev. Margaro Figueroa Director Rev. Rómulo Vergara Director Rev. Humberto Henao Director CHURCHES ESTABLISHED IN: Germany Argentina Aruba Australia Austria Belgium Belize Bolivia Bonaire Brasil Cameroon Canadá Chile Colombia Congo Costa Rica Curacao Dinamarca Ecuador El Salvador Spain United States The Philippines France Gabón Ghana Guatemala Equatorial Guinea French Guiana Guyana Inglesa Haití Holland

Honduras India England St. Andres Island (Col.) Saint Martin Island Island of Mauritius Rodrigues Island Canaries Islands (Spain) Hawaiian Islands (U.S.A.) Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Kuwait Madagascar Malaysa México Myanmar Nicaragua Nigeria Panamá Paraguay Peru Portugal Puerto Rico Dominican Republic Sweden Switzerland Surinam Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay Venezuela

Legal deposit made on the National Library of Peru Nº 2011-02530 Christian Pentecostal Church-Worldwide Missionary Movement: Av. 28 de Julio 1781 - Lima 13 - Peru Printout: Quad/Graphics Perú S.A. Av. Los Frutales 344 - Lima 03 - Peru

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The Worldwide Missionary Movement is a religious nonprofit organization duly registered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and in the federal capital, Washington DC, with headquarters in both cities and in every state of the United States and other countries where we have established missionary Works. Important The offerings and donations in cash, equipment, real estate and bequests by will, in the benefit of the Worldwide Missionary Movement, Inc.’s Work, are deductible from the income tax, and receipts issued by the WMM are recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the Federal Government of the United States of America and of the Free Associated State of Puerto Rico. n

Visit our website Obtain uplifting information about God’s Work and keep up with the latest news. A customized access from anywhere in the world: www. impactoevangelistico.net n

If you wish Write to us at our postal address: Worldwide Missionary Movement, Inc. PO Box 363644 San Juan, P. R. 00936-3644 n

Copyright © 2009 Impacto Evangelistic Movimiento Misionero Mundial, Inc. (World-Wide Missionary Movement, Inc.) All content of this magazine and each subsequent edition are duly registered at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC USA. All rights reserved. Total or partial reproduction in any form and translation into other languages without prior permission of the Director are prohibited. Under international copyright agreements, they are crimes punishable by law. n

Doctrinal Statement The Worldwide Missionary Movement adheres to the fundamental doctrines of Scripture, such as: n

• The inspiration of the Holy Scriptures: 2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21. • The Adorable Godhead in Three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit: Matthew 3:16-17, 17: 1-5; 28:19, John 17: 5, 24, 26, 16:32, 14:16, 23, 18:5, 6, 2 Peter 1:17,18; Revelation 5. • Salvation by Faith in Christ: Luke 24:47, John 3:16, Romans 10:13, Titus 2:11, 3:5-7. • The New Birth: John 3:3, 1 Peter 1:23, 1 John 3:9. • Justification by Faith: Romans 5:1, Titus 3:7. • Water Baptism by Inmersion, as commanded by Christ: Matthew 28:19, Acts 8:36-39. • The Baptism in the Holy Spirit subsequent to salvation, speaking in tongues according to: Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4, 8, 2:4. • Divine Healing: Isaiah 53:4, Matthew 8:16, 17, Mark 16:18, James 5:14, 15. • The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. • The Fruits of the Holy Spirit: Galatians 5:22-26. • Sanctification: 1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23, Hebrews 12:14, 1 Peter 1:15, 16, 1 John 2:6. • Ministry and Evangelization: Mark 16:15-20, Romans 10:15. • Tithing and Maintenance of the Work: Genesis 14:20, 28:22, Leviticus 27:30, Numbers 18:21-26, Malachi 3:7-10, Matthew 10:10; 23:23. • The Rapture of the Church: Romans 8:23, 1 Corinthians 15:5152, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. • The Second Coming of Christ: Zechariah 14:1-9, Matthew 24:30, 31; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, Titus 2:13, Jude 14, 15. • The Millennial Kingdom: Isaiah 2:1-4, 11:5-10, Zechariah 9:10, Revelation 19:20, 20:3-10. • New Heavens and New Earth: Isaiah 65:17, 66:22, 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1.

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Darwinism monopoly over the biological sciences throughout the years is now weakening due to the new creationist movement. A new book from the scientist Michael J. Behe may mark the end of the Theory of Evolution.

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COVER

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Impacto Evangelistic Magazine

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Heard in movies, TV commercials, theater plays, and sport and military events, “When the saints go marching in” is one of the most emblematic Christian hymns of the twentieth century.

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“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matthew 5: 10-12.

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Polycarp sacrificed his life for the truth of God at the beginning of Christianity. He was definitely one of God’s chosen ones, an extraordinary hero of the Christian faith.

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Hatred towards his brother was so deep that led him to crime. He embraced the gangster way of life from an early age and sank into drug addiction until the mighty hand of God saved him.

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Events in: India, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Africa, Central America.

Letters

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“And at midnight there was a cry made.” Matthew 25:6. “And the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away… and in a moment shall they die”. Job 34:20.

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Darwin’s Black 6 Impacto evangelistic

Box

COVER Darwinism monopoly over the biological sciences throughout the years is now weakening due to the new creationist movement. A new book from the scientist Michael J. Behe may mark the end of the Theory of Evolution. Ray Bohlin (*)

July 2014

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ehe claims that when Darwin wrote “The Origin of Species”, the cell was a mysterious black box. We could see the outside of it, but we had no idea of how it worked. Darwin stated: “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. But I can find no such case.” Simply put, Behe has found such a case. Behe claims that with the opening of the black box of the cell through the last 40 years of research in molecular and cell biology, there are now numerous examples of complex molecular machines that absolutely break down the theory of natural selection as an allencompassing explanation of living systems. IRREDUCIBLE COMPLEXITY

Behe claims the data of biochemistry argues strongly that many of the molecular machines in the cell could not have arisen through a stepby-step process of natural selection. In contrast, Behe claims that much of the molecular machinery in the cell is irreducibly complex. Irreducible complexity is really a quite simple concept to grasp. Something is irreducibly complex if it is composed of several parts and each part is absolutely necessary for the structure to function. The implication is that such irreducibly complex structures or machines cannot be built by natural selection because in natural selection, 8 Impacto evangelistic

each component must be useful to the organism as the molecular machine is built. Behe uses the example of a mousetrap. A mousetrap has five parts that are absolutely necessary for the mousetrap to function. Take any of these parts away and the mouse-

trap can no longer catch mice. The mousetrap must contain a solid base to attach the four other parts to, a hammer that clamps down on the mouse, a spring which gives the hammer the necessary power, a holding bar which holds the now ener-

COVER

gized hammer in position, and a catch to which the holding bar is secured, holding the hammer in coiled tension. Eventually, the jiggling action of a mouse, lured to the catch by a tasty morsel of peanut butter, causes the holding bar to slip away from

the catch, releasing the hammer to spring down upon the unsuspecting mouse. You cannot build a mousetrap by Darwinian natural selection. Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s say you have a factory that produces all five parts of a mousetrap but uses them for different

purposes. Over the years, as the production lines change, leftover parts of no-longermade contraptions are put aside on shelves in a storage room. One summer, the factory is overrun with mice. If someone were to put his mind to it, he might run by the storage room and begin to play around with these leftover parts and just might construct a mousetrap. But those pieces, left to themselves, are never going to spontaneously self-assemble into a mousetrap. A hammer-like part may accidentally fall from its box into a box of springs, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s useless until all five parts are assembled so they can function together. Nature would select against the continued production of the miscellaneous parts if they are not producing an immediate benefit to the organism.

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g Michael Behe simply claims that we have learned that several of the molecular machines in the cell are just as irreducibly complex as a mousetrap and, therefore, just as unable to be constructed by natural selection. THE MIGHTY CILIUM

One of Behe’s examples is the cilium. Cilia are tiny hair-like structures on the outside of cells that either help move fluid over a stationary cell or serve as a means of propelling a cell through water. There are often many cilia on the surface of a cell, and you can watch them beat in unison the way a stadium crowd performs the wave at a ball game. A cilium operates like paddles in a row boat; however, since it is a hair-like structure, it can bend. There are two parts to the operation of a cilium, the power stroke and the recovery stroke. The power stroke starts with the cilium essentially parallel to the surface of the cell. With the cilium held rigid, it lifts up, anchored at its base in the cell membrane, and pushes liquid backwards until it has moved nearly 180 degrees from its previous position. For the recovery stroke, the cilium bends near the base, and the bend moves down the length of the cilium as it hugs the surface of the cell until it reaches its previous stretched out position, again having moved 180 degrees back to its original position. How does this microscopic hair-like structure do this? Studies have shown that three primary proteins are 10 Impacto evangelistic

IS THIS THE END OF EVOLUTIONISM?

he first edition of “Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution”, written by Michael J. Behe, was released in 1996. Its second edition came in 2006. Michael Behe is a biophysics professor at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and his book, has been causing a firestorm of activity in academic circles ever since. The first edition of this book encouraged the consolidation of the Intelligent Design Movement (IDM), posing big biochemical challenges to the Darwinist theory of evolution.

necessary, though over 200 others are utilized. If you made a cross-section of a cilium and made a photograph of it with an electron microscope, you would see that the internal structure

of the cilium is composed of a central pair of fibers surrounded by an additional 9 pairs of these same fibers arranged in a circle. These fibers, or microtubules, are long hollow sticks made by stacking the protein tubulin. The bending action of cilia depends on the vertical shifts made by these microtubules. The bending is caused by another protein that is stretched between the pairs of tubules called nexin. Nexin acts as a sort of rubber band connector between the tubules. As the microtubules shift vertically, the rubber band is stretched taut, the microtu-

COVER

bules continue to shift if they bend. The microtubules slide past each other by the action of a motor protein called dynein. The dynein protein also connects two microtubules together. One end of the dynein remains stationary on one microtubule, while the other end releases its hold on the neighboring microtubule and reattaches a little higher and pulls the other microtubule down. Without the motor protein, the microtubules don’t slide and the cilium simply stands rigid. Without nexin, the tubules will slide against each other until they com-

pletely move past each other and the cilium disintegrates. Without the tubulin, there are no microtubules and no motion. The cilium is irreducibly complex. Like the mousetrap, it has all the properties of design and none of the properties of natural selection. BLOOD CLOTTING

Let me describe a cartoon from Michael Behe’s book, Darwin’s Black Box, titled the “Mosquito Bite Scratcher”. Water falling off a roof migrates into a drain pipe and collects into a flask. In the flask is a cork that floats up as the glass fills. Inserted

in the cork is a needle that eventually rises high enough to puncture a suspended paper cup filled with beer. The beer then sprinkles onto a nearby bird that becomes intoxicated and falls off its platform and onto a spring. The spring propels the inebriated bird onto another platform where the bird pulls a string (no doubt mistaking it for a worm in its intoxicated state). The pulled string fires a cannon underneath a small dog, frightening him and causing him to flip over on his back. His rapid breathing raises and lowers a disk above his

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WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT America • Europe • Oceanía • África • Asia

g stomach which is attached to a needle positioned next to a mosquito bite on a man’s neck allowing the bite to be scratched, causing no embarrassment to the man while he talks to a lady. This machine is obviously more complicated than it needs to be. But the machine is still designed and as Behe claims, it is also irreducibly complex. In other words, if one of the steps fails or is absent, the machine doesn’t work. The whole contraption is useless. Well, there are a few molecular mechanisms in our bodies that are irreducibly complex. One is the blood-clotting cascade. When you cut your finger an amazing thing happens. Initially, it begins to bleed, but if you just leave it alone, after a few minutes, the flow of blood stops. A clot has formed, providing a protein mesh that initially catches the blood cells and eventually closes up the wound entirely, preventing the plasma from escaping as well. This seemingly straightforward process involves over a dozen different proteins with names like thrombin, fibrinogen, Christmas, Stuart, and accelerin. Some of these proteins are involved in forming the clot. Others are responsible for regulating clot formation. Regulating proteins are needed because you only want clots forming at the site of a wound and not in the middle of flowing arteries. Yet other proteins have the job of removing the clot once it is no longer needed. The body also needs to eliminate the clot when it has 12 Impacto evangelistic

Irreducible complexity is really a quite simple concept to grasp. Something is irreducibly complex if it is composed of several parts and each part is absolutely necessary for the structure to function.

outlived its usefulness, but not before. Now it is easy to see why some, when considering the blood-clotting cascade, wonder if a Creator could have devised something simpler. But that assumes we fully un-

derstand the system. Perhaps it absolutely needs to be this way. MOLECULAR EVOLUTION

Clearly, the irreducible complexity inherent in many biochemical systems not only precludes the possibility that they evolved by Darwinian natural selection, but actually suggests the strong conclusion that some kind of intelligent design is necessary. Behe makes a very significant point by recognizing that the data that implies

COVER

intelligent design does not necessarily mean one knows who the designer is. Inferring that intelligent design is present is a reasonable scientific conclusion. Yet the astounding complexity of the cell has gone largely unnoticed and greatly unreported to the general public. There is an embarrassed silence. Behe speculates as to why. He says: “Why does the scientific community not greedily embrace its startling discovery? Why is the observation of design handled

Behe's sophisticated argument has garnered the attention of many within the scientific community. His book has been reviewed in the pages of Nature, Boston Review, Wall Street Journal, and on many sites on the Internet.

with intellectual gloves? The dilemma is that while one side of the elephant is labeled intelligent design, the other side might be labeled God”. This may also help to account for another curious omission that Behe highlights,

the almost total lack of scientific literature attempting to describe how complex molecular systems could have arisen by Darwinian natural selection. The “Journal of Molecular Evolution” was established in 1971, dedicated to explaining how life at the molecular level came to be. One would hope to find studies exploring the origin of complex biochemical systems in this journal. But, in fact, none of the papers published in JME over the entire course of its life as a journal has ever proposed the origin of a single complex biochemical system in a gradual step-by-step Darwinian process. Furthermore, Behe adds: “The search can be extended, but the results are the same. There has never been a meeting, or a book or a paper on details of the evolution of complex biochemical systems” (p. 179). Behe’s sophisticated argument has garnered the attention of many within the scientific community. His book has been reviewed in the pages of Nature, Boston Review, Wall Street Journal, and on many sites on the Internet. While some have genuinely engaged the ideas and offered serious rebuttal, most have sat back on Darwinian authority and claimed that Behe is just lazy or has not given the evolutionary establishment enough time. But that’s precisely the point; it is not one man but the entire biochemical community that has failed to elucidate a specific pathway leading to a complex biochemical system u July 2014

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Michael Behe is an American biochemist and intelligent design advocate. Behe is a professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. Author of the book: “Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution” When biochemist Michael Behe noticed in The New York Times, a few years ago, that the embryological “evidence” for evolution was a fraud, Darwinian Stephen Jay Gould from Harvard admitted that he had known this for decades, but accused Behe of being a “creationist” for pointing it out publicly.

Although Behe supports the idea that some features of living beings are best explained by intelligent design, he is not a creationist in the sense this term is normally used. Behe is a molecular biologist whose scientific work has convinced him that the Darwinian Theory does not fit the observational and experimental evidence. Evolutionists have no other support than unconfirmed hypotheses, biased and unrealistic observations, imaginary drawings and countless falsehoods. The theory of evolution has been around for 155 years and has majorly influenced the way people see the world.

Darwinian Theory

Evolutionism

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Bing Bang

4.500.000.000 BC

20.000.000.000 years

Scientific theory promoted by Charles Darwin concerning biological evolution and the mechanisms that explain it. It states that the species changed over successive generations, and therefore are related to each other as they descend from common ancestors. This theory seeks to explain the origin of life on our planet based on scientifically “verified” and also falsifiable and refutable arguments.

The Earth is formed

The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution Biblical Testimony

Origin of Life

3.000.000 BC

3.000.000.000 BC

• “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” Genesis 1:1. “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” Job 38:4. “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” 1 Corinthians 14:33. When we read Job 38-41, it is clear that God plans all his creations in detail. Isaiah afﬁrmed “Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it…” Isaiah 42:5. • “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” Romans 1:20. • “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy ﬁngers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained…” Psalm 8:3. • Our Creator is “sitteth upon the circle of the earth”, and “stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain” (Isaiah 40:22).

“I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded”. Isaiah 45:12. • “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the ﬁsh of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them”. Genesis 1:26-27. • Why is there life on Earth? “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited” Isaiah 45:18. • King David said: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works” Psalm 139:14. • “He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?” Psalm 94:9. The incredible complexity of our human bodies, isn’t it a testimony to the existence of a Great Designer?

Evolution of Man July 2014

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REMINISCENCES of the

WORK 16 Impacto evangelistic

IMAGES 1. First Baptism in Water in Lima, Peru (1980s). 2. Another baptism in Lima, Peru (1980s). 3. Baptisms in Water in Lima, Peru (1980s). 4. Baptisms in the Av. 28 de Julio Central Temple in, Lima, Peru (1980s).

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Christians attacked in Nigeria

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Matthew 5:10-12.

he Spanish Evangelical Alliance (AEE in Spanish) issued a statement calling for international action, in particular to the government of Spain, to defend life and religious and conscience freedom in Nigeria. “The clear goal of Boko Haram is to exterminate a certain group for reasons of conscience. Its aim is the physical elimination of Christians in Northern Nigeria.”, says the statement. “This is not a battle between 18 Impacto evangelistic

different factions on grounds of belief, this is not a religious war, but the planned and systematic elimination of Christians,” added. AEE estimates that the Nigerian government “does not have the ability to prevent this genocide (...) either because it has no means, be-

cause it does not control the armed forces and the police, or because it does not have enough interest in protecting its own citizens.” In view of this, the alliance asked for international action. “The international community has the responsibility to protect defenseless human

INTERNATIONAL

beings with all the means at its disposal,” expressed. This situation also is similar to that concerning other suffering Christians “in countries with mainly Muslim fundamentalist governments (...) Christians are at risk of being exterminated by systematically organized campaigns in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Afghanistan and some other places on Earth.” For the Evangelical Alliance, this proves that “there is no other group so persecuted for reasons of conscience as Christians.” Therefore, “evangelical Christians in our country claim to Spain and the international community to do everything possible to stop this ideological cleansing.” “We urge the Spanish government to take its place in the international community to defend those who are at risk

of being killed because of their conscience,” a defense that has not been tradition in Spain. All governments of the Spanish democracy have been characterized by their insensitivity to the defense of fundamental rights related to freedom of conscience. Foreign policy action has been governed by utilitarian criteria rather than by an ethical and responsible government. Christian population in Nigeria is still the group that suffers the most by the attacks coming from the terrorist group Boko Haram. RECENT ATTACK

On Sunday, June 29, a new strike coordinated by Boko Haram members took place in the state of Borno. At least 48 people were killed in the attacks that took place in three villages of Chibok, near from where 200

(*) Taken from the website http://www. protestantedigital.com/

girls were kidnapped over two months ago. During the offense, which lasted about four hours, churches were attacked during Sunday service, believers were fired and the temples were burned by terrorists. About 30 people were shot dead in Kwada, while about nine people died in Karagau. Initial reports spoke of another dozen deaths at the Church in Kautikari. A local government officer from Chibok city said, “our people have fled into the bushes and we can only appeal to the security forces to recruit agents to look after our peoples.” He complained that they had received a threatening letter two weeks before, and that the authorities had not raised the alert level because of a “logistical problem” u July 2014

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The Apocryphal (IX) Gospels On this edition, we present “The origins of biblical modifications”, a new chapter from “The Apocryphal Gospels” on its ninth release in the Impacto Evangelistic Magazine. Rev. Domingo Fernández Dr. César Vidal Manzanares

n previous chapters, we discussed how a version of the Bible, like the Popular Version “Dios habla hoy” (God speaks today), alters the biblical text by eliminating some passages, changing its sense, adding books that were not originally in the Bible, and replacing the interpretation of sacred texts stated in the Scriptures itself for a new theologically liberal one. There are three main reasons for these serious actions. The first one is the abandonment of the “Textus Receptus” (or “received text”) for a worse version of the 20 Impacto evangelistic

New Testament written by the British authors Wescott and Hort during the 19th century. Nestle based his own version on the work of Wescott and Hort without making any change to their version. Afterwards, Nestle’s text became the main source for the Greek New Testament published by the Biblical Societies. This final text (which edition even counted on the help of Carlo Martini, a catholic prelate) is nowadays the main source to translate the New Testament in almost any language, despite the translator’s identity. In addition to its influence in the Popular Version, this text was used to create catholic versions, such as the “Biblia del Peregrino” (1993) and the Bible of the “Casa de la Biblia” (1993). According to Wescott and Hort, the main sources of their New Greek Testament were the manuscripts “Codex Vaticanus” and “Codex

Sinaiticus”. Supporters of the new biblical versions remark the antiquity and accuracy of these texts that, in theory, justify the modifications of the biblical texts showed in previous chapters. Such assertion can only be based on bad intentions or the most dangerous ignorance. 1) The first thing to be stated is that both the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus are

HISTORY

corrupted texts. This means

that these are not just incomplete texts, but that they were subject to modifications that nulled their content. John Burgon stated about this subject: “These are the most corrupted texts”, which is an accurate assertion that is far from exaggeration. Some additional data to have in mind is that the Vaticanus omits all the I and

II epistle to Timothy, all the epistle to Titus, almost all the Genesis (from Genesis 1 to 46: 29), considerable parts of Samuel, Kings and Nehemiah, the last twelve verses of Marc, Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane, the last four chapters and a half of the epistle to the Hebrews, thirty-three Psalms, etc. But it adds apocryphal texts, such as Bel and the Dragon, Tobit and Judit,

considered in the Popular Version “Dios habla hoy”. Similarly, the book of Job have 400 more verses according to the lessons of a disciple of the heretic Marcion. But the relation with the heretics is deeper. The amount of passages agreeing with the originist theology denying the divinity of Christ is too high to be just a coincidence.

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g Relative to the “Textus Receptus”, the Vaticanus omits about 2877 words, adds 536, replaces 935, shifts the place of 2098 and alters 1132. It has 7578 modifications in total, but its importance relative to the “Textus Receptus” is clear. Almost all the alterations of the New Greek Testament are based on the Vaticanus. The Sinaiticus corrupted quality is not less important. In fact, this text was modified by not less than ten different scribes during 700 years. As per Tischendorf, its discoverer, the Sinaiticus have not less than 14 800 modifications. Therefore, it is clear why there are 4000 words missed out, 1000 words added, and 3000 words modified and shifted. Instead, it presents 1500 texts that do not appear in other manuscripts. Relative to the “Textus Receptus”, it nearly has 9000 differences, i.e. one per verse. Like the Vaticanus, it has many omissions. It misses out the final parts of Marc and John, 39 words of John 19: 20-1, 20 words of John 20: 5-6, 19 words of Marc 1: 324, 14 words of Marc 15: 47, complete passages, like John 5: 4, Matthew 16: 2-3, Romans 16: 24, Marc 16: 9-20, I John 5: 7, Acts 8: 37, Genesis 23: 1924: 46, Numbers 5: 27-7: 20, I Chronicles 9: 27-19: 27, and whole books, like Exodus, Joshua, I and II Samuel, I and II Kings, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Judges. Instead, it adds apocryphal texts, like Bel and the Dragon, Tobit and Judit, which are also mentioned in 22 Impacto evangelistic

the Popular Version “Dios habla hoy”. Similarly, it must be noted that both the Sinaitus and the Vaticanus have differences among their contents. Relative to the “Textus Receptus”, the Vaticanus has about 8000 modifications, while the Sinaiticus has 9000. Nevertheless, neither their modifications are the same in both versions. In fact, the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus have more than 12 differences per page. As per Colwel, 70 % of the Gospels’ verses within the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus are not the same. Burgon stated: “It is easier to find two consecutive verses that differ among them than two that agree”.

The first thing to be stated is that both the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus are corrupted texts. This means that these are not just incomplete texts, but that they were subject to modifications that nulled their content.

From a purely scientific and rational point of view, it is certainly inacceptable to try to justify a version of the New Greek Testament based on manuscripts of such deficient quality. This is simply inacceptable. II) The Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus are late texts. Both versions are in fact very modern relative to the “Textus Receptus”. These texts appeared later than many translations of the Bible as they were written in the 4th century. They have differences of even 2 centuries with more antique versions of the New

Greek Testament that will be mentioned afterwards. III) The Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus are minority texts: Besides being corrupted and late texts, there is another unfavorable circumstance just as important. We refer to the fact that the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus find a minimum support among the manuscripts of the New Greek Testament, which we are now able to read. In fact, less than 5% of the 5309 manuscripts of the New Greek Testament coincides with the text of the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus (not even partially). To top it all, as we already mentioned, there is a large number of differences between the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus. To sum up, the texts represented by the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus are: i. Late and subsequent to a great number of first translations of the New Testament to popular languages. ii. Not reliable because of its corrupted and modified nature. iii. Not coinciding with the majority of the manuscripts which are gathered –complete or partially- by the text of the New Greek Testament. iv. Divergent even between them v. Influenced by the heresies of authors such as Marcion or Originist 1) The “Textus Receptus” is a majority text, as well as a more antique and reliable version. The “Textus Receptus” (on which the ReinaValera version is based) presents some interesting notes, unlike the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus terrible versions. A) The “Textus Receptus”

HISTORY is a majority text. More than 95 % of our New Testament manuscripts coincide with this text. B) The “Textus Receptus” is a more antique version. It was not just written before the 4th century (when the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus appeared), but it was also the source of the first translations of the New Testament to vulgar languages. Similarly, it was quoted by the first Christian authors, i.e. the Church Fathers. Despite the great amount of examples, we will just mention a few ones. The “Pesshita”, written in the 150 AD (i.e., two centuries before the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus), was based on the “Textus Receptus”. The same applies for the Italic version (157 AD) and the version of the Gallic Church of the south of France (177 AD). Afterwards, the “Textus Receptus” still remained the favorite source during the 4th century, despite release of the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus. Therefore, the Gothic Bible (4th century) and the “Codex Alexandrinus” (5th century) were based on the “Textus Receptus”, as well as the “Codex Washingtonianus” (4th and 5th century), which reproduced its content. We must also remark the importance of New Testament quotes in the Church Fathers’ version. They, despite their “by heart” writing style, coincide exactly with the content of the “Textus Receptus”. For instance, the passage of I Timothy 3: 16 (“God was manifest in the flesh”) was exactly quoted by Ignatius, Barnabas and

Hippolytus (2nd century), Diodore of Tarsus (370 AD), Gregory of Nyssa (394 AD), John Chrysostom (407 AD), Athanasius and Euthalius (5th century), etc. All the Church Fathers content appear in the “Textus Receptus”. In fact, 252 out of 254 Greek manuscripts containing Paul’s epistles have the word “God”, like the “Textus Receptus”, and none of them have the word “Christ”, like Popular Version. C) The “Textus Receptus” is a more reliable version. Based on the previous information, the “Textus Receptus” is

Similarly, it must be noted that both the Sinaitus and the Vaticanus have differences among their contents. Relative to the “Textus Receptus”, the Vaticanus has about 8000 modifications, while the Sinaiticus has 9000. Nevertheless, neither their modifications are the same in both versions. In fact, the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus have more than 12 differences per page.

a more reliable text than the version of Westcott and Hort. It does not only have coincidences with the New Testament of the Church Fathers and the lectionaries, but it was also the main source for translations of the New Testament to vulgar languages since the 2nd century. Besides, it was used for the diffusion and reading of the Bible during the beginnings of the 16th century. It was used for the writing of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible released in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, in 1552. Afterwards, it was also used for the translation

of the Bible by Martin Luther to German (1522), by William Tyndale to English (1525), by Oliveton to French (1535), by Coverdale to English (1535), by Matthews to English (1537), by Taverners (1539), by Ginebra (1557 – 1560), by Reina to Spanish (1569), to Czech (1602), by Diodati to Italian (1607) and by King James to English (1611). The “Textus Receptus” was similarly the main source of the editions of the New Testament made by Erasmus (1516), Robert Stephens (1546-1551), Beza (1598) and Elzevir (1624). It is just a matter of common sense. Many scholars, reformers and theologians always chose the “Textus Receptus” for their researches, teaching, and translations of the New Testament, even if they had to risk their lives and possessions. After all, that version had almost the unanimous approval of the Christian community during the 2nd century. Certainly, there are some questions that must be answered regarding the previous data, like why Wescott and Hort preferred the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus as the basis for their New Greek Testament instead of the “Textus Receptus”? Why did they took that illogical decision defying almost 2000 years of knowledge and history of Christianity? Did they just make a mistake? Did they only act in ignorance and good will? As we will see on the next chapter, Wescott and Hort did not only know what they were doing, but rather had dubious and dangerous reasons hidden l July 2014

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The intrepid rescuer

Amy Carmichael’s life was marked by a simple and determined obedience to God, regardless of circumstances or consequences. Her story told by Janet and Geoff Benge is a legacy that reminds us of the impact caused by God.

aves smashed across the bow of the SS Yokohama Maru, sending sheets of water racing back across the deck. None of the passenger aboard noticed. They were too sick to care. Most were gathered in the ship’s saloon, too scared to stay below deck as the ship shuddered and rolled violently from side to side. The smell of vomit was everywhere. Amy Carmichael, a Young Irish woman, sat in the corner sicker than she had ever been before in her life. Amy Carmichael was born in Ireland on December 16, 1867 into a Chris24 Impacto evangelistic

tian family. She gave her life to Christ at the age of 13. When she was 18, her father died, leaving the family in a difficult financial situation. Then, she moved to Belfast with her family. There, she became involved with a group of girls who were factory workers that used to wear shawls instead of hats. After learning the terrible conditions in which they lived and worked, she decided to preach the Word of God to them. She started with a small group, but the work grew until a room for 500 people was needed. Later, she moved to Manchester, England, where she did the same. After lunch, Amy went to her room. She knelt down by her bed. She knew the words she had heard at the fountain were from the New Testament, and finally she located them in her small, leather-bound Bible. The words were from 1 Corinthians,

chapter 3, verses twelve to fourteen. Amy read them again. What did those words mean? She had known, since childhood, that God loved her, but she began to wonder about how knowing He loved her changed the way she acted each day. After several hours of praying and thinking, Amy finally decided she knew what that verse meant to her. In 1887, in an evangelistic convention, Amy Carmichael listened to Hudson Taylor, founder of China Inland Mission, talking about missionary life. Soon, she felt the call of the Creator to go abroad as a missionary. At the age of 24, she went to Japan, where she only remain for some time due to illness. She was suggested to move to a warmer country, such as India, where she arrived when she was 29. In 1900, she moved to Dohnavur. There, she learned about the

LITERATURE

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g trafficking of children for whom she fought tirelessly. Her task bore fruit, as law changed and this terrible practice stopped. Four months after his return to Grange, Amy felt “called”, as she would say, to Japan. But, what will she do there? She did not know a single person in Japan or anyone connected with missionary work there. Robert Wilson, of course, knew missionaries all over the world. When Amy told him she felt called to Japan, Barclay Buxton came immediately to his mind. He was a missionary sent out by 26 Impacto evangelistic

In her later years, Amy placed prayer above all, and insisted on it in meetings with her partners. She died in India on January 18, 1951 at the age of 83. Before going with Christ, Amy asked that no stone be placed on her grave. Instead, the children she had taken care of left an inscription with the word “mother” on it.

the Church Missionary Society, the missionary arm of the Church of England. He was the leader of a group called the Japanese Evangelistic Band.

Driven by love and compassion, and sustained by faith and determination, Amy Carmichael defied the cruel barriers of India’s caste system. The story of this Irish woman, told by Janet and Geoff Benge in the book “Rescuer of Precious Gems”, is a brilliant, sparkling example of God’s love generously poured out to “the least of these among us.” Amy served as a missionary in India for over 50 years without taking vacations. As part of her evangelizing work, she traveled from town to town

LITERATURE with some other Indian Christians to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Amy finally formed a small group of Indian women willing to abandon their cultural traditions and preach the Gospel message. It was a matter of putting a name to this group. Amy consulted all women and they decided to call it the “Starry Cluster.” This name made her laughed, but it would do. Furthermore, the Bible says that those who teach righteousness to the mob will shine like the brightness of the firmament (Daniel 12: 3). Amy and the Starry Cluster prayed for their effort to attract people to justice in the Tirunelveli district, which housed four thousand Hindu temples. At Christmas 1897, the Starry Cluster started to work. According to Geoff y Janet Benge, Amy’s life was marked by a simple and determined obedience to God, regardless of circumstances or consequences. Her story and legacy are stunning reminders of the impact caused by those who fear God. Amy Carmichael also crossed the dreary path of misunderstanding. When she began the work of rescuing from the temples those children suffering abandonment and prostitution, few missionaries sympathized with her. However, her spiritual sensitivity helped her see things in their purest reality, and so in 1903 she published a book called “Things As They Are”. Amy did not want to be a mother with tied feet, but by June 1902 she was the Amma (mother) of Jewel of Victory, Jewel of Life, Arulai, Preena and four other little girls who had

been given to her for one reason or another; mainly because they were girls, something that was not appreciated in Indian society. The amazing thing was that any responsibility stopped Amy’s work. Her feet were not tied. She used to take the eight girls with her everywhere. It was as if Amy had enough energy to take care of the girls and carry out her evangelistic ministry. In 1900, Amy moved to Dohnavur. There, she learned about the trafficking of children, for whom she fought tirelessly. In India, children used to be offered to the temples, especially girls, and this

(…) Amy’s life was marked by a simple and determined obedience to God, regardless of circumstances or consequences. Her story and legacy are stunning reminders of the impact caused by those who fear God. Amy Carmichael also crossed the dreary path of misunderstanding.

agreement would prevent a common marriage. The girl belonged to the gods, becoming the property of the priests. She would be dressed as a bride, representing a marriage with an idol instead of a groom. Most of the time, the girls ended up in prostitution. Later, in 1931, Amy suffered a fall that left her in bed for her last 20 years of life; however, she used the time to write poems and books that became internationally renowned. The Starry Cluster worked closely with Amy, but someti-

mes women find it very difficult to do some chores. Ever since they were born, many of them had been raised with the idea that certain tasks belonged to the lower castes. Even for Christians it was not easy to overcome this prejudice. It was very humiliating for women of the Starry Cluster to wash clothes, sweep the floors, and burn garbage for others. Many had been raised “above” such things. Amy had to remind them and herself that Jesus washed the dirty and dusty feet of all his disciples. Amy Carmichael’s words were reflected in biographies, poems and books she wrote inspired by the love of the Lord. These words still touch the heartstrings of women seeking to serve God with all their hearts. In her later years, Amy placed prayer above all, and insisted on it in meetings with her partners. She died in India on January 18, 1951 at the age of 83. Before going with Christ, Amy asked that no stone be placed on her grave. Instead, the children she had taken care of left an inscription with the word “mother” on it. Despite her many responsibilities, Amy always found time to write. She kept a diary in which she wrote every day; and she also wrote other books for publication in England. More than anything, she loved to tell stories about the people who worked with her and whom she loved. Amy wrote two books: “Walker of Tinnenvell” and “Ponnammal, her story.” These books, added to her mailing newsletters that were sent around the globe, helped Amy to become known in many households worldwide l July 2014

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When the saints go marching in Heard in movies, TV commercials, theater plays, and sport and military events, “When the saints go marching in” is one of the most emblematic Christian hymns of the twentieth century.

ecognized as one of the most iconic gospel musical pieces of the twentieth century, “When the saints go marching in” is a clear example of how a song dedicated to God can penetrate the entire musical field with a predominantly Christian message. This melody, of which the exact origins are unknown, is particularly associated with the city of New Orleans, the biggest city in the state of Louisiana, USA, where it is often played in funeral ceremonies and by jazz bands. 28 Impacto evangelistic

The song discusses the Book of Revelation. The verses about the sun and the moon refer to eclipses. The trumpet of the Archangel Gabriel is the way in which the final judgment will be announced. The phrase “I want to be in that number” refers to those chosen by the Lord to be redeemed from the earth. In this regard, the Bible speaks of these people as servants of God who will be spared the great tribulation. The hymn also expresses the desire to go to heaven, portraying that the saints have been redeemed in the blood of the Lamb, and hence its use in funerals is appropriate. According to experts in Christian music, “When the saints go marching in”, like other traditional praises, lacks an official version regarding its original lyrics. However, in the U.S., it is

stated that in 1937 composer Luther G. Presley, follower of Jesus Christ, and singer Virgil Oliver Stamps, key figure of the American and global gospel milieu, were responsible for composing the lyrics and melody more widely spread of this song, which over time reached all five continents and ran deeply in the evangelical community. Trumpeter and singer Louis Armstrong, an outstanding and innovative figure in jazz history, was one of the first secular artists who recorded “When the saints go marching in.” On May 13, 1938, over seventy-six years ago, Armstrong and his orchestra recorded, in a studio of New York City, the song that had marked his early life and which, with great skill, he transformed into a musical hit based on the

MUSIC “WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN”

1 O when the saints go marching in When the saints go marching in O Lord I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in 2 On that hallelujah day On that hallelujah day O Lord I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in 3 We are traveling in the footsteps Of those who’ve gone before But we’ll all be reunited On a new and sunlit shore 4 O when the trumpet sounds the call O when the trumpet sounds the call O Lord I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in 5 When the moon turns red with blood When the moon turns red with blood O Lord I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in

traditional congregational hymn. Such was the impact achieved by this revamped version that it still has a leading place within American popular music. Heard in movies, TV commercials, theater plays, and sport and military events, “When the saints go marching in” is often taught with perseverance in Sunday schools, public and private

BELOVED MELODY

ith an estimate of over a thousand recorded versions, “When the saints go marching in” has been performed by the most distinguished voices in the international artistic world. Singers such as Sleepy John Estes, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dolly Parton, Fats Domino, Mahalia Jackson, Aaron Neville, Bo Diddley, Jessye Norman, Johnny Cash, Clara Ward, Trini Lopez, among others, and the renowned violinist André Rieu are some of the artists who have magnified this beloved melody around the world u

schools, Bible seminars and churches worldwide. To the delight of believers in Jesus Christ, this song has been played by various religious and secular artists, in different styles and formats, to the point that its universal acceptance is undeniable and beyond question. A distinction that only proves God’s Power manifested in a holy praise u July 2014

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Martyr of the Word

Polycarp sacrificed his life for the truth of God at the beginning of Christianity. He was definitely one of God’s chosen ones, an extraordinary hero of the Christian faith. David W. Bercot

s the chariot rumbled through the stone-paved streets of Smyrna, the prisoner could already hear the roar of the frenzied crowd in the arena. Scavenger dogs followed the chariot through the streets, barking wildly. Olive-skinned’ children scurried out of the way, their eyes wide with excitement. Nameless faces peered out of windows along the street. Halting outside the massive walls of the arena, the guard brusquely dumped the prisoner out of the chariot as though he were a sack of garbage, injuring the prisoner’s leg. For weeks, the public had clamored for this man’s arrest 30 Impacto evangelistic

HEROES OF FAITH and execution. But he hardly looked like a dangerous criminal a frail old man, his face etched with wrinkles. His hair and beard were as white as the clouds that dotted the Mediterranean sky that afternoon. As the aged prisoner limped into the arena under armed guard, word quickly spread

through the crowds that this was Polycarp â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the vile criminal whose death they had come to see. HIS CRIME?

He was the local leader of the superstitious cult known as the Christians. Cruel martyrdom As the crowd roared with bloodthirsty excitement, the

soldiers led the prisoner to the stand where the Roman proconsul was seated. As the proconsul stared at the limping old man, his face flushed with embarrassment. So this was the dangerous criminal who had caused such an uproar! Just a gentle old man. The proconsul, his purple robe flapping in the breeze, leaned forward in his seat and

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g privately addressed the elderly prisoner, saying: —The Roman government does not make war on old men. Simply swear by the divinity of Caesar, and I will let you go. —I cannot do that. —Well, then simply shout, “Away with the atheists”, and that will be sufficient. (Since the Christians had no temples or images of any god, many assumed they were atheists.) The prisoner calmly stretched out his wrinkled arm and turned in a circle with a sweeping gesture toward the hatefilled crowd. Gazing intently toward heaven, he shouted: —Away with the atheists! The proconsul was momentarily taken aback by the prisoner’s response. Though he had done what was commanded, the proconsul knew from the reaction of the crowd that he dare not release Polycarp yet. —Curse Jesus Christ! —he demanded. For a few moments, Polycarp stared with his piercing brown eyes into the stem countenance of the proconsul. He then replied calmly: —For eighty-six years I have served Jesus, and he has never wronged me in any way. How, then, can I curse my King and Savior? The crowd, unable to hear the conversation, was growing impatient with the delay. So the proconsul anxiously urged the prisoner again: —Swear by the divinity of Caesar!—he urged the prisoner again. —Since you keep pretending that you don’t know what I am, let me simplify your task. I declare without shame that I am a Christian. If you’d like to 32 Impacto evangelistic

learn what Christians believe, set a time and I will tell you Fidgeting nervously, the proconsul blurted back: —Do not try to persuade me, persuade them—, pointing to the crowd. Polycarp glanced at the faceless mob who were eagerly waiting for their bloody entertainment to begin: —No, I will not cheapen the teachings of Jesus by trying to persuade such a throng. The proconsul shouted angrily back: —Don’t you know I have wild animals at my disposal? I will unleash them on you immediately unless you repent! —Well, then, unleash them —Polycarp replied. There was no fear in his voice—. Whoever heard of repenting from what is good in order to follow what is evil?

But like the proconsul, they grossly underestimated the vitality and conviction of the Christians. Rather than intimidating other Christians, the death of Polycarp inspired them. Rather than disappearing, Christianity grew.

The proconsul was accustomed to intimidating event the strongest, most hardened criminals, but this old man was getting the best of him. He lashed back at the prisoner: — Since wild animals don’t seem to scare you, know here and now that I will have you burned alive if you don’t immediately denounce this Jesus Christ! Infused with the Holy Spirit, Polycarp was now beaming with joy and confidence: —You threaten me with a

mere fire that burns for an hour and then goes out. Haven’t you heard of the fire of coming judgment and of the eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly? Why do you keep delaying? Do whatever you want with me. It wasn’t supposed to have worked this way, The proconsul was supposed to be the mighty conqueror, with the prisoner on his knees begging for mercy. But this prisoner-an old manhad vanquished the proconsul. The proconsul sank back into his seat in humiliating defeat. Because of the vastness of the stadium, heralds were sent to several different stations throughout the arena to announce what Polycarp had said. When his final statement was announced, a wave of fury swept the crowd. They would do with him what they wanted! Screaming for Polycarp’s death, they spilled out of their seats into the corridors and through the exits. Running wildly through the city streets, they gathered wood from wherever they could find it. They looted stores and even stole the firewood piled inside the public baths. Then they thronged back into the arena, their arms laden with fuel for the executioner’s pyre. They piled the wood around an upright stake, to which the soldiers began to nail Polycarp’s limbs. However, he calmly assured the soldiers: —Leave me as I am. The one who gives me the strength to endure the fire will also enable me to remain motionless against the stake without having to be secured. After allowing Polycarp to pray, the soldiers lit the wood. By burning Polycarp, the people of Smyrna thought they

HEROES OF FAITH

would blot out his name forever and bring an end to the hated superstition called Christianity. But like the proconsul, they grossly underestimated the vitality and conviction of the Christians. Rather than intimidating other Christians, the death of Polycarp inspired them. Rather than disappearing, Christianity grew. DEFENDER OF THE WORD OF GOD

Polycarp, born to Christian parents around 70 AD and of Greek origin, or at least of Greek

education, was a disciple of the apostle John and had contact with many who had seen the Lord. He died around 155 AD, but his life served as a model of faith and devotion for the congregations of Asia. In his youth, he accompanied the apostle John and learned at his feet. Polycarp served as leader of the church in Smyrna, in present-day Turkey, since 110 and became a staunch defender of the truth of the Word. In this regard, Irenaeus, one of his disciples, once wrote: “And

I can protest before God that if the blessed and Apostolic Elder had heard any such thing, he would have cried out and stopped his ears, and as he was wont, saying, ‘0 good God, unto what times hast Thou reserved me that I should endure these things?’ would have fled even the place where sitting or standing he had heard such words.” After a while, pastor Polycarp and his congregation began to suffer persecution. It is written that Polycarp himself, a few days before he was arrested and sentenced to death, suddenly fall asleep while praying. In that dream he had a vision in which his pillow suddenly blazed with fire and was reduced to ashes. He woke up from sleep and concluded that he would suffer martyrdom by fire. Polycarp was martyred before the beginning of the great persecutions ordered in Rome by emperors like Diocletian. In the story of his life, we see the first tensions that were being built throughout the empire when Christians rejected the gods that everyone else worshiped. Pagans called Christians “atheists” by their apparent lack of religious sense, but, as Polycarp told an officer of the Roman government, true atheists are those who do not worship the only true God. Polycarp was definitely one of God’s chosen ones, an extraordinary hero of the Christian faith, a pastor of our time, a servant of the Creator. Due to his patience and strength, he overcame the evil and won the crown of immortality. The apparent defeat of his death becomes today a victorious testimony of the resurrection in Jesus Christ u July 2014

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Hatred led him to sin

Hatred towards his brother was so deep that led him to crime. He embraced the gangster way of life from an early age and sank into drug addiction until the mighty hand of God saved him. Marlo Pérez photos: family archive

abriel Serrano Fernández was the favorite of his parents. He enjoyed their attentions and caresses until the birth of a new sibling. Then everything changed for this child born in Andújar (Jaén) Spain on July 6, 1966. His world seemed to collapse because now the family’s attention had turned towards the new family member. Forty-five years later, he does not understand how the animosity toward his brother started to grow. It was an uncontrollable feeling that increased every day, as he watched his parents do anything for 34 Impacto evangelistic

their youngest child. At first, he tried to take family’s attention back to him by crying for nothing. Then would protest and make tantrums, but nothing changed. On the contrary, his older siblings began teasing him about the grotesque scenes he was making. Nobody seemed to realize his filial jealousy.

One day, on the verge of despair, he told his teacher about his hatred. She informed his parents, but they did not make the slightest effort to overcome the difficulties, they just took it lightly. Consequently, the hidden spite continued consuming the child’s mind.

LIFE STORIES

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g At the age of 8, Gabriel Serrano Fernández could not bear his hatred anymore and sought a way out. His unusual form of rebellion was to steal candies in the shops nearby. As these were minor offences of child, nobody ever imagined that he was thus beginning a criminal career. At the age 14, theft had become his biggest addiction. He would not only steal to get his parents’ attention, but he was also attracted by easy money. He stole money from his parents and wasted it on small vanities. The teenager’s life was so empty that he had even dropped school. One day, his friends made him join a gang in the neighborhood of La Uva (presentday La Paz), a dangerous area located in the midst of crime, drug abuse and informality of the homeless and gypsy communities. At the age of 16, he had fallen so low that the use of amphetamines, mixed with hashish, other drugs and alcohol, was an everyday thing. He was a heroin addict. To feed his vices, he used to steal valuables objects and gold jewelry from his family. - The doors of my home began to close and I decided to seek company in the streets – he says. IN PRISON

A year later, Gabriel Serrano Fernández and his gang planned and executed a robbery at a store in town. It was a failure. Most of them were arrested and taken to a prison of the Spanish municipality. However, as they were minors, many of the prisoners were released 36 Impacto evangelistic

Forty-five years later, he does not understand how the animosity toward his brother started to grow. It was an uncontrollable feeling that increased every day, as he watched his parents do anything for their youngest child.

within days by posting a bail. At the age of 19, he joined the armed forces of his country and was taken to the quarters of Almeria, southern Andalusia, but all attempts of military

training to reform the black sheep of the family were unsuccessful. He came back home a year later with the same vices as before, but his family was no longer willing to put up with him. - Living with my parents and siblings became unbearable. I ended up in the streets – he says. He started to live as a homeless in the streets of the province, seeking food and shelter. But, above all, he had a huge

LIFE STORIES

emotional emptiness, as he lacked the care and love that was snatched from him since the birth of his brother. At the age of 22, Gabriel Serrano FernĂĄndez, then known as El Grave, was forced to live in crime and began looking for accomplices to continue on the path of misdemeanor. Some months later, he was identified as the author of a series of robberies and was imprisoned once again in the city penitentiary. A girl he had met years ear-

He started to live as a homeless in the streets of the province, seeking food and shelter. But, above all, he had a huge emotional emptiness, as he lacked the care and love that was snatched from him since the birth of his brother.

lier identified him in prison and told him about the forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Gabriel paid some attention and felt a little hope. With the help of an evangelical pastor, prison authori-

ties authorized the prisoner to serve his one-year sentence in a Christian Rehabilitation Center located in Madrid. It was at this place that he held a Bible in his hands for the first time. - One year after, I read it and something changed in me, but I ignored it at that moment â&#x20AC;&#x201C; he says. Just as he left the recovery center, he forgot all the teachings of the pastors and was back to his old life. Back in the

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g underworld of sin, he met a girl with whom he shared more than heroin: Yolanda, a beautiful, innocent baby, was born in 1991. - I tried to change for my daughter, but the girl and her parents wouldn’t let me – he recalls. OVERDOSE

Once again, his parents open the doors of their house to him and received the prodigal son. However, betraying their trust, he let crime and vices take over his will once more. At this stage of his life, his physical and emotional condition deteriorated and the family took him to psychologists and psychiatrists. After extensive analysis, he was prescribed tranquilizers and other medicine to calm his anxiety and addiction, but it seemed useless. At the age of 26, he returned to the criminal career as a forger of documents and drug trafficker. One day, he almost died from an overdose of drugs and then in gunfire with the mob and the police, but nothing could take him away from the wrong path. By the age of 29, he went back to prison. When he left, his health declined again due to a pernicious anemia and hepatitis C, which reduced his weight to 100 pounds. A methadone treatment led to an improvement, but the idea of suicide crossed his mind to make his family suffer no more. TIME FOR GOD

One morning, Gabriel Serrano Fernández left his house to wander in the streets and squa38 Impacto evangelistic

LIFE STORIES

res. A few hours later, the same Christian girl he had met at the rehabilitation center unexpectedly called him by name and they talked. She offered to help him get out of that world, but the man refused. - For Jesus Christ nothing is impossible – said the girl. After the regular visits of his friend, Gabriel was filled with faith and saw far beyond the circumstances that afflicted him. Although he had read the Gospel years ago, he never paid attention to it as in those days. - It was the only thing I had left – he says. At the age of 31, God had reserved for him a radical change in his life. In August 1997,

During a worship service, he began to shake and jump up to the altar, passing by the pastors. He did not know what was happening, he only felt a fire burning inside him and controlling his body. Then he fell to his knees in tears and heard a voice in his heart, asking him to give up drugs.

controlling his body. Then he fell to his knees in tears and heard a voice in his heart, asking him to give up drugs. After being healed and freed from the vices, he returned to Jaén to visit his doctor. The doctor was surprised when he realized that the body of his patient was completely clean and detoxified.

the Annual Convention of the Worldwide Missionary Movement was held in Spain and Gabriel Serrano Fernández attended the event along with the young woman who encouraged him to change his life. There, the transformation came. During a worship service, he began to shake and jump up to the altar, passing by the pastors. He did not know what was happening, he only felt a fire burning inside him and

- I needed two years to recover, but Jesus Christ made it in a second – he says. In July 2001, Gabriel Serrano Fernández was baptized and since then he has devoted his life to God, completely away from drugs and crime. Now, 48, he spends his days preaching the Gospel in the city of Elche, Alicante, with his wife Soraya Castillo and his four children u July 2014

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Teachings and sermons of the most renowned preachers who expose the truth of the Lord through their life stories consacrated to God. The Bible says: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life... And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 5:39; 8:32

DEVOTIONAL

riends, we are living dark times in the history of mankind, but the worst is yet to come. The most horrible hour is not here yet. The arms race does not stop. Nuclear bombs of destructive power are still being manufactured. Albert Einstein said before he died, “[in a nuclear war] perhaps two-thirds of the people of the Earth might be killed.” Prophet Zechariah, 500 years before Christ, described the horrible effect of radioactivity in nuclear bombs, “Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth”

(Zechariah 14:12). Nuclear explosions will be so powerful that the planets will shake in their orbits. Prophet Isaiah, describes it, “The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage… the earth is moved exceedingly” (Isaiah 24:19, 20).

Isaiah refers to the atomic explosion, the deep hole left by it, and radioactivity when he says, “And it shall come to pass,

Midnight cry

that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare” (Isaiah 24:18). Referring

to cosmic bombs, he said,

“And at midnight there was a cry made.” Matthew 25:6. “And the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away… and in a moment shall they die”. Job 34:20. Rev. Luis M. Ortiz

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“For the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake” (Isaiah 24:18b).

In this regard, Lord Jesus Christ stated, “And there shall

be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken” (Luke 21:25,

26). The war of Armageddon is a nuclear war. This was foretold thousands of years in the Bible. It will be a war that will dwarf all other wars experienced in the world. Apostle John, in the visions of the Book of Revelation, heard the number of armies that will be mobilized in Armageddon. He says, “And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them” (Revelation 9:16).

On the same events, Apostle John talks about in his Book of Revelation, “And

the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places… for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Revela-

tion 6:14-17). There will be so many deaths in this war that John tells us in the Book of Revelation that blood will come up to the horses’ bridles. My friends, these terrible days are coming. Prophet Zephaniah says, “The great day

of the Lord is near, it is near, and

hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high tower. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land”

now commandeth all men every where to repent; because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:30, 31). Indeed, friends, those who seek God now will be saved from the ravages and the judgment of that horrible day. Jesus Christ says as follows, “Because thou hast kept

yourselves together … Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger come upon you. Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger” (Zephaniah

hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Hebrews 3:15).

(Zephaniah 1:14-18). Friends, God in His mercy gives you the precious opportunity to get away with that terrible day, and through the mouth of prophet Zephaniah says, “Gather

2:1-3). “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but

Nuclear bombs of destructive power are still being manufactured. Albert Einstein said before he died, “[in a nuclear war] perhaps two-thirds of the people of the Earth might be killed.” Prophet Zechariah, 500 years before Christ, described the horrible effect of radioactivity in nuclear bombs (Zechariah 14:12).

the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Revelation 3:10).

Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2; Isaiah 55:6, 7). Tomorrow will be the day of judgment (Romans 2:1-16; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 20:1115). While it is said, “If ye will My friend, you are hearing the voice of God through this message to save yourself. Repent of sin and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, and you will be cleansed from sin by the precious blood of the Lord. My brothers, today is the day to redouble our efforts in favor of the lost souls. Say and do as Christ, who said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work”

(John 9:4). Yes, brother, the day of God’s grace is expiring. “And,

behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be”

(Revelation 22:12). Amen

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or this midnight hour, incandescent men are needed. On the day of Pentecost, the flame of the living God became the flame of the human heart to that glorious company. The Church began with these men in the “upper room” agonizing, and today is ending with men in the supper room organizing. The Church began in revival; we are ending in ritual. We started virile; we are ending sterile. Charter members of the Church were men of heat and no degrees, today many hold degrees but have no heat. Ah, brethren, Flamehearted men are the crying need of the hour! Men need to be a pillar of fire: God-guided men to lead a misguided people, passionate Pauls to stir timid Timothys, men of flame to outshine and outburn men of name! We need knights of prayer to lead nights of prayer. We need true prophets to warn of false profits, “for what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul” (Mark 8: 36). In this end

time, the rocky-baby attitude of many conference preachers is a tragedy. The cry should be, “Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanc-

As the Church goes, so goes the world “Should all the hosts of death and powers of hell unknown put their most dreadful forms, of rage or malice on I shall be safe, for Christ displays SUPERIOR power and guardian grace” Isaac Watts. Why the Revival does not arrive E. Leonard Ravenhill Chapter 19

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tify a fast, call a solemn assembly… Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep” (Joel 2: 15--17).

Compared to a heart that has known the fire of the Lord and allowed that fire to go out, the ice-clad peaks of the Alps are warm. Metal is molten only while the fire burns; remove the fire and the metal is solid. Even so, a human heart without the heat of heaven is an iceberg. If the Spirit is absent, the preacher’s study becomes a laboratory

DEVOTIONAL for dissecting doctrine and developing lifeless dogma. Teaching needs anointing; truth must be trenchant; and comfort must kindle. Inspired men are desperately needed. Believers with Spirit-generated souls are indispensable to this generation. The gale of end-time iniquity will blowout a mere human flame and as a dry reed cracks in a storm, will snap fleshly sectarianism’s feeble candle. At the moment, a rushing mighty wind of false religions and lukewarm Christianity is lashing the world. Warned of false fire by fireless men, we too often settle for no fire at all. As the Church goes, so goes the world. If the watchmen sleep, the enemy takes the city. Inspiration is as mysterious as life, for both are God-given. Life begets life by its very nature. By the same token, inspired men inspire. We need Joshuas to lead the Lord’s people into the Promised Land of Spirit-empowered living. Like Israel, we have escaped Egypt and Pharaoh (which in our experience means the world and Satan), but failed at KadeshBarnea. What should be a stepping stone can become a stumbling block. What should be a gateway can become a goal. What could be a thoroughfare can become a terminal. Have we come out of the poverty of the world, but not yet entered into the Canaan of His riches? Think of it! For forty years, these chosen people had no miracles and no answer to prayer, nothing but deaths, drought and darkness. And all because of

unbelief. “The giants are too great for us!” was their cry (Numbers 13: 17-33). Today this is our cry, “Look at the might of this; measure, if you can, the strength of that!” Our reply should be, “Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see” (II Kings 6: 17). “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save…”?

(Isaiah 59: 1). Shall we but consider Him as the God of the past, the God of the prophecy, but not the God of the present? Peter’s Pentecost sermon was as scorching as it was searching. Truth became ali-

ve. “But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel” (Acts 2: 16). Men are ever saying that in these trying days people need comfort. Agreed, many do need comfort. The sick, the sad, and the suffering are in the bracket. Let none fail to realize that to keep silent while a house is burning is criminal. He is no comforter

who lets his neighbor sleep as he watches a criminal move to the door with a gun. In this hour this is not overdrawing the picture of the peril the world runs. Some declare that in America Patrick Henry did more to pave the way for freedom and liberty than any other man in its history. Hear him, fired with passionate devotion for his people, as he speaks at the Virginia Convention, March 23, 1775: “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take. But as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” Could Cato or Demosthenes surpass that oratorical gem? Can we translate it? The fearful bondage and slavery that exists in the world today and threatens the rest of mankind is no fairy story. If the atheist systems should conquer the world, terrible and unimaginable as that might be), there is a greater horror to the true child of God: that of eternity in an endless hell for the unrepentant. Perhaps we should get near Patrick Henry’s language this way: “Is life’s span so dear and are home comforts so engrossing as to be purchased with my unfaithfulness and dry-eyed prayerlessness? At the final bar of God, shall the perishing millions accuse me of materialism coated with a few Scripture verses?” “Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me revival in my soul and in my church and in my nation or GIVE ME DEATH” u July 2014

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God wants to bring E his people to life

Rev. Gustavo Martínez Garavito

“The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord… So I prophesied as I was commanded… And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel…” Ezekiel 37:1-11. 44 Impacto evangelistic

zekiel 37 refers to the physical and spiritual restoration of Judah. It gives us a good illustration of the revival that will take place in the Lord’s Church. Prophet Jeremiah and other prophets spoke truth to the people, but they did not believe. To this prophet, speaking for God became an affront. Captivity came, Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city and the temple, most of them

DEVOTIONAL were captives, others died, and very few remained. After such a devastating judgment and the time they spent captive, it was expected that their human hopes would falter, as there was no hope of leaving Babylon and returning to their land. Let us recall that Jerusalem was called the princess among the provinces, the great among the nations, the city of glory, but its people neglected and became servants, and they were treated severely, terribly and inhumanely, and their hopes died. The people prayed, “Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt thou be angry with us forever? Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?” (Psalm

85:4-5). They felt really dead, ruined, and hopeless. They said, “Wilt thou not revive us again:

that thy people may rejoice in thee?”

(Psalm 85:6). The Bible says that He took Ezekiel in the midst of a valley of very dry bones (Ezekiel 37: 1-2). And he was taken to a place where there were freshly dead bodies that were not yet in a state of decomposition, so that he could hold some hopes for life. However, the skeletons were separated and all bones scattered. The Spirit of God had taken him there so that he could fully understand the condition of his people. He had no idea how low his people had fallen, it was spiritually dead. And then the Lord asked, “Can these bones live?” The prophet could not say anything but, “O Lord God, thou knowest” (v. 3). The so-

vereignty of God is praised through these words. The Lord answered, “Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord” (v. 4).

God has led us to deep spiritual experiences through the word and has let us see the big picture of death everywhere. He tells the Church, “Can these bones live?” We as God’s people who believe in His sovereignty can say, “Yes, they can.” Therefore, our responsibility is to bring the message of life that changes, transforms, frees and breaks the chains to a world that is getting lost. When he began to prophesy, he saw that those bones came together, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above, they were no longer skeletons but corpses on the dessert sand (vv. 7-8). And then he prophesied unto the spirit, and the spirit of life entered into them and they

Do you want to live? Break the bonds, break the mask breaks you wear to come to worship. Enough with religious hypocrisy, we must turn to God and break the chains for his glory to flow and sanctify us.

stood up upon their feet as a great army. (vv. 9-10). Notice that he says that he prophesied as he was commanded, not as he thought or believed he had to. We must prophesy with zeal, dedication and revelation according to the authentic, genuine, real, biblical message. When the Spirit entered into these dry bones, they were not half alive or half dead. No. They stood up completely alive, they stood up on their feet as a marching army. It should be noted that when the Holy Spirit of God comes, the first thing it does is to change,

transform, take death away, and what is left is life. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2

Corinthians 5:17). Some historians say that the life of the Jews in Babylon was a very sad picture. They wept by the rivers of Babylon. One of the things that troubled their minds and hearts the most was the memories of the glory of God in Jerusalem. God used this memory for the people to want those glory days back. They cried and even left aside their musical instruments. They were spiritually inactive, they could not sing or play instruments, and they had reasons to feel sad and joyless, the main being that they were in a strange land, a land of captivity. The Lord tells his people, “Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion” (Isaiah 52:2).

God tells the people to shake, to rise, to sit down, and to loose from the bands. Undoubtedly, God wants us to do our part. You have to break those bonds, commitments and friendships that hold you down and do not let you worship God. Dear brother, break the chains, so that you can be free and the Spirit can breathe upon you from the four winds and give you a new vision. Do you want to live? Break the bonds, break the mask you wear to come to worship. Enough with religious hypocrisy, we must turn to God and break the chains for his glory to flow and sanctify us. God wants a complete surrender, a total separation from the world, and thus the glory of God will come u July 2014

WORLDWIDE MISSIONARY MOVEMENT America • Europe • Oceanía • África • Asia

A quick report of the work that Worldwide Missionary Movement is making in America and throughout the world. The Holy Bible states: “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple... And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”. (Acts 2:46,47).

EVENTS National Convention of Pastors and Youth in Colombia Over 15 thousand people attended for four days the “La Macarena” convention hall located in Medellin, city were this magnificent event took place.

he Work of the Worldwide Missionary Movement in the Republic of Colombia held from June 17 to June 20 a glorious National Convention of Pastors and Youth. The meeting venue was the “La Macarena” convention hall located in the city of Medellin. On Thursday, June 17, the magnificent event started under the 46 Impacto evangelistic

them “Firm Convictions to serve better” (Philippians 3:8). During the exposition of the biblical message, Rev. Benito Green, from New York, shared the message of God entitled “Holes in the armor of a man of God” (2 Peter 2:7-8). Praise and worship to the Lord were performed by different musical groups made up by young people. The message of God in the mor-

ning service was given by Rev. Humberto Henao, International Officer of the WMM, with the theme: “The battle that we’re losing” (Romans 7:15-24). Rev. Gerardo Martínez Garavito, National Supervisor of the Work in Chile, was the bearer of the message of God under the theme:

“Let’s get up, a long way is ahead”, based on Proverbs 24:16. Martínez highlighted that we must look for the presence of the Lord, as without it we cannot go forward with God. In the morning service, Rev. Humberto Henao preached under the theme: “The power of a pur-

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48 Impacto evangelistic

EVENTS

g pose” (Daniel 1:8), and encouraged young people to firmly keep their convictions, and to stay firm in purity and saintliness. The night service was led by Rev. Eli Figueroa, National Officer of the WMM in Colombia. The message of God was shared by Rev. Gustavo Martínez Garavito, International President of the WMM, under the theme: “Are we edifying the Kingdom of God in God and under His di-

rection?” (Luke 14:3536). The last day, during the morning service, Rev. Benito Green, from the Church of New York (USA), spread the message of God entitled “Dry hands in the house of God” (Luke 6:6-11). In the night service, Rev. José Arturo Soto Benavides, International Vice President of the Work, shared the Word of God under the theme: “A graveyard, a living signal” (Ezekiel 37:3, 10, 14) u July 2014

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Family Fellowship in Puerto Rico A great fellowship activity aimed at the family and led by Rev. Rubén Velázquez, Presbyterian of Zone 2, gathered the whole family in general.

ev. Luis Ayala, National Supervisor in Puerto Rico, emphasized the role of women to manage, lead and guide their children to be men and women for the benefit of society and the Work of God, and announced 50 Impacto evangelistic

the construction of the Rio Grande temple in that country. This took place during a family fellowship held on May 3 that brought together hundreds of people. Parents and children had a day of togetherness and prayer.

Pastor Wilfredo Alvarado, Puerto Rican missionary in Spain and Presbyterian in the south zone, talked about how he was saved from drugs and jail, and began to serve “giving by grace what by grace has been given to him” out of gra-

titude to God. Pastor Alvarado began his ministerial work in Naguado, Puerto Rico, under Rev. Luis Ayala’s presbytery, and later in 1996, he headed out to the mission field in Spain. The congregation was divided into groups to address various issues. Thus, women and men were taught by Rev. Ruben Concepcion under the theme: “Parents of a new generation, difficulty or challenge?” based on Genesis 1: 27-28, highlighting that home is the basis of a family. Rev. Concepcion

EVENTS

stressed the importance of values and ethical principles, and urged parents not to forget basic needs, especially those intangible, such as love, sharing, relationships, ethics and values. He reminded us that there are divine principles in the role of parents, where “negative expectations are the fastest ways to the death of a generation”, while “the expectations of faith and trust are the highway to a generation with purpose.” He concluded that the greatest challenge for parents is to raise this generation forward with purpose in God and full of creativity, and that the challenge must be taken in spite of the difficulties that may arise (Psalm 127: 3-5). The theme “Young

people and Faith” was presented to youngsters and teens aged 12 or older. Brother Gerardo Escalera and his wife, Sister Jessica Ayala, based this teaching on 1 Timothy 4: 6-16, urging young people to know and practice the Word, highlighting its role to affirm convictions. They urged to beware of “current songs” and technology, as some of them have set aside the Word to give way to other things. Sister Maria Alicea, National Leader of children, was responsible for children aged 6 to 11 and taught them under the theme: “Children in the Purposes of God.” She emphasized that we must follow God’s plan in our lives, as it is perfect and the best thing that can ever happen to us. Sisters Susana, Elizabeth, Frances, Angela and Karina were in charge of children aged 1 to 5. “Children can be fishermen by inviting all their little friends to attend Bible School,” they said. They sang songs based on the Word of God and, by taking the message from each of them, they taught the importance of following and obeying God’s Word. At the end of the service, there was a health session and all the brothers share some time to bond while enjoying a delicious lunch prepared by the host zone u July 2014

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United Fellowship of the Church in Parque Lefevre The Central Church of Panama celebrated its anniversary by organizing a great convention.

n Saturday May 17, a united fellowship was held along with the presbyters of Panama and Colon in commemoration of the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Central Church of Panama, located in Calle 3ra, Parque Lefevre, where the national and 52 Impacto evangelistic

international headquarters of the Work are currently situated. The worship was attended by Rev. Alcides Ramea, National Supervisor, as well as National Officers and Presbyters. Rev. Gregorio Muñoz, pastor in Venezuela, was also part of the celebra-

EVENTS

tion by greeting the attendees. The message of the powerful Word of God was given by Rev. Ramea, who during his speech

encouraged the people to stay in the old paths, holding the sound doctrine practiced by the Worldwide Missionary Movement ever since the beginning u July 2014

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Ladies Missionary Visit in Africa The visit meant a big impact on the Lord's Work in the Republic of Ghana, where the pastor and his wife felt very blessed and reassured.

he Worldwide Missionary Movement’s Work organized a mission trip to the Republic of Ghana of a group of women from the Church in Equatorial Guinea. The traveling delegation consisted of nine people, among which Sister Diana Insuru, general leader of women in Africa and 54 Impacto evangelistic

wife of Rev. Edelmiro Invina, and other sisters who are also married to pastors. The visit, lasting fourteen days from June 15 to 29, aimed to coordinate and give moral and spiritual support to the young missionary couple from Equatorial Guinea in Ghana and to the who-

le group gathered in this African land. First item on the agenda was to get in contact with the children from the church and its surroundings. They were given help and some presents, so as to draw their attention towards God and His holy work. The opportunity was taken to

conduct seminars, workshops and counseling studies, all led by Sister Silvia Nsang, National Secretary of Youth. Ghana is an English speaking country in West Africa, and it is surprising how quickly the Lord helped pastors to master the language and increase the number of believers, confirming Lord’s effective call. Likewise, the local pastors have sent more than three young converts from among those who came to this country to study. Thanks to the Lord, they will return converted and well taught, persevering in

EVENTS

Him. There is a tremendous spiritual and physical development of the work, according to the delegation of women and the local authorities. From Ghana to Ivory Coast. Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast, where there is a group of pastors who have decided to join the Worldwide Missionary Movement. Their leader went to meet Rev. Romulo Vergara, Workâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Supervisor on this continent. After hearing from the visit of our women, this group from Ivory Coast came back to Ghana to

meet them, greet them and learn the sound doctrine. They also asked our headquarters to let the group of women enter their country, a request that was authorized While traveling 18 hours by bus together with the

delegation of women to the Ivorian border, their visas were denied. These courageous women willing to cross the borders for the Lord testify that, after the rejection, they felt very moved as they saw tears running down

the manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face; he was eager and deeply touched by the Lord to His doctrine, and very excited with all the preparations made for the reception of our ladies. The visit ended with a very emotional farewell between tears and applause. However, we are planning the visit to Ivory Coast of Pastor Heriberto Bohoba, member of the National Board, from August 4 to 26 for an intensive training and doctrinal instruction. Let us pray for spiritual growth and the Convention to be held in late August. Glory to God! u July 2014

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ELIM Biblical Institute in Central America The training by first-level teachers of the Elim Biblical Institute was held in Costa Rica under the theme “We come in to learn and we come out to serve.”

he Work of the WMM in Central America organized from June 9 to June 18 a training given by first-level teachers of the Elim Biblical Institute. 56 Impacto evangelistic

Brothers from different countries such as Mexico, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica attended the event. The training took pla-

ce in the facilities of the Church of the Worldwide Missionary Movement in Valencia, province of Heredia, Republic of Costa Rica, led by Rev. Carlos Guerra.

A total of 60 students were trained, including Rev. Manuel Zúñiga Castillo, National Supervisor of WMM in Costa Rica, Rev. Anselmo Cooper, National Supervisor of Belize, Rev. Edwin Parada, National Supervisor of El Salvador, Rev. Natanael Hernández, Director of the E.B.I. in Honduras, Sister Areli Ramos, Director of the E.B.I. in Belize, Sister Ginnette Guzmán, Director of the Missionary School of Costa

EVENTS

Rica, and Sister Gloria de Moreno, Director of the E.B.I. in Nicaragua. The teachers that gave the seminar came from Puerto Rico and Costa Rica, among which Eunice Lozada Resto, Secretary of the Biblical Institute, Rev. Hugo Rodríguez Flores, Teacher of the E.B.I. in Central America, Zuleyka Berríos Velásquez, Teacher of the E.B.I. in Puerto Rico, Alberto Solís Rojas, Teacher of the E.B.I. in Central America, and Joel Rosado, Teacher of the E.B.I. in Puerto Rico. This edifying event was also attended by Rev. Albert Rivera, Director of the Training Seminar of Workers, and Sister Patricia Vargas Gutiérrez, Director of the Biblical Institute Elim in Central America and Mexico. Training classes ended on Wednesday June 18 u July 2014

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Baptisms in water in Claypole After taking classes of biblical instructions and giving their testimony of fidelity to the Lord and to His saint Work, 17 new brothers were lowered into the water of baptism.

n the temple of the Worldwide Missionary Movement in Claypole, located in the metropolitan area of Buenos Aires, Argentina, 17 new brothers were lowered into the water of baptism, after taking classes of biblical instructions and giving their testimony of fidelity to the Lord and to His saint Work. 58 Impacto evangelistic

This great activity was led by Rev. Ismael E. Parrado, National Supervisor of the WMM in that country. It should be noted the case of a young woman called Miriam Opaso, who was born to a Christian family and has remained faithful. She took this important step to reaffirm her convictions u

EVENTS

Evangelistic Campaign in Cassano d’Adda The people of the city of Cassano d’Adda received a group of brothers of the Worldwide Missionary Movement who held an evangelistic campaign.

he Work of the Worldwide Missionary Movement in Italy held on June 29 the first evangelistic campaign in the city of Cassano d’Adda,

province of Milan, Lombardy. The message of salvation was spread during the event. That day, a drizzle surprised the activity; however, with or without it, the Word of God was given to edify many lives. The bearer of the Word of the Lord was Leonel Cedeño, pastor of the Church in Bergamo, Italy. It was a special day for local people who received the mercy of God u

July 2014

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The Word of God in India Rev. Rodolfo González Cruz, WMM International Officer, went on a twoweek missionary journey to India, the second most populated country on Earth. Photos: Jimmy Roca, Special Envoy

ev. Rodolfo Gonzalez has never set limits on his missionary work, not even in India, where there are dozens of religions. In this country with 1,240 million inhabitants, he preached the Word of God for several days. The missionary journey began on Tuesday, February 18 with the arrival of Rev. Gonzalez, his wife Rita Vazquez, and some Peruvian pastors to the Indira Gandhi airport in New Delhi. Rev. Sam Jacob, National Supervisor in India, and a delegation of pastors and brothers, waited for them and accompanied them g 60 Impacto evangelistic

EVENTS

July 2014

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g throughout the way. Next day after this warm welcome, they performed a service in one of the congregations of the Worldwide Missionary Movement in India. The following day, seven dependencies to the capital attended the temple of the Methodist church for a fellowship. There, Rev. Gonzalez preached the Lord’s Word, which 62 Impacto evangelistic

was translated into English and Hindi by pastors Cleber Machaguay (Peru) and Eappen Pulickal (India) as it was essential to understand the Gospel. On Friday, the guests had a simple but nice meeting at the house of one of the pastors. Rev. Gonzalez took most of his time to talk to the workers in the zone, just as a father would advise his children.

The Holy Spirit marked the meeting with his presence. On Saturday, the visitors went to the city of Chennai in southern India, where they had another warm welcome by the secretary of the Work. The day of Sunday school, Hindu songs filled the country’s largest church. At night, over 500 thousand brothers received them in the facilities of the Aposto-

EVENTS

lic Christian Assembly. The preaching of God’s servant was broadcast on the Internet. During their second week of stay, they traveled to Rajahmundry and then to Kovuur, where the annual Convention of the Indian Pentecostal Church of God led by Pastor Samuel Spurgeon took place. Telugu, the dominant local language, did not prevent brothers from hearing

MISSIONARY JOURNEY

uring the missionary journey, Rev. Gonzalez and the Peruvian delegation visited a shelter where care is provided to more than 50 abandoned or poor children. This orphanage is called the Yiye Ávila Children Welfare Association, directed by Pastor Samuel Spurgeon and located next to the temple. In an act of love and generosity, the President of the Work in Peru promised to make a special donation to these children u

the word of God preached by Rev. Gonzalez. After the end of the event, Europe was waiting for them with open arms. This journey was not only aimed for Rev. Rodolfo González Cruz and his wife to visit the second most populated country in the world, but also to remind thousands of Indian Christians that the Time for Transformation in India is closer than ever u July 2014

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OTHER EVENTS

Other Events CHILE

SPAIN

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ITALIA

WOMEN FELLOWSHIP IN IQUIQUE

GREAT EVANGELISTIC CRUSADE IN BARCELONA

REGIONAL FELLOWSHIP IN MICHIGAN

THIRTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHURCH OF NAPLES

The Worldwide Missionary Movement held a woman fellowship on June 6 and 7 in Iquique, Republic of Chile. The activity took place under the theme: “Woman, get up, and all your people will know that you are virtuous.” The event was attended by the pastor and presbyter Epimenio Pedraza and his wife, Sister Flor Mantilla, as well as a group of brothers from the city of Antofagasta. Pastor Martin Chía and his wife, Sister Sandra Nova, participated along with a group of brothers from the city of Arica. Also, Brother Elías Blas and Sister Cristina Muñoz, responsible members of the Work in the city of Calama, were present. Different themes were presented in the event: “Do not leave your place” (Luke 10:38-42) by the Sister Sandra Nova, “The difference between having and lacking the oil of the unction” (Mathew 25) by Sister Flor Mantilla, “Ana was not an ungodly woman” (1 Samuel 1:9-19) by Pastor Epimenio Pedraza, and “Looking for Him in anguish” (Luke 2:40-49) also by the Pastor Epimenio Pedraza. Glory to God!

64 Impacto evangelistic

Report of the National Supervisor of the WMM in Spain on the evangelistic campaign held at the end of May in the city of Barcelona. These were the words of Rev. Carlos Medina: “God bless you, beloved brothers in the Lord, I would like to thank all pastors in the North Zone of Spain that supported this activity, and also the Center Zone (Pastor Fisher Torrejón and his wife), the Zone South (Pastor Roberto Riojas and his wife), all those who sent their offers to make possible the visit of our beloved brother Rev. Manuel Zúñiga, National Supervisor of the Work of Costa Rica. During those days, the Lord reached out his powerful hand and many souls were saved and healed, and even baptized in the Holy Spirit. All the Glory to the Lord! Beloved brothers, let’s keep together to magnify the Work of God in Spain”.

This event of the Worldwide Missionary Movement was held from May 1 to 3 under the theme: “Productive Lives” (Genesis 49:22-26). The activity was led by Rev. Arturo Hernández, National Supervisor of the Work in this country. The event was attended by the churches from the Zones 3 and 4 of the WMM, along with their pastors in the States of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Among the participants, there were also pastors from Texas, California, Louisiana, Alabama, New Jersey, and New York.

The Church of the Worldwide Missionary Movement in Naples celebrated on June 14 its Thirteenth Anniversary. Rev. David Echalar, National Supervisor of the Work in Italy, and Pastor Luis Valderrama, Presbyter of the Center-south Zone, attended this great event. During the whole day, the Glory of God descended greatly upon all, and many lives were blessed. The messages of the Lord touched the hearts of the people of God, and even the kids were touched by His power. It was a glorious day in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.

AMENITIES

The miracle of the human eye

Charles Darwin described the eye as one of the greatest challenges to his theory. How could he explain it? The eye, after all, is simply incompatible with evolution.

“

o suppose,” he admitted, “that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances . . . could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree” ( The Origin of Species, 1859, Masterpieces of Science Edition, 1958, p. 146). Jesus said that “the lamp of the body is the eye” (Matthew 6:22). Jacob Bronowski wrote that, “if you compare a human being with even the most sharp-eyed of the great apes, say with a chimpanzee, our vision is incredibly more delicate ... Their ability to discriminate fine detail (which can be tested in a very simple way) is not comparable with that of

human beings” (The Origins of Knowledge and Imagination, 1978, pp. 12-13). The human eye possesses 130 million light-sensitive rods and cones that convert light into chemical impulses. These signals travel at a rate of a billion per second to the brain. The essential problem for Darwinists is how so many intricate components could have independently evolved to work together perfectly when, if a single component did not function perfectly, nothing would work at all. “Now it is quite evident,” says Francis Hitching, “that if the slightest thing goes wrong en route – if the cornea is fuzzy, or the pupil fails to dilate, or the lens becomes opaque, or the focusing goes wrong – then a recognizable image is not formed. The eye either functions as a whole, or not at all. “So how did it come to evolve by slow, steady, infinitesimally small

Darwinian improvements? Is it really possible that thousands upon thousands of lucky chance mutations happened coincidentally so that the lens and the retina, which cannot work without each other, evolved in synchrony? What survival value can there be in an eye that doesn’t see? Small wonder that it troubled Darwin. ‘To this day the eye makes me shudder,’ [Darwin] wrote to his botanist friend Asa Gray in February, 1860” (The Neck of the Giraffe, 1982, p. 86). Darwin should have considered two passages in the Bible. “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both,” wrote King Solomon (Proverbs 20:12). And Psalm 94:9 asks: “He who planted the ear, shall He not hear? He who formed the eye, shall He not see?” The same can be said of the brain, nose, palate and dozens of other complex and highly developed organs in any human being or animal. It would take a quantum leap of faith to think all this just evolved. Yet that is commonly taught and accepted. After reviewing the improbability of such organs arising in nature from an evolutionary process, Professor H.S. Lipson, a member of the British Institute of Physics, wrote in 1980: “We must go further than this and admit that the only acceptable explanation is creation. I know that this is anathema to physicists, as indeed it is to me, but we must not reject a theory that we do not like if the experimental evidence supports it” (Physics Bulletin, Vol. 30, p. 140) u July 2014

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Founder Director: Rev. Luis M. Ortiz Editorial board: Rev. Luis Meza Bocanegra, Jacqueline Rovira, Samuel Martínez, Rev. Andrés Espejo Editorial coordinator: Rev. Julián Morón General editor: Víctor Tipe Sánchez Editor: Jaime Tipe Sánchez Graphic editor: Roberto Guerrero Graphic design: Adolfo Zubietta Writers: Johan Pérez Landeo, Marlo Pérez. Designers: Lesly Sánchez, Jorge Cisneros. Web master and Infographics: Julio de la Cruz. Illustration: Pablo Vilca. Transcription: Fanny Vidal, Ana Rodriguez. Community manager: Juan Becerra, Denisse Barrientos. Distribution: Javier Arotinco.

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