Author Topic: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'  (Read 2181 times)

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rangerrebew

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Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« on: October 07, 2013, 09:45:15 am »

Rev. Billy Graham Prepares 'Perhaps … My Last Message'
 

 

Sunday, 06 Oct 2013 09:46 PM

By David A. Patten

In an exclusive interview, the Rev. Billy Graham tells Newsmax that President Obama's "hope and change" mantra is nothing more than a cliché and warns that the nation faces increasing threats to civil and religious liberties from its government.

 Graham, who is preparing for possibly his last crusade, this time via video, said America is drenched in a "sea of immorality" and suggested that the second coming of Christ is "near."

 Graham, who turns 95 this month, and just published his book, “The Reason for My Hope: Salvation,” was asked whether he believes the government may be so large and powerful, in light of the pervasive collection and monitoring of digital communications, that it becomes an inherent threat to basic human liberties.

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“Our early fathers led our nation according to biblical principles,” Graham wrote in response. “‘Hope and change’ has become a cliché in our nation, and it is daunting to think that any American could hope for change from what God has blessed,” he stated, an obvious reference to President Obama’s campaign motto.

“Our country is turning away from what has made it so great,” he continued, “but far greater than the government knowing our every move that could lead to losing our freedom to worship God publicly, is to know that God knows our every thought; he knows our hearts need transformation.”

Graham continues to share his message of God’s love, a message he has imparted faithfully for decades, despite faltering health in recent years.

 He was hospitalized for pneumonia in 2011 and again last year due to a lung infection. He held his first crusade in September 1947, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He would go on to present over 400 crusades in 185 countries. But in the United States, he has probably received the most media attention for his role as a spiritual adviser to many presidents.

 To say Graham’s ministry has had a far-flung impact would be an understatement. His staff has estimated that Graham led some 3.2 million people to faith in Christ.

 When he made Gallup’s top 10 list of Most Admired Men in January, it marked the 56th time he made the list since 1955 — more than anyone else.

 But perhaps his greatest legacy will be the members of his own family who carry on the spiritual tradition he established in 1950 when he founded the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA).

 They include son Franklin Graham, president and CEO of the BGEA, and also the global Samaritan’s Purse charitable ministry.

 Many believing Christians believe in a coming Armageddon, a final battle between good and evil prophesied in the book of Revelation.

 Graham tells Newsmax it is not wise to “speculate” about the dates of such a battle, but he adds that the Bible says that there “will be signs pointing toward the return of the Lord.”

 “I believe all of these signs are evident today,” Graham wrote, adding that “the return of Christ is near.

“Regardless of what society says, we cannot go on much longer in the sea of immorality without judgment coming,” he says.

 Graham’s ministry work continues at a tireless pace, one that many would consider miraculous. This month, Graham is launching a video series that will be part of a national Gospel-presentation program called “My Hope America.”

Graham shared with Newsmax that “My Hope America” may be his last Gospel outreach.

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“It could perhaps be my last message,” he wrote, “which is this: Christ is our hope for today and our promise for tomorrow. And it is fulfilled in the great work he did for mankind on the cross when he paid the penalty for our sin.”

Full Interview Follows:


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Offline EC

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #1 on: October 07, 2013, 10:15:05 am »
Rev. Graham's path is not mine. Yet he is well worth listening to, regardless and one always to be respected.
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Offline musiclady

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #2 on: October 07, 2013, 01:34:41 pm »
Billy is going to be leaving us soon, I fear.

There is no man on earth I admire or admire more.  He has consistently told the message of Jesus Christ, and the salvation that comes ONLY through Him.  He has consistently led a life of complete integrity, and has led his organization with exemplary transparency and honor.  (One slip of opinion on Clinton!)

He loves the Lord.  He loved his dear wife.  He loves his family, and they love him.

He has been a beacon of truth for decades, and he has been the chaplain of Presidents of both parties.

But he is so strongly opposed to the valueless "president" we have now, and sees so clearly what he is doing to this country, that he understands that America cannot recover from the damage being done................without revival.

The path that Billy Graham has taken is the one that God, through Jesus Christ, has led him on, and I pray that in his remaining time he can continue to speak the truth, as he is doing right now.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline olde north church

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #3 on: October 07, 2013, 01:42:08 pm »
Religion is the opiate of the masses.  Truer words have never been spoken.  It's easier to slice one's throat, pick one's pocket or place one's hands and feet in chains then when one is looking to the Heaven's for remedy.
Why?  Well, because I'm a bastard, that's why.

Offline musiclady

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #4 on: October 07, 2013, 03:19:56 pm »
Religion is the opiate of the masses.  Truer words have never been spoken.  It's easier to slice one's throat, pick one's pocket or place one's hands and feet in chains then when one is looking to the Heaven's for remedy.

You're quoting Marx to support your case?

Odd.......
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline olde north church

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #5 on: October 07, 2013, 03:51:07 pm »
You're quoting Marx to support your case?

Odd.......

Even a broken clock
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Offline musiclady

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #6 on: October 07, 2013, 03:55:13 pm »
Even a broken clock

Not with this one, olde north church...................not with this one.

Marxism in this area may suit your feelings against Christians, but Marx was no more right about religion than he was about the economy.

Sorry.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline olde north church

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #7 on: October 07, 2013, 04:21:53 pm »
Not with this one, olde north church...................not with this one.

Marxism in this area may suit your feelings against Christians, but Marx was no more right about religion than he was about the economy.

Sorry.

I wouldn't single out Christians.  The poverty, squalor and other deprivations people have accepted as suitable living conditions based upon what they accept as wishes of their personal deity is the sin.
Again, we can agree to disagree but my argument isn't with the Creator.  It's with those who claim to be his messenger.
Always nice chatting with you.  Be well.
Why?  Well, because I'm a bastard, that's why.

Offline musiclady

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #8 on: October 07, 2013, 04:40:10 pm »
I wouldn't single out Christians.  The poverty, squalor and other deprivations people have accepted as suitable living conditions based upon what they accept as wishes of their personal deity is the sin.
Again, we can agree to disagree but my argument isn't with the Creator.  It's with those who claim to be his messenger.
Always nice chatting with you.  Be well.

But Marx was most likely talking about us Christians when he called us druggies, wasn't he?  Think he was talking about anyone else, living there in Germany?

My point is that your quoting Marx to vent your feelings against Billy Graham was a tad bizarre.

And on that, I'm sure you will disagree...........but you have been agreeable this time, so thanks for that.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline olde north church

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #9 on: October 07, 2013, 04:51:07 pm »
But Marx was most likely talking about us Christians when he called us druggies, wasn't he?  Think he was talking about anyone else, living there in Germany?

My point is that your quoting Marx to vent your feelings against Billy Graham was a tad bizarre.

And on that, I'm sure you will disagree...........but you have been agreeable this time, so thanks for that.

I have no personal animosity toward Rev Graham.  I actually have a great deal of respect for him.  I have a great deal of respect for his son for having the courage to speak against radical islam.  I would actually consider him, if one could, the Reverend Laureate for America.  He has ministered to many in the government that he has had obvious disagreements.
Why?  Well, because I'm a bastard, that's why.

Offline jmyrlefuller

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #10 on: October 07, 2013, 05:17:50 pm »
I know Marx meant to be offensive toward Christianity when he wrote that, but he has a bit of a point. Compare Marx to, say, Richard Dawkins and other militant atheists of our era, who blame Christianity and religion in general for all forms of evil, war, and wrongdoing against our fellow man.

If Marx, the militant atheist of his day, openly admitted that religion was (to his dismay) a tool of peace, it totally deflates the arguments of the modern atheist movement.
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Offline musiclady

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #11 on: October 07, 2013, 05:49:00 pm »
I have no personal animosity toward Rev Graham.  I actually have a great deal of respect for him.  I have a great deal of respect for his son for having the courage to speak against radical islam.  I would actually consider him, if one could, the Reverend Laureate for America.  He has ministered to many in the government that he has had obvious disagreements.

OK then, if this is true, your first point quoting Marx was entirely pointless.........was it not?
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Offline olde north church

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #12 on: October 07, 2013, 06:08:38 pm »
OK then, if this is true, your first point quoting Marx was entirely pointless.........was it not?

Not really.  First, I don't think any statement gets the gist of deception (I'm sorry it's not the exact word I want.  I'm struggling to find it.).  The deception of the clergy.  The self-deception of the believers.
Again, Marx may have been referring to Christians but I think that's entirely beside that point.  He was living in Christian Europe, as a Jew.  I don't think there was much distinction between observant and non-observant Jews in the 19th Century, considering the amount of anti-Semitism.
Would he have written this in India surrounded by Hindus?  Who can say.  I think it was a response to what he knew.
Why?  Well, because I'm a bastard, that's why.

Offline musiclady

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #13 on: October 07, 2013, 08:57:15 pm »
Not really.  First, I don't think any statement gets the gist of deception (I'm sorry it's not the exact word I want.  I'm struggling to find it.).  The deception of the clergy.  The self-deception of the believers.
Again, Marx may have been referring to Christians but I think that's entirely beside that point.  He was living in Christian Europe, as a Jew.  I don't think there was much distinction between observant and non-observant Jews in the 19th Century, considering the amount of anti-Semitism.
Would he have written this in India surrounded by Hindus?  Who can say.  I think it was a response to what he knew.


This is not the place to debate the correctness, or error of your view regarding who's deceiving whom.

But let me put in my final thought by noting that Karl Marx was fooled by the Father of all Lies, as were his followers.

And point out as well that Jesus didn't lie.  His followers are obviously sinful, but that doesn't change the reality of who HE is.
Character still matters.  It always matters.

I wear a mask as an exercise in liberty and love for others.  To see it as an infringement of liberty is to entirely miss the point.  Be kind.

"Sometimes I think the Church would be better off if we would call a moratorium on activity for about six weeks and just wait on God to see what He is waiting to do for us. That's what they did before Pentecost."   - A. W. Tozer

Use the time God is giving us to seek His will and feel His presence.

Online mountaineer

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Re: Rev. Billy Graham prepares 'Perhaps.....my last message'
« Reply #14 on: October 07, 2013, 10:18:24 pm »
For more information about this "last message," visit the website My Hope with Billy Graham.
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