Prophecy and the Internet
by Dr. Ken Matto
(Mark 16:15 KJV) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
The marching orders of the Christian is to send forth the gospel to all areas of the world. In fact, the worldwide dissemination of the gospel is the immediate sign before the world will end.
(Mat 24:14 KJV) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
I then applied to a ministry in the Caribbean which was involved in teaching the word of God by means of correspondence throughout the islands. I had sent my materials to them and did not hear from them for about 3-4 months. So I sent a letter to the general director and asked the status of my application. I received a letter back that they had rejected me and gave a lame excuse. I think it is ironic that mission organizations come to Bible conferences and beg people to go to the mission field and then when they get applicants, they procrastinate and reject for the smallest things. Then they go to the next conference and start the importunate preaching on another group.
I had then started a writing ministry and mailed it to about 100 churches along with a letter stating availability for ministry in their church. It became expensive for a low paid person so I had to stop that. I still had the longing for a world wide ministry but what was I to do since it seemed God had pinched off all my efforts to start a ministry. So what was I to do???????? The answer to my dilemma came in the form of a new medium, which allowed me to go worldwide without leaving my home and, of course, that medium is the Internet.
I remember how opposed I was to the Internet since I listened to ignorant people spawn their heretical reasonings that the Internet was just pornography. However, I began to develop a curiosity for the Internet and went on line with AOL back in January 1996. I then purchased some web building software and realized that I did not possess the computer ability some of my friends had which helped me to get on and stay on line. First I used Microsoft Publisher, then I used Microsoft Front Page 97 and now 98. I chose to keep the web site simple and to stay away from heavy graphics until I learned how to cut and paste a picture. I now have many graphics on my site which I believe embellishes it a little bit and makes it more attractive but the articles are pure text for easy downloading and reading. I have received visitors to my site from Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, England, Taiwan and many places here in the USA. On November 20, 1997 Scion of Zion website went on line and my desire has been fulfilled and as a Bible teacher I may now take all my studies and articles and offer them free to the world and let them wind up wherever God wills.
Let us look at this verse for a moment and see if it applies to the Internet. The word "preached" means "to proclaim" which does not bind itself to a preacher only. Proclaiming the gospel is a mission that every true believer is to be engaged in. The Great Commission is for all Christians and not for just a few. If we look at history for a moment we will see the Gospel was first preached via:
The Spoken Word (it still is used)
Then came handwriting (it is still used)
Then came the printing press (it is still used)
Then came AM radio (it is still used)
Then came Shortwave (it is still used)
Then came Television (it is still used)
Then came FM Radio (it is still used)
Then came cassette tapes (it is still used)
Then came satellite communications (it is still used)
Now comes the Internet
If every Christian reading this article would place a Christian presence on the web, there would be a tremendous amount of Christian presence on the Internet and that would fulfill another verse of Scripture which I believe plays a very important role in these last times and that is Psalm 68:11:
(Psa 68:11 KJV) The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.
We see in this passage that the Lord gave the Word to us which is His holy Bible. He gave His Word to every believer and if every believer was involved in some form of evangelism, especially the Internet, then great will be the company that will publish His Word. As you surf the Internet you will see many Christian websites on line and the majority of them are owned and operated by "the not so famous," nevertheless they are publishing the gospel. If one goes to a Christian bookstore, you will see books published by basically the same authors. There can be a few different books by the same author. Normally if a person who is not famous or who does not hold a prestigious position in a seminary or ministry will run into a roadblock called a Publisher who only likes to publish the books of the already famous. In other words, the little person, even in Christendom is rejected because they are not somebody.
(Eccl 9:16 KJV) Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.
Now enter the Internet! If a person writes a book and cannot get it published, even though it is a book which could help many, it can be placed on the Internet and given away for free and many will benefit, especially those who could not afford to buy the book. By placing articles and books on the Internet for the world, it opens the door for those in foreign countries to benefit from the massive amount of Christian material in the United States. This is the essence of the Great Commission in that we send forth the gospel to the world and the Internet will eliminate boundaries which hold us back from fulfilling the Great Commission. The real fact is that when we set up a website we are setting up a witness to the world.
Internet providers make it very easy to get on line and many offer a few megabytes of free space with your service. Even if you just place one page with ten verses of Scripture on the Internet, you have created a Christian presence and witness. By setting up a Christian website, you can bypass all the church based roadblocks such as evangelism committees and get your witness up and running and your unhindered obedience to the Great Commission. No longer do you have to feel like an outcast with no chance of being part of the Great Commission. It is now totally in reach of every Christian who has access to the Internet.
Only a small number of Christians get published in books or magazines but here is an opportunity for any true believer to saturate the world with the gospel, one website at a time. I believe the Internet will be the final mode of transmitting the gospel to the world and since it is in every country, the gospel is being proclaimed in every country. Therefore, I believe the return of the Lord Jesus Christ is very near since this final sign is being completed very rapidly since the Internet is growing every day at a magnificent pace.
Just think you can’t have a radio station in your house, or a TV station in your house, or a shortwave transmitter in your house but if you have a computer, you can have a website.