As of today, 3 October, 2014, I am re-activating this website. It has been passive for about one year with the latest post prior to this date being 10 October, 2013. Over the next few weeks I expect substantial changes to occur in the content, although the overall appearance may not change very much. In part, the reason for this inactivity has been a change in the way I will position myself and make myself available to all of you. One of the big changes is that instead of making my two books available as a download, they will be published. The first will become available for sale in a few weeks and I hope the second will be published in the middle of next year.
Looking back over the last year huge changes have occurred in the world. I plan to produce some posts to reflect this change. Overall, the objectives of this website have not changed.
My name is Ian Foley. I have been trained as a research scientist and have a Ph. D. in Physics. I have had an academic career as a Computer Scientist followed by a rather different career as a church Pastor. Currently, I oversee a number of churches in Melbourne, Australia.
I am deeply concerned about the world situation and believe there are important things that we can do to prepare for what is coming on the world. In part, this is why this website has been set up.
We do hope that whatever your religious convictions, whether you believe in God or not, whether you are angry with God or believe He is irrelevant or does not exist, that you will take the time to consider what is presented. We also ask that in whatever way you choose to respond, you will speak and write of others with respect. That is our own commitment too as we are all seekers after greater knowledge and understanding of the truth.
In this, it is only fair that I share where I am coming from including my own convictions.
I am in awe of the God who created this physical universe and who has been managing its development ever since. I fully agree with the knowledge about this physical universe that has been discovered through scientific research. I am also convinced that we can only know God and come into a personal relationship with Him because He has made himself known. Since God exists “outside” the physical universe, it is impossible for research or human reason to know Him or to prove He exists or doesn’t exist. This is why the Jesus of the Bible plays such a key role. I believe He is the Son of God, which is the way Christians describe that he came from God. The Bible says He was born as a human being via Mary who was supernaturally made pregnant and not through human sexual relations. Therefore, we can know God through what Jesus revealed about Him and in particular, Jesus death on the cross on our behalf demonstrates irrefutably that God loves every human being. The crucial issue is whether Jesus is the Son of God. I am personally sure that He is.
I am in awe of God because starting from this point, everything we discover through research demonstrates God’s power and nature in a way which is consistent with what the Bible says about Him. In addition, history is in a very real way “His story”. To the extent that it is possible to verify, the Bible details accurately the history of the people of Israel who descended from Abraham some 4,000 years ago. Everyone can verify this for themselves. The Bible also predicts that the Jews after being scattered across the world for a long time, will one day return to reestablish the nation of Israel, as they did in 1948. These evidences of God’s power are, in my opinion irrefutable.
Through my study of the Bible, I also became convinced that in the near future, the modern civilisation that we know will collapse. There will be severe economic decline, water supply problems and probably severe problems through global warming. When seeking to test these hypotheses of Biblical interpretation, investigation into our modern world revealed that there are a growing number of scientists, economists, historians and many other scholars who believe the same thing based on their perceptions of our current situation. I was stunned by this.
I believe there is new revelation about what the Bible predicts which is more accurate than any currently published view. That perspective anticipates a description close to what we observe today and suggests that a crisis of global proportions greater than we can imagine is not too far away. All of us should anticipate the soon return of Jesus which will vindicate the name of God and reveal how much He has loved us. For me, “soon” means that I will be surprised if His return is not within the next 50 years and within 10 years is a real possibility. Let me repeat I am in awe of our amazing God.
With all of this I am excited about the church. It is an amazing community of God’s people. Full of very imperfect people on life’s journey, we see many of those people growing to become better and more mature with a deep desire to overcome their imperfections. Full of great and lasting friendships with many showing genuine love for one another, we frequently have great fun together. But most amazing of all is the continued testimonies of God’s grace and care changing lives for the better and growth in the knowledge of God.
The Time Is Near! 