Letter: Fearless John MacArthur was a great man and will be a hard act to follow

A great prophet passed away and shook his mantle on a God forsaken world.

As his light dimmed, few noticed and waved him off, and that’s only the churches; like the Pharisee they passed by on the other side.

Dwarfed by him, self-styled preachers will take aim from their pulpits, or the armchair, but his memory stands tall and they’ll have to aim high to take him down.

The devil didn’t get to him, but will carve up his corpse hoping to find a tumour.

He had many enemies, great men do, they slide out from under the rocks.

The Lord, he served suffered the same fate even by people who posed as friends. He was placed under the same scrutiny, mocked, and vilified.

Two men came out of the shadows to claim his body, His disciples were in hiding, still are, and they, and the women, anointed him when they turned up at the wake.

Like the master he served his teaching and his memory lives on and many will be added to the Church.

John was flawed and made mistakes - we all do, giants, and men, the Bible records that. Sometimes we need to be saved from ourselves, and giants are often targets for the little people.

He has gone but his enemies, they come in all shapes, will examine the body, and where there is no evidence, fabricate.

The devil is the father of lies, and spins them for those eager to hear; and there’s no shortage.

There is no one more boring and misleading than those schooled in theology, misinformed, and self-taught, who operate as snipers.

They never appear on the front line, but low on ammunition, fire blanks into the air and make a lot of noise.

People like that are more of a nuisance and don’t win wars, but make their name filling the enemy lines and shooting soldiers in the back.

John was a warrior and they singled him out, but they’re not heavy artillery, and not to be taken seriously.

John will be a hard act to follow - he was a great man, and has been buried among the Kings, leaving behind a troubled Church in a troubled world.

In an age where the Church is powerless, like Samson shorn of his locks, he was fearless and carried the banner of truth into the enemy camp.

We can only hope and pray that in a Church that has been feminized and lost its strength, God will raise up an Elisha to follow Elijah. He would spread his cloak over the Jordan and help small men to cross; men struggling, and out of their depth.

Clive Maxwell, Bleary