Fathima Rifqa Bary is a 17-year-old Muslim girl from Ohio who converted to Christianity and fled to Florida in fear of her life. I praise God the courts in Florida have allowed her to stay, since we have already seen a rash of "honor killings" on US soil in recent years. Remember the Muslim man in Buffalo who decapitated his wife for wanting a divorce? Or the Houston cab driver who shot to death his two daughters in the back of his cab for simply becoming "too western"? I have tried to tell you for years that Islam is a religion of hate and death, and according to Islamic Law, Fathima would be put to death for leaving Islam and converting to Christianity.
This is an important story because Muslims who have come to this country have not sought to assimilate themselves into the American lifestyle, but they have sought to force people here to follow their laws and beliefs. Many US banks have entire departments set up to follow Shariah Law for Muslim account holders. Some airports have been pressured into providing footbaths for Muslims. As most people go about their daily lives, Muslims in this nation are working tirelessly to turn the United States into a Muslim country.
Will Islam be the United States Babylon? All throughout the Bible and human history, God has used human instruments to do His work and fulfill His plan and purpose. We read all throughout the Old Testament how the children of Israel would turn away from God, follow the false gods and idols of the world, live in open rebellion to God's commandments, and eventually He would have enough and pour out His wrath upon them. This was usually done in the form of allowing the enemies of Israel to take them captive and enslave them. As you can imagine, that got their attention real quick.
Eventually, after a period of time and due to His never ending love, grace, and mercy, God would free the children of Israel, give them their land back, and begin blessing them again. Of course it was in this time of captivity that the children of Israel would repent and ask God to forgive them. They would be in a place where God was their only source of hope and strength. They began to worship Him again, trust Him again, obey Him again. The amazing thing is once He set them free, it was like they got amnesia. Almost immediately they would be back worshipping the false gods and idols of the world. They would be getting involved in every kind of sin you could name. Worshiping God, trusting Him, living in obedience to His commandments were all forgotten.
It was like when you were a child and you disobeyed your mother. She would make you go stand in the corner for a period of time. After the time was up, you were allowed to go back to playing and doing what you wanted. During the time you were standing in the corner, you were sorry for what you did. You promised your mother that you would obey her from now on. As you stood in that corner you appreciated the freedom you had to play and do what you wanted. But what happened when the punishment was over? It wasn't long before you were not listening to your mother any more. You began to do things you knew you weren't supposed to. What your mom had to say and her rules didn't matter any more.
Like I tell you often, man has never really changed since the Garden of Eden! Go read the Book of Judges. What a classic illustration of this cycle of sin-> punishment-> repentance-> restoration-> and sin again, you will ever find. You read the Book of Judges and you start screaming at your Bible every time God frees them from their enemies and they immediately fall right back into the same pattern of sin that forced God to punish them in the first place. Over and over and over this cycle is repeated and you think to yourself how stupid these people are! At that moment, most of us have one of those sobering moments when the Holy Spirit says loud and clear, YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT!
Before I deal with our nation, let me deal first with each of us as individuals. We are all susceptible and at different times in our life fall into this pattern of sin. This is why I implore you each day to stay in the Word, pray, keep close to the Lord, be in church on Sunday or some day during the week, and find ways to serve the Lord. You see, all of these things working together insure that you are never far from Christ. It keeps you constantly focused on the Lord and your faith. It makes it very difficult to fall into the many traps Satan lays for you each day to tempt you and lead you into sin and away from God.
You know and I know that the first thing you do when you allow sin into your life is that you stop reading the Bible as much, usually stop reading it period. You stop praying as much, again, you often stop talking to God at all. You quit going to church regularly, if you even go at all. You are like Adam who after he sinned, ran and hid from God and we see that great scene of God in the Garden asking, "Adam, where are you?"
Of course, as I tell you often sin always has a very high price tag. You NEVER sin and get away with it. There is always a high price to pay when we choose to sin against God. Eventually the time to pay, to suffer the consequences of our rebellion is upon us. We then go through that season of chastisement, of punishment, and it is during this time that most turn back to the Lord. We ask Him to forgive us, repent of our sins, and in the season of punishment find our relationship with Christ again. Eventually the season of punishment ends and we are back to living our lives again. Hopefully we learned our lesson and have strengthened our walk with the Lord and will do all we have to do each day to stay close to Him, live in obedience to His Word, and enjoy the blessings of that relationship with Jesus.
*Hear my word for you today! The United States is no different than the children of Israel. We are a wicked and rebellious people who have forsaken our God. We have squandered His many blessings and have turned this blessed land into one that is cursed. We have turned to every false god, idol, and philosophy the world has dreamed up in opposition to the God of the Bible and His Truth. We proudly and legally practice infanticide in this nation, slaughtering 4,000 babies every 24 hours. We have embraced, celebrated, and accepted as normal deviant sexual choices that God never intended man to engage in. We have opened the floodgates to allow pornography and every kind of sexual sin man can imagine to exist without any restraint.
As Paul told his young disciple Timothy in 2 Timothy 3, men have become " lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- having a form of godliness but denying its power. "
Just as God spared not His wrath on his own chosen people, punishing them for their rebellion, so will the wrath of God be felt on this nation for our rebellion. In the past God has poured out His judgment on nations by allowing their enemies to take them captive. I believe today as I type these words that unless this nation immediately repents, turns back to God and to His Truth, ISLAM WILL BE OUR BABYLON! Amen.
I can't read the Bible and read about God's judgment on the children of Israel for their cycle of sin and not understand that we are facing His judgment for our rebellion. The Bible is also very clear that even amongst God's choice servants, when they sinned there was always a price to pay. Why would we think for a second we can sin and get away with it?
My prayer for you today is that you will realize that there is a huge price to pay when we sin. Our rebellion to God always brings consequences. Likewise, God blesses us for our obedience. So it really boils down to a choice between consequences and blessings. I have to tell you as someone who has experienced both, blessings are MUCH better. Sinning is not only an act against God, but really stupid since we know we aren't going to get away with it. I pray today that the Lord will speak to your heart and each time you are confronted with the choice to sin, you will remember that you pay a huge price for that sin at some point. It is just as easy to OBEY God, and instead of dealing with the pain of whatever consequences arise, you can enjoy the blessings that flow from your obedience.
As for this nation, I sense our time is very short. I sense in my spiritual gut that at any moment God could unleash His wrath on this land. We are not only due His judgment, we are long OVERDUE! As I see the events of this world unfolding, I clearly see that Islam could very easily be God's instrument of judgment on this nation for our rebellion, just like Babylon was His instrument of judgment on the children of Israel for their rebellion. I only know the glimpses we get from the Word what being taken captive and enslaved by a hostile people would be like. None of us can even begin to fathom it. I do know that it will be horrible. I also know that it can be avoided IF we act now.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
The Bride
This is an update of an article originally published in March 2004. While it’s based on the Bible, it also includes Jewish wedding traditions from Biblical times. Some of these traditions go all the way back to Abraham’s time and are described in Genesis 24.
Birth of a Tradition
Abraham was getting old and Sarah had died, so he sent his chief servant to the land of his brother to get a wife for Isaac. The servant loaded up 10 camels with gifts and set off. After some time he arrived in the village of Abraham’s brother Nahor. Approaching a young woman near a well, he asked for a drink, in accordance with a plan he had devised with the Lord. When she offered to draw water for his camels as well, he recognized the confirming sign he had asked for and accompanied her to her home.
That evening he asked her family for permission to take the young woman, whose name was Rebekah, back home to be the bride of his master’s son Isaac. Using the gifts to reward her and compensate the family for the loss of their daughter, he said he wanted to leave immediately. When Rebekah’s father turned to her for final approval, she agreed and they set off the next morning. After several days travel during which the servant told her all about her betrothed, they arrived at Isaac’s home where she met him for the first time. That very evening Isaac and Rebekah were married.
That’s The Way It Goes
Members of royalty often followed a procedure very similar to this in obtaining brides for their sons, sometimes arranging them years in advance of the actual event. Common people also adopted this method, but of course with them the prospective groom acted on his own behalf rather than sending someone in his stead.
Even today in some Middle Eastern cultures arranged marriages are common, with the groom’s mother selecting a bride for her son. The logic here is that a young man’s mother knows her son and his temperament better than anyone and can most accurately predict what kind of woman would please him. On one of our trips to Israel and Jordan, our Jordanian guide told us that his marriage had been arranged in this way and he was very happy with his mother’s selection.
Back To Biblical Times
In those days when a man took a liking to a young woman, he approached her father to ask for her hand in marriage. Due to the prevailing economic conditions back then, it took a long time for a man to become financially stable enough to think about starting a family. When he did, he looked for a bride young enough to bear him many children. So while the man in these cases could be in his thirties, the potential bride would often still be a teenager and would need her father’s permission to marry.
Inviting the man into their home, the young woman’s parents sat down with him around a table while she brought wine and four cups. After she had poured each of them (but not herself) a cup of wine, she listened while this man, who she was meeting for the very first time, described his assets, skills and other qualities that made him a desirable mate. A brief negotiation followed where the price he would have to pay as compensation for the family’s loss of their daughter was determined. It was called the bride price.
If the two men reached an agreeable amount all eyes turned to the daughter who had been listening intently to the entire discussion. She now had to decide if she would take this man to be her husband. If she turned her empty cup upside down, the man went away never to return. But if she filled her cup and took a sip of the wine, she was agreeing to become his wife.
At that point they signed a betrothal agreement, wherein the man promised on oath to return for the young woman when all the wedding preparations were complete. Now they were officially engaged and the relationship could only be terminated by a divorce. He went away to build a home for them on family property next to his father’s house. This could take some time, and the couple rarely met again until the father of the groom pronounced the newly built home fit for habitation. Only then was the wedding date set, and the man given permission by his father to go collect his bride for the wedding.
During this time the young woman was to watch and wait at her parents’ home. She and her bridesmaids had to maintain a constant state of preparedness, since the wedding date would not be revealed to her until the bridegroom actually appeared at her door to take her to their new home.
Surprise, Surprise
For his part, the groom would try to show up unexpectedly to surprise her, carrying her off suddenly “like a thief in the night” when no one would see them. The only advance warning she would get was the sound of his voice shouting her name and the blast of a ram’s horn.
When the bridesmaids discovered that the bride had been “spirited away” they would organize a great torch-lit procession, going throughout the whole town announcing that the wedding banquet was soon to begin. The banquet typically capped off a seven-day celebration during which the bride and groom were hidden away in their private rooms while the whole town made merry. Then they reappeared at the banquet to receive the congratulations of their friends and family, and their married life officially began. The father of the groom picked up the tab for all the festivities.
Maybe you’re beginning to see the similarities. The Lord Jesus, being royalty, does not come directly seeking His bride. His Father sends an unnamed servant on His behalf, just like Abraham did. This servant of course is the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, Who beckons us. Interestingly, the name of Abraham’s servant was Eliezer, which translates “God is my Comforter.” And even more so, in Genesis 24 Eliezer’s name is never mentioned, as if he’s serving as a model of the Holy Spirit, Whose name is also withheld from us.
The role of the Holy Spirit is to extol the virtues of the Son of God, Who when told that the Bride price was nothing less than His own shed blood, agreed to die for us, and for the joy set before Him endured the cross. (Hebr. 12:2). His last word from the cross, recorded in John 19:30, was tetelesti, a Greek word that’s been translated “It is finished.” In the Lord’s time it was a legal term that literally meant, “Paid in full”, It was written across paid invoices and prison documents upon release of prisoners who had served their full terms, and had therefore paid their debt to society. With His death Jesus paid the price in full for His bride.
Who Loves You?
At the Last Supper Jesus had hoisted His cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor. 11:25). When we first “take the cup” we’re signifying that we’re officially betrothed, and we’re rewarded with gifts from the Holy Spirit, Who is sealed within us as a guarantee of our inheritance (Ephe. 1:13-14). We then begin our journey, the balance of our life on Earth, while the Holy Spirit continues to teach us about our betrothed and helps us develop behavioral standards that are pleasing to Him.
As He does, we learn to our utter amazement that we have always been our Lord’s consuming desire,
That He lived so that we might come into existence and be set apart,
That He has longed for us to know how much He loves us,
That His every word and action were designed to bring us honor and express His devotion to us,
That He has dedicated Himself to us and covered all of our imperfections with His love, and
That He gave His life for us.
For His part the Lord is even now building a house for us. “You trust in God; trust also in me,“ He said. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3) He has sworn on oath to return for us when the wedding preparations are complete and take us to His Father’s house, to the place He’s been preparing for us.
Soon And Very Soon
One day when we least expect it, He’ll come like a thief in the night and spirit us away to our new home. For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so will we be with the Lord forever. (1 Thes. 4:16-17).
In Heaven the King and His Bride will be hidden away in our rooms, while on Earth the last seven years of human history unfold. (Isa. 26:19-20) At the end, following the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9), we’ll return to Earth together to rule and reign for 1000 years, and then it’s off to our eternal life with Him. Praise the Lord.
Birth of a Tradition
Abraham was getting old and Sarah had died, so he sent his chief servant to the land of his brother to get a wife for Isaac. The servant loaded up 10 camels with gifts and set off. After some time he arrived in the village of Abraham’s brother Nahor. Approaching a young woman near a well, he asked for a drink, in accordance with a plan he had devised with the Lord. When she offered to draw water for his camels as well, he recognized the confirming sign he had asked for and accompanied her to her home.
That evening he asked her family for permission to take the young woman, whose name was Rebekah, back home to be the bride of his master’s son Isaac. Using the gifts to reward her and compensate the family for the loss of their daughter, he said he wanted to leave immediately. When Rebekah’s father turned to her for final approval, she agreed and they set off the next morning. After several days travel during which the servant told her all about her betrothed, they arrived at Isaac’s home where she met him for the first time. That very evening Isaac and Rebekah were married.
That’s The Way It Goes
Members of royalty often followed a procedure very similar to this in obtaining brides for their sons, sometimes arranging them years in advance of the actual event. Common people also adopted this method, but of course with them the prospective groom acted on his own behalf rather than sending someone in his stead.
Even today in some Middle Eastern cultures arranged marriages are common, with the groom’s mother selecting a bride for her son. The logic here is that a young man’s mother knows her son and his temperament better than anyone and can most accurately predict what kind of woman would please him. On one of our trips to Israel and Jordan, our Jordanian guide told us that his marriage had been arranged in this way and he was very happy with his mother’s selection.
Back To Biblical Times
In those days when a man took a liking to a young woman, he approached her father to ask for her hand in marriage. Due to the prevailing economic conditions back then, it took a long time for a man to become financially stable enough to think about starting a family. When he did, he looked for a bride young enough to bear him many children. So while the man in these cases could be in his thirties, the potential bride would often still be a teenager and would need her father’s permission to marry.
Inviting the man into their home, the young woman’s parents sat down with him around a table while she brought wine and four cups. After she had poured each of them (but not herself) a cup of wine, she listened while this man, who she was meeting for the very first time, described his assets, skills and other qualities that made him a desirable mate. A brief negotiation followed where the price he would have to pay as compensation for the family’s loss of their daughter was determined. It was called the bride price.
If the two men reached an agreeable amount all eyes turned to the daughter who had been listening intently to the entire discussion. She now had to decide if she would take this man to be her husband. If she turned her empty cup upside down, the man went away never to return. But if she filled her cup and took a sip of the wine, she was agreeing to become his wife.
At that point they signed a betrothal agreement, wherein the man promised on oath to return for the young woman when all the wedding preparations were complete. Now they were officially engaged and the relationship could only be terminated by a divorce. He went away to build a home for them on family property next to his father’s house. This could take some time, and the couple rarely met again until the father of the groom pronounced the newly built home fit for habitation. Only then was the wedding date set, and the man given permission by his father to go collect his bride for the wedding.
During this time the young woman was to watch and wait at her parents’ home. She and her bridesmaids had to maintain a constant state of preparedness, since the wedding date would not be revealed to her until the bridegroom actually appeared at her door to take her to their new home.
Surprise, Surprise
For his part, the groom would try to show up unexpectedly to surprise her, carrying her off suddenly “like a thief in the night” when no one would see them. The only advance warning she would get was the sound of his voice shouting her name and the blast of a ram’s horn.
When the bridesmaids discovered that the bride had been “spirited away” they would organize a great torch-lit procession, going throughout the whole town announcing that the wedding banquet was soon to begin. The banquet typically capped off a seven-day celebration during which the bride and groom were hidden away in their private rooms while the whole town made merry. Then they reappeared at the banquet to receive the congratulations of their friends and family, and their married life officially began. The father of the groom picked up the tab for all the festivities.
Maybe you’re beginning to see the similarities. The Lord Jesus, being royalty, does not come directly seeking His bride. His Father sends an unnamed servant on His behalf, just like Abraham did. This servant of course is the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, Who beckons us. Interestingly, the name of Abraham’s servant was Eliezer, which translates “God is my Comforter.” And even more so, in Genesis 24 Eliezer’s name is never mentioned, as if he’s serving as a model of the Holy Spirit, Whose name is also withheld from us.
The role of the Holy Spirit is to extol the virtues of the Son of God, Who when told that the Bride price was nothing less than His own shed blood, agreed to die for us, and for the joy set before Him endured the cross. (Hebr. 12:2). His last word from the cross, recorded in John 19:30, was tetelesti, a Greek word that’s been translated “It is finished.” In the Lord’s time it was a legal term that literally meant, “Paid in full”, It was written across paid invoices and prison documents upon release of prisoners who had served their full terms, and had therefore paid their debt to society. With His death Jesus paid the price in full for His bride.
Who Loves You?
At the Last Supper Jesus had hoisted His cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor. 11:25). When we first “take the cup” we’re signifying that we’re officially betrothed, and we’re rewarded with gifts from the Holy Spirit, Who is sealed within us as a guarantee of our inheritance (Ephe. 1:13-14). We then begin our journey, the balance of our life on Earth, while the Holy Spirit continues to teach us about our betrothed and helps us develop behavioral standards that are pleasing to Him.
As He does, we learn to our utter amazement that we have always been our Lord’s consuming desire,
That He lived so that we might come into existence and be set apart,
That He has longed for us to know how much He loves us,
That His every word and action were designed to bring us honor and express His devotion to us,
That He has dedicated Himself to us and covered all of our imperfections with His love, and
That He gave His life for us.
For His part the Lord is even now building a house for us. “You trust in God; trust also in me,“ He said. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3) He has sworn on oath to return for us when the wedding preparations are complete and take us to His Father’s house, to the place He’s been preparing for us.
Soon And Very Soon
One day when we least expect it, He’ll come like a thief in the night and spirit us away to our new home. For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so will we be with the Lord forever. (1 Thes. 4:16-17).
In Heaven the King and His Bride will be hidden away in our rooms, while on Earth the last seven years of human history unfold. (Isa. 26:19-20) At the end, following the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7-9), we’ll return to Earth together to rule and reign for 1000 years, and then it’s off to our eternal life with Him. Praise the Lord.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
When Preaching Does No Good
The greatest hindrance to the Word of God is unbelief. Most people do not call their unbelief by its proper name. The Biblical idea of unbelief is someone that does not act upon the plain sense of Holy Scripture. Unbelief does not mean that you reject the Word; it means that you do not obey the Word and live by its principles. Such a person is one who hears the Word, knows it is God’s Word, but keeps living like they have never heard what was preached. It is the sad state of most of the church world.
This is exactly what happened to the Children of Israel as they marched out of Egypt towards the Promise Land. Read as Apostle Paul describes this hardness of heart that kept these Egyptian escapees in a wilderness forty years, even until they all died. “While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:15-19).
This great company, representing God’s chosen people, could not enjoy the great promises by God because they would not live out the faith that He had given them. Their clothes and shoes did not show wear, they ate Heavenly manna, they drank supernaturally supplied water, and even saw the glory of God in the mountain. Yet, they acted like Egyptians serving Horus or another strange god. God’s laws were plain and full of divine life, but they loved their own will better. Because of this, they totally missed the Promise Land flowing with milk and honey.
Today, it’s happening all over the church world. The church is full of Egyptian “Christians.” You can change that in your life. Here is God’s invitation, “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 4:1-3).
This “rest” is a breathtaking word. It means that you have heard what God said, you fully accept the finished work in His every Word, and are surrendered to do the whole truth. Every word of the Bible is “For ever, ... settled in heaven” (Psalms 119:89). The Word of God is a finished system of truth. It is as though what God has said is already done, so you can start living in the finality of faith. Your whole life has settled into surrender and trust because “God said it and that settles it.”
The Holy Scripture is the finished work of Christ in final written form. It is His living words just like He is the Incarnate Word. The Bible and Jesus Christ are one and the same. One is written for us to follow and the other is seated at the Father’s right hand to see that it can never fail. If you trust and obey the Word of God, your life will be a picture of the Book of Acts. Please notice that there is no closure of the “Acts of the Apostles;” because it is only finished when He says, “Come up hither.”
Scholars -- so-called -- have tampered with the Bible until the argument is over which one to read. The one I read happens to be the exact rendering of the authorized manuscripts, so I treat it like an Infallible Bible. For fifty-seven years it has worked perfectly for me. I’m not going to spend my time arguing, but I can promise that my heart and mind is full of this great truth and it keeps me on a straight path.
Here are words in the same chapter that tell us of the supernatural power in God’s perfect truth. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:12-13).
With such a Heavenly Bible, I treat it like a paper pope. I can quote it to my heart and peace floods my soul like a river. I use it as a sword when Satan’s imps show up, and they run for cover. When there are needs in my life, I find what has been settled in Heaven by His words and wait for the promise. It is not a life for immature doubters, but a life for the young and old that can obey simple instruction, “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein” (Isaiah 35:8).
This is exactly what happened to the Children of Israel as they marched out of Egypt towards the Promise Land. Read as Apostle Paul describes this hardness of heart that kept these Egyptian escapees in a wilderness forty years, even until they all died. “While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Hebrews 3:15-19).
This great company, representing God’s chosen people, could not enjoy the great promises by God because they would not live out the faith that He had given them. Their clothes and shoes did not show wear, they ate Heavenly manna, they drank supernaturally supplied water, and even saw the glory of God in the mountain. Yet, they acted like Egyptians serving Horus or another strange god. God’s laws were plain and full of divine life, but they loved their own will better. Because of this, they totally missed the Promise Land flowing with milk and honey.
Today, it’s happening all over the church world. The church is full of Egyptian “Christians.” You can change that in your life. Here is God’s invitation, “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world” (Hebrews 4:1-3).
This “rest” is a breathtaking word. It means that you have heard what God said, you fully accept the finished work in His every Word, and are surrendered to do the whole truth. Every word of the Bible is “For ever, ... settled in heaven” (Psalms 119:89). The Word of God is a finished system of truth. It is as though what God has said is already done, so you can start living in the finality of faith. Your whole life has settled into surrender and trust because “God said it and that settles it.”
The Holy Scripture is the finished work of Christ in final written form. It is His living words just like He is the Incarnate Word. The Bible and Jesus Christ are one and the same. One is written for us to follow and the other is seated at the Father’s right hand to see that it can never fail. If you trust and obey the Word of God, your life will be a picture of the Book of Acts. Please notice that there is no closure of the “Acts of the Apostles;” because it is only finished when He says, “Come up hither.”
Scholars -- so-called -- have tampered with the Bible until the argument is over which one to read. The one I read happens to be the exact rendering of the authorized manuscripts, so I treat it like an Infallible Bible. For fifty-seven years it has worked perfectly for me. I’m not going to spend my time arguing, but I can promise that my heart and mind is full of this great truth and it keeps me on a straight path.
Here are words in the same chapter that tell us of the supernatural power in God’s perfect truth. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:12-13).
With such a Heavenly Bible, I treat it like a paper pope. I can quote it to my heart and peace floods my soul like a river. I use it as a sword when Satan’s imps show up, and they run for cover. When there are needs in my life, I find what has been settled in Heaven by His words and wait for the promise. It is not a life for immature doubters, but a life for the young and old that can obey simple instruction, “And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein” (Isaiah 35:8).
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Groundwork
As a self-proclaimed movie geek, I prepared to watch a movie the other night, just to relax and try to forget some of the recent stresses I have been dealing with. I like a wide range of movies, but this night, I decided to watch a sci-fi movie. I didn’t really know what it was about — just who starred in it and that it was sci-fi. I never realized that I would be tying it into scripture and end-times events. Sure, I’m always looking for a connection and ideas, but this one was very strong (in my opinion) and very unexpected.
It was the recently made movie starring Nicolas Cage, “Knowing”. I was interested in the movie simply because I was in the mood for sci-fi and, I sometimes enjoy Nicolas Cage. I say “sometimes,’ because, for me at least, Nicolas Cage tends to be a hit-or-miss actor. Either he does a great job, good script, acting, etc., or it’s painful to watch. It’s just an interesting phenomenon for me.
But back to the movie and the point I want to make. Essentially, the movie is about a young girl, possibly ten years old, who along with her fellow students, is preparing some drawings and other items for a time capsule. You see, the time is 1959, and it isn’t to be opened until 2009. Well, the last thing the teacher asks each of them to do is draw what they believe the future will look like in 50 years. All the children are excited and start right away. But this particular little girl, who’s been hearing voices in her head for a while now apparently, begins to write on her paper. Very rapidly.
We don’t see immediately what she’s written but, when the teacher says she’s out of time, we see nothing but numbers. Line after line of numbers, front and back.
Now we’re in the present, and the time capsule is being unearthed, and Nicolas Cage’s on-screen son is in the same grade, and school, as the little girl was and actually gets her “drawing” when they are passed out to the children. Nicolas Cage’s character is a college professor of science, physics or something that’s way beyond my understanding. When he finally begins to see a pattern to the numbers, he begins to slowly believe that maybe things in the universe aren’t just random.
I guess I should back up a little. You see, his character basically doesn’t believe in God in the beginning of the film, and he tends to drink heavily. He’s a single parent. He lost his wife to a tragic accident a year earlier and is still grieving and bitter. And his dad is a retired pastor and Christian, as are his mom and sister, who still pray for him. They weren’t portrayed as crazy or weird, which is a nice change for Hollywood standards!
Anyway, he begins to see that any real major catastrophe from the time the little girl of 1959 wrote these numbers until the present, is listed. Even the hotel fire that claimed his wife, and many others, a year earlier. There are only a few numbers left, and he finally sees the dates they all represent, except the very last one of course, come to pass.
He manages to find the daughter of the little girl from the fifties, and she happens to have a daughter herself who is his son’s age. Her mother died when she was young, and basically went insane because of the voices and the numbers. They find out that both of their children are now hearing voices and having very strange experiences with strangers. Tall blond men dressed in black.
Nicolas Cage realizes that the last numbers represent the end of the world by fire, and that the strangers are actually aliens that were warning people. It seems that young children (it’s unknown if it’s all the children around the world) are hearing these “alien” voices and are to be saved, and beamed aboard alien ships around the world.
But only the children, not the adults. Shortly after being rescued, Nicolas Cage’s character, his family (he reunites with them) and the rest of the world, are totally destroyed by fire from a solar flare.
I just found it curious that this was a very strange version of the Rapture, that most Christians believe in. The aliens, once they showed their true form at the very end, even seemed to have very faint glowing wings — at least an indication that angels have been aliens all through history, Biblical and otherwise.
Several professors and so-called experts, offered their opinions, ideas and theories about Christianity and the end of the world in the extra features on the dvd. One professor in particular caught my attention: Sabina Magliocco, Professor of Anthropology at Cal. State Northridge. She said, “ I think the alien mythology offers humans a great deal of hope. They offer the hope of human survival against a backdrop of a planet that appears to be doomed, whether because of nuclear annihilation, or environmental degradation, or the indifference of governments to our problems. Whatever it is that’s bad here on earth, the aliens are going to come, they’re going to pluck us off the planet and somehow, in some different place, in some faraway universe, human beings are going to survive, and they are going to live on.”
Now this particular professor may not believe in aliens but, many average citizens, as well as those in the scientific community, take very seriously the idea of aliens, and possible alien contact in the future.
More now than ever.
And Professor Magliocco’s quote shows that more and more people are looking to aliens, not God, for hope. For salvation from the evils coming on this planet. To take us to a far away place (Heaven) where we’ll live happily ever after.
And while I, and many others, enjoy a little sci-fi now and then, and see it as what it is — entertainment — I truly believe that more and more people each day see these “ideas” as real possibilities. Because of the magic of special effects today, and great writing, and acting, it’s becoming more believable, and more accepted. I believe it is preparing the lost souls of this world for a supernatural happening (The Rapture of the church) and whatever delusion and supernatural happenings that Satan will then bring on the world.
I just set out to relax and watch an entertaining movie. And by the end, realized the groundwork is being laid, and the world is being prepared for a very supernatural happening. Only it won’t be aliens rescuing people from a doomed planet, it will be the God of the Bible. And it won’t just be children.
It will just be the children of God.
It was the recently made movie starring Nicolas Cage, “Knowing”. I was interested in the movie simply because I was in the mood for sci-fi and, I sometimes enjoy Nicolas Cage. I say “sometimes,’ because, for me at least, Nicolas Cage tends to be a hit-or-miss actor. Either he does a great job, good script, acting, etc., or it’s painful to watch. It’s just an interesting phenomenon for me.
But back to the movie and the point I want to make. Essentially, the movie is about a young girl, possibly ten years old, who along with her fellow students, is preparing some drawings and other items for a time capsule. You see, the time is 1959, and it isn’t to be opened until 2009. Well, the last thing the teacher asks each of them to do is draw what they believe the future will look like in 50 years. All the children are excited and start right away. But this particular little girl, who’s been hearing voices in her head for a while now apparently, begins to write on her paper. Very rapidly.
We don’t see immediately what she’s written but, when the teacher says she’s out of time, we see nothing but numbers. Line after line of numbers, front and back.
Now we’re in the present, and the time capsule is being unearthed, and Nicolas Cage’s on-screen son is in the same grade, and school, as the little girl was and actually gets her “drawing” when they are passed out to the children. Nicolas Cage’s character is a college professor of science, physics or something that’s way beyond my understanding. When he finally begins to see a pattern to the numbers, he begins to slowly believe that maybe things in the universe aren’t just random.
I guess I should back up a little. You see, his character basically doesn’t believe in God in the beginning of the film, and he tends to drink heavily. He’s a single parent. He lost his wife to a tragic accident a year earlier and is still grieving and bitter. And his dad is a retired pastor and Christian, as are his mom and sister, who still pray for him. They weren’t portrayed as crazy or weird, which is a nice change for Hollywood standards!
Anyway, he begins to see that any real major catastrophe from the time the little girl of 1959 wrote these numbers until the present, is listed. Even the hotel fire that claimed his wife, and many others, a year earlier. There are only a few numbers left, and he finally sees the dates they all represent, except the very last one of course, come to pass.
He manages to find the daughter of the little girl from the fifties, and she happens to have a daughter herself who is his son’s age. Her mother died when she was young, and basically went insane because of the voices and the numbers. They find out that both of their children are now hearing voices and having very strange experiences with strangers. Tall blond men dressed in black.
Nicolas Cage realizes that the last numbers represent the end of the world by fire, and that the strangers are actually aliens that were warning people. It seems that young children (it’s unknown if it’s all the children around the world) are hearing these “alien” voices and are to be saved, and beamed aboard alien ships around the world.
But only the children, not the adults. Shortly after being rescued, Nicolas Cage’s character, his family (he reunites with them) and the rest of the world, are totally destroyed by fire from a solar flare.
I just found it curious that this was a very strange version of the Rapture, that most Christians believe in. The aliens, once they showed their true form at the very end, even seemed to have very faint glowing wings — at least an indication that angels have been aliens all through history, Biblical and otherwise.
Several professors and so-called experts, offered their opinions, ideas and theories about Christianity and the end of the world in the extra features on the dvd. One professor in particular caught my attention: Sabina Magliocco, Professor of Anthropology at Cal. State Northridge. She said, “ I think the alien mythology offers humans a great deal of hope. They offer the hope of human survival against a backdrop of a planet that appears to be doomed, whether because of nuclear annihilation, or environmental degradation, or the indifference of governments to our problems. Whatever it is that’s bad here on earth, the aliens are going to come, they’re going to pluck us off the planet and somehow, in some different place, in some faraway universe, human beings are going to survive, and they are going to live on.”
Now this particular professor may not believe in aliens but, many average citizens, as well as those in the scientific community, take very seriously the idea of aliens, and possible alien contact in the future.
More now than ever.
And Professor Magliocco’s quote shows that more and more people are looking to aliens, not God, for hope. For salvation from the evils coming on this planet. To take us to a far away place (Heaven) where we’ll live happily ever after.
And while I, and many others, enjoy a little sci-fi now and then, and see it as what it is — entertainment — I truly believe that more and more people each day see these “ideas” as real possibilities. Because of the magic of special effects today, and great writing, and acting, it’s becoming more believable, and more accepted. I believe it is preparing the lost souls of this world for a supernatural happening (The Rapture of the church) and whatever delusion and supernatural happenings that Satan will then bring on the world.
I just set out to relax and watch an entertaining movie. And by the end, realized the groundwork is being laid, and the world is being prepared for a very supernatural happening. Only it won’t be aliens rescuing people from a doomed planet, it will be the God of the Bible. And it won’t just be children.
It will just be the children of God.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Powers In a Silver Tongue
There are incredible powers in the human tongue. We can walk in a gutter and spew the language of filth and sorrow; or we can walk on the Milky White Way and talk the language of angels. Of all our physical abilities and God-given creativities, the power of the tongue is the grandest. The language of the human tongue is one of our likenesses to God Himself. He can speak and things that do not exist are immediately created.
There is Divine creation in the language of our God, and there is great human power in the language of His created sons and daughters. We best learn this great truth because it will usher us into His world of grace and beauty or lead us into despair and ruin.
Solomon warned us about our tongue. He stated, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverb 18:21). He enlarged on the positive side by promising, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit” (Proverb 15:4). He added, “The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom” (Proverb 10:20-21). There is power to kill or power to give life in this great gift of our Creator.
James, our Lord’s half-brother, became the writer of the New Testament proverb, “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be” (James 3:5-6, 8, 10). There is no doubt that the human tongue is truly a gift of God or a trap for wreckage. With the majority of our world and even the church, it is a door to hell.
It is also a door into a spiritual world right here on earth. The wicked person has been promised, “If we confess our sins (regardless of how evil or perverted), he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). Apostle Paul said, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). Every sinner has but to confess their sins and confess the Lord Jesus Himself and they will be a new creation in righteousness. Both our own heart and the Lord of grace and mercy respond to the power of a true confession.
Righteousness is the most joyous characteristic in a person’s life. You can seek happiness with unlimited riches, but lasting joy will never materialize. You can visit the most exquisite sites on earth; but, if your heart is wicked, it will all be in vain. But, change courses and use your thought life to consider the God of the Holy Book until your lips begin to echo what that Book has promised. You will be at the door of a life so superior to this carnal world that there is no comparison. When you start talking God-talk, you will chase gloom and doubt completely out of your mind.
Many good people within the church world have never learned the power of a pure confession. They talk about their pains and heartbreaks until they are miserable to themselves and everyone else. The faith of the Bible is so supernatural that when a pure soul begins to constantly claim and confess its promises, powerful changes occur. You cannot confess God’s promises with absolute determination and faith without results. It may start slow, but, if you persist you will chase the doubts away.
In the past the church world was a place of great celebration. Methodist churches were some of the most excited congregations of the Great Awakening. Reading the life of the Methodist, Peter Cartwright, is like reading the New Testament. The Presbyterian evangelist, Charles Finney, stated in his biography that when he was filled with the Spirit, “He literally bellowed out the unutterable gushes of his heart.” The sounds of praise and the exclamation of faith and exceeding joy drew the sinners to watch the saints rejoicing. Most often, the sinners were smitten with conviction and filled the altar with tears and repentance. The tongues of the redeemed were like angels singing their glad refrains.
On the Day of Pentecost the sanctified tongues of the one hundred and twenty saints became the sounds of the Spirit’s arrival. The unruly instruments of human flesh were God’s initial manifestation that the human tongue can be tamed for His glory. Every language present in Jerusalem found one of the one hundred and twenty speaking God’s glory to them.
Bodily healing is almost nonexistent in today’s churches because we have not learned to confess the promises. We wait to be accosted by healing powers, when healing powers are waiting to be confessed and possessed. In fact, confession of Biblical promises is the first step to possessing all of God’s Biblical promises.
No confession that is not thoroughly rooted in the Holy Bible is valuable to the saints. Biblical Confession is not a greedy desire for things but a passionate hunger for God and His Word. Fill your mind with the Bible and then fill your mouth and tongue with simple rest and confession of every truth. Talk of them in your home, your vehicle, and during your every waking moment. If you awake at night, drive your insomnia away with your Biblical confession. There is power in your sanctified tongue, so walk with angels the rest of your life.
There is Divine creation in the language of our God, and there is great human power in the language of His created sons and daughters. We best learn this great truth because it will usher us into His world of grace and beauty or lead us into despair and ruin.
Solomon warned us about our tongue. He stated, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverb 18:21). He enlarged on the positive side by promising, “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit” (Proverb 15:4). He added, “The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth. The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom” (Proverb 10:20-21). There is power to kill or power to give life in this great gift of our Creator.
James, our Lord’s half-brother, became the writer of the New Testament proverb, “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be” (James 3:5-6, 8, 10). There is no doubt that the human tongue is truly a gift of God or a trap for wreckage. With the majority of our world and even the church, it is a door to hell.
It is also a door into a spiritual world right here on earth. The wicked person has been promised, “If we confess our sins (regardless of how evil or perverted), he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). Apostle Paul said, “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). Every sinner has but to confess their sins and confess the Lord Jesus Himself and they will be a new creation in righteousness. Both our own heart and the Lord of grace and mercy respond to the power of a true confession.
Righteousness is the most joyous characteristic in a person’s life. You can seek happiness with unlimited riches, but lasting joy will never materialize. You can visit the most exquisite sites on earth; but, if your heart is wicked, it will all be in vain. But, change courses and use your thought life to consider the God of the Holy Book until your lips begin to echo what that Book has promised. You will be at the door of a life so superior to this carnal world that there is no comparison. When you start talking God-talk, you will chase gloom and doubt completely out of your mind.
Many good people within the church world have never learned the power of a pure confession. They talk about their pains and heartbreaks until they are miserable to themselves and everyone else. The faith of the Bible is so supernatural that when a pure soul begins to constantly claim and confess its promises, powerful changes occur. You cannot confess God’s promises with absolute determination and faith without results. It may start slow, but, if you persist you will chase the doubts away.
In the past the church world was a place of great celebration. Methodist churches were some of the most excited congregations of the Great Awakening. Reading the life of the Methodist, Peter Cartwright, is like reading the New Testament. The Presbyterian evangelist, Charles Finney, stated in his biography that when he was filled with the Spirit, “He literally bellowed out the unutterable gushes of his heart.” The sounds of praise and the exclamation of faith and exceeding joy drew the sinners to watch the saints rejoicing. Most often, the sinners were smitten with conviction and filled the altar with tears and repentance. The tongues of the redeemed were like angels singing their glad refrains.
On the Day of Pentecost the sanctified tongues of the one hundred and twenty saints became the sounds of the Spirit’s arrival. The unruly instruments of human flesh were God’s initial manifestation that the human tongue can be tamed for His glory. Every language present in Jerusalem found one of the one hundred and twenty speaking God’s glory to them.
Bodily healing is almost nonexistent in today’s churches because we have not learned to confess the promises. We wait to be accosted by healing powers, when healing powers are waiting to be confessed and possessed. In fact, confession of Biblical promises is the first step to possessing all of God’s Biblical promises.
No confession that is not thoroughly rooted in the Holy Bible is valuable to the saints. Biblical Confession is not a greedy desire for things but a passionate hunger for God and His Word. Fill your mind with the Bible and then fill your mouth and tongue with simple rest and confession of every truth. Talk of them in your home, your vehicle, and during your every waking moment. If you awake at night, drive your insomnia away with your Biblical confession. There is power in your sanctified tongue, so walk with angels the rest of your life.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Babel Syndrome
We are witnessing today powerful movements toward disaster, movements generated by a singular humanistic mindset. It is a luciferian mindset that is suctioning every unregenerate soul in its vortex toward total rebellion against the Creator of all things. The phenomenon, long ago prophesied for the end times, I've cocooned within the term “the Babel Syndrome.”
Man hasn't changed since the original rebellion when Adam disobeyed in the Garden of Eden, bringing the Fall. Man was the same in the post-Flood time of the mighty hunter-leader, Nimrod. Moses chronicled the humanistic corporate thinking of that day:
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. (Genesis 11:3–6).
The fallen minds of earth dwellers remain rebelliously consistent to this day, as witnessed by the incessant drive to return to banding together to kick God out of the process of governance. We can reflect on the U.S. Supreme Court decisions during and around 1963 to ban prayer and Bible reading in public schools. This action, in my view, was primary in setting America on a course of catastrophic ramifications, the fruition of which almost certainly looms just ahead.
John F. Kennedy's election had the press corps and about half the nation giddy with the notion that we were on the edge of a “New Frontier.” That “New Frontier” was taken to mean by the woolly-minded Supreme Court of the day that we had now reached the point of erudition—of sophistication as a people—that Christian influences on America and the world were an atavistic drag on moving into modernity. The concept of the term "New Frontier" (in the justices’ mindset) was nebulous at best, and mind-anesthetizing at worst. “God has to go” was the bottom line.
With the banning of God's influence, supposedly, went America's youth and vitality. The “New Frontier” and any other hope for this much-blessed nation was slain as certainly as was the young president, who died in November of that fatal year on Elm Street in Dallas.
The “Great Society” was instituted, bankrupting the nation, as Lyndon Johnson declared his “War on Poverty.” Vietnam entered the picture, ultimately taking fifty thousand young American lives. The sexual revolution brought rebellious youth movements, hippies, addictions to illicit drugs, defections to Canada. Martin Luther King was murdered in Memphis, engendering tremendous racial strife and rioting. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in L.A., and the nation was ripped and divided—and remains so to this day, with the schism widening daily.
Roe v. Wade was made law by an upside-down-minded Supreme Court—violating constitutional separation of powers and bringing about infanticide (fifty million babies aborted to this point) that will yet bring God's wrath and judgment beyond anything imaginable. And imagination of mankind is at the heart of “the Babel Syndrome,” as I've coined it. It is the reprobate imagination of today's self-appointed elitist leaders, their collective mindset fueled by sin, whose intentions it is in every discipline and aspect of human endeavor to bring the world together as one. These would accept “We are the World” as the global anthem.
God himself said of that post-antediluvian people under Nimrod: "...and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do..."
Man would have been able to build that tower to reach into the heavens, God said. They would have made Babel their center of luciferian confusion, to take mankind's hearts and minds far from the Creator. The devil is the author of confusion. The globalist elitists of today are observably leading God's creature called man back to Babel. They have circumvented through language-translation computer technologies the barriers God purposely interjected into the affairs of man, thus to defeat Satan's attempt to usurp God's throne in the earthly sense.
Today's humanists elite continuously look for ways, even if unwittingly, to assist Lucifer in playing God. They seem to want to recreate themselves, booting God out of the entire arena of human activity. Their efforts, although ostensibly offered as intended for eradicating human frailties and problems, put humankind on the very precipice of God's holy judgment. Remember, the Lord said that what man can imagine, he can eventually accomplish. He will not allow rebellion to run its course (read Psalms 2).
The following excerpt paints the picture of this modern-day attempt to wrest control from the hand of God. The writer of the article first says there are only a handful of scientific revolutions that would really change the world. An immortality pill, a time machine, and faster-than-light travel that would allow the stars to be explored in a human lifetime would be on a short list of such change agents. He went on to write:
To my mind, however, the creation of an artificial mind would probably trump all of these—a development that would throw up an array of bewildering and complex moral and philosophical quandaries. Amazingly, it might also be within reach. For while time machines, eternal life potions and Star Trek-style warp drives are as far away as ever, a team of scientists in Switzerland is claiming that a fully-functioning replica of a human brain could be built by 2020.
This isn't just pie-in-the-sky. The Blue Brain project, led by computer genius Henry Markram—who is also the director of the Centre for Neuroscience & Technology and the Brain Mind Institute—has for the past five years been engineering the mammalian brain, the most complex object known in the Universe, using some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world.
And last month, Professor Markram claimed, at a conference in Oxford, that he plans to build an electronic human brain "within ten years."
If he is right, nothing will be the same again...
Yet, if the Blue Brain project succeeds, in a few decades—perhaps sooner—we will be looking at the creation of a new intelligent life form on earth. And the ethical dilemmas we face when it comes to experimenting on animals in the name of science will pale into insignificance when faced with the potential torments of our new machine mind. (Michael Hanlon, “Are we on the brink of creating a computer with a human brain?” sciencetech, Rapture Ready News, 8/12/09)
“The Babel Syndrome” afflicts everyone alive on the planet today. We see it in daily headlines, with the movement toward one world government, one world economy, one world religion, and on a myriad of other fronts. It's perhaps only a matter of a short time until a satanically inspired, Nimrod-like leader imagines to complete the tower—in type, at least—like the attempted construction of that edifice of antiquity. The results will be the same. God will intervene with judgment. This time, however, the changes brought forth on planet earth will be God's change, not the decimating changes wrought by fallen mankind.
Man hasn't changed since the original rebellion when Adam disobeyed in the Garden of Eden, bringing the Fall. Man was the same in the post-Flood time of the mighty hunter-leader, Nimrod. Moses chronicled the humanistic corporate thinking of that day:
And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. (Genesis 11:3–6).
The fallen minds of earth dwellers remain rebelliously consistent to this day, as witnessed by the incessant drive to return to banding together to kick God out of the process of governance. We can reflect on the U.S. Supreme Court decisions during and around 1963 to ban prayer and Bible reading in public schools. This action, in my view, was primary in setting America on a course of catastrophic ramifications, the fruition of which almost certainly looms just ahead.
John F. Kennedy's election had the press corps and about half the nation giddy with the notion that we were on the edge of a “New Frontier.” That “New Frontier” was taken to mean by the woolly-minded Supreme Court of the day that we had now reached the point of erudition—of sophistication as a people—that Christian influences on America and the world were an atavistic drag on moving into modernity. The concept of the term "New Frontier" (in the justices’ mindset) was nebulous at best, and mind-anesthetizing at worst. “God has to go” was the bottom line.
With the banning of God's influence, supposedly, went America's youth and vitality. The “New Frontier” and any other hope for this much-blessed nation was slain as certainly as was the young president, who died in November of that fatal year on Elm Street in Dallas.
The “Great Society” was instituted, bankrupting the nation, as Lyndon Johnson declared his “War on Poverty.” Vietnam entered the picture, ultimately taking fifty thousand young American lives. The sexual revolution brought rebellious youth movements, hippies, addictions to illicit drugs, defections to Canada. Martin Luther King was murdered in Memphis, engendering tremendous racial strife and rioting. Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in L.A., and the nation was ripped and divided—and remains so to this day, with the schism widening daily.
Roe v. Wade was made law by an upside-down-minded Supreme Court—violating constitutional separation of powers and bringing about infanticide (fifty million babies aborted to this point) that will yet bring God's wrath and judgment beyond anything imaginable. And imagination of mankind is at the heart of “the Babel Syndrome,” as I've coined it. It is the reprobate imagination of today's self-appointed elitist leaders, their collective mindset fueled by sin, whose intentions it is in every discipline and aspect of human endeavor to bring the world together as one. These would accept “We are the World” as the global anthem.
God himself said of that post-antediluvian people under Nimrod: "...and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do..."
Man would have been able to build that tower to reach into the heavens, God said. They would have made Babel their center of luciferian confusion, to take mankind's hearts and minds far from the Creator. The devil is the author of confusion. The globalist elitists of today are observably leading God's creature called man back to Babel. They have circumvented through language-translation computer technologies the barriers God purposely interjected into the affairs of man, thus to defeat Satan's attempt to usurp God's throne in the earthly sense.
Today's humanists elite continuously look for ways, even if unwittingly, to assist Lucifer in playing God. They seem to want to recreate themselves, booting God out of the entire arena of human activity. Their efforts, although ostensibly offered as intended for eradicating human frailties and problems, put humankind on the very precipice of God's holy judgment. Remember, the Lord said that what man can imagine, he can eventually accomplish. He will not allow rebellion to run its course (read Psalms 2).
The following excerpt paints the picture of this modern-day attempt to wrest control from the hand of God. The writer of the article first says there are only a handful of scientific revolutions that would really change the world. An immortality pill, a time machine, and faster-than-light travel that would allow the stars to be explored in a human lifetime would be on a short list of such change agents. He went on to write:
To my mind, however, the creation of an artificial mind would probably trump all of these—a development that would throw up an array of bewildering and complex moral and philosophical quandaries. Amazingly, it might also be within reach. For while time machines, eternal life potions and Star Trek-style warp drives are as far away as ever, a team of scientists in Switzerland is claiming that a fully-functioning replica of a human brain could be built by 2020.
This isn't just pie-in-the-sky. The Blue Brain project, led by computer genius Henry Markram—who is also the director of the Centre for Neuroscience & Technology and the Brain Mind Institute—has for the past five years been engineering the mammalian brain, the most complex object known in the Universe, using some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world.
And last month, Professor Markram claimed, at a conference in Oxford, that he plans to build an electronic human brain "within ten years."
If he is right, nothing will be the same again...
Yet, if the Blue Brain project succeeds, in a few decades—perhaps sooner—we will be looking at the creation of a new intelligent life form on earth. And the ethical dilemmas we face when it comes to experimenting on animals in the name of science will pale into insignificance when faced with the potential torments of our new machine mind. (Michael Hanlon, “Are we on the brink of creating a computer with a human brain?” sciencetech, Rapture Ready News, 8/12/09)
“The Babel Syndrome” afflicts everyone alive on the planet today. We see it in daily headlines, with the movement toward one world government, one world economy, one world religion, and on a myriad of other fronts. It's perhaps only a matter of a short time until a satanically inspired, Nimrod-like leader imagines to complete the tower—in type, at least—like the attempted construction of that edifice of antiquity. The results will be the same. God will intervene with judgment. This time, however, the changes brought forth on planet earth will be God's change, not the decimating changes wrought by fallen mankind.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Somebody Gets It
I was having dinner with a friend recently; he heads an apologetics ministry. Although it hasn’t been his focus, my friend made what I think is a startling comment.
“I think the major battle today in the spiritual realm, which reflects on our world, is Israel.”
I wanted to sit back and quietly applaud. I smiled.
He gets it.
In Christendom, you will often hear that this subject or that subject is “the most important thing” going on presently. You know what I mean. Marriages. Parenting. Social issues.
Within the evangelical world today — as we’ve discussed here at Israel Watch — there is a movement away from dispensationalism, prophecy, Israel. I should qualify that statement and say that that is my opinion. I travel and read widely and keep in touch with a whole score of folks, and it seems to me that there is not only a great deal of misinformation out there about the Jewish state, but just bald-faced ignorance, as well.
Pastors, in general, do not touch Bible prophecy in the pulpit. Let me say this plainly: that is irresponsible.
Some are genuinely concerned that the issue is a distraction, or divisive. I hear that a lot.
And then some are the pastors who have “crept in unawares.” They have no intention of rightly dividing the Word of truth; they have contempt for Scripture.
And they’re not going to tell their congregations that in so many words. They will smile and engage in easy conversation, and be “pastoral.”
But they do not believe the Bible is the Word of God. Consequently, the great doctrines of scripture — God created the world out of nothing, Israel is key to His end-times plan, etc. — are sanitized from sermons and Sunday school lessons.
Then there are entire ministries — I’ll name them — that either shy away from prophecy/Israel, or have outright contempt for it.
Gary DeMar at American Vision is terrific when teaching about our Founding Fathers, America’s Christian heritage, and on the subject of creationism.
He can’t stand Bible prophecy teaching, or, it seems, Israel. Gary is a leading preterist.
As the Band’s Robbie Robertson once said about an entirely different subject, there are reasons for this; it didn’t just “fall out of the sky.”
Usually, Christians from Reformed backgrounds are anti-Israel, anti-dispensationalism. Lutherans, by and large, are still devoted to Martin Luther, who, I’ll put it delicately, had a problem with the Jews.
Other mainline churches are so steeped in German Higher Criticism and Replacement Theology that they don’t realize Jesus is a Jew. They think He was a Palestinian.
The late D. James Kennedy, a Presbyterian, at least did not emphasize the miraculous nature of Israel’s modern return. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe he supported Israel’s right to exist, but he would not have embraced predictive prophecy. I’d like to point out that I highly respected Kennedy, by the way.
Another massive ministry that de-emphasizes (my word) the study of predictive prophecy and Israel’s role in the world is Answers in Genesis. The (near) Cincinnati-based apologetics ministry is in reality a creationism juggernaut. The Creation Museum is a mind-boggling facility that would rival any natural history museum in America.
But they don’t touch Bible prophecy. They do not see Israel for the significant miracle that it is, in my opinion.
(Interestingly, several leading prophecy teachers do teach the whole counsel of God; these include the peerless David Reagan and Dave Hunt. What many creationists do not understand is that many Bible prophecy guys are their friends on the subject of creationism. My great friend Tommy Ice is another that comes to mind.)
The point I’m trying to make is that the whole Bible is vital if individuals are to discover where they came from, who they are, and where they’re going.
I’m convinced to my core that Christians in the pews in America are starving for a comprehensive Bible message, one that teaches Genesis through Revelation. Now, the Calvary Churches do this, “simply teaching the Bible simply.” I wrote about this in the August edition of the Jerusalem Post’s Christian magazine.
But they don’t have much company.
(One creationist/apologist who gets it is Thomas Sharp of Creation Truth Foundation. His two-part talk at the Tulsa Prophecy Conference last April electrified the crowd. Dr. Sharp linked origins issues with prophecy and by golly, the crowd got it and loved it.)
What most Christians get today is a steady diet of teachers like Hank Hanegraaff, who are “good” on certain issues. After all, Hank has set himself up as the “Bible Answer Man.”
But pay attention to his answers on the subject of Bible prophecy. If you love Israel, those answers will scare you. Or infuriate you.
The key thing we have to keep in mind is, even conservative Bible teachers will fall victim to preconceived biases concerning Scripture. For example, an apologetics teacher who is spot-on concerning origins issues (I am an unabashed young-earth creationist) will also have been turned against Jews at some time in the past. It might have been a father, a Sunday school teacher, a college professor — in a Christian college!
But that bias will color how they read their Bibles. My point here is that with some Christian teachers, there is a deep bias against the Jews. I do not mean they are anti-Semitic, most are not. What I do mean is that they don’t “get” Israel.
I studied a fair amount of English in school, and have a journalism degree. When I sit down to read my Bible, I see very clear distinctives: God created the world in six days; the original common language was changed at Babel; He elected to form a righteous ethnic group from Abraham; Moses existed and the Exodus happened. Et cetera.
I then logically can follow the rest of history’s timeline, seeing that many, many times in Scripture, God told us that Israel would be dispersed due to unbelief, but that in the “last days” they would return en masse and re-settle their ancestral lands.
Look, this isn’t complicated. You can get on a plane and land in Tel Aviv and drive thirty minutes east and see all the fulfilled Bible prophecy you can stomach. Millions of Jews live there, in thousands of homes. They are there. They are hated by the whole world. Jerusalem is a point of major contention in embassies around the world.
It isn’t complicated. Bible prophecy is true and relevant for our lives.
It’s just too bad more teachers don’t teach that.
“I think the major battle today in the spiritual realm, which reflects on our world, is Israel.”
I wanted to sit back and quietly applaud. I smiled.
He gets it.
In Christendom, you will often hear that this subject or that subject is “the most important thing” going on presently. You know what I mean. Marriages. Parenting. Social issues.
Within the evangelical world today — as we’ve discussed here at Israel Watch — there is a movement away from dispensationalism, prophecy, Israel. I should qualify that statement and say that that is my opinion. I travel and read widely and keep in touch with a whole score of folks, and it seems to me that there is not only a great deal of misinformation out there about the Jewish state, but just bald-faced ignorance, as well.
Pastors, in general, do not touch Bible prophecy in the pulpit. Let me say this plainly: that is irresponsible.
Some are genuinely concerned that the issue is a distraction, or divisive. I hear that a lot.
And then some are the pastors who have “crept in unawares.” They have no intention of rightly dividing the Word of truth; they have contempt for Scripture.
And they’re not going to tell their congregations that in so many words. They will smile and engage in easy conversation, and be “pastoral.”
But they do not believe the Bible is the Word of God. Consequently, the great doctrines of scripture — God created the world out of nothing, Israel is key to His end-times plan, etc. — are sanitized from sermons and Sunday school lessons.
Then there are entire ministries — I’ll name them — that either shy away from prophecy/Israel, or have outright contempt for it.
Gary DeMar at American Vision is terrific when teaching about our Founding Fathers, America’s Christian heritage, and on the subject of creationism.
He can’t stand Bible prophecy teaching, or, it seems, Israel. Gary is a leading preterist.
As the Band’s Robbie Robertson once said about an entirely different subject, there are reasons for this; it didn’t just “fall out of the sky.”
Usually, Christians from Reformed backgrounds are anti-Israel, anti-dispensationalism. Lutherans, by and large, are still devoted to Martin Luther, who, I’ll put it delicately, had a problem with the Jews.
Other mainline churches are so steeped in German Higher Criticism and Replacement Theology that they don’t realize Jesus is a Jew. They think He was a Palestinian.
The late D. James Kennedy, a Presbyterian, at least did not emphasize the miraculous nature of Israel’s modern return. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe he supported Israel’s right to exist, but he would not have embraced predictive prophecy. I’d like to point out that I highly respected Kennedy, by the way.
Another massive ministry that de-emphasizes (my word) the study of predictive prophecy and Israel’s role in the world is Answers in Genesis. The (near) Cincinnati-based apologetics ministry is in reality a creationism juggernaut. The Creation Museum is a mind-boggling facility that would rival any natural history museum in America.
But they don’t touch Bible prophecy. They do not see Israel for the significant miracle that it is, in my opinion.
(Interestingly, several leading prophecy teachers do teach the whole counsel of God; these include the peerless David Reagan and Dave Hunt. What many creationists do not understand is that many Bible prophecy guys are their friends on the subject of creationism. My great friend Tommy Ice is another that comes to mind.)
The point I’m trying to make is that the whole Bible is vital if individuals are to discover where they came from, who they are, and where they’re going.
I’m convinced to my core that Christians in the pews in America are starving for a comprehensive Bible message, one that teaches Genesis through Revelation. Now, the Calvary Churches do this, “simply teaching the Bible simply.” I wrote about this in the August edition of the Jerusalem Post’s Christian magazine.
But they don’t have much company.
(One creationist/apologist who gets it is Thomas Sharp of Creation Truth Foundation. His two-part talk at the Tulsa Prophecy Conference last April electrified the crowd. Dr. Sharp linked origins issues with prophecy and by golly, the crowd got it and loved it.)
What most Christians get today is a steady diet of teachers like Hank Hanegraaff, who are “good” on certain issues. After all, Hank has set himself up as the “Bible Answer Man.”
But pay attention to his answers on the subject of Bible prophecy. If you love Israel, those answers will scare you. Or infuriate you.
The key thing we have to keep in mind is, even conservative Bible teachers will fall victim to preconceived biases concerning Scripture. For example, an apologetics teacher who is spot-on concerning origins issues (I am an unabashed young-earth creationist) will also have been turned against Jews at some time in the past. It might have been a father, a Sunday school teacher, a college professor — in a Christian college!
But that bias will color how they read their Bibles. My point here is that with some Christian teachers, there is a deep bias against the Jews. I do not mean they are anti-Semitic, most are not. What I do mean is that they don’t “get” Israel.
I studied a fair amount of English in school, and have a journalism degree. When I sit down to read my Bible, I see very clear distinctives: God created the world in six days; the original common language was changed at Babel; He elected to form a righteous ethnic group from Abraham; Moses existed and the Exodus happened. Et cetera.
I then logically can follow the rest of history’s timeline, seeing that many, many times in Scripture, God told us that Israel would be dispersed due to unbelief, but that in the “last days” they would return en masse and re-settle their ancestral lands.
Look, this isn’t complicated. You can get on a plane and land in Tel Aviv and drive thirty minutes east and see all the fulfilled Bible prophecy you can stomach. Millions of Jews live there, in thousands of homes. They are there. They are hated by the whole world. Jerusalem is a point of major contention in embassies around the world.
It isn’t complicated. Bible prophecy is true and relevant for our lives.
It’s just too bad more teachers don’t teach that.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Israel Show Us Your Nukes
Several Arab nations are lobbying the European Union for support in their drive to force Israel to open up its secretive nuclear program. The 22-member Arab League has been trying for years to get Israel to admit to processing nuclear weapons, but in recent years it has become more insistent about accomplishing this goal.
Sweden currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, so the letter was addressed to Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. He was urged to back an Arab resolution entitled "Israel's Nuclear Capabilities." The document is to be submitted for a vote at next month's 150-nation general assembly of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Israel has never confirmed whether it has the bomb. In what is probably the worst-kept secret in the Middle East, Israel is commonly considered to have several nuclear weapons. Most European nations have played some role in allowing Israel to achieve nuclear status.
France offered the most help to Israel. On September 17, 1956, the two nations reached a tentative agreement in Paris for France to build Israel a small research reactor near Dimona, and to supply the Jewish state with uranium fuel. French Prime Minister Guy Mollet, ashamed at having abandoned his commitment to fellow socialists in Israel, supposedly told an aide, "I owe the bomb to them."
When Charles de Gaulle became French president in 1958, French-Israeli nuclear cooperation gradually soured over his insistence that Israel’s plant be opened to international inspectors. By the mid-sixties, Israel found Britain, Norway, and Italy to be helpful. Britain alone shipped 20 tons of heavy water directly to Israel to start up the Dimona reactor.
It wasn't until shortly after the 1967 Six-Day War that Israel achieved the ability to construct a bomb. One CIA report noted that if the Arabs had waited six to eight weeks to launch their surprise attack, they may have been on the receiving end of one nuclear bomb.
There are no hard numbers on how many nuclear weapons Israel has. All estimates are based on the annual production of plutonium by Israel's 150-megawatts nuclear reactor. Israel's arsenal is said to be as high as 400 nuclear warheads.
The experience of the Jews in Nazi Germany is a key factor in Israel's drive to develop nuclear weapons. Ernst David Bergmann, chairman of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (from 1954 to 1966), reflected this mindset best when he said, “There is no distinction between nuclear energy for peaceful purposes or warlike ones," and that “We [Jewish people] shall never again be led as lambs to the slaughter.”
Israel has a very good reason to remain mum about its nuclear capabilities. According to a statement by the Arab League, Arab states will immediately withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if Israel should ever acknowledge having nuclear weapons and then does not open its facilities to international inspection and destroy its arsenal.
I have great doubts that the Arabs have peaceful intentions in wanting to force Israel to give up its nuclear weapons. Bible prophecy warns that Israel has yet to face three major conflicts with its neighbors. It is very likely that an Israeli nuclear bomb is the reason behind Damascus’ coming destruction: “The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1).
At some point, it appears that Israel will do the unthinkable and surrender its nuclear arsenal to some outside force. During the tribulation hour, the Antichrist will be running the show in Israel.
Many scenarios could cause Israel to arrive at the point that it is willing to surrender its security to a European-led peace-keeping force. We can’t be totally certain of the reason Israel decides to outsource its security; however, I do think the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) is a strong candidate for being the main catalyst. If Syria or Iran were to attack Israel with chemical weapons, followed by an Israeli nuclear counterstrike, the world community would have a collective heart attack.
When the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there were no video cameras to record the horrors of this new weapon. If the type of persuasive media we have today had existed in 1945, TV viewers would have been confronted with ghastly images of people so badly injured by radiant energy that they would have looked like burnt marshmallows.
Satan's ultimate goal is to wipe Israel from the surface of the earth. Any move on the part of the Jewish state to uncloak its nuclear arsenal would be a giant step in the direction of the end times.
Sweden currently holds the EU's rotating presidency, so the letter was addressed to Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt. He was urged to back an Arab resolution entitled "Israel's Nuclear Capabilities." The document is to be submitted for a vote at next month's 150-nation general assembly of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Israel has never confirmed whether it has the bomb. In what is probably the worst-kept secret in the Middle East, Israel is commonly considered to have several nuclear weapons. Most European nations have played some role in allowing Israel to achieve nuclear status.
France offered the most help to Israel. On September 17, 1956, the two nations reached a tentative agreement in Paris for France to build Israel a small research reactor near Dimona, and to supply the Jewish state with uranium fuel. French Prime Minister Guy Mollet, ashamed at having abandoned his commitment to fellow socialists in Israel, supposedly told an aide, "I owe the bomb to them."
When Charles de Gaulle became French president in 1958, French-Israeli nuclear cooperation gradually soured over his insistence that Israel’s plant be opened to international inspectors. By the mid-sixties, Israel found Britain, Norway, and Italy to be helpful. Britain alone shipped 20 tons of heavy water directly to Israel to start up the Dimona reactor.
It wasn't until shortly after the 1967 Six-Day War that Israel achieved the ability to construct a bomb. One CIA report noted that if the Arabs had waited six to eight weeks to launch their surprise attack, they may have been on the receiving end of one nuclear bomb.
There are no hard numbers on how many nuclear weapons Israel has. All estimates are based on the annual production of plutonium by Israel's 150-megawatts nuclear reactor. Israel's arsenal is said to be as high as 400 nuclear warheads.
The experience of the Jews in Nazi Germany is a key factor in Israel's drive to develop nuclear weapons. Ernst David Bergmann, chairman of the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (from 1954 to 1966), reflected this mindset best when he said, “There is no distinction between nuclear energy for peaceful purposes or warlike ones," and that “We [Jewish people] shall never again be led as lambs to the slaughter.”
Israel has a very good reason to remain mum about its nuclear capabilities. According to a statement by the Arab League, Arab states will immediately withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if Israel should ever acknowledge having nuclear weapons and then does not open its facilities to international inspection and destroy its arsenal.
I have great doubts that the Arabs have peaceful intentions in wanting to force Israel to give up its nuclear weapons. Bible prophecy warns that Israel has yet to face three major conflicts with its neighbors. It is very likely that an Israeli nuclear bomb is the reason behind Damascus’ coming destruction: “The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap” (Isaiah 17:1).
At some point, it appears that Israel will do the unthinkable and surrender its nuclear arsenal to some outside force. During the tribulation hour, the Antichrist will be running the show in Israel.
Many scenarios could cause Israel to arrive at the point that it is willing to surrender its security to a European-led peace-keeping force. We can’t be totally certain of the reason Israel decides to outsource its security; however, I do think the use of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) is a strong candidate for being the main catalyst. If Syria or Iran were to attack Israel with chemical weapons, followed by an Israeli nuclear counterstrike, the world community would have a collective heart attack.
When the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there were no video cameras to record the horrors of this new weapon. If the type of persuasive media we have today had existed in 1945, TV viewers would have been confronted with ghastly images of people so badly injured by radiant energy that they would have looked like burnt marshmallows.
Satan's ultimate goal is to wipe Israel from the surface of the earth. Any move on the part of the Jewish state to uncloak its nuclear arsenal would be a giant step in the direction of the end times.
Friday, August 14, 2009
The Parable Of The Ten Minas, Luke 19:12-26
Jesus was traveling through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem. It was early in the day on Palm Sunday. A rumor had sprung up among the crowds following Him that when He got there He was going to establish His Kingdom and defeat all their enemies. He told them this parable as a way of clarifying how things would happen.
By the way, you'll notice some scholars saying that this is just another version of the Parable of the Talents. But while the two stories are generally similar there are too many material differences to make them two versions of the same event. Let's read it.
He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' (Luke 19:12-13)
As will become clear the man of noble birth represents Jesus who after His resurrection went to Heaven to be made King of the whole Earth. And the servants represent His followers. In the monetary system of the day, a drachma was about one day's wage. It took 100 drachmas to equal one mina, and 60 minas to equal 1 talent. Note that each servant was given an equal amount (one mina), a much smaller sum than even the least of the three servants in the Parable of the Talents. And remember, a parable is a heavenly truth put into an earthly context, so everything is symbolic of something else. Therefore, the mina represents something as valuable to the Lord as about 3 months wages would be to us.
When we reviewed the Parable of the Talents we saw that the money there represented His Word, the Lord's most prized possession. Psalm 138:2 says He values His word even above His name. It's reasonable to assume it's the same here, especially since history tells us that the one thing the Lord left His followers with was the Gospel, His Word.
According to E.W. Bullinger's “Number In Scripture” the number 10 denotes a completeness of order. It implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete. The 10 servants and 10 minas indicate that before the Lord left He gave everyone necessary everything they needed to spread His Word through out the world.
"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' (Luke 19:14)
Here's another difference between the two parables. No such impression is conveyed in the Parable of the Talents. There the man was simply going on a journey. Here he's going off to be made King and some people don't like it. 30 years previously a similar event had actually taken place. When Herod Archelaus went to Rome to be made King as his father's successor, a delegation of 50 Jews followed him from Israel where they petitioned Caesar to give them a Roman governor instead of Archelaus. According to Josephus over 8,000 Jews who lived in Rome gathered in the palace to support them as they presented their case against Archelaus.
Needless to say Archelaus was not pleased, and after he was appointed in spite of their pleas he made his displeasure known to his subjects. It may be that Jesus used the incident to remind them (and us) of the dangers in rejecting a duly appointed King. If so, the warning fell mostly on deaf ears. A short time later Israel rejected its King and since then untold millions of Gentiles have done the same thing.
"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. (Luke 19:15)
There was never any doubt that Jesus would be our King. With His blood He redeemed the entire creation from its bondage to decay (Romans 8:21) and since then all that remains is for Him to take possession of that which He has purchased. That day is coming soon, and when it does there will be loud voices in Heaven saying:
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." (Rev. 11:15)
Two verses later, in Rev. 11:17, God is described as “the one who is and who was.” No more “and who is to come.” From Heaven's perspective, His reign will have already begun even though on Earth the Great Tribulation is still to come. Satan and his followers may see the Great Tribulation as a war to determine who will control Earth, but the Lord sees it as a judgment where Israel will be purified and the nations will be completely destroyed. (Jeremiah 30:8-11) Satan is merely being used to help Him accomplish this. (Rev. 17:17) There's never been any doubt as to the outcome.
When He returns, The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name. (Zechariah 14:9)
Since the King will have already returned at this point in the parable, we're talking about the time after the 2nd Coming. Also we'll soon see that the King's servants and His subjects are two different groups. The first order of business is to receive a report from the servants. How have they invested His most precious commodity?
"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'
"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.' (Luke 19:16-19)
Getting a 1000% or even a 500% return on a small investment is commendable. But it's unlikely to qualify someone to govern 5 or 10 cities. Remember, this is a parable. Everything is symbolic of something else. The lesson here is that faithfulness in small matters will always bring disproportionate rewards where the Lord's work is concerned. And even though the timing is the second coming, the lesson is universal. For example, our willingness to share the Gospel with even one person could result in a thousand souls saved over time.
"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?' (Luke 19:20-23)
The King was not agreeing with the third servant's assessment of his character. Rather, he was saying, “If you think that's the kind of person I am, reaping what I didn't sow, then you should have made sure that my money would at least earn me some interest.” The contradiction between his words and his actions was obvious and became the basis for the king's judgment against him.
"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me." (Luke 19:20-26)
Just as each servant was given the same amount of money, we've all been given the same basic truth of the gospel and can say as Paul said,
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Cor. 15:3-4)
Jesus died for our sins, and the proof that His death was sufficient to save us is found in the Resurrection. The Old Testament foretold this, and the New Testament confirms it. It's the Gospel in its simplest form. The more we share it with others the more we'll gain. In addition to saving another soul, teaching someone else the Gospel results in a deeper understanding for us.
By his own admission, the third servant proved he didn't know his master. His perception of the man was all wrong, and while he called himself a servant, he didn't do even the minimum that was asked of Him. He represents the “in name only” Christian who really has nothing, and will be surprised to find even that being taken away.
After the Lord comes back He'll conduct a series of judgments where those who have survived the Great Tribulation will have to give account for themselves. At issue will be whether they've shown that they want Him as their King or not. Those who have will be welcomed into the Kingdom. Those who haven't will be banished to the place prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matt. 25:41)
By this parable the Lord was showing that He wouldn't be setting up His Kingdom in the way the people expected, but would be leaving soon to be made King. When He returns He'll reward His followers, punish His enemies, and then He'll establish His Kingdom. Selah 08-08-09
Since the Lord told both stories only a few days apart there must have been a reason for them to be so obviously different in key areas.
The Parable of the Talents is in Matthew, a gospel written with a Jewish audience in mind. The Parable of the Minas, being in Luke, is meant for Gentiles. In both cases the evaluation takes place after the 2nd Coming.
The Church Age is a parenthetical pause in the Age of Law. It interrupted the final 490 year period just 7 years short of its fulfillment. Gabriel told Daniel the purpose of the 490 years was to give Israel and Jerusalem time to accomplish six goals.
"Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy (place). (Daniel 9:24)
As you can see, Israel has a ways to go in achieving these goals, with seven years in which to do it. Once the rapture comes the Church Age will end and the final 7 years will begin. It will be very difficult for Gentiles during that period since as it was in the Old Testament, the path to God will be through Judaism.
If the money in both parables represents God's word, as I've shown, then Israel has a much greater repository than post-church gentiles and this could explain the different values used. In the Talents distribution is of a substantially higher value (it takes 60 minas to equal one talent) and is handed out according to ability to 3 servants. In the Minas a smaller value goes to 10 servants and everyone gets the same. I believe the use of the more valuable talents, and the fact that they're distributed to 3 servants according to ability, offer hints that the Parable of the Talents has Israel in mind.
In Judaism, the number three is very important. It's the symbol of holiness. In the Temple, the Holy of Holies occupied one-third, and the Holy Place two-thirds. The tapestries were ten times three ells in length (one ell = 3.75 feet), and there were three vessels each for the altar of burnt offering, the altar of incense, and the Ark. The menorah had three arms on a side, and each arm had three knobs. The blessing of the priest consisted of three sections (Num. 6:24, 25), and in the invocation of God the word "holy" was repeated three times.
There are the three forefathers, (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) the three mitzvos of the seder (lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs), the three means of gaining atonement (repentance, prayer and charity), the three items in the fore-room of the Temple (the table of showbread, the menorah, and the gold altar) the three pillars in the Talmud (Torah, Service of God, and Acts of Kindness.) The list goes on.
That means the Parable of the 10 minas describes the gentile world. Everybody gets enough to save themselves, but there's only one Temple and getting there will be impossible for many.
Here's another instance where the Parable of the 10 Minas differs from the Parable of the Talents. It doesn't appear that the wicked servant was dismissed, just relieved of the mina he'd been given. But in the Parable of the Talents the unproductive servant not only had the talent taken from him but was thrown into the Outer Darkness as well.
In Matt. 12:37 the Lord said, “By your words you will be acquitted and by your words you'll be condemned.” The one who says, “Lord save me” will be saved, like everyone who calls on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13) The one who says, “I'll save myself” in whatever form the words take, will be condemned.
By the way, you'll notice some scholars saying that this is just another version of the Parable of the Talents. But while the two stories are generally similar there are too many material differences to make them two versions of the same event. Let's read it.
He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' (Luke 19:12-13)
As will become clear the man of noble birth represents Jesus who after His resurrection went to Heaven to be made King of the whole Earth. And the servants represent His followers. In the monetary system of the day, a drachma was about one day's wage. It took 100 drachmas to equal one mina, and 60 minas to equal 1 talent. Note that each servant was given an equal amount (one mina), a much smaller sum than even the least of the three servants in the Parable of the Talents. And remember, a parable is a heavenly truth put into an earthly context, so everything is symbolic of something else. Therefore, the mina represents something as valuable to the Lord as about 3 months wages would be to us.
When we reviewed the Parable of the Talents we saw that the money there represented His Word, the Lord's most prized possession. Psalm 138:2 says He values His word even above His name. It's reasonable to assume it's the same here, especially since history tells us that the one thing the Lord left His followers with was the Gospel, His Word.
According to E.W. Bullinger's “Number In Scripture” the number 10 denotes a completeness of order. It implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete. The 10 servants and 10 minas indicate that before the Lord left He gave everyone necessary everything they needed to spread His Word through out the world.
"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' (Luke 19:14)
Here's another difference between the two parables. No such impression is conveyed in the Parable of the Talents. There the man was simply going on a journey. Here he's going off to be made King and some people don't like it. 30 years previously a similar event had actually taken place. When Herod Archelaus went to Rome to be made King as his father's successor, a delegation of 50 Jews followed him from Israel where they petitioned Caesar to give them a Roman governor instead of Archelaus. According to Josephus over 8,000 Jews who lived in Rome gathered in the palace to support them as they presented their case against Archelaus.
Needless to say Archelaus was not pleased, and after he was appointed in spite of their pleas he made his displeasure known to his subjects. It may be that Jesus used the incident to remind them (and us) of the dangers in rejecting a duly appointed King. If so, the warning fell mostly on deaf ears. A short time later Israel rejected its King and since then untold millions of Gentiles have done the same thing.
"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. (Luke 19:15)
There was never any doubt that Jesus would be our King. With His blood He redeemed the entire creation from its bondage to decay (Romans 8:21) and since then all that remains is for Him to take possession of that which He has purchased. That day is coming soon, and when it does there will be loud voices in Heaven saying:
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever." (Rev. 11:15)
Two verses later, in Rev. 11:17, God is described as “the one who is and who was.” No more “and who is to come.” From Heaven's perspective, His reign will have already begun even though on Earth the Great Tribulation is still to come. Satan and his followers may see the Great Tribulation as a war to determine who will control Earth, but the Lord sees it as a judgment where Israel will be purified and the nations will be completely destroyed. (Jeremiah 30:8-11) Satan is merely being used to help Him accomplish this. (Rev. 17:17) There's never been any doubt as to the outcome.
When He returns, The LORD will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only name. (Zechariah 14:9)
Since the King will have already returned at this point in the parable, we're talking about the time after the 2nd Coming. Also we'll soon see that the King's servants and His subjects are two different groups. The first order of business is to receive a report from the servants. How have they invested His most precious commodity?
"The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
" 'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
"The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.'
"His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.' (Luke 19:16-19)
Getting a 1000% or even a 500% return on a small investment is commendable. But it's unlikely to qualify someone to govern 5 or 10 cities. Remember, this is a parable. Everything is symbolic of something else. The lesson here is that faithfulness in small matters will always bring disproportionate rewards where the Lord's work is concerned. And even though the timing is the second coming, the lesson is universal. For example, our willingness to share the Gospel with even one person could result in a thousand souls saved over time.
"Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
"His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?' (Luke 19:20-23)
The King was not agreeing with the third servant's assessment of his character. Rather, he was saying, “If you think that's the kind of person I am, reaping what I didn't sow, then you should have made sure that my money would at least earn me some interest.” The contradiction between his words and his actions was obvious and became the basis for the king's judgment against him.
"Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
" 'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!'
"He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me." (Luke 19:20-26)
Just as each servant was given the same amount of money, we've all been given the same basic truth of the gospel and can say as Paul said,
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Cor. 15:3-4)
Jesus died for our sins, and the proof that His death was sufficient to save us is found in the Resurrection. The Old Testament foretold this, and the New Testament confirms it. It's the Gospel in its simplest form. The more we share it with others the more we'll gain. In addition to saving another soul, teaching someone else the Gospel results in a deeper understanding for us.
By his own admission, the third servant proved he didn't know his master. His perception of the man was all wrong, and while he called himself a servant, he didn't do even the minimum that was asked of Him. He represents the “in name only” Christian who really has nothing, and will be surprised to find even that being taken away.
After the Lord comes back He'll conduct a series of judgments where those who have survived the Great Tribulation will have to give account for themselves. At issue will be whether they've shown that they want Him as their King or not. Those who have will be welcomed into the Kingdom. Those who haven't will be banished to the place prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matt. 25:41)
By this parable the Lord was showing that He wouldn't be setting up His Kingdom in the way the people expected, but would be leaving soon to be made King. When He returns He'll reward His followers, punish His enemies, and then He'll establish His Kingdom. Selah 08-08-09
Since the Lord told both stories only a few days apart there must have been a reason for them to be so obviously different in key areas.
The Parable of the Talents is in Matthew, a gospel written with a Jewish audience in mind. The Parable of the Minas, being in Luke, is meant for Gentiles. In both cases the evaluation takes place after the 2nd Coming.
The Church Age is a parenthetical pause in the Age of Law. It interrupted the final 490 year period just 7 years short of its fulfillment. Gabriel told Daniel the purpose of the 490 years was to give Israel and Jerusalem time to accomplish six goals.
"Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy (place). (Daniel 9:24)
As you can see, Israel has a ways to go in achieving these goals, with seven years in which to do it. Once the rapture comes the Church Age will end and the final 7 years will begin. It will be very difficult for Gentiles during that period since as it was in the Old Testament, the path to God will be through Judaism.
If the money in both parables represents God's word, as I've shown, then Israel has a much greater repository than post-church gentiles and this could explain the different values used. In the Talents distribution is of a substantially higher value (it takes 60 minas to equal one talent) and is handed out according to ability to 3 servants. In the Minas a smaller value goes to 10 servants and everyone gets the same. I believe the use of the more valuable talents, and the fact that they're distributed to 3 servants according to ability, offer hints that the Parable of the Talents has Israel in mind.
In Judaism, the number three is very important. It's the symbol of holiness. In the Temple, the Holy of Holies occupied one-third, and the Holy Place two-thirds. The tapestries were ten times three ells in length (one ell = 3.75 feet), and there were three vessels each for the altar of burnt offering, the altar of incense, and the Ark. The menorah had three arms on a side, and each arm had three knobs. The blessing of the priest consisted of three sections (Num. 6:24, 25), and in the invocation of God the word "holy" was repeated three times.
There are the three forefathers, (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) the three mitzvos of the seder (lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs), the three means of gaining atonement (repentance, prayer and charity), the three items in the fore-room of the Temple (the table of showbread, the menorah, and the gold altar) the three pillars in the Talmud (Torah, Service of God, and Acts of Kindness.) The list goes on.
That means the Parable of the 10 minas describes the gentile world. Everybody gets enough to save themselves, but there's only one Temple and getting there will be impossible for many.
Here's another instance where the Parable of the 10 Minas differs from the Parable of the Talents. It doesn't appear that the wicked servant was dismissed, just relieved of the mina he'd been given. But in the Parable of the Talents the unproductive servant not only had the talent taken from him but was thrown into the Outer Darkness as well.
In Matt. 12:37 the Lord said, “By your words you will be acquitted and by your words you'll be condemned.” The one who says, “Lord save me” will be saved, like everyone who calls on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13) The one who says, “I'll save myself” in whatever form the words take, will be condemned.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Speaking the Truth
“Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!” Luke 17:1. Ridiculing a brother in Christ because you believe him to be teaching erroneously by twisting scripture is a grave accusation. Indeed, Bible teachers who take it upon themselves to re-interpret scripture from what the word actually says are an abomination to God. God’s word warns us over and over again about the consequences of teaching our brothers in Christ erroneously. “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.” Luke 17:2.
Seriously, that’s how Christians need to take these words of our Lord, very seriously. Studying God’s word should be a labor of love. We should always be ready to help others obtain a more complete understanding of God’s word. But as we study and teach God’s word, we must be careful not to twist scriptures to fit what we want them to mean. Too often when people contact me to point out what they perceive as errors in my interpretation of Scripture, they neglect to include Scripture, taken in context, to support their positions. This leads to many misunderstandings. “Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.” Ecclesiastes 8:1
If a person disagrees with another’s interpretation of God’s word, there needs to be discussion between the two parties. Too often, though, one or both begin to quote Scripture out of context and without taking the original words and meaning of God’s word into account. Every English translation of the Bible uses words based upon common usage at the time of the translation. For instance, many claim that there is no reference to dinosaurs in the Bible because the word does not appear. If we look closely at various passages we find that, indeed, there are descriptions of unusual creatures.
The book of Job describes the behemoth: Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. Job 40:15-18. There is much more description in the following passages. Now, when these verses were translated in the King James Version in 1611, nobody knew what a dinosaur was. Through the years the notion was promoted that this described an elephant or a hippopotamus. Go back and read the description and see if it sounds like an elephant! It wasn’t until the mid 1800’s that a dinosaur skeleton was unearthed and the word “dinosaur” was coined. But to this day people twist God’s word to justify evolution and say that dinosaurs are not in the Bible. This is just one way in which God’s word, if not properly studied and taken in context, can be misunderstood.
There is a growing desire and hunger world-wide for God’s truth. Not twisted interpretations of God’s word, but the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Twisting scriptures, in my view, is the same as teaching false doctrine and needs to be avoided like the plague. As we study and learn more of God’s word He adds to our understanding. As He sees our diligence and desire to become more informed as to what His word reveals, He allows us a deeper understanding of His precepts. The more a person studies God’s word, the more discernment God gives to that person. The believer must actively pursue knowledge and wisdom through study and prayer, always striving to receive from God blessings of more and more discernment. “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:2.
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”2 Peter 2:1. I see the twisting of Scripture all the time. I see it and hear it and am sometimes at a loss as to why it’s done. Sadly, there are many in teaching ministries who do just that. Blatant scripture twisting is obvious to those with a discerning eye and ear. But to those who have little Bible knowledge just about anything will pass as biblical. “And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” 2 Peter 2:2.
Many who complain about scripture being twisted are only parroting what someone else has told them. They haven’t actually searched the scriptures for themselves to learn the truth. Listening to any particular Bible teacher without searching the scriptures for yourself is to your own detriment. If a Bible teacher tells you to trust him because he knows the scriptures and that you need not even read or study for yourself, run from one such as this. This is how cults get started.
I’ve studied for years under the tutelage of various Bible teachers who always quote Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” either as they begin their teachings or at some point during their lessons. In other words, they want their students to search the scriptures for themselves and not just take their word for anything. I’ve also heard numerous other teachers claim dogmatically their interpretation is the only correct interpretation. Again, this would be someone to run from.
The internet is a great source for searching out and obtaining biblical insight. It is also the biggest source for distributing tons of erroneous Bible teachings, twisting of scriptures, and lies that’s ever been invented by man. Be careful and diligent about testing the information gleaned from the internet against the truth of God’s word. There’s also a plethora of books at Christian book stores that teach pure lies. The emergent Church folks have moved into the mainstream of Christendom and are utilizing Christian bookstores as well as secular bookstores, and of course the internet, to distribute their satanic teachings worldwide. All of which is intended to move the masses from a Christ centered life to a god-is-in-everything type of existence. Every bit of which is done through the twisting of scriptures. “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;” 1 Timothy 4:1, 2.
I don’t have all the answers and that’s for sure, but God’s word does. We should be able to find the answer to all of life’s most intriguing problems not to mention our little idiosyncrasies and quirks. God, in His infinite wisdom, has anticipated our every question, our every whim, and our every thought. He’s made His word available to those who want to get to know the truth, and He’s certainly available for all those who have the desire to get to know Him personally. God, through His Holy Spirit, has asked me to make myself available to anyone who is seeking and needs a little clarification. But one thing I won’t do is twist scriptures.
If I don’t have the answer right off the tip of my brain I search for the answer throughout the scriptures until I’m sure I have the correct answer and always through prayer. This should be every Christian’s desire. To search Scripture and come to a deeper and truer knowledge of God’s Holy Word should be pure joy to every Christian. We should all want a deeper understanding of God’s word so that we’re conformed more to His likeness and not twist scriptures to justify our lifestyles or try to conform Him to us.
Disagreements will always arise when two or more people discuss their individual interpretations of scriptures. Because of various commentaries I’ve written, and my endeavoring to stay true to God’s word, I have been called many names such as hate-monger, bigot, and racist. Some exclaim that I can’t possibly be a Christian and tell me to just shut my mouth. They say that my stance on God’s word is the problem with church today. They want scripture twisted to justify sinful lifestyles. I won’t do it. If you, like me, take God’s word serious and refuse to twist scripture, then you and I can both relate to David’s words in Pslam 56:“Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.” Psalm 56:5
When the Holy Spirit leads me to write these commentaries He directs me to the scripture verses He wants inserted. Its Gods word that is prominent in my commentaries and it’s His word that the commentaries are built around. I hope that before you attack my stance, or anyone else’s for that matter, that you will do due diligence and search God’s word and see what He says. Don’t twist His words, but honestly see what He says. “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” Titus 2:15.
We all have the responsibility to keep each other on the right track. When I, or any other commentator, writes a commentary or lesson, everyone reading must do so with due diligence. If there is an error in the Scripture interpretation, then respond. But be sure not to twist scripture in doing so.
In conclusion, if you disagree with me on any topic, please, as you sit down to compose a rebuttal include the scripture verses that pertain to your perception of my error. This way I can respond with more resources and information that might help clear up the confusion. Another reason to add Scripture is to support your own position, and I just might be pointed to something I’ve overlooked. Remember we are all on the same team. We are the body of Christ. We must stand up for Jesus Christ together and against the evil of this world. Let’s work together, we’ve certainly worked against each other long enough.
I’ll add another passage from God’s word quoted from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which, I hope, would tie this entire commentary together. “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-8.
“As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:9.
Seriously, that’s how Christians need to take these words of our Lord, very seriously. Studying God’s word should be a labor of love. We should always be ready to help others obtain a more complete understanding of God’s word. But as we study and teach God’s word, we must be careful not to twist scriptures to fit what we want them to mean. Too often when people contact me to point out what they perceive as errors in my interpretation of Scripture, they neglect to include Scripture, taken in context, to support their positions. This leads to many misunderstandings. “Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? a man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.” Ecclesiastes 8:1
If a person disagrees with another’s interpretation of God’s word, there needs to be discussion between the two parties. Too often, though, one or both begin to quote Scripture out of context and without taking the original words and meaning of God’s word into account. Every English translation of the Bible uses words based upon common usage at the time of the translation. For instance, many claim that there is no reference to dinosaurs in the Bible because the word does not appear. If we look closely at various passages we find that, indeed, there are descriptions of unusual creatures.
The book of Job describes the behemoth: Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar; the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. Job 40:15-18. There is much more description in the following passages. Now, when these verses were translated in the King James Version in 1611, nobody knew what a dinosaur was. Through the years the notion was promoted that this described an elephant or a hippopotamus. Go back and read the description and see if it sounds like an elephant! It wasn’t until the mid 1800’s that a dinosaur skeleton was unearthed and the word “dinosaur” was coined. But to this day people twist God’s word to justify evolution and say that dinosaurs are not in the Bible. This is just one way in which God’s word, if not properly studied and taken in context, can be misunderstood.
There is a growing desire and hunger world-wide for God’s truth. Not twisted interpretations of God’s word, but the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Twisting scriptures, in my view, is the same as teaching false doctrine and needs to be avoided like the plague. As we study and learn more of God’s word He adds to our understanding. As He sees our diligence and desire to become more informed as to what His word reveals, He allows us a deeper understanding of His precepts. The more a person studies God’s word, the more discernment God gives to that person. The believer must actively pursue knowledge and wisdom through study and prayer, always striving to receive from God blessings of more and more discernment. “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:2.
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.”2 Peter 2:1. I see the twisting of Scripture all the time. I see it and hear it and am sometimes at a loss as to why it’s done. Sadly, there are many in teaching ministries who do just that. Blatant scripture twisting is obvious to those with a discerning eye and ear. But to those who have little Bible knowledge just about anything will pass as biblical. “And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.” 2 Peter 2:2.
Many who complain about scripture being twisted are only parroting what someone else has told them. They haven’t actually searched the scriptures for themselves to learn the truth. Listening to any particular Bible teacher without searching the scriptures for yourself is to your own detriment. If a Bible teacher tells you to trust him because he knows the scriptures and that you need not even read or study for yourself, run from one such as this. This is how cults get started.
I’ve studied for years under the tutelage of various Bible teachers who always quote Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” either as they begin their teachings or at some point during their lessons. In other words, they want their students to search the scriptures for themselves and not just take their word for anything. I’ve also heard numerous other teachers claim dogmatically their interpretation is the only correct interpretation. Again, this would be someone to run from.
The internet is a great source for searching out and obtaining biblical insight. It is also the biggest source for distributing tons of erroneous Bible teachings, twisting of scriptures, and lies that’s ever been invented by man. Be careful and diligent about testing the information gleaned from the internet against the truth of God’s word. There’s also a plethora of books at Christian book stores that teach pure lies. The emergent Church folks have moved into the mainstream of Christendom and are utilizing Christian bookstores as well as secular bookstores, and of course the internet, to distribute their satanic teachings worldwide. All of which is intended to move the masses from a Christ centered life to a god-is-in-everything type of existence. Every bit of which is done through the twisting of scriptures. “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;” 1 Timothy 4:1, 2.
I don’t have all the answers and that’s for sure, but God’s word does. We should be able to find the answer to all of life’s most intriguing problems not to mention our little idiosyncrasies and quirks. God, in His infinite wisdom, has anticipated our every question, our every whim, and our every thought. He’s made His word available to those who want to get to know the truth, and He’s certainly available for all those who have the desire to get to know Him personally. God, through His Holy Spirit, has asked me to make myself available to anyone who is seeking and needs a little clarification. But one thing I won’t do is twist scriptures.
If I don’t have the answer right off the tip of my brain I search for the answer throughout the scriptures until I’m sure I have the correct answer and always through prayer. This should be every Christian’s desire. To search Scripture and come to a deeper and truer knowledge of God’s Holy Word should be pure joy to every Christian. We should all want a deeper understanding of God’s word so that we’re conformed more to His likeness and not twist scriptures to justify our lifestyles or try to conform Him to us.
Disagreements will always arise when two or more people discuss their individual interpretations of scriptures. Because of various commentaries I’ve written, and my endeavoring to stay true to God’s word, I have been called many names such as hate-monger, bigot, and racist. Some exclaim that I can’t possibly be a Christian and tell me to just shut my mouth. They say that my stance on God’s word is the problem with church today. They want scripture twisted to justify sinful lifestyles. I won’t do it. If you, like me, take God’s word serious and refuse to twist scripture, then you and I can both relate to David’s words in Pslam 56:“Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil.” Psalm 56:5
When the Holy Spirit leads me to write these commentaries He directs me to the scripture verses He wants inserted. Its Gods word that is prominent in my commentaries and it’s His word that the commentaries are built around. I hope that before you attack my stance, or anyone else’s for that matter, that you will do due diligence and search God’s word and see what He says. Don’t twist His words, but honestly see what He says. “These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” Titus 2:15.
We all have the responsibility to keep each other on the right track. When I, or any other commentator, writes a commentary or lesson, everyone reading must do so with due diligence. If there is an error in the Scripture interpretation, then respond. But be sure not to twist scripture in doing so.
In conclusion, if you disagree with me on any topic, please, as you sit down to compose a rebuttal include the scripture verses that pertain to your perception of my error. This way I can respond with more resources and information that might help clear up the confusion. Another reason to add Scripture is to support your own position, and I just might be pointed to something I’ve overlooked. Remember we are all on the same team. We are the body of Christ. We must stand up for Jesus Christ together and against the evil of this world. Let’s work together, we’ve certainly worked against each other long enough.
I’ll add another passage from God’s word quoted from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which, I hope, would tie this entire commentary together. “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-8.
“As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:9.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Can Bill Clinton Go to Gaza?
Don’t get me wrong; it’s great that the 42nd president made an “unscheduled” visit to North Korea to obtain the freedom of two journalists held by the psycho dictator Kim Jong-il. Two female reporters had been held on vague charges of spying, and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor.
But Bill Clinton buttressed his wife’s State Department efforts and showed up with a private plane to whisk the women to freedom.
Too bad no one will fly to Gaza and demand Gilad Shalit’s freedom. The Israeli soldier is entering his fourth year as a captive of Hamas, the murderous Palestinian terror group.
Shalit’s kidnapping and subsequent captivity is outrageous. It has brought untold grief to his family. Israel is frustrated.
And that’s the point.
Hamas has followed the lead of Hezbollah and others in kidnapping and holding foreigners, particularly Israelis. The family of Ron Arad, the downed Israeli pilot during the 1982 Lebanon War, has been put through pointless agony by Hezbollah, for a quarter-century. No one outside Lebanon knows what happened to Arad.
When the Arabs can’t defeat Israel on the battlefield — a consistent rub for the pan-Arab nation — they do what they can to inflict misery.
And the world does…not…care.
If you scan the news each day, you will not notice any diplomats anywhere offering to travel to Gaza to free Shalit. There are important groups pushing for his release. The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem comes to mind. Kudos to them.
For the most part, though, Shalit languishes in some unknown location inside the immoral cesspool known as Gaza.
It is a hallmark of our immoral age that “statesmen” like Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush won’t lift a finger to free Shalit. In fact, Carter’s evident dislike of Israelis would of course preclude him from doing such a thing. But it doesn’t keep him from slobbering over Hamas terrorists during his trips to the region.
(Yehuda Avner’s fascinating recollections of the Carter-Begin negotiations are available from the Jerusalem Post online. Anyone interested in knowing how Carter dealt with the Israelis during the Camp David talks would do well to read Avner.)
In my review of Michael Oren’s extraordinary book, Power, Faith, and Fantasy (you can read the review at WorldNetDaily), I note those American presidents and diplomats who were true friends of Israel, from the beginning of our republic until now.
One can track the erosion of support for Israel from the liberal scholars who began to creep into American seminaries in the 19th century. Oren’s fascinating research traced the American elites’ support for the Arabs to…American missionaries in the 19th century. Frustrated by their lack of converts among Muslims in the Holy Land, these missionaries began to lay the groundwork for today’s social gospel work by jettisoning active evangelism in favor of work projects. They also paved the way for Arab nationalism, in an era when the whole region lacked borders and was loosely a pan-Arab nation.
Today, we have more than 20 Muslim nations in the area, practicing mischief on a daily basis.
All that to make this point: the seeds of American meddling in Israel’s affairs — while pressuring the Jewish state to suicide concessions — have now yielded a harvest of diplomats and statesmen who will fly to North Korea to give a photo-op to a psycho, but will always pass up a chance to free Gilad Shalit.
The Lord of History is watching.
But Bill Clinton buttressed his wife’s State Department efforts and showed up with a private plane to whisk the women to freedom.
Too bad no one will fly to Gaza and demand Gilad Shalit’s freedom. The Israeli soldier is entering his fourth year as a captive of Hamas, the murderous Palestinian terror group.
Shalit’s kidnapping and subsequent captivity is outrageous. It has brought untold grief to his family. Israel is frustrated.
And that’s the point.
Hamas has followed the lead of Hezbollah and others in kidnapping and holding foreigners, particularly Israelis. The family of Ron Arad, the downed Israeli pilot during the 1982 Lebanon War, has been put through pointless agony by Hezbollah, for a quarter-century. No one outside Lebanon knows what happened to Arad.
When the Arabs can’t defeat Israel on the battlefield — a consistent rub for the pan-Arab nation — they do what they can to inflict misery.
And the world does…not…care.
If you scan the news each day, you will not notice any diplomats anywhere offering to travel to Gaza to free Shalit. There are important groups pushing for his release. The International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem comes to mind. Kudos to them.
For the most part, though, Shalit languishes in some unknown location inside the immoral cesspool known as Gaza.
It is a hallmark of our immoral age that “statesmen” like Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and George H.W. Bush won’t lift a finger to free Shalit. In fact, Carter’s evident dislike of Israelis would of course preclude him from doing such a thing. But it doesn’t keep him from slobbering over Hamas terrorists during his trips to the region.
(Yehuda Avner’s fascinating recollections of the Carter-Begin negotiations are available from the Jerusalem Post online. Anyone interested in knowing how Carter dealt with the Israelis during the Camp David talks would do well to read Avner.)
In my review of Michael Oren’s extraordinary book, Power, Faith, and Fantasy (you can read the review at WorldNetDaily), I note those American presidents and diplomats who were true friends of Israel, from the beginning of our republic until now.
One can track the erosion of support for Israel from the liberal scholars who began to creep into American seminaries in the 19th century. Oren’s fascinating research traced the American elites’ support for the Arabs to…American missionaries in the 19th century. Frustrated by their lack of converts among Muslims in the Holy Land, these missionaries began to lay the groundwork for today’s social gospel work by jettisoning active evangelism in favor of work projects. They also paved the way for Arab nationalism, in an era when the whole region lacked borders and was loosely a pan-Arab nation.
Today, we have more than 20 Muslim nations in the area, practicing mischief on a daily basis.
All that to make this point: the seeds of American meddling in Israel’s affairs — while pressuring the Jewish state to suicide concessions — have now yielded a harvest of diplomats and statesmen who will fly to North Korea to give a photo-op to a psycho, but will always pass up a chance to free Gilad Shalit.
The Lord of History is watching.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
America’s Biggest Creditor
This past week I received a shock when I read a report on the various groups that have been helping the United States government fund its massive $12 national debt. Most troubling was the entity that topped the list as our largest creditor.
The buzzword in the market for U.S. debt of recent has been China. The world’s most populous country is an important buyer of U.S. debt. China's holdings now stand at $739.6 billion as of January. Oddly enough, that nation is not the largest holder of U.S. debt.
It's not Japan. Another major U.S. trade partner, Japan carries a huge amount of the country’s debt, with a stunning $634.8 billion; it currently holds the #2 spot.
It's not oil-rich states. Big oil means big money and big investment into U.S. debt. As a group, these states don't even come close to being a major creditor. Included in the group of oil exporters are Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria. Together, they hold a total of $186.3 billion of our debt.
It's not retirement funds. One example is pension funds. They control large amounts of money, reserved for personal retirements, and thus are obligated to make relatively safe investments. This group includes both private and local government pension funds totaling $456.4 billion.
It's not insurance companies. According to the Federal Reserve board of governors, insurance companies hold $126.4 billion in Treasury securities. This group includes property, casualty, and life insurance firms.
It's quite a mystery when you consider that none of these debt holders are over the $1 trillion mark.
Drum roll please...The biggest holder of U.S. government debt is the United States itself. The Federal Reserve and other U.S. intergovernmental holdings account for a stunning $4.806 trillion in U.S. Treasury debt. This amount is six and a half times larger than that of the Chinese. I read that the Fed plans to add another $1 trillion to its tab. About a decade ago, total government holdings were "only" $2.5 trillion.
It's absurd to simply declare the Federal Reserve a separate body, with the power to gobble up debt. We are basically printing money to cover our obligations, which is probably the reason the Treasury has stopped reporting on the growth of the money supply.
The Fed holds a lot of debt that is of questionable value. It has purchased $800 billion in bad assets from banks, lenders, and insurance companies just from the recent financial crisis. These agencies are still losing money. Fannie Mae said it plans to tap $11 billion in new government aid after posting a massive $15 billion quarterly loss.
Our government leaders have no plans to rein in this flood of red ink. One of the clearest examples of how ridiculous our spending has become is the so-called “Cash for Clunkers” bill. Under the program, car owners receive $3,500 if they trade in an 18-or-fewer-miles-per-gallon vehicle for a new car getting at least 22 mpg. Vouchers of $4,500 are available for owners who trade in a car that gets 18 mpg or less combined for a model that gets at least 28 mpg. Congress has pledged $3 billion for this popular program.
Why stop at cars? We could have “Bucks for Boats” or “Cash for Computers.” I understand the idea is to stimulate the auto industry, but that debt has to be accounted for at some point in time.
The president and Congress are planning on a major expansion of health care. This new program will add trillions to our future debt load. I already know there will be no Social Security or Medicare when I reach retirement age. This new plan will bankrupt the system all the sooner.
One reason for the massive amount of deficit spending is the lack of money coming into the government coffers. The recession is starving Uncle Sam of tax revenue. The situation could not be more stark: Tax receipts are on pace to drop 18 percent this year, the biggest single-year decline since the Great Depression, while the federal deficit balloons to a record $1.8 trillion.
Our whole financial system is based on blind faith in paper. Modern man is no better than the pagans who prayed to gods made of stone. Once people lose confidence in the almighty dollar, economic Armageddon will ensue.
The question is: Why haven't we seen a collapse? I'm amazed to see that we have gone from one extreme to another. I guess God is the determining factor here. He is the only explanation I can come up with for why our debt bubble has gone beyond every other benchmark history can provide.
The rapture could be the pin that pops the bubble. As I've said before, America has the highest percentage of Christians than any other nation on earth. The loss of such a large portion of the population during the rapture would cause this nation to collapse into total chaos.
End-time Christians already have a good reason not to be fixated on the cares of this world. The perilous state of our financial system should only add to the urgency of being focused on promoting the kingdom of God.
The buzzword in the market for U.S. debt of recent has been China. The world’s most populous country is an important buyer of U.S. debt. China's holdings now stand at $739.6 billion as of January. Oddly enough, that nation is not the largest holder of U.S. debt.
It's not Japan. Another major U.S. trade partner, Japan carries a huge amount of the country’s debt, with a stunning $634.8 billion; it currently holds the #2 spot.
It's not oil-rich states. Big oil means big money and big investment into U.S. debt. As a group, these states don't even come close to being a major creditor. Included in the group of oil exporters are Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria. Together, they hold a total of $186.3 billion of our debt.
It's not retirement funds. One example is pension funds. They control large amounts of money, reserved for personal retirements, and thus are obligated to make relatively safe investments. This group includes both private and local government pension funds totaling $456.4 billion.
It's not insurance companies. According to the Federal Reserve board of governors, insurance companies hold $126.4 billion in Treasury securities. This group includes property, casualty, and life insurance firms.
It's quite a mystery when you consider that none of these debt holders are over the $1 trillion mark.
Drum roll please...The biggest holder of U.S. government debt is the United States itself. The Federal Reserve and other U.S. intergovernmental holdings account for a stunning $4.806 trillion in U.S. Treasury debt. This amount is six and a half times larger than that of the Chinese. I read that the Fed plans to add another $1 trillion to its tab. About a decade ago, total government holdings were "only" $2.5 trillion.
It's absurd to simply declare the Federal Reserve a separate body, with the power to gobble up debt. We are basically printing money to cover our obligations, which is probably the reason the Treasury has stopped reporting on the growth of the money supply.
The Fed holds a lot of debt that is of questionable value. It has purchased $800 billion in bad assets from banks, lenders, and insurance companies just from the recent financial crisis. These agencies are still losing money. Fannie Mae said it plans to tap $11 billion in new government aid after posting a massive $15 billion quarterly loss.
Our government leaders have no plans to rein in this flood of red ink. One of the clearest examples of how ridiculous our spending has become is the so-called “Cash for Clunkers” bill. Under the program, car owners receive $3,500 if they trade in an 18-or-fewer-miles-per-gallon vehicle for a new car getting at least 22 mpg. Vouchers of $4,500 are available for owners who trade in a car that gets 18 mpg or less combined for a model that gets at least 28 mpg. Congress has pledged $3 billion for this popular program.
Why stop at cars? We could have “Bucks for Boats” or “Cash for Computers.” I understand the idea is to stimulate the auto industry, but that debt has to be accounted for at some point in time.
The president and Congress are planning on a major expansion of health care. This new program will add trillions to our future debt load. I already know there will be no Social Security or Medicare when I reach retirement age. This new plan will bankrupt the system all the sooner.
One reason for the massive amount of deficit spending is the lack of money coming into the government coffers. The recession is starving Uncle Sam of tax revenue. The situation could not be more stark: Tax receipts are on pace to drop 18 percent this year, the biggest single-year decline since the Great Depression, while the federal deficit balloons to a record $1.8 trillion.
Our whole financial system is based on blind faith in paper. Modern man is no better than the pagans who prayed to gods made of stone. Once people lose confidence in the almighty dollar, economic Armageddon will ensue.
The question is: Why haven't we seen a collapse? I'm amazed to see that we have gone from one extreme to another. I guess God is the determining factor here. He is the only explanation I can come up with for why our debt bubble has gone beyond every other benchmark history can provide.
The rapture could be the pin that pops the bubble. As I've said before, America has the highest percentage of Christians than any other nation on earth. The loss of such a large portion of the population during the rapture would cause this nation to collapse into total chaos.
End-time Christians already have a good reason not to be fixated on the cares of this world. The perilous state of our financial system should only add to the urgency of being focused on promoting the kingdom of God.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Conclusion
Those who worry about the end of the world or live in fear of a great worldwide catastrophe are not living their lives in accordance with God. For God tells us to live boldly and without fear of the things of this world:
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
Don't worry about global warming or a nuclear holocaust. Don't live in fear of a worldwide pandemic or asteroids or comets or aliens or massive volcanoes. The Lord is in control of everything, and He has already revealed what will happen to this present age. He will usher in the end of the world and transform the earth into his own dwelling place. Therefore, if we are to have fear of anything, it should be the Lord Himself. The prophet Isaiah agrees:
"Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else." Isaiah 8:13 (NLT)
Jesus reminds His disciples of this command while teaching them not to fear persecution:
"Don't be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28 (NLT)
In short, don't fear the end of this world. Celebrate it. Christ is coming. And when He arrives, He will eliminate all the evils of this world, including our fear and worry.
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
Don't worry about global warming or a nuclear holocaust. Don't live in fear of a worldwide pandemic or asteroids or comets or aliens or massive volcanoes. The Lord is in control of everything, and He has already revealed what will happen to this present age. He will usher in the end of the world and transform the earth into his own dwelling place. Therefore, if we are to have fear of anything, it should be the Lord Himself. The prophet Isaiah agrees:
"Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear him, you need fear nothing else." Isaiah 8:13 (NLT)
Jesus reminds His disciples of this command while teaching them not to fear persecution:
"Don't be afraid of those who want to kill you. They can only kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28 (NLT)
In short, don't fear the end of this world. Celebrate it. Christ is coming. And when He arrives, He will eliminate all the evils of this world, including our fear and worry.
Friday, August 7, 2009
A Nuclear Israel
Uzi Arad is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top national security expert. Holding a doctorate from Princeton, the former Mossad agent is, not surprisingly, of like-mind with his hawkish boss.
A profile on Arad in a recent issue of the Jerusalem Report was quite revealing, given the international curiosity with Israel’s nuclear capabilities.
Israel has long been coy about its nuclear capability. No one knows how many nukes Israel has, but the nation’s leaders have always insisted that they “wouldn’t be the first to use nuclear weapons in the Middle East.” This is a way of letting hostile neighbors know that the dog has some seriously sharp teeth.
In fact, Israel’s capabilities in this all-important area are sometimes referred to as the “Samson Option,” that is, the Jewish state, if faced with annihilation, would use every weapon at its disposal.
I have long advocated that Israel itself is not in ultimate danger, or existential danger, as the folks like to say. It is true that Iran has threatened to wipe Israel off the map, and others have done the same: Egypt comes to mind in the Six Day War.
All have failed.
And this is where, again, the Bible comes into play. Whether it’s Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, American preachers, or Washington policy wonks, it seems everyone is worried that Israel might…end. I am constantly amazed by this.
I’m so afraid for Israel.
The Iranians have threatened to destroy Israel.
Do you worry for Israel’s safety?
No, I don’t.
An interesting point about Uzi Arad’s appointment by Netanyahu is that he has already constructed models of how “limited” nuclear warfare might work in the Middle East. That is, at what point would Israel use its nukes?
This is interesting because it is a very important topic for our present world, and because it shows us once again that the Bible is rooted in reality. Zechariah and Ezekiel both, in particular, describe what must be nuclear warfare involving Israel.
Almost amusingly, Iran this week issued another (veiled) threat. When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the possibility of the Americans “upgrading” the defensive capabilities of the countries in the region, thus in theory blunting the effectiveness of a bellicose Iran, possessed (pun intended) of a nuclear weapon, and threatening Israel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hasan Qashqavi said there’s no need for such protection of the Saudis, etc., it is just important for Israel to dismantle “its own 200 nuclear warheads.”
Israeli Intelligence Agencies Minister Dan Meridor actually criticized Clinton’s statement, pointing out that it sounds as if Washington has resigned itself to the Iranians having the bomb. He is correct.
No American arming of Iran’s neighbors will prevent the mullah psychos from using the bomb against Israel.
And here is where the Bible is very practical, and not the irrelevant fairy tale its critics claim. Zechariah revealed quite a bit of detail toward the end of his prophecy. In it, he recorded that one day, in a battle for Israel, a weapon will be used that will melt people while they stand on their feet.
Ezekiel, of course, tells us that after an attack against the end-times Jewish state, the Jews will bury what we must assume are radioactive bones.
Israel’s nuclear facility, at a small city called Dimona (southwest of the Dead Sea), was developed in the 1950s. Various American presidents, most especially John Kennedy, leaned on the Israelis not to “escalate” a Middle East nuclear arms race. Thank God they have taken the steps to protect themselves.
Through Isaiah, God declared that “no weapon formed against” Israel would prosper, would work. Iran might nor might not get nukes. It doesn’t really matter.
I believe these things written in the Bible. And it’s no accident that men like Uzi Arad are in positions of influence in these last days
A profile on Arad in a recent issue of the Jerusalem Report was quite revealing, given the international curiosity with Israel’s nuclear capabilities.
Israel has long been coy about its nuclear capability. No one knows how many nukes Israel has, but the nation’s leaders have always insisted that they “wouldn’t be the first to use nuclear weapons in the Middle East.” This is a way of letting hostile neighbors know that the dog has some seriously sharp teeth.
In fact, Israel’s capabilities in this all-important area are sometimes referred to as the “Samson Option,” that is, the Jewish state, if faced with annihilation, would use every weapon at its disposal.
I have long advocated that Israel itself is not in ultimate danger, or existential danger, as the folks like to say. It is true that Iran has threatened to wipe Israel off the map, and others have done the same: Egypt comes to mind in the Six Day War.
All have failed.
And this is where, again, the Bible comes into play. Whether it’s Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, American preachers, or Washington policy wonks, it seems everyone is worried that Israel might…end. I am constantly amazed by this.
I’m so afraid for Israel.
The Iranians have threatened to destroy Israel.
Do you worry for Israel’s safety?
No, I don’t.
An interesting point about Uzi Arad’s appointment by Netanyahu is that he has already constructed models of how “limited” nuclear warfare might work in the Middle East. That is, at what point would Israel use its nukes?
This is interesting because it is a very important topic for our present world, and because it shows us once again that the Bible is rooted in reality. Zechariah and Ezekiel both, in particular, describe what must be nuclear warfare involving Israel.
Almost amusingly, Iran this week issued another (veiled) threat. When U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the possibility of the Americans “upgrading” the defensive capabilities of the countries in the region, thus in theory blunting the effectiveness of a bellicose Iran, possessed (pun intended) of a nuclear weapon, and threatening Israel.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hasan Qashqavi said there’s no need for such protection of the Saudis, etc., it is just important for Israel to dismantle “its own 200 nuclear warheads.”
Israeli Intelligence Agencies Minister Dan Meridor actually criticized Clinton’s statement, pointing out that it sounds as if Washington has resigned itself to the Iranians having the bomb. He is correct.
No American arming of Iran’s neighbors will prevent the mullah psychos from using the bomb against Israel.
And here is where the Bible is very practical, and not the irrelevant fairy tale its critics claim. Zechariah revealed quite a bit of detail toward the end of his prophecy. In it, he recorded that one day, in a battle for Israel, a weapon will be used that will melt people while they stand on their feet.
Ezekiel, of course, tells us that after an attack against the end-times Jewish state, the Jews will bury what we must assume are radioactive bones.
Israel’s nuclear facility, at a small city called Dimona (southwest of the Dead Sea), was developed in the 1950s. Various American presidents, most especially John Kennedy, leaned on the Israelis not to “escalate” a Middle East nuclear arms race. Thank God they have taken the steps to protect themselves.
Through Isaiah, God declared that “no weapon formed against” Israel would prosper, would work. Iran might nor might not get nukes. It doesn’t really matter.
I believe these things written in the Bible. And it’s no accident that men like Uzi Arad are in positions of influence in these last days
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Why Study Prophecy?
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. (Isaiah 46:10)
Here's a question I'm often asked and it's a good one. If we believe the Rapture will take us away before all the End Times events occur, then why do we need to study prophecy?
There are several good answers to this question. One of the clearest comes from the Olivet Discourse, specifically Matthew 24:15-16. "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." Even though the Lord was speaking primarily to Israel here, He directed everyone who reads Matthew's gospel to understand Daniel 9:24-27, a prophecy given to Israel, and the key to understanding End Times prophecy.
Another good reason is that Paul's letters to the Thessalonians are chock full of End Times prophecy. Every chapter of both letters contains a reference to the 2nd Coming for an average of one every 13 verses. Paul went to such lengths even though it's pretty clear he had taught them that the rapture would take place before the anti-Christ is revealed. If the Bible really is the inspired Word of God, why did He have Paul describe events on Earth after the rapture if He didn't think we needed to know them?
And then there's the Book of Revelation. John shows the Rapture occurring in chapter 4 but then goes on for another 15 chapters, mostly describing conditions on Earth, before re-introducing the Church in Rev. 19. Same question. Why describe events on Earth after the rapture if He didn't think we needed to know them?
Some say it's so those left behind at the Rapture can read Revelation and the Thessalonian letters and find out what's going on to help them endure the End Times. That may be OK for the middle of Revelation, but John's book begins and ends with the Church in view, and the Thessalonian letters were written specifically to the Church. For some reason, we're supposed to know how End Times events unfold.
And Here's The Best One
And that leads me to what I think is the biggest reason. For that we'll go first to Isaiah 44:6-8.
This is what the LORD says- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: "I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come- yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."
Here is the two-part test for anyone who would be God. Part one: Accurately recall every event of the past. Part two: Accurately predict every event of the future. Of all the so-called holy writings, only the Bible answers this challenge. Other "gods" require that you take them at face value, offering neither evidence of their existence, nor proof of their trustworthiness. But ours says, "I'll prove that I'm real and that you should trust me." He tells us our past (sometimes as personally as Jesus did with the woman at the well in John 4:17-18) and gives us detail about the future that only someone who has already seen it can know. "I make known the end from the beginning," He proclaims, "From ancient times, what is still to come." (Isaiah 46:10) He's chosen this way to authenticate Himself to us because He's the only One who can do it and be right every time.
This is so we need never be in the position of having zeal without knowledge, (Prov. 19:2) believing passionately but unable to defend our position. When we share the Gospel with someone, and they respond with, "That's just something you believe," it's good to be able to justify our beliefs with a summary of God's 4000-year track record for truth-telling (the Old Testament) and to explain that someone who's been that truthful about the past is likely to also be truthful about the future (the New Testament).
Some Personal Experience
When I was a kid in upstate New York, nearly every family went to church on Sunday and ours was no different. We belonged to one of the main line denominational congregations in town. With a few lapses here and there, this habit carried me into adulthood and though I lived in several different places, on most Sunday mornings you could find me in the local version of that same denominational church. But then, two important but unrelated pieces of information came to my attention at about the same time.
The first was from a man who was one of the most influential public speakers of his time and a life long student of human behavior. We happened to share one evening together and over dinner he asked, "Did you know that if you were to devote just one hour each day to the study of any subject that interests you, within 5 years you could be one of the world's leading experts on that subject."
The other piece of information came in the form of 3 cassette tapes that were given to me by a friend. It was a series on Bible Prophecy, a compilation of research done over the years by various scholars. Its purpose was to demonstrate that through out the 4,000 years of the Old Testament God had maintained a perfect record of predicting the future to Israel. No matter what set of standards you apply, statistical analysis, rules of evidence, forensic science or whatever, you'll find that this could not have happened by chance. It could only have been done by someone who can see the end from the beginning, an ability unique to God.
I decided to apply the action step from the first piece of information to the subject matter of the second. Over the next several years I spent hours every day learning all I could about Bible Prophecy. In addition to studying the Bible, I read every view by nearly every respected scholar before forming my own opinion that the pre-trib, pre-millennial view is the one most consistent with a strict literal, historical, grammatical interpretation of Scripture.
If What You Believe Doesn't Result In Action ...
Even though I've spent a lot more than one hour a day for a lot longer than 5 years, I don't claim to be a leading expert on prophecy. But as I studied, the logic of God's claim from Isaiah 44:6-8 became indisputable. The history of Israel is replete with events first predicted and then performed with faultless accuracy. And when it came to the Messiah, over 300 specific prophecies, given over a span of several thousand years, were fulfilled in detail within one generation, the one in which He lived. And so after nearly 40 years of sitting in church every Sunday, I finally opened my Bible and became born again. I also became convinced that through the study of prophecy He can prove Himself to any reasonable person beyond a shadow of doubt. That's when I began teaching what I was learning.
No rush of emotion for me, no gushing of tears while I stumbled blindly down the sawdust trail as a choir sang "Just as I am," but a dead certainty that God has to be Who He says He is, He has to have done what He said He did, and the Bible has to be His inerrant Word. I called it a rush of logic, but the certainty I felt drove me every bit as humbly to the foot of the cross as a teary eyed confession would have, and yet it gave me a staying power that's often missing in more emotional conversions. I knew what I believed and why I believed it and could explain it clearly to anyone who cared to listen.
As often happens to people who undertake a serious study of prophecy, I concluded that if the 40% of the Bible that's prophecy can be trusted then the rest of it can be trusted as well, so I began studying it too. I discovered that God made a whole bunch of promises to us, such as His promises to see us through the tough times we can now see coming, and to take us to be with Him before He judges the world. These promises have more meaning because they're backed up by His proven track record in prophecy.
If you're not every bit as certain as I am about God, then try a study in prophecy. I bet it'll galvanize you into action just as it did me, especially as you begin to understand how little time is left. And even if you're already sure you know who God is, you still have a great reason to study prophecy. But it's not just so you'll be better informed about what's coming. It's so you'll feel the urgency to tell your friends about it while there's still time. Because if you listen carefully, you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.
Here's a question I'm often asked and it's a good one. If we believe the Rapture will take us away before all the End Times events occur, then why do we need to study prophecy?
There are several good answers to this question. One of the clearest comes from the Olivet Discourse, specifically Matthew 24:15-16. "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand-- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." Even though the Lord was speaking primarily to Israel here, He directed everyone who reads Matthew's gospel to understand Daniel 9:24-27, a prophecy given to Israel, and the key to understanding End Times prophecy.
Another good reason is that Paul's letters to the Thessalonians are chock full of End Times prophecy. Every chapter of both letters contains a reference to the 2nd Coming for an average of one every 13 verses. Paul went to such lengths even though it's pretty clear he had taught them that the rapture would take place before the anti-Christ is revealed. If the Bible really is the inspired Word of God, why did He have Paul describe events on Earth after the rapture if He didn't think we needed to know them?
And then there's the Book of Revelation. John shows the Rapture occurring in chapter 4 but then goes on for another 15 chapters, mostly describing conditions on Earth, before re-introducing the Church in Rev. 19. Same question. Why describe events on Earth after the rapture if He didn't think we needed to know them?
Some say it's so those left behind at the Rapture can read Revelation and the Thessalonian letters and find out what's going on to help them endure the End Times. That may be OK for the middle of Revelation, but John's book begins and ends with the Church in view, and the Thessalonian letters were written specifically to the Church. For some reason, we're supposed to know how End Times events unfold.
And Here's The Best One
And that leads me to what I think is the biggest reason. For that we'll go first to Isaiah 44:6-8.
This is what the LORD says- Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: "I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come- yes, let him foretell what will come. Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one."
Here is the two-part test for anyone who would be God. Part one: Accurately recall every event of the past. Part two: Accurately predict every event of the future. Of all the so-called holy writings, only the Bible answers this challenge. Other "gods" require that you take them at face value, offering neither evidence of their existence, nor proof of their trustworthiness. But ours says, "I'll prove that I'm real and that you should trust me." He tells us our past (sometimes as personally as Jesus did with the woman at the well in John 4:17-18) and gives us detail about the future that only someone who has already seen it can know. "I make known the end from the beginning," He proclaims, "From ancient times, what is still to come." (Isaiah 46:10) He's chosen this way to authenticate Himself to us because He's the only One who can do it and be right every time.
This is so we need never be in the position of having zeal without knowledge, (Prov. 19:2) believing passionately but unable to defend our position. When we share the Gospel with someone, and they respond with, "That's just something you believe," it's good to be able to justify our beliefs with a summary of God's 4000-year track record for truth-telling (the Old Testament) and to explain that someone who's been that truthful about the past is likely to also be truthful about the future (the New Testament).
Some Personal Experience
When I was a kid in upstate New York, nearly every family went to church on Sunday and ours was no different. We belonged to one of the main line denominational congregations in town. With a few lapses here and there, this habit carried me into adulthood and though I lived in several different places, on most Sunday mornings you could find me in the local version of that same denominational church. But then, two important but unrelated pieces of information came to my attention at about the same time.
The first was from a man who was one of the most influential public speakers of his time and a life long student of human behavior. We happened to share one evening together and over dinner he asked, "Did you know that if you were to devote just one hour each day to the study of any subject that interests you, within 5 years you could be one of the world's leading experts on that subject."
The other piece of information came in the form of 3 cassette tapes that were given to me by a friend. It was a series on Bible Prophecy, a compilation of research done over the years by various scholars. Its purpose was to demonstrate that through out the 4,000 years of the Old Testament God had maintained a perfect record of predicting the future to Israel. No matter what set of standards you apply, statistical analysis, rules of evidence, forensic science or whatever, you'll find that this could not have happened by chance. It could only have been done by someone who can see the end from the beginning, an ability unique to God.
I decided to apply the action step from the first piece of information to the subject matter of the second. Over the next several years I spent hours every day learning all I could about Bible Prophecy. In addition to studying the Bible, I read every view by nearly every respected scholar before forming my own opinion that the pre-trib, pre-millennial view is the one most consistent with a strict literal, historical, grammatical interpretation of Scripture.
If What You Believe Doesn't Result In Action ...
Even though I've spent a lot more than one hour a day for a lot longer than 5 years, I don't claim to be a leading expert on prophecy. But as I studied, the logic of God's claim from Isaiah 44:6-8 became indisputable. The history of Israel is replete with events first predicted and then performed with faultless accuracy. And when it came to the Messiah, over 300 specific prophecies, given over a span of several thousand years, were fulfilled in detail within one generation, the one in which He lived. And so after nearly 40 years of sitting in church every Sunday, I finally opened my Bible and became born again. I also became convinced that through the study of prophecy He can prove Himself to any reasonable person beyond a shadow of doubt. That's when I began teaching what I was learning.
No rush of emotion for me, no gushing of tears while I stumbled blindly down the sawdust trail as a choir sang "Just as I am," but a dead certainty that God has to be Who He says He is, He has to have done what He said He did, and the Bible has to be His inerrant Word. I called it a rush of logic, but the certainty I felt drove me every bit as humbly to the foot of the cross as a teary eyed confession would have, and yet it gave me a staying power that's often missing in more emotional conversions. I knew what I believed and why I believed it and could explain it clearly to anyone who cared to listen.
As often happens to people who undertake a serious study of prophecy, I concluded that if the 40% of the Bible that's prophecy can be trusted then the rest of it can be trusted as well, so I began studying it too. I discovered that God made a whole bunch of promises to us, such as His promises to see us through the tough times we can now see coming, and to take us to be with Him before He judges the world. These promises have more meaning because they're backed up by His proven track record in prophecy.
If you're not every bit as certain as I am about God, then try a study in prophecy. I bet it'll galvanize you into action just as it did me, especially as you begin to understand how little time is left. And even if you're already sure you know who God is, you still have a great reason to study prophecy. But it's not just so you'll be better informed about what's coming. It's so you'll feel the urgency to tell your friends about it while there's still time. Because if you listen carefully, you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.
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