Christian Revival and End Times Prophecy

How do I become a Disciple of Jesus Christ?

2018-03-09T19:29:00.000-08:00

(Written by Peter Voigt)
What is a disciple?
A Christian disciple is a person who accepts the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, repents from his sins, and receives forgiveness from God the Father. He acknowledges Jesus Christ as his Saviour and Redeemer and assists in the spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ.

Being a disciple is a process by which disciples grow in the understanding of God’s Word and are equipped by the Holy Spirit to overcome the trails and temptations of this present life.
This requires studying God’s Word on a daily basis, praying and having a living relationship with Jesus Christ and obeying His commands. A disciple should always be ready to give his or her testimony and to disciple others to walk in His way.

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.” (1 Peter 3:15 New Living Trans)

Twelve steps to be a Disciple of Jesus Christ
1. Salvation
Every disciple of Jesus Christ has to be a re-born believer. Turn to the Lord in prayer. Tell Him that you want to believe in Him, and ask Him to forgive your sins. Repent from your old life and turn around towards the Lord. Invite Him into your life. Tell Him that you want Him to be your Lord and Master and that you want Him to take over the leadership of your life for the rest of your life. Thank the Lord Jesus Christ for dying on the cross for you and your sins: Thank Him for rising from the dead in order to give you eternal life. (Romans 10:9-10)

2. Receiving the Holy Spirit
In the moment we receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour we also receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the seal of our salvation and is guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession (Ephesians 1:13-14).
Once we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, nobody will snatch us out of the hand of the Lord. (John 10:27-29)
1 Corinthians 12:13, Romans 8:9 and Ephesians 1:13-14 makes is very clear that the Holy Spirit is received in the moment of salvation.

3. Water baptism
Being baptized is a step of obedience and should be done by full immersion. Jesus commanded that those who become His disciples should be baptized (Matt. 28:19) and they were to follow His own example and get baptized, as He was. (Matt. 3:15-17)
Baptism is symbolic for burying your old life and emerging from the water is the new life in Christ Jesus (Roman 6:4 and 2 Corinthians 5:17).

4. Studying the Word of God
The bible is the eternal, unchanging Word of God. Scripture says: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do”. (2 Timothy 3: 16-17)
So reading the bible daily is a very important aspect of a disciple because it provides spiritual bread that feeds us. (Matt. 4:4)

5. Learn how to pray
Prayer is talking to our Heavenly Father and is very important to have a living relationship. If we don’t talk to our earthly Father then we have a problem in our relationship and with God it is the same.
Our Lord Jesus Christ gave us an example in Matt. 6:9 how to pray. When we pray we do the following:
We praise and worship God
We ask Him to help us
We pray for others
We thank Him for all the things He is doing for us

We can pray at any time and at any location, but it pleases our God very much if we start the day by talking to Him. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

6. Living His Word
Our actions will show the world that we are living God’s Word, that we are disciples of Jesus Christ. James 2:15-16 (New Living Translation) says: “Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, “Well, good-bye and God bless you; stay warm and eat well” – but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?”
Bearing fruit is the result of walking with the Lord and living His Word. Through this the world can see the result of a Spirit-filled life. That is what we are here for – to put God’s love on display to the world. (John 15:8)

7. Spreading His Word
Begin to share your testimony of what Jesus has done for you with others and tell them what God has prepared for them who love Him. (1 Corinthians 2:9)
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. Our job is to stay focussed on Christ and the Holy Spirit will produce much fruit. Love others as yourself and therefore tell everyone that God doesn’t want anybody to perish. (2 Peter 3:9)

8. Attending Church
It is very important to have fellowship with other believers and therefore attending a Church on a regular basis is a must for a disciple of Jesus. Matt. 18:20 tells us that for where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Jesus promises that He will be there. What a wonderful promise!
We attend a church service for the following reasons:
To have fellowship with other believers
To sing praises and worship God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit
To pray and experience God’s power through answered prayers
To give to God
To be taught the Word of God

9. Participate in the Lords Supper
Believers gather around the Lords Table and commemorate His death and resurrection. We remember at the Lords Supper that He died on the cross for us, that He rose again and that He will come again. Yes, He will come again and take us home, that we are with Him, forever. (John 14:3)

10. To be a Witness for Him
Jesus told us to witness everywhere and tell people about the wonderful things the Lord has done for us (Acts 1:8). We have to tell others the good news of salvation, deliverance, healing and restoration that Jesus has provided for us, if we believe in Him. Jesus told us also that we should not be afraid what to say, because the Holy Spirit will guide us and tell us what to say.

11. Waiting for His return
Jesus promised that He would return in the last days to rapture the members of His Church and take them to heaven. Paul the Apostle describes the event and how this would take place. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
We don’t know the day and the hour of His return, but Jesus told us what the signs before His return are. Believe it my friend, we can already hear the footsteps of the Lord, the time is near.

12. It is a challenge to be a Disciple of Jesus
Salvation is a free gift but to be a true disciple of Jesus will cost something and we have to be willing to pay the price. Following Jesus involves hard work, sacrifice and sometimes persecution.
A disciple knows his masters wish and he will follow and obey Him and surrender himself to the will of God. Jesus said: “If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.”(Matt. 10:38 New Living Translation)

Getting Excited About the Millennium

2018-01-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

(Written by Joseph Chambers)
It’s easy to see why people look at the world and tremble about the future. There is a visible deterioration occurring in the environment, including the weather patterns and all aspects of nature, as well as in every expression of human life. The Holy Spirit gave us a clear picture of what is happening.

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22-23).

The perfection of the earth — as it was created — has slowly descended downward to the point that only a Divine intervention can save it from utter destruction.

Of all people, Christians should understand the wild dreams of the environmentalists. This crowd either knows nothing of God’s great truth or has a misdirected view of Eschatology. Pre-Tribulation and Pre-Millennial Bible believers should actually be standing on their tiptoes watching every sign of God’s developing plans. Our future is star-studded. I believe the great saints of the ages are standing at Heaven’s balcony awaiting the moment to come with Jesus Christ for us. They are coming for the living saints and to get their resurrected bodies. As you may know, a number of these saints received their glorified bodies when Jesus Christ was resurrected. He, along with these saints, is called “The First Fruits of the Resurrection.”

The Biblical understanding of the Millennium demands that the Rapture and The Great Tribulation occur first in preparation for the one thousand year reign. The saints of God that have passed away must come back with Christ to get the living saints. This multitude of the righteous dead is asleep in death but consciously present with the Lord. The Spirit tells us, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him” (I Thessalonians 4:14).

The raptured multitude will ascend up into Heavenly Jerusalem, where the Temple of God is the centre of this majestic city. We will join their worship and this company of saints as we honour the precious Lord. This is the first opportunity that the entire Church of Jesus Christ will have to give Him the glory due His Name.
“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Revelation 5:9-12).

When the sounds of worship in this Pearly White City begin to subside, the Father and our Lord will organize the saintly elders and the Great Tribulation will begin. The Lord Jesus Christ alone is worthy to take this Book of Redemption and to open its seals, “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals” (Revelation 6:1a). The process will continue for seven years until the moment that the Heavens open again for the King of Kings to return to an earth that has been utterly judged and prepared for its Creator.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war” (Revelation 19:11).

The truly righteous saints have long lived for the day when we will reign with Him over this earth. The idea of a theocracy is only ugly when carnal men are in charge. The earth will be ruled by the King of Kings and His glorified saints will be His kings and priests. It will be a just and righteous kingdom, “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9b).

Nothing is more striking about this moment than the capitol city, ancient but renewed and redeemed Jerusalem. This city will be the central city of the entire earth and will grow to a city that is sixty square miles in dimension. The entire topographical contour will be changed into a plain or lush valley of perfect beauty. A river will flow out of the Temple and the Mount of Ascension that waters the entire landscape. The riches of the world will flow into this beloved city. Finally, Jerusalem will become the city it was chosen to be.

Every kingdom of this earth, both past and present, will become the one single kingdom of the crucified but resurrected Lord. Daniel saw this picture in the great dream of Nebuchadnezzar,
“Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and break them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:34-35).

The glorified saints will be His perfected government and His righteous rulers will fill the earth with peace. The present evil regimes of selfish men will be history. Every glorified saint will have their new body that knows none of the previous effects of sin. We are created to live in perfect union with our Creator. The spirit of man is akin to God and, with our new temple house; we will be perfect specimens of eternal life. There will be no such thing as a dark moment, an unhappy emotion, or tear-filled eyes. The human family will be powerful rulers of this universe, wealthy beyond understanding, and living in pure fellowship with each other. When the Millennium is finished, it will only get better.

Replacement Theology (Part 4)

2018-01-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

(Written by James A. Showers)
When the reformers separated from the Roman Catholic Church, they brought with them Replacement Theology. Furthermore, they built their eschatology (doctrine of future things) and ecclesiology (doctrine of the church) on the idea the church has replaced Israel in the plan of God.

If you were to remove Replacement Theology from these churches today, their entire system of eschatology would collapse. Why? Because if God has not replaced Israel (as we believe), then you must handle all the passages dealing with the Tribulation and Millennial Kingdom as being literal with a future fulfillment. Suddenly the primary justification for developing Amillennialism or Postmillennialism is eliminated.

Replacement Theology allowed the church to believe it is the fulfillment of the Messianic Kingdom. Over time, it fomented widespread hatred and violence against the Jewish people; and, unfortunately, its consequences are still with us today.

The State of Israel
The existence of the State of Israel is problematic to Replacement Theology. Yet it fits in perfectly with The Friends of Israel’s dispensational understanding of God’s plan for history. God has a different plan for Israel than for the Gentiles. God said, “I will take you [the Jewish people] from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land” (Ezek. 36:24). For us, the existence of modern Israel fits right in with what God said He would do: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land” (37:21). God is doing what He promised, and we are privileged to live to see it. Unfortunately, Replacement Theology even causes godly men to perceive Israel as the major problem in the Middle East.

• John Piper is well known as a fine teacher of God’s Word. I have tremendous respect for him. He is pastor of preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but holds to Replacement Theology. In March 2004 he preached about the Middle East, saying there is no place ever for hatred or violence against the Jewish people or any other people. He made it clear he rejects anti-Semitism. But in the same sermon he called Israel’s existence and borders “perhaps the most explosive factors in world terrorism and the most volatile factors in Arab-Western relations.”
1. In other words, he feels modern Israel is the major reason for the terrorism we see today. I wonder, where is Islam’s share of the blame? John Piper also said, ”The promises made to Abraham, including the promise of the Land, will be inherited as an everlasting gift only by true, spiritual Israel, not disobedient, unbelieving Israel.”
2. According to him, the promise of the land no longer belongs to the Jewish people; it belongs to the church, which he refers to as “true spiritual Israel.” However, it is exceedingly clear God made those promises to physical Israel, the Jewish people.

• R. C. Sproul, Jr. of Ligonier Ministries, said, ”We believe that the church is essentially Israel. We believe that the answer to, ‘What about the Jews?’ is, ‘Here we are.’”3 That’s Replacement Theology.

• Knox Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, founded by D. James Kennedy, dislikes the Left Behind book series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins because of its eschatology. In 2002 the seminary posted an open letter on its Web site that stated, “Bad Christian theology is today attributing to secular Israel a divine mandate to conquer and hold Palestine.” It also said, “The entitlement of any one ethnic or religious group [referring to the Jewish people] to territory in the Middle East called the ‘Holy Land’ [referring to the land of Israel] cannot be supported by Scripture.”4 That is Replacement Theology.

• Then there is Hank Hanegraaff, whose radio program, The Bible Answer Man, hails from Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Hanegraaff has a tremendous ability to memorize and recall Scripture, but he holds to Replacement Theology. He went so far as to call Tim LaHaye a racist and blasphemer (he has since toned down his criticism) and is no friend to The Friends of Israel because he disagrees with us and believes the church is Israel. Once again, this is Replacement Theology.

Typically, people in the Replacement camp side with the Palestinian Arabs, who are against Israel, and blame Israel for the troubles in the Middle East. Perhaps most troubling is what is taking place in European churches today. Anti-Semitism is mushrooming, and clergy and laypeople alike are openly claiming the State of Israel should never have been established. Their fallacious rationale is that Jewish people do not believe in Christ, so they should be punished by being stripped of their country.

It is not anti-Semitic to believe the church has replaced Israel. However, it is anti-Semitic to use Scripture to justify contempt for the Jewish people and to repudiate Israel’s right to sovereignty. Historically, it has been difficult for those in the church to subscribe to Replacement Theology and avoid anti-Semitism.

Today it is the Replacement churches that are rising up against Israel and calling for divestment and action against the Jewish state. This has been the historical pattern. What does God have to say?

Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The LORD of hosts is His name): “If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the LORD, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever” (Jer. 31:35–36).

God says that only if the sun, moon, and stars go out of existence will Israel also cease—not before. However, if the sun, moon, and stars disappear, not only would Israel cease to exist, but the Gentiles would also.

God told Israel, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” (v. 3) and “He who touches you touches the apple of His eye” (Zech. 2:8). If God so loves Israel, it is our obligation to do so as well.

Ezekiel 36 explains why God will restore Israel. Here is the crux of the issue:
I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name. . . . But I had concern for My holy name, . . . I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name (vv. 19–23).

God will restore Israel for His name’s sake—for His glory. This point differentiates what we believe as dispensationalists from what those in the Replacement camp believe—those who hold to Covenant or Reformed Theology. Reformed/Covenant Theology contends history’s ultimate purpose is man’s salvation. Dispensational Theology contends the ultimate purpose is God’s glorification. God certainly gets glory through salvation, but the Reformed/Covenant view places the primary focus on humanity. God’s glorification places it on God. God will do what glorifies Him the most, and He tells us restoring Israel will sanctify His great name. He also tells us His covenant that gives Israel—the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—the land of promise will last forever:

He is the LORD our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance” (Ps. 105:7–11).

God could not have made Himself any clearer. If you have a desire to build a relationship with people in the Jewish community, you must understand Replacement Theology and the impact it has had on the church and Jewish people who have lived with a 2,000-year legacy of anti-Semitism in the name of Christ. This is what they know. Jewish people need to know there is more than one type of Christian and that there are Christians today who do not believe God is finished with the Jewish people. He will restore them and make them a glorious nation for His name’s sake because He loves them; and He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Replacement Theology (Part 3)

2018-01-11T20:54:00.000-08:00

(Written by James A. Showers)
Until the fourth century, Christianity was illegal in the Roman Empire. Although Replacement Theology had overtaken the church and metastasized into Anti-Semitism, the church had no authority to do anything other than speak against the Jewish people. All that changed in a.d. 313, and the catalyst was a ruler named Constantine.

Young Constantine, a member of Emperor Diocletian’s court, was preparing to lead his troops at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in a.d. 312 when he claimed to have a vision of a cross in the sun. So he prayed to the Christian God, put Christian symbols on his banners, and won an astounding victory over an older, more experienced general.

Soon Constantine became emperor of the Roman Empire and issued the Edict of Milan (a.d. 313) that legalized Christianity and brought the church under the authority of Rome. This was a dramatic turning point in church history. Clergymen were put on the empire’s payroll, and the church went from being ruthlessly persecuted to being part of the state.

Eight years later, Christianity became the official religion. And a mere 60 years later it became the exclusive religion of the Roman Empire.

The Rise of Roman Catholicism
Because Rome was the seat of power, the church in Rome rose to prominence; and the bishop of Rome became the most powerful leader of the western half of the empire. Later he became known as the pope, with more power than the emperor. As the Roman Catholic Church spread in influence, it grew more powerful even than the governments of Europe. Believing the Jews to be cursed and the Christians to be God’s new chosen people (the teaching of Replacement Theology), it instigated the persecution of the Jewish people.

First, legislation arose outlawing synagogues and giving permission to burn Jews who broke the law. Jewish people were excluded from high office, restricted in other positions, and forced to shut their businesses on Sunday. Since religious Jews also closed on Saturday, the law helped Gentile merchants.

Furthermore, Jewish people were forbidden to live in Jerusalem, and Sunday was declared the Sabbath even though God’s Word makes the seventh day (Saturday) the day of rest (Ex. 20:9–11). The church also forbade Easter to be observed during Passover, when Christ actually died and arose. Jewish people were forbidden to sue Gentiles, and Christians were forbidden to give their children in marriage to Jewish people. Yet all these restrictions were not enough.
In 415 another turning point came, and anti-Semitism went from being merely verbal to being physical.

Violence and Death
In 415 Cyril, head of the church in Alexandria, led a brutal anti-Jewish riot in the city’s Jewish quarter. Christians beat Jews, raped women, murdered men, stole Jewish property, and drove the Jewish people from the city. From that point on, anti-Semitism mushroomed. It is literally impossible to count the number of cruel, violent, and merciless things done to God’s Chosen People.

During the Crusades in the 11th through 13th centuries, Christian armies marched across Europe murdering Jewish people, raping women, and burning Jewish villages. The church fabricated vicious lies about the Jews, persuading people they were the cause of every evil. When a plague broke out, the Jews were blamed. It was common to hear that Jewish people had poisoned the water or were somehow responsible for all Gentile illnesses and deaths.

It didn’t matter that the same proportion of Jews were dying. The Jewish people were still blamed. Logic and reason meant nothing. Outrageous lies flourished continually, such as the well-known libel that Jewish people stole Christian children, drained their blood, and used it to bake matzohs for their holidays. Never was one instance of such a thing ever proven.

But these lies flooded Europe. Jewish people became the scapegoat for every economic and political woe. And they were beaten, robbed, murdered, and mutilated. A particularly terrible time for them was Easter, when passion plays vilified the Jewish people as “Christ killers” and incited Jew-killing frenzies across the continent.

Jesus Himself, however, never blamed the Jewish people for His death. He declared, “I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (Jn. 10:17–18). In fact, it was a Gentile hand that nailed Him to the cross, not a Jewish hand. Scripture calls Jesus the perfect, sinless Lamb of God who died as a sacrifice for us all. We are all guilty of putting Christ on the cross.

But Replacement Theology had fomented such vicious anti-Semitism that more horrific, ungodly things were done to the Jewish people in the name of Christ than have been done to any other people in the history of the world.

Convert, Expel, Kill
We are all greatly indebted to Martin Luther. Luther and the other reformers stood against what was then the tyranny of the Roman Catholic Church. When Luther left Roman Catholicism he founded what later became the Lutheran Church. At first it was friendly to the Jewish community because Luther believed Jewish people had rejected Christianity due to corruption within the Roman church. If they saw true Christianity based on faith alone, he thought, they would embrace it.

But they did not. And as Luther grew older, he became a hard-core anti-Semite. His books On the Jews and Their Lies and On the Ineffable Name condemned the Jews and encouraged people to burn their synagogues, destroy their homes, take their wealth, and put them to hard labor. Several hundred years later Adolf Hitler used the writings of Martin Luther, Germany’s favorite son, to justify his spiritual case against the Jewish people in his book, Mein Kampf. Hitler followed Luther’s suggestions to a tee. But he added one more: murder.

Jewish life in Europe was always precarious. The term wandering Jew evolved as a result of organized Christendom. Historically, the church had three ways of dealing with the Jewish people: convert them, expel them, or kill them.

When Jewish people first settled in an area, they would be accepted and shown kindness. But as time passed, things changed. Christians felt obligated to convert the Jews. Eventually, their offer went like this: “Would you like to become a Christian today, or would you like to die?” Many chose death.

Converting to Christianity did not mean acknowledging that you were a sinner, believing in your heart that Jesus willingly took your punishment on the cross, and putting your faith in Him for the forgiveness of sin—as we believe. It meant being baptized and taken into church membership. When Jewish people refused, they were expelled from the country. Often they wandered from place to place, homeless and persecuted, unable to put down roots.

Wrote Jewish historian Solomon Grayzel:
In theory, Christianity and Judaism should have lived together in friendly spirit. But . . . the Jews were subjected to attack and degradation. Large numbers were killed. Then, when deprived of opportunity and of no further economic use, they were expelled and made to wander in search of new homelands. All the lands bordering on the Atlantic Ocean expelled the Jews. In Germany and Italy they were compelled to live apart in ghettos.1

When expulsion failed to satisfy Christendom, elimination began. Thousands of Jewish people were murdered. Then came Hitler, whose “final solution” to the “Jewish problem” was to kill them all.

To this day, Jewish people believe the Holocaust of World War II was perpetrated by Christians. Even though Hitler himself was not a true Christian, many who worked for him were. They were guards at concentration camps. They were soldiers. They were members of the Hitler Youth. And most good Christians in Germany did not stand up against what was going on.

While not evil in itself, Replacement Theology has been a dangerous tool in the hand of the Devil. It changed Christendom’s attitude toward Jewish people, fomented contempt for ethnic Israel, and recast the Scriptures from a Jewish book to a Gentile one. It also changed the meaning of Scripture, particularly when it comes to eschatology—the doctrine of future things—as we shall see.

Replacement Theology (Part 2)

2018-01-09T16:44:00.000-08:00

(Written by James A. Showers)
The church is not Israel, and Israel is not the church. However, more and more Christians today fail to see the distinction. They have been so indoctrinated into Replacement Theology that they see themselves as the “new Israel” and the Jewish people as forsaken.

How did this belief become so deeply established in the church, particularly when it was not the theology of the apostles or the first-or second-generation church leaders? Because it justified prejudice against the Jewish people.

Replacement Theology began developing in the second and third centuries of the church, becoming established about 200 years after the church began. It did not arise from a careful study of Scripture. In fact, the position was formulated first, and then Scripture was located to support it. This is the wrong way to devise a theology. Theology should result from a thorough study of God’s Word. People should not define their theology first and then go on a Scripture hunt to find justification for it.

One reason Replacement Theology has become so prevalent is its great intellectual charm, so to speak. Arguing for it requires doing mental gymnastics with God’s Word to develop a complex argument. Even then, Scripture does not fully support it. But for many people, the exercise is appealing.

Initially, Replacement Theology developed to justify prejudice against the Jewish people in the years of the early church. It became a core doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church; and though the Reformation fathers corrected much bad theology when they formed the Protestant movement, they brought Replacement Theology with them.

From Jewish to Gentile
The church began in Acts 2 in Jerusalem with the coming of the Holy Spirit, and its early leadership was Jewish. It was a Jewish body composed primarily of Jewish people who had placed their faith in Jesus the Messiah. But around A.D. 70 a transition began. Jerusalem and the second Temple were destroyed, the church in Jerusalem was scattered, and Gentile leaders began to take over. By the end of the first century, there were an estimated 100,000 Christians in the Roman Empire and about 6 million Jewish people.

But by the end of the second century—a mere 100 years later––the church had grown to about 7 million Christians, equal to the number of Jews then. Almost all church growth had occurred among the Gentiles, who were now dominating Christianity.

Meanwhile, a Roman law contributed to the Christian animosity toward Jewish people. According to the law, any religion that predated the Roman Empire was legal and could function openly. But any religion that began afterward was illegal and needed to be snuffed out. Christianity began long after the Roman Empire, but Judaism predated it by many centuries. So Rome considered Judaism legal but Christianity illegal and began to persecute the Christians.

Christian leaders argued that Christianity was merely a sect of Judaism. But since Jewish leaders did not support the position, Rome disagreed; and great persecution came on the church. Christians resented the fact their Jewish neighbors did not come to their defense and began to view Judaism as a threat. They thought all Jews should embrace Jesus Christ as Messiah and that Judaism should cease. Their animosity grew; and about 150 years after the church began, it clearly manifested itself within the church leadership.

Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons (c. A.D. 177–195), told the Jewish people, “The Scriptures are not yours but ours.” He claimed the Jews were disinherited from God’s grace and that the church was the new, or true, Israel.

A few years later Tertullian (c. A.D. 160–225) wrote Answers to the Jews, where he said God had rejected the Jewish people and made Israel a servant of the church. Based on his bizarre interpretation of the phrase the older will serve the younger (Gen. 25:23), he wrote that God rejected the Jews and concluded that, if Israel has any continuing role, it is as a servant of the church. The verse has nothing whatsoever to do with the church and, in fact, really means Esau’s descendants would serve Israel.

Three hundred years after the church began, Eusebius (fourth century A.D.) wrote that the Hebrew Scriptures were for Christians, not Jews, and that only the curses applied to Israel. Everything else applied to the church because, according to him, the church was the continuation of the Old Testament and thus superseded Judaism.

The Rise of Allegory
The early church fathers distanced themselves from everything Jewish, seeing the Bible as a wholly Gentile document. And they searched Greek culture to find a way to take Scriptures that clearly show God still has a plan for Israel and use them to argue exactly the opposite. To accomplish this feat, they turned to allegory.

Allegory ascribes nonliteral, spiritualized meanings to literal words and phrases. It became popular in the Roman Empire when intellectuals began using it to reinterpret various Greek classics, like Homer’s Iliad, to make them more appealing to the society of the day. Some church fathers began applying the same method to Scripture, especially unfulfilled prophecy. Origen (A.D. 185–254) was the first to develop a system that systematically applied allegory to unfulfilled prophecy. He argued that Scripture has two meanings: the literal and the so-called spiritual; and he gave higher value to the “spiritual.” Consequently, literal interpretation became associated with weaker Christians, and allegorical interpretation became associated with “deeper,” more “intellectual” Christians.

Unfulfilled prophecy, taken literally, threatened Replacement Theology because it speaks of a glorious future for Israel and a coming Tribulation and Millennial Kingdom on Earth.

A problem with allegory is the absence of uniform rules for applying allegorical interpretation to literal Scripture. One person may say a passage means one thing, and another may say it means something else. And neither individual can prove the other wrong.

In the fourth century, Augustine (A.D. 354–425) came along. He was strongly influenced by both Ambrose of Milan, a church leader who argued that the Jewish people were irrevocably perverse and not worthy of any good thought, and Origen’s use of allegory to interpret Scripture. Augustine used allegory to formulate the system we today call Amillennialism.

Augustine’s book The City of God still influences the church today. He also wrote Tract Against the Jews in which he argued that Jewish people should be treated unmercifully because they have no value and deserve no consideration.

Augustine’s contemporary, John Chrysostom (A.D. 347–407), a famous preacher and great orator, preached a series of sermons against the Jewish people, accusing them of murdering their off-spring and worshiping devils. He called their synagogues brothels and dens of robbers and claimed God hated the Jewish people because, in his view, they murdered Jesus. Here was his conclusion: since God hated the Jews, Christians are obligated to hate them as well. Do you want to be a good Christian? Then you had better hate the Jews, he said, because God does. Sadly, anti-Semitism and Replacement Theology overtook the church.

However, until this point, Christianity was still illegal in the Roman Empire. The church had no power to do anything about what it believed. But all that was about to change.

Replacement Theology (Part 1)

2018-01-02T01:49:00.000-08:00

(Written by James Showers)
If you watch the news headlines, you may have read these: “Episcopal Church Is the Next to Shun Israel,” “Presbyterian Church to Justify Israel Divestment,” and “Methodist Church Renews Drive for Divestment From Israel.”

Divestment involves withdrawing investments from companies doing business with a particular nation in order to put economic pressure on the government. It was a technique used against South Africa to break apartheid. Over the years, some Protestant churches have asked people to stop investing in companies doing business with Israel based on their claim that Israel is a racist nation. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Israel is a democracy that freely gives the vote to both Jews and Arabs. Apartheid occurs when a minority race uses its power to take economic advantage of the majority of another race. Such is not the case in Israel.

In 2007 a Methodist women’s group wrote a report, sponsored by and paid for by the Methodist church, that referred to the founding of the State of Israel as the “original sin,” thus equating modern Israel with Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God. The report implied humanity sinned against God in creating the modern nation. It was a shocking statement.

The same report claims, “The Holocaust, and the impact of the Holocaust on Israel’s society, has caused hysteria and paranoia amongst Israelis.” The report not only treated the murder of 6 million people casually, as if it were a minor event, but also claimed Jewish people have blown it out of proportion. If an event in history had put 6 million Methodists to death, these women probably would have a different outlook on the Holocaust.

Then, of course, there is Jimmy Carter. The former U.S. president’s 2006 book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, distorted facts, demonized Israel, and contained hundreds of falsehoods and fictional statements.

In light of all these events, perhaps you’ve asked yourself, Why are all of these Christians picking on Israel? What’s behind these attacks?

The answer is Replacement Theology, the belief the church has replaced physical Israel (the Jewish people) in the plan of God. Those who hold this view believe the church has become “spiritual Israel” and the inheritor of all the covenant promises God made to Israel. But they say the Jewish people retain all the curses.

Effects on the Church
In the Old Testament God often said, in effect, “Keep My covenant, and I’ll bless you; I’ll do all these good things for you. But if you do not keep My covenant, I will curse you; and these judgments will come upon you.” Replacement theologians take the blessings for themselves and leave the curses with Israel. Therefore, whenever they read Israel in Scripture, they replace it with church. The leadership of most mainline Protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church hold to Replacement Theology.

Here are some implications of this belief:
The Jewish people as a nation have no place in God’s future plan, and Israel has no future as a nation.

There is no Tribulation or Millennial Kingdom. In fact, such prophecies become problematic, which is why Replacement theologians want us to see Israel not as a physical nation but as the church.

The church begins with Abraham in Genesis 12, not at Pentecost in Acts 2. Old Testament Israel (not physical Israel, but only those who put their faith in God) are defined as the church.
Old Testament Law still applies to the church because, if the church began with Abraham and continues today, then everything in the Old Testament still relates to the church.

The church, in this discussion, includes all denominations
Some churches, for example, have altars up front, in the center. Why? Because the Law requires sacrifice, and sacrifices go on an altar. Consequently, they view communion as the re-sacrifice of Christ, believing the elements mutate into the physical body and blood of Christ through transubstantiation.

Under the Law, a man needed an intercessor between himself and God. He could not go to God directly. Hence, some churches have priests rather than pastors.

Infant baptism replaces circumcision that, under the Law, placed a child under God’s covenant.

Have you ever heard Christians refer to Sunday as the Sabbath? In Scripture, Sabbath is sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. God defined it that way, telling Israel, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work” (Ex. 20:9–10). So church leaders thought, Because we worship on the first day of the week, we’ll redefine Sabbath to be Sunday. It is commonly referred to as the “day of rest.” However, Sunday is the first day of the week, not the seventh. To refer to Sunday as the “Sabbath Day” is contrary to Scripture. There was a reason the church began to meet on the first day: it was the day our Lord arose from the dead.

All these church practices came about because of the belief that God replaced Israel with the church and that the Old Testament Law still applies to the church.

Replacement theologians make the grievous error of interpreting the Old Testament by reading the New Testament back into it. Doing so is the only way they can make their argument. However, if you take God’s Word progressively, in its literal and historical context, as God revealed it to us, you will not believe in Replacement Theology.

Clearly, Replacement theologians believe the State of Israel has no theological reason to exist. They call it a “mistake in history” and see its creation as the “original sin.” Dispensationalists know better. And Dispensationalism makes better sense.

Understanding the Differences
Dispensationalism is a system of biblical interpretation that sees God working with mankind in different ways at different times in history. It is based on a consistent, literal interpretation of Scripture. While salvation has always been by grace through faith, dispensationalists believe the Bible teaches the ultimate purpose of history is not the salvation of man but, rather, the glorification of God. Dispensationalists believe God has two distinct programs for history: one for Israel and one for the church.

DISPENSATIONALISM
God began birthing Israel by calling Abraham and leading him to Canaan, often called the Holy Land. Then He brought the Israelites down to Egypt where they grew into a nation. By the time they fled Egypt, they numbered in the millions.

God led the Israelites into the wilderness and gave them the Mosaic Law, which covers the period of Old Testament history in which they were in the Promised Land. Then they were exiled because of disbelief and idolatry. Later God returned them to their land, where they remained for several hundred years before Christ’s First Coming. All this time, the Gentiles were in a period of ignorance.

Then came Christ’s First Advent, His death on the cross, and His burial and resurrection. Shortly thereafter the Jewish people were scattered, and the church began (Acts 2). Today we are in the Church Age. But the Bible says the church will be caught up and taken out of this world. We call that the Rapture. And with it, the Church Age will come to an end.
Many will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ after the Rapture, but they will not be part of the church. The church (also called the bride of Christ) will be in heaven with its Bridegroom, Jesus.

After the Rapture, the seven-year Tribulation will begin. It has two purposes: (1) to bring Israel to repentance, reconciliation with its Messiah, and restoration as a nation; (2) to judge the Gentile nations for their rebellion against God and their treatment of the Jewish people.

At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will return to Earth and set up His Millennial Kingdom. He will confine Satan, restore Israel and elevate it above all nations, establish His throne in Jerusalem, and rule the world from there. Believing Gentiles who survive the Tribulation will enter the Millennial (1,000-year) Kingdom.

At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be freed and allowed to lead a final rebellion against God and the reigning Messiah, but he will be defeated and destroyed. Then will come the Great White Throne judgment of all unbelievers, followed by the appearance of the new heavens and new earth.

REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY
It teaches there are not two programs for history but only one and that Israel and the church began with Abraham’s call. Therefore, the Mosaic Law did not end with Christ but still applies to the church today.

Replacement theologians say that in Old Testament times, God worked through physical Israel; and in the New Testament He worked through so-called spiritual Israel, meaning the church. The Jews once were God’s Chosen People, but now they are the rejected people of covenant curses. The Gentiles who were ignorant in the Old Testament are now the chosen people.

There is no Tribulation or Millennium. They are not needed. In fact, the Millennial Kingdom becomes a real problem for churches that embrace Replacement Theology. They wrestled with it, and out of that struggle came Amillennialism: the belief that the Church Age is the Kingdom of God on Earth and that, at some point, Christ will return to judge sinners and take us to the eternal state— the new heavens and new earth. Amillennialism projects a negative outlook on life because it provides no resolution. The world continues until Christ comes back and judges it before taking believers to the new heavens and earth, and that’s that.

Later in church history, Postmillennialism came along. It contends the church is the active agent of change in the world; and as the church’s impact grows, the entire world will eventually believe in Christ, opening the doors for Christ’s return. This seems to be a more positive outlook, but it is not what the Bible teaches.

Replacement Theology has been the “black sheep” of Christendom because, over the past 2,000 years, it has led to countless acts of anti-Semitism by some in the church— and I cannot overemphasize the word countless. A tremendous amount of anti-Jewish violence has been committed by people who claimed to be doing it “for the Lord.” Jewish people have lived for centuries with the legacy of Christians persecuting them in the name of Christ. And it is because of Replacement Theology that Christians have justified their actions.

In the next article we will travel back through history to see how Replacement Theology became established in the church.

Confused About Syria, You Should Be

2017-04-09T04:47:00.003-07:00

by Tyler Durden

Close your eyes, click your heels three times, and tell me if you actually know what is happening in Syria.

There’s an awful lot about the poison gas attack that doesn’t add up for the casual observer.

It was only a week ago that the US enunciated a new policy that we would be content for Bashar al Assad to remain in power presiding over the Syrian government — after years of grousing and threats against him. Apparently Trump Central had concluded that Assad was a better alternative than another failed state in the Middle East with no government at all.

That policy change was a yuge benefit for Assad since it removed any pretext for US subterfuge or “black box” mischief against him. He was rather busy fighting a civil war, after all. Against whom? A mash-up of Jihadi forces ranging from Isis (so-called), to al Qaeda and Jabhat al Nusra, its spinoff gang dedicated specifically against Assad personally. Assad’s relations with Isis were ambiguous and complex. Isis had used Syria as a staging area for its operations next door in Iraq. It was rumored that Assad purchased oil from Isis. Yet Isis had participated in actions against Assad. In any case, all of the Jihadis were Sunni, in opposition to Assad’s Iran-leaning regime. Assad himself belongs to the Alawite sect of Islam, a twig on the Shia branch. Syria as a whole is a majority Sunni population, so Assad and his father Hafez before him (President 1971 – 2000) have represented a minority (12 percent) in an era of inflamed Sunni-Shia passions.

Trusting that you’re not additionally confused by all this, why would Assad choose this moment — only days after the US granted him a pass on remaining in power — to do the one thing guaranteed to bring the wrath of the US down him, namely, kill a lot of civilians, including women and children, with poison gas? Either Assad is inconceivably stupid or possibly the gas attack is not exactly what happened.

Russia has claimed that Assad’s air force attempted to bomb a “rebel” (al Qaeda? Al Nusra? Isis?) ammunition depot that apparently contained supplies of Sarin nerve gas. Neither the US government or the American media has presented any arguments to counter that hypothesis. The New York Times banged the war drum as loudly as possible in the days after the incident. And now, of course, Trump Central has fired $60 million worth of cruise missiles at Assad’s main air force base. Assad’s spokesmen denied responsibility for the attack and the Russians are still asking for conclusive evidence via the UN Security Council.

The current incident appears to be — or was engineered to be — a replay of the August 2013 gas incident that left President Barack Obama looking weak and indecisive for not carrying out retaliation against Assad “crossing a line in the sand” against human decency.

And so you have Mr. Trump, who may feel now that he cannot afford to appear weak and indecisive — above all other considerations, including the truth about what really happened at Khan Sheikhoun, Idlib province of Syria. So he bombed an airport, after warning the Russians to remove their personnel from the vicinity. In the event that the world ever does learn what actually occurred at Khan Sheikhoun, and the truth turns out differently than the current narrative, Mr. Trump can say, “We only bombed some Syrian air force infrastructure… no biggie… no women and children harmed.”

The outstanding question remains: what might have possibly motivated Bashar al Assad to turn upside down a situation of great advantage to himself mere days after he achieved it? It will be interesting to see if a credible response emerges from the hall of mirrors that US policy has become.

Is World War III on the Horizon?

2016-02-24T19:25:00.000-08:00

Saudi Arabia already has nukes, Iran probably does, and the Russians are one of the two great nuclear powers on the entire planet.
So if Saudi Arabia, Turkey and their Sunni allies do decide to conduct a full-blown ground invasion of Syria, could someone ultimately decide to use nuclear weapons when their backs get pushed up against a wall? As you read this article, there are thousands of military vehicles and hundreds of thousands of troops massed along the southern border of Turkey and the northern border of Saudi Arabia. If the command is given and those forces start streaming toward Damascus, it is inevitable that the Syrians, the Iranians, Hezbollah and the Russians would fight back. It would literally be the start of World War 3, and the Saudis and the Turks are trying very hard to convince the United States to be involved. But the truth is that we don’t want any part of this conflict, because it could very easily become the very first nuclear war in the history of the Middle East.
In the event of a massive ground invasion by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and their allies, it is actually more likely that Russia may decide to be the first one to use nukes. An invasion force of hundreds of thousands of troops would vastly outnumber the relatively small Russian force that is already inside Syria, and so the Russians may feel that the only way that they can keep the Sunni powers out of Damascus is to use tactical nukes.
Russia has more tactical nukes that anyone else in the world by far, and there are some reports that indicate that Russia may be prepared to use them in Syria. For example, former Associated Press reporter Robert Parry, the author of America’s Stolen Narrative, says that a source has told him that the Russians have already warned Turkey that this could potentially happen…
If Turkey (with hundreds of thousands of troops massed near the Syrian border) and Saudi Arabia (with its sophisticated air force) follow through on threats and intervene militarily to save their rebel clients, who include Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front, from a powerful Russian-backed Syrian government offensive, then Russia will have to decide what to do to protect its 20,000 or so military personnel inside Syria.
A source close to Russian President Vladimir Putin told me that the Russians have warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Moscow is prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons if necessary to save their troops in the face of a Turkish-Saudi onslaught. Since Turkey is a member of NATO, any such conflict could quickly escalate into a full-scale nuclear confrontation.
Given Erdogan’s megalomania or mental instability and the aggressiveness and inexperience of Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman (defense minister and son of King Salman), the only person who probably can stop a Turkish-Saudi invasion is President Obama. But I’m told that he has been unwilling to flatly prohibit such an intervention, though he has sought to calm Erdogan down and made clear that the U.S. military would not join the invasion.

Can I lose my salvation?

2016-01-13T18:29:00.000-08:00

By Ron Graham
“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out…” And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing… Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. John 6:37, 39, & 47.
As we read and study our Bibles, there should be a voice speaking to us, reminding us to take in the full council of God. Too many Bible teachers will take one verse out of Scripture and build a doctrine on it. Even though that scripture is qualified by other scriptures and the teacher has drawn an erroneous conclusion, the wrong interpretation is still taught as truth. The controversy over “once saved, always saved” is one of those doctrines.

Can we, once we’re born again, lose our salvation? Jesus says, “All that the Father gives Me I will not lose or cast out”. Jesus reconfirms verse 37 using verse 39. Then He puts a cap on it with verse 47. Christ is sending a clear message to all who have turned their lives over to Him, that once justified the born again believer cannot lose their salvation. God the Father draws us to God the Son, and God the Son tells us we are in His hands. Nothing can separate us from Him.
The following verse is used often by some Bible teachers to establish doubt about the notion of once saved always saved. “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” Philippians 2:12. Paul is not advising the Philippians to save themselves that would be works. All he’s saying is don’t be satisfied with just being saved, there is much more to do now that we’re saved.

As born again believers, we are in Christ. “[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…” Romans 8:1. Condemnation is Satan’s tool, and he wields it mercilessly. Do Christians continually mess up? Yes. John the Apostle has a response to messing up. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” 1 John 1:9. There’s a battle raging between our spirit and our flesh. Sometimes we win the battle and sometimes we lose, but we cannot lose the war. That’s a different matter altogether. There’s a spiritual war going on all around us, Satan and his minions of evil vs. God and His army of angels. God’s the winner and Satan’s always the loser.

Taking scripture out of context can lead to flawed interpretations. If we are endeavoring to teach others through discipleship, we certainly don’t want to teach erroneously. I’ve heard it said by some that we don’t necessarily lose our salvation but we can leave it behind. That statement makes no sense to me; we are either saved or we are not. There is no middle ground here. These verses from the book of Matthew seem to add credence to those who teach the doctrine of leaving ones salvation behind.

“But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite [his] fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for [him], and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth,” Matthew 24:48-51.
The term evil servant says a lot about this individual. The fact that this evil servant, on occasion, refers to his master as “lord” says nothing of a profession of faith. The servant’s evil actions alone condemn him. The word hypocrite, (hypokritēs in the Greek) has more than one definition. One of which is pretender. A person can pretend to be something they are not, in this case the evil servant was pretending to be a loyal servant when all along he was only an evil doer. As I read the verse above I see no sign that points to this evil servant as ever having been saved. He didn’t leave his salvation behind, he never had it.

Calling Jesus Lord doesn’t cement anyone’s salvation. Jesus said: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven,” Matthew 7:20-21. Clearly the servant spoken of above, even though referring to his master as Lord was not doing his masters will.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul the Apostle gives us a huge nugget to chew on “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation,” Romans 10:9 & 10. This is a 2 part requirement….those who confess and believe are saved. You can say it all you want, but unless you believe it you’re lost.

This servant spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24 was not saved. Remember, Judas Iscariot was with Jesus for His entire earthly ministry, and yet Judas betrayed Him. Was Judas a born again believer just because he spent three years walking the shores of Galilee with Jesus? Certainly not, he was pretending.

We are called by a Holy Calling. Once called, and once we’ve asked Jesus to come into our lives to be our Lord and Saviour, we are justified. We are a new creation in Christ, born again, and according to God Himself, we can never leave our salvation behind. Falter now and then, absolutely. Does it change our status as born again? Not hardly, but here’s the rub. When we become born again, that begins our journey with Christ. We have an obligation to Christ to be a witness for Him. We aren’t accomplishing anything by keeping silent. We must witness to the lost. Many Christians falter in this area. When it comes to witnessing, I believe Christians by their blatant refusal to witness begin to experience a sense of condemnation. Then they begin to feel they’ve lost their salvation. It isn’t that they’ve lost it. It’s that they are hiding it. Share your faith, be His disciple, spread His Gospel to all that will listen. Remember, condemnation is of the Devil.

Are The United States & Russia Preparing For a Nuclear War?

2015-12-04T01:37:00.002-08:00

Are the United States & Russia making preparations for escalations toward a global geothermal nuclear war? Recent geopolitical developments may suggest just that.

On December 2nd, U.S Marines with the 2nd Transport Support Battalion conducted a full scale chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear (CBRN) defense training exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

Cpl. Tanner Watson, a CBRN training instructor for the exercise commented that “at the end of the day, I want these Marines to be as knowledgeable as they can be about these types of threats. If Marines know how to detect and counteract a threat, then I’m confident we can be ready for anything”

The Marine core ran similar drills in November & September at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan, and Gunha-Ri South Korea, as part of a large scale initiative to promote CBRN preparedness amongst U.S. Pacific military forces.

In Russia, the Defense Ministry announced plans to field the Ilyushin Il-80 Maxdome aircraft, the Russian equivalent to Air Force 1, by the end of the year.

According to Global Security the Ilyushin Il-80 is designed to be used when command infrastructure is disrupted due to nuclear conflict and will be, “permanently staffed with senior generals, operational commanders and technicians.”

In addition to the permanent fielding of their doom’s day plane, the Russians recently accidentally leaked a purported classified document revealing an unmanned drone submarine, capable of delivering a cobalt nuclear warhead to the U.S. coastline.

Rose Gottemoeller, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, told a House hearing that “I know we are concerned about it; of course we are concerned about it as threat to the United States,” when answering questions from Rep. Mike Turner regarding the nuclear drone.

This and other assessments by the State Department, regarding the rising global tensions between the United States and Russia, are further reaffirmed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks in his inaugural presidential address today.

With all of this taken into consideration, It may be naive to assume Putin was simply referring to Turkey when he stated “if someone thinks they can commit a heinous war crime, kill our people and get away with it, suffering nothing but a ban on tomato imports, or a few restrictions in construction or other industries, they’re delusional. We’ll remind them of what they did, more than once. They’ll regret it. We know what to do.”

Putin also stated “this means that the terrorists must not be given refuge anywhere. There must be no double standards. No contacts with terrorist organizations. No attempts to use them for self-seeking goals. No criminal business with terrorists.”

Vladimir Putin was likely indirectly referencing nations like the United States, and other NATO powers, who have been directly implicated in the financial support and creation of ISIS as a geopolitical destabilization tool.

Is Barack Obama Actually TRYING To Start World War III?

2015-10-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

(Written by Michael Snyder)
Why has Barack Obama airdropped 50 tons of ammunition into areas that "moderate rebels" in Syria supposedly control? This is essentially the equivalent of poking the Russians directly in the eyes. Much of this ammunition will end up in the hands of those that the Russians are attempting to bomb into oblivion, and so to Russia it appears that we are attempting to make their job much harder. And of course the truth is that there aren't really any "moderate rebels" in Syria at all. Nearly all of the groups that are fighting are made up primarily of radical jihadists and/or hired mercenaries. Personally, I don't see anyone over there that you could call "the good guys". At the end of the day, the U.S. supports just about anyone that wants to get rid of the Assad regime, and the Russians are working very hard to keep Assad in power. Just like the civil war in Ukraine, the conflict in Syria is in great danger of being transformed into a proxy war between the United States and Russia, and many fear that these conflicts could eventually be setting the stage for World War III.

The ferocity of Russian airstrikes in Syria has surprised observers all over the planet, and over the past couple of days these airstrikes have been extended to include some new areas...
Russian Air Forces have extended the range of their airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Syria to four provinces, focusing primarily on demolishing fortified installations and eliminating supply bases and the terrorists' infrastructure.

Over the last 24 hours Russian aircraft have attacked terrorist positions in the Hama, Idlib, Latakia and Raqqa provinces of Syria. In total, 64 sorties targeted 63 Islamic State installations, among them 53 fortified zones, 7 arms depots, 4 training camps and a command post. When I read reports like this, I am deeply troubled. The Obama administration claims that it has been bombing ISIS positions in Syria for over a year. So why in the world do these targets still exist?

Was the U.S. military incapable of finding these installations? That doesn't seem likely. So why weren't they destroyed long ago? Did the Obama administration not want them destroyed for some reason? What seems abundantly clear is that the Russians are doing what the Obama administration was either unwilling or unable to do. There is now mass panic among ISIS fighters, and thousands of them are fleeing the country...

An estimated 3,000 Islamic State fighters as well as militants from other extremist groups have fled Syria for Jordan fearing a renewed offensive by the Syrian army in addition to Russian airstrikes, a military official has told RIA news agency. "At least 3,000 militants from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), al-Nusra and Jaish al-Yarmouk have fled to Jordan. They are afraid of the Syrian army having stepped up activities on all fronts and of Russian airstrikes," the RIA source said.

The mainstream media in the United States is not talking much about this, are they? But the U.S. media is reporting on this latest airdrop of ammunition to rebel groups in Syria. For example, the following comes from CNN...
U.S. military cargo planes gave 50 tons of ammunition to rebel groups overnight in northern Syria, using an air drop of 112 pallets as the first step in the Obama Administration's urgent effort to find new ways to support those groups. Details of the air mission over Syria were confirmed by a U.S. official not authorized to speak publicly because the details have not yet been formally announced.

C-17s, accompanied by fighter escort aircraft, dropped small arms ammunition and other items like hand grenades in Hasakah province in northern Syria to a coalition of rebels groups vetted by the US, known as the Syrian Arab Coalition. If you were the Russians, how would you feel about this? I know how I would feel. And just as Joe Biden has previously admitted, the "moderate middle" in Syria simply does not exist. The following is an extended excerpt from a piece that was originally written by investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed...

The first Russian airstrikes hit the rebel-held town of Talbisah north of Homs City, home to al-Qaeda's official Syrian arm, Jabhat al-Nusra, and the pro-al-Qaeda Ahrar al-Sham, among other local rebel groups. Both al-Nusra and the Islamic State have claimed responsibility for vehicle-borne IEDs (VBIEDs) in Homs City, which is 12 kilometers south of Talbisah.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that as part of "US and Turkish efforts to establish an ISIS 'free zone' in the northern Aleppo countryside," al-Nusra "withdrew from the border and reportedly reinforced positions in this rebel-held pocket north of Homs city". In other words, the US and Turkey are actively sponsoring "moderate" Syrian rebels in the form of al-Qaeda, which Washington DC-based risk analysis firm Valen Globals forecasts will be "a bigger threat to global security" than IS in coming years.

Last October, Vice President Joe Biden conceded that there is "no moderate middle" among the Syrian opposition. Turkey and the Gulf powers armed and funded "anyone who would fight against Assad," including "al-Nusra," "al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)," and the "extremist elements of jihadis who were coming from other parts of the world". In other words, the CIA-backed rebels targeted by Russia are not moderates. They represent the same melting pot of al-Qaeda affiliated networks that spawned the Islamic State in the first place. It has been well documented that many of these so-called "moderate rebel groups" in Syria have fought alongside ISIS and have sold weapons to them. So this false dichotomy that Barack Obama keeps trying to sell us on is just a giant fraud. The following comes from a recent Infowars report...

In September, 2014 a commander with the FSA admitted cooperating with ISIS and the al-Nusra Front. "We are collaborating with the Islamic State and the Nusra Front by attacking the Syrian Army's gatherings in ... Qalamoun," Bassel Idriss said. "Let's face it: The Nusra Front is the biggest power present right now in Qalamoun and we as FSA would collaborate on any mission they launch as long as it coincides with our values."

In July of 2014 a report in Stars and Stripes documented how the 1,000 strong Dawud Brigade, which had previously fought alongside the FSA against al-Assad, had defected in its entirety to join ISIS. The same month factions within the FSA - including Ahl Al Athar and Ibin al-Qa'im - pledged services to the Islamic State. Members of the Islamic State claim to cooperate with the FSA and buy weapons provided by the U.S. "We are buying weapons from the FSA. We bought 200 anti-aircraft missiles and Koncourse anti tank weapons," ISIS member Abu Atheer told al-Jazeera. "We have good relations with our brothers in the FSA. For us, the infidels are those who cooperate with the West to fight Islam."

U.S. anti-tank weapons are playing a critical role in the Syrian conflict. As reported by the Washington Post, U.S.-made anti-tank missiles are being used by the rebels to destroy lots of Russian-made tanks that are being used by the Syrian army...
So successful have they been in driving rebel gains in northwestern Syria that rebels call the missile the "Assad Tamer," a play on the word Assad, which means lion. And in recent days they have been used with great success to slow the Russian-backed offensive aimed at recapturing ground from the rebels. Since Wednesday, when Syrian troops launched their first offensive backed by the might of Russia's military, dozens of videos have been posted on YouTube showing rebels firing the U.S.-made missiles at Russian-made tanks and armored vehicles belonging to the Syrian army. Appearing as twirling balls of light, they zigzag across the Syrian countryside until they find and blast their target in a ball of flame.

Like I said earlier, this is looking more and more like a proxy war between the United States and Russia. Could that be what Obama actually wants? Obama is poking China in the eyes lately too. CNN is reporting that U.S. warships may soon be sailing into territorial waters around the Spratly Islands. These are islands that the Chinese government claims ownership over, but the U.S. government disputes that claim, and Obama seems determined to flex his muscles in the area...

The United States (US) may soon deploy war ships near China's artificial islands in the South China Sea. It wants to send a message that it does not recognize China's territorial claims over the area.
This is according to a Financial Times report quoting a senior U.S. official who said its ships will sail within 12-nautical-mile zones that China claims as its territory around the Spratly Islands within the next two weeks. If Obama sends warships into that area, there is a very real chance that they could get shot at. According to Newsweek, the Chinese are saying that they will not permit U.S. ships to violate those territorial waters under any circumstances...

"We will never allow any country to violate China's territorial waters and airspace in the Spratly Islands, in the name of protecting freedom of navigation and overflight," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in response to a question about possible U.S. patrols. "We urge the related parties not to take any provocative actions, and genuinely take a responsible stance on regional peace and stability." Such exchanges appear to be moving China and the U.S. toward a much feared, yet long expected, military confrontation. Just as unsettling, both sides seem confident they can prevail. Over the past couple of years our relations with China have really gone downhill very rapidly, and if the trading relationship between the two largest economies on the planet breaks down, that would have massive implications for the entire global economy.

In addition to everything above, the civil war in Ukraine continues to rage on. The United States funded, equipped, trained and organized the forces that violently overthrew the democratically-elected government in Ukraine, and then once those thugs (which actually included some neo-Nazis) took power, the Obama administration immediately recognized them as the legitimate government of Ukraine. The Russians were absolutely infuriated by this, and they have been providing soldiers, equipment and supplies to the rebel groups that are fighting back against this new government. Of course the Russians deny that they are doing this, but it is exceedingly obvious that they are.

The rebel groups that the Russians have been backing have been doing very well and have been steadily taking ground, and this is not how the power brokers in D.C. envisioned things playing out in Ukraine. So in a desperate attempt to shift the momentum of the conflict, a bill is going through Congress that would provide "lethal military aid" to the government in Kiev. Initially the bill would have provided 200 million dollars in lethal aid, but now it has been upped to 300 million dollars. There are some that believe that the final figure will be significantly higher. Once this bill gets passed, it will be an extremely important event. For the Russians, it will mean crossing a red line that never should have been crossed. You see, the truth is that Ukraine is Russia's most important neighbor. Just imagine how we would feel if the Russians helped overthrow Canada's government and then start feeding weapons to the new pro-Russian government that they helped install. That is exactly how the Russians view our meddling in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, I wrote an article in which I discussed an opinion poll that showed that 81 percent of all Russians now view the United States negatively, and only 13 percent of Russians have a positive view of this nation. Not even during the height of the Cold War were the numbers that bad. The stage is being set for World War III, but most Americans are completely and totally oblivious to all of this because they are so wrapped up in their own little worlds. Most Americans still seem to assume that the Russians and the Chinese are our "friends" and that any type of conflict between major global powers is impossible. Well, the truth is that conflict has already begun in Ukraine and Syria, and tensions are rising with each passing day. It won't happen next week or next month, but we are on the road to World War III.

How you can become a Christian today

2015-10-08T05:57:00.000-07:00

(written by Peter Voigt)
Turn to the Lord in prayer. Tell Him that you want to believe in Him, and ask Him to forgive your sins. Repent from your old life and turn around towards the Lord.
Invite Him into your life. Tell Him that you want Him to be your Lord and Master and that you want Him to take over the leadership of your life for the rest of your life.
Thank the Lord Jesus Christ for dying on the cross for you and your sins: Thank Him for rising from the dead in order to give you eternal life and ask Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit.

Example Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus,
I admit that I am a sinner and I am in need of You and Your forgiveness. I want to turn away from my sins and follow You completely. Jesus I want You to be my Lord and Master and I open my heart and my whole being and invite you into my life.
I believe that You are the Son of God who died on the cross for me and for all my sins; that You were buried, rose to life again and that You are coming back again. I accept the Father's gift of eternal life through faith and belief in You alone. I receive You as Lord and Saviour of every part and area of my life forever and ever. Now Lord, please fill me with Your Holy Spirit.
I pray this in Your precious name
Amen

John 1:12 says, “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

Share your faith with others. Read the Bible daily and seek fellowship with those who also believe in Jesus. Get baptized and take part in the Lord's Supper on a regular basis.

Widespread Panic is Coming

2015-09-30T05:48:00.001-07:00

(from Trunews.com)
I had to share this photo with you. I’m in Atlanta, Georgia tonight attending a meeting of radio industry executives. It was taken at the Fox Theater on Peachtree as I exited a taxicab at a hotel. The theater marquee sign said, “Widespread Panic December 29-31.” Coincidentally, an ambulance pulled up and stopped in front of the theater as the photo was snapped. I know that Widespread Panic is a popular Southern blues band, but I couldn’t ignore the possible prophetic warning. Several family members and close friends have received prophetic dreams over the past 7 or 8 years about sudden panic terrorizing America. The dreams always included scenes that indicated it would happen during the Christmas season. Every year I brace for sudden judgment to strike America in November or December. Clearly, I believe that God has given ample clues that great woe will grip America in the latter part of some year. Is it 2015 or 2016? Therefore, tonight’s “Widespread Panic December 29-31” and the emergency vehicle serves, in my opinion, as another reminder from God that a consuming fire is coming to the USA.

Saudi Arabian tent camp is most the time empty

2015-09-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

(From Spisa.com)
Only 8 km from Mecca in Saudi Arabia, this giant tent camp is located. It can accommodate 3,000,000 (3 million) people, but not a single refugee is allowed. It has tents with air condition and all tents are fire proof.

It is used once a year, during the "mass visit" of Muslims for the pilgrimage to Mecca, a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence.

The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic calendar, and that is when the enormous tent camp is used.

The rest of the year it is empty.

Saudi oil reserves are the second largest in the world, and Saudi Arabia is the world's leading oil exporter and second largest producer. In other words, wealthy beyond belief.

In a previous article it is said that the six wealthy Gulf countries - Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain - have offered to receive exactly zero Syrian refugees.

Did you ever wonder why these countries won't help their fleeing Arabic Muslim companions?

One word: Hijra

Hijra is the Arabic word for "migration", used to besiege new territories, as the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers did when they besieged Medina in the year 622, and the same way 56 nations have become Islamic until now.

Now Europe is up for grabs.

How To Be Certain Of Your Salvation

2015-08-14T22:45:00.002-07:00

(Written by Geoffrey Grider)

While the entire Bible stresses certainty and assurance, there’s one section of Scripture that stakes out this theme as its central focus—the letter of 1 John.

“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” (1 Peter 1:23 (KJV)

EDITOR’S NOTE: As we have been discussing lately, the Bible teaches the eternal security of the born again believer in Jesus Christ. Today we present for your consideration 5 main markers from Scripture that accompany your salvation, from Dr. David Jeremiah’s book “Ten Questions Christians Are Asking“.

As we carefully read through 1 John, we notice a five-fold argument for the assurance of salvation—five of the birthmarks of the Christian.

The Birthmark of Confession

The first is the birthmark of confession, described in 1 John 5:1: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.” Before you can have assurance of salvation, you have to believe and be saved. You have to confess Jesus Christ as Lord. Some people assume they are saved because they grew up in a Christian culture, or they have gone to church all their lives, or they have been baptized, or they have tried to live a good life. Yet they’ve never distinctly and personally confessed Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

The Bible teaches that we are sinners, separated from God by a sinful nature. We can never earn, buy, or climb our way into heaven. By our own efforts or goodness, we can never be saved. That’s why God became a man who lived a wholly righteous life, died on the cross, shed His blood for us, and rose from the dead. He paid our penalty, took our judgment upon Himself, and He offers us the opportunity to be born again.

The Birthmark of Change

If the first birthmark is our confession of Christ as our Saviour and Lord, the second is a changed life, as we see in 1 John 2:29: “If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.” When Jesus truly saves us, it makes a difference in how we think, act, speak, and conduct ourselves. The Bible says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

“There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:1-3 (KJV)

As we begin learning to practice righteousness, our habits change. We will not be sinlessly perfect while we’re on this planet; but if we’re Christians, we need to behave like Christians. If we say we’re saved but nothing has changed about us, something is wrong. We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works, and the Gospel is a transforming agent in our lives.

The Birthmark of Compassion

Those who are truly saved also bear the birthmark of compassion. How can you know that you are a Christian? By what you believe, by how you live, and by whom you love. Love is a recurring theme in 1 John, and the apostle leaves no doubt about how it permeates the lives of true Christians. “Beloved,” he wrote, “let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.. . . . We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” (1 John 4:7; 3:14).

Do you love your brothers and sisters in the family of God? Those who are truly saved are those who enjoy and bless the household of faith, the family of God.

The Birthmark of Conflict

A fourth sign of being truly saved is conflict. According to 1 John 5:4, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” The word overcome implies a struggle. We’re faced with an adversary whom we must overcome. Our adversary is identified in 1 John 2:14 as the wicked one: “I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” John went on in the next verses to say: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:15-17).

When you’re genuinely born of God, you’ll be growing to be an overcomer as you deal with the temptations around you—the world, the flesh, and the devil. You may not be victorious over every temptation every time, but you’ll make progress in gaining more victories and losing less battles as you grow stronger in Christ and in the power of the abiding Word of God.

The Birthmark of Conduct

That leads to the final point I want to make: We can see evidence for the validity of salvation in our desire to conduct ourselves in a way that pleases God. According to 1 John 3:9, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

If we’re not careful, we might interpret this verse to teach that anyone who is born of God never sins. That would conflict with other passages in the Bible that describe us as fallible and often failing.

In 1 John 3:9, the word for sin is a present active infinitive and it describes a continuous action. John is not saying that whoever sins once is not born of God. That would disqualify all of us. It would certainly disqualify me. But John is saying, in effect, “Whoever keeps on willfully sinning, violating God’s law with stubborn disregard and ongoing wickedness, cannot have assurance of salvation.”

If we are truly saved, we will grieve over our sins, confess them, and seek God’s grace to do better.

His grace is inexhaustible and His salvation is irreversible. Make sure you have confessed Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, and then trust Him with your eternal future. He will never leave you or forsake you. His Word was given that you might know Jesus Christ as your Saviour and that you might know that you have eternal life.

You can have assurance of salvation today. source

Let’s Add One More thing, the Birthmark of Belief

We will add a #6 to this excellent list in that a born-again believer can know they are saved because they believe God’s word in the Bible. Unsaved people cannot believe God’s word and have it functioning in their lives because God says that it only works in them that believe. “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.” 1 Thessalonians 2:13.

Unsaved people will often quote from the Bible for social, political or financial gain, but if someone is not a born again believer it will have no effect in their lives. There’s no repentance, no testimony of a “new life”, no victory over sin or even acknowledgement of the sin in their lives. Belief in what God has written is key, as Paul says in Romans 10:9 – “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

When I got saved, God’s word went from a dusty book I almost never read to a treasure trove that continues to delight my soul 25 years after I first became born again. If you believe the Bible when you read it – didn’t say understand it all, I said believe – then that is a rock-solid sign that you have become born again.

September 2015

2015-08-11T05:55:00.002-07:00

(Written by Daymond Duck)
There have been several good articles, pro and con, about upcoming events to watch for in Sept. 2015 (blood moons, Sabbatical year, Shemitah, etc.). To be honest, when these good articles came out I just skimmed over many of them. But I now realize that the list of things to watch for in Sept. 2015 has surpassed my ability to keep up with all of it.

So here is a list I made for myself. It is not my purpose to comment on the relevance of any of these things. But it is my purpose to have a calendar of events that I can refer to. Also, understand that because a Jewish day ends at sundown (not 12 p.m.) and because there are questions about the accuracy of the Jewish calendar some of what is being reported could be wrong.
Sept. 9: The date the Jewish Sanhedrin plans to put Pres. Obama on trial on Mt. Zion for promoting genocide of the Jewish people with the P5 +1 agreement with Iran over that nation’s nuclear weapons program. Will this trial be worthless or will it accomplish anything?

Sept. 13: The end of the Sabbatical year (at sundown on Sept. 13) and the date that a highly respected ultra-Orthodox Jewish Rabbi named Chaim Kanievsky says Israel’s Messiah will arrive. Is he right or a false prophet?

Sept. 13: Congress has 60 days to vote on the P5 + 1 agreement with Iran (signed on July 14, 2015). If Congress takes a full 60 days, this vote could be on Sept. 13. Controversy surrounds this date because there are secret deals between the IAEA and Iran that Congress has not seen.

Sept. 13: The Shemitah year (also called a Sabbath year, or a Sabbatical year, or the seventh year of the agricultural cycle) ends at sundown on Sept. 13. It is associated with financial issues; debt forgiveness; economic problems; recession; declines in the Stock Market, etc. Jonathan Cahn says the U.S. or the world could have economic problems about this time.

Sept.13-15: Rosh Hashanah (also called the Jewish New Year or the Feast of Trumpets) begins at sundown on Sept. 13 and ends at sundown on Sept. 15. Some (not all) prophecy teachers believe the Rapture could occur at the end of Rosh Hashanah this year or next year or some year.

Sept.15: The purported military drill called Joint Assistance for Development and Execution (JADE) Homeland Eradication of Local Militants (HELM) is supposed to end. Will it? Will there be a JADE HELM 2016, 2017, etc.?

Sept.15: The 70th UN General Assembly will begin meeting. During this session (not necessarily on the 15th), France is expected to present a resolution to the UN Security Council to divide the Promised Land (Two-State Solution) and to force a peace treaty on Israel and the PA. If the UN does this, their decision will lead to the beginning of the Tribulation period and the battle of Armageddon.

Sept. 20: The Jewish Sanhedrin plans to put Pope Francis on trial on Mt. Zion for officially recognizing the existence of a Palestinian State on land that God gave to Israel. Will the outcome be recognized by God?

Sept. 22-23: Yom Kippur (also called the Day of Atonement or the Feast of Atonement) begins at sundown on Sept. 22. This will mark the beginning of the next year of Jubilee (the 50th year) which involves focus on God, the cancellation of debts, restoration of land to the original owners, etc. Will God focus on economic issues, Israel’s restoration to the land, etc.?

Sept. 23: Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the White House for discussions with Pres. Obama about their shared values on caring for the poor (wealth redistribution), religious freedom, immigration (elimination of borders), environmental issues (global warming), etc.

Sept. 24: Pope Francis is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress about world peace, religious values (probably a need for a world religion), caring for the poor, etc.

Sept. 25: Pope Francis is scheduled to address the UN. He wants to reduce the world’s population, regulate global climate change, establish a global constitution, establish a global court and establish a one-world government.

Sept. 25-27: The UN plans to hold a Sustainable Development Summit to expand the role of global governance (world government). They plan to discuss global economic issues, climate change, global education and gender equality. It is really a plan to control the life of everyone on earth.

Sept. 28: The Feast of Tabernacles and the fourth blood moon in the current Tetrad will take place on this date. Several major prophetic events have happened just before or just after other blood moon Tetrads. The Jewish Talmud (not the Bible) says blood moons are a sign of war in Israel. Several major end-of-the-age wars are mentioned in the Bible and some are prophecy teachers believe some or all of these could soon occur.

This convergence of events in Sept. 2015 is why many people think something big is about to happen. We shall soon know.

Body, Soul and Spirit

2015-08-08T04:55:00.000-07:00

(Written by Jack Kelley)
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and lays bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrew 4:12-13)

Some people view the soul and body interchangeably, while others think soul and spirit are equivalent terms. But as believers we should think of the soul as the conscious part of us, composed of mind (intellect), will, and emotions. It's the part of us that makes choices and controls our behaviour by giving orders to the body. Our spirit is the subconscious part, an internal advisor to the conscious soul.

Both are intangible and eternal and are housed in our body which is tangible and temporal. It's designed for use in this life, and when we die we leave it behind. Paul described our body as our earthly dwelling and spoke of how we long to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling. Believers don't desire so much to be rid of our earthly bodies, he said, as to receive our heavenly ones. He said receiving our heavenly body is the very purpose for which we were created, and that's why God gave us the Holy Spirit at the first moment of our belief. He's a deposit guaranteeing what is to come, which is the exchange of our earthly dwelling for our heavenly one. (2 Cor. 5:1-5)

It Wasn't Always Like That
I believe Adam and Eve were created with a heavenly alignment of body submissive to soul which was submissive to spirit which was one with God. But at the fall this alignment was perverted and through Satan's influence the soul began to assert itself over the spirit. Both were contaminated by sin in the process and the direct link to God was broken. In the time after the fall the soul became more assertive as man entered the period some call the Dispensation of Conscience. Man was left to decide for himself what was right and things got progressively worse until God had to wipe the slate clean and start over. This experience has been repeated again and again. Even the time of Israel's dominance when the communication link with God was formally re-opened ended in failure. During that period Prophets were appointed to speak to the people for God and Priests to speak to God for the people. But it wasn't enough.

The problem was that the spirit of unsaved man is confused and uncertain because of the effects of sin and often gives bad advice to his soul, which is also contaminated by sin. The cross changed all that. Now, when we are born again our spirit becomes one with the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 6:17) and the confusion and uncertainty clears up. Our spirit begins to know right and wrong as absolutes, and as our conscience it begins to serve as a reliable guide to our soul, which is still sin infested.

This is why Jesus told us that our righteousness has to surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Not being born again, their efforts at keeping the law were acts of will and were often in conflict with what their spirits were advising them to do. For them it was still a matter of their soul asserting itself over their spirit. They just knew the law well enough to know when their spirits were advising them to break it. In Isaiah 29:13 the Lord had said, “These people come near to me with their lips (governed by the soul), but their hearts (spirits) are far from me.” Jesus accused them of looking like whitewashed tombs, beautiful on the outside, but inside full of dead men's bones and everything unclean (Matt. 23:27). Their obedience to the law was only intellectual assent backed up by will power.

Back To Hebrews 4
But the Lord pays special attention to the motives of our heart and judges us on our intentions, not our actions. This is what the writer to the Hebrews meant when he said that the word of God can divide soul (behaviour) and spirit (motive). He's not fooled by man's attempts at good behaviour. He knows the thoughts and attitudes of our heart. Nothing is hidden from His sight. Commenting on ceremonial cleanliness He said that it's not what goes into us that make us unclean, but what comes out of us. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” (Matt. 15:17-19) Jeremiah wrote that the heart of man is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. (Jeremiah. 17:9) After sinning with Bathsheba, David prayed that God would create in him a pure heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within him. (Psalm 51:10) This is what happens when we're born again and the Holy Spirit unites with our spirit. It results in our receiving a pure heart. It's what David longed for, but it couldn't happen before the cross. (John 7:39)

In effect, the Holy Spirit works through our spirit to repossess our soul from its bondage to sin. Our soul must choose to heed the advice of our spirit, in whose “ear” the Holy Spirit is whispering. This is what Paul meant when he told us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (soul). (Romans 12:2) This transformation consists of consciously choosing to allow the Holy Spirit to become the primary influence in determining our actions. This is the heavenly alignment again.
This is why the Pharisees were criticized. God's Spirit was not within them, and so their obedience was a product of their intellect, their soul. Their spirit remained unregenerate. It looked good on the outside, but inside it was all out of order. It was form without substance, and it produced self righteousness, not humility.

The biggest problem we have is that our soul is still struggling with its bondage to sin, and therefore must constantly choose to submit to our renewed spirit. Remember the soul is where our behavioural decisions are made. Our spirit is one with the Spirit of God, but can only advise. Paul described our dilemma poignantly in Romans 7-8, saying that he had the desire to do good but could not carry it out. His spirit was one with God, but his soul sometimes rebelled. Inwardly he could delight in God's Law, but outwardly would sometimes conform to the law of sin and death. It's actually the opposite of the Pharisees' problem. They looked good on the outside but were full of evil thoughts and intentions. While the Lord condemned them, he directs no condemnation toward us (Romans 8:1) because although our soul often betrays us, our spirit is one with God. He goes so far as to separate the behaviour from the believer saying that it's not we who sin, but the sin nature that dwells within us. (Romans 7:20)

Will This Ever End?
When we die or are raptured, our transformation will be complete, and the Holy Spirit's work of repossession will be finished. The heavenly alignment will be permanently restored, our regenerated soul in perpetual submission to our spirit which is one with God. Only then will we be ready for our resurrection bodies. It will no longer occur to us to behave in a manner contrary to God's will, and we'll finally be fit to dwell with Him forever.

The new body we receive will compare to the old one only in physical characteristics. The old one was corrupt and doomed to perish. The new one will be incorruptible and will never perish. (1 Cor. 15:53) We'll recognize each other and will know God as we are known by Him. (1 Cor.13:12) No longer will things be hidden from our understanding or beyond our comprehension because our soul, where understanding and comprehension take place, will finally be freed from the bondage of sin. The immeasurable creative capacity with which the human mind was created will finally be unleashed for our eternal use and enjoyment. The tiny nuggets of talent and ability in the arts and sciences that we can only faintly glimpse now will become rich veins to be mined for all eternity.

God is Love.....God is Righteousness

2015-03-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

(written by Peter Voigt)

Love and righteousness are two of God’s attributes or if you want to say, part of God’s character. The two attributes of God seem to contradict each other, on one side He loves everybody and on the other side He is just and judges sin and disobedience.
Many people, even some Christians say, if God is love, how can He send people to hell and to everlasting condemnation.

At first let me explain the two attributes one by one. The bible says in 1 Cor. 13:4-7:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.”

In John 3:16 scripture says:
“For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Now let us look at righteousness. It is described in the dictionary as justice, morality, uprightness and honesty. Therefore God is just, moral, upright and honest and can not tolerate sin, rebellion and disobedience. God proclaims His righteousness and that He will judge the world. If we sin, we are missing the goal or standard which God has set and we are in debt to Him.

Psalm 50:6 says:
“And the heavens proclaim His righteousness, for God himself is judge.”
Let me tell you a story to bring some human understanding to this situation. In medieval times if a man had big debts, he was thrown into prison, or also called the debt tower. This was a dungeon, cold, wet and damp and with hardly any light. His food was just bread and water or sometimes a watery flour soup.

He had to stay in this situation until his debts were paid. Certainly he was not able to pay for his debts himself, so he relied on family members, friends or a good Samaritan. If nobody would pay for his debts, he would rot and die in this dungeon.
To get out of this situation, someone had to pay for his debts and the only thing he had to do, was to accept the good deed and he would be set free.

The human race is in a simular situation. We all commit sins every day through our lives and our debts to God our Heavenly Father increases to tremendous proportions. You might say, I am not so bad, I haven’t murdered anybody but let me tell you there are lots of sins we are committing on a daily basis.
1. We take things that don’t belong to us
2. We don’t always tell the truth
3. We commit adultery and have sex outside marriage
4. We have our idols like houses, cars, money etc.
5. We don’t give God the honour, he deserves
6. In fact there are far too many to list all of them.

God says in Romans 6:23:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Therefore we are like the man in the debt tower, we can’t pay for our debts and therefore are condemned to a life in prison ( hell ) and then death ( the lake of fire) if nobody comes to our rescue.
God Himself has prepared a way out of this situation. He sent His only Begotten Son to be born in a human body and live among us. He lived a sinless live and therefore did not have to die but he offered his life of his own free will, to pay for our debts, our sins. He was crucified on our behalf and if we accept his sacrifice and repent then we will go free, we will be forgiven. On top of this our Heavenly Father gives us a gift, the gift of eternal life. What a supreme act of love by the righteous God, He punished His only Begotten Son for us so that we might go free.

But if we reject the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the fact that He paid for our debts on the cross then there is no hope for us and we will end up like the man in the debt tower.
That’s why Jesus said in John 14:6:
”I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Tribulation and Wrath

2015-03-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

(Written by Jack Kelley)

Recently I was reading a new book on Revelation by an author who subscribes to the pre-wrath Rapture position. I don’t recommend this or any other mid-Trib, pre-Wrath, or post-Trib book. I only read them myself because my belief in the pre-Trib position is solid enough to not be shaken, and I feel the need to know about the current thinking on other positions in case I’m asked.

When you depart from a literal, contextual interpretation of Scripture, as you have to do when you're trying to justify the other rapture positions, anything becomes possible. For that reason some of these books, like the one I just read, are so far off the mark as to be ludicrous. But there are two things they all seem to have in common. One is their confusion about the difference between tribulation and the Great Tribulation and the other is the meaning and duration of the phrase “Wrath of God.”

Here are some examples of what I mean. In John 16:33 Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation, but take heart because I have overcome the world.” This verse is often used to refute the pre-Trib belief that the church will not be present during the end times judgments. “After all,” they say, “Jesus said we will have tribulation in this world.”

Another is 1 Thess. 5:9 where Paul said, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here they say the wrath Paul was talking about is not the end times judgments associated with the Day of the Lord, which is the context of the passage, but the eternal punishment to be endured by non-believers. They say that’s the only wrath our salvation protects us from.

So let’s take a closer look at these two words as they pertain to the end times and see what the Bible says about them.

Tribulation

In English, the word “tribulation” appears 22 times in the Bible. Three of them are in the Old Testament, although the Hebrew word from which it is translated can be found 105 times, having a number of different meanings. The other 19 are in the New Testament, but there are also 26 times where the Greek word is translated in different ways as well, for a total of 45. In both testaments the other meanings are similar; distress, affliction, trouble, etc.

The phrase “great tribulation” makes only three appearances, all in the New Testament (Matt. 24:21, Rev. 2:22, and Rev. 7:14). In its first one the Lord actually coined the term, identifying its beginning as the time when the abomination of desolation occurs.

“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. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress (tribulation), unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again”(Matt. 24:15-21). A few verses later He said it would end just before the Second Coming.

“Immediately after the distress (tribulation) of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory”(Matt. 24:29-30).

Daniel 9:27 tells us the anti-Christ will set up an abomination of desolation in the middle of the 70th Week (Daniel 9:27), or 3 ½ years from its end. It's the same event Jesus identified as the sign that the Great Tribulation will have begun. This tells us the Great Tribulation will have a duration of 3 ½ years.

Daniel also made reference to the Great Tribulation in Daniel 12:1 when he wrote:

“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress [tribulation] such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then.”

Notice that Daniel’s words are very similar to the ones Jesus used in Matt 24:21. The phrase “at that time” refers back to Daniel 11:36-45 where the angel was telling Daniel about the reign of the Antichrist. For these reasons, it’s safe to assume that Daniel and Jesus were talking about the same thing. In fact, Jesus confirmed this in Matt. 24:15.

Put together, these references identify the Great Tribulation as a specific period of time with an identifiable beginning and end. That makes this 3 ½ period distinct from the periodic times of tribulation that believers experience in this world. Daniel and Jesus both said this time of tribulation would be the worst the world has ever seen. Jesus said it has never been equaled before and would never be equaled again, and if He didn’t return to put an end to it no one would survive (Matt. 24:22). This is definitely not the everyday variety of tribulation you and I face in life. This is the one and only Great Tribulation.

And Wrath

The word “wrath” also has a general as well as a specific meaning, and again the two are differentiated by time. When used in connection with God, the word “wrath” appears in 18 verses, of the Old Testament and usually describes God’s feelings toward Israel during their periodic times of disobedience.

In the New Testament there are 16 verses where wrath appears in connection with God. Some of them refer to the eternal destiny unbelievers will face after they die and others are about the end times judgments. We can tell which is which by the context in which they are used. Here are some examples.

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:36).

In this verse the context is eternal life. Those who believe in the Son will receive it but those who reject Him will not receive it for God’s wrath remains on them. There are only two possible dispositions for mankind, eternal life and eternal punishment. Belief in the Son brings life, and rejection of the Son brings punishment. Only one generation of mankind will experience the end times judgments, but John 3:36 pertains to all mankind. Therefore the Lord had to be using God's wrath in reference to eternal punishment here.

Now let’s take the example we used earlier from 1 Thess. 5:9: “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul began chapter 5 by talking about the timing of the Day of the Lord. He said the world would not know the day or hour in advance, and that it would come like a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:2). At a time when people are saying “peace and safety” it will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape (1 Thess. 5:3).

By this we know Paul was not talking about the actual day of the Lord's return, because earlier we learned that He will come to put an end to the worst period of devastation the world has ever known, not while people are thinking peace has come. And from other passages we know that Daniel's 70th week will begin with a perception of peace (Daniel 8:25) which will quickly be replaced by war. Therefore Paul’s reference to “peace and safety” points to the beginning of Daniel's 70th Week, not the actual day of the Lord’s return.

He said believers should not be surprised by this, and changed his narrative from the third person (they) in verse 3 to the second person (you) in verse 4.He did this to distinguish between the unbelieving world, who will be surprised, and the believers, who won’t. Being sons of the light (having the knowledge of Scripture) we will be able to see the signs of its approach, and when we do we should be awake and alert. After expanding on that thought (vv. 5-8) he came to verse 9: “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.“

Obviously, believers will not suffer the eternal wrath of God that awaits unbelievers. But the context of 1 Thess. 5:1-9 is the Day of the Lord, when the end times judgments will fall upon an unbelieving and unsuspecting world.That’s the wrath Paul was talking about.

So, just like we can differentiate between the periodic times of tribulation we all experience and the Great Tribulation which will be the single worst thing ever to happen on earth, we can also differentiate between the eternal wrath of God to be visited on all unbelievers after they die, and the time of God’s wrath, the end time judgments that will come upon one generation of unbelievers before they die, and which will have a discernible beginning and end.

Is It Time Yet?

Now let’s look at the time of God's wrath.

“Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer” (Isaiah 26:20-21).

Isaiah foresaw a time when God will pour out His wrath on earth for a period of time he describes as lasting “a little while.” Therefore this passage is not about His eternal wrath against all unbelievers who have died, but is a specific period of time against one generation of unbelievers who will still be alive. And like Paul, he separated believers from unbelievers by changing from the second person (your rooms) to the third person (their sins).

The angel Gabriel gave Daniel similar information, saying, “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end” (Daniel 8:19). Starting with an overview of the kings of Medo-Persia and Greece the angel quickly focused in on the days of the Antichrist during the time of wrath at the end of the age (Daniel 8:19-25).

These passages identify a specific period of time at the end of the age when God will visit His wrath upon the unbelieving world.

In the past, many commentators have identified this period as being the time of the bowl judgments of Rev. 15-16. That’s because in Rev. 16:1 these judgments are called the seven bowls of “God’s wrath.”

But the Bible does not say the time of God’s wrath begins with these judgments. In fact in Rev. 15:1 we’re told that with the bowl judgments God’s wrath will end. If that gives us the ending point then where do they begin?

The answer can be found in Rev. 6:16-17 where the kings of the earth realize that with the seal judgments the great day of God’s wrath has begun.

They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?”

The KJV renders Rev. 6:17 as “For the great day of His wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” Based on this, some people see a difference between the wrath of the Lamb, which only appears in Rev. 6:16, and the wrath of God. But the majority of English versions translate the Greek word “autos” in the plural, as happens over 300 times in the Bible, and translate Rev. 6:17 as “the great day of their wrath has come.” Since both Father and Son are in view in Rev. 6:16 and since the two are one (John 10:30) this seems to fit the context better.

Also note the past perfect tense of the phrase “the great day of their wrath has come.” The past perfect tense is used to describe an action that has taken place at a specific time in the past. From the preceding judgments of Rev. 6the kings of the earth will realize that they are already in the period known as the wrath of God. Therefore, the time of God’s wrath begins with the seal judgments of Rev. 6 and ends with the bowl judgments of Rev. 16 and will occupy most, if not all, of Daniel's 70th Week

Many commentators insist that God’s wrath is the worst part of a time they call the seven-year Tribulation period, making God’s wrath synonymous with the Great Tribulation. But as we can see, it’s actually the other way around. The Great Tribulation is the worst part of the time of God’s wrath.

When Jesus spoke of the Great Tribulation in Matt. 24:21 He was referring to the bowl judgments of Rev. 16 because these are the only judgments that will take place in the second half of Daniel's 70th Week, after the Antichrist sets up the abomination of desolation (Daniel 9:27). The bowl judgments are the third and final series of judgments that God will execute upon the earth during the time of His wrath.

So there you have it. In the Bible, tribulation and the Great Tribulation are not the same, and God’s eternal wrath and the time of God’s wrath are not the same. These terms are only confused in the minds of people who advocate something other than the pre-Trib Rapture of the church. That’s what the Bible says.

God’s Plan in a Nutshell

2015-02-02T04:49:00.003-08:00

(Written by Jack Kelley)

You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were blameless in your ways until wickedness was found in you (Ezekiel 28:12, 15).

There is nothing in the Bible to tell us when the angelic realm was created. However, Job 38:4-7 speaks of the angels shouting for joy when God laid the Earth's foundation, so they had to have been created before earth existed. Neither is there a mention of the timing of Satan’s rebellion.

All we know for sure is it had to have preceded Genesis 3, when the serpent convinced Eve to disobey God. Satan was already God’s adversary by then, although there's no mention of his rebellion in connection with the creation. For this reason, I’ve concluded it also happened before the creation story begins.

Here’s How It All Began

The wickedness in the one we call Satan was no surprise to God. He knows the end from the beginning after all. And like all the angels, Satan had been created with the power of choice, which gave him the potential for evil.

Since God knew Satan would rebel, many have wondered why He let it happen. Others have asked, “Why didn’t God just destroy Satan at the time? Why let him cause all this trouble?”

The Bible doesn't answer those questions directly, but maybe after reading this you'll conclude, as I have, that if God had not allowed things to unfold as they did, you and I might never have come to be, and would not be able to look forward to an eternity that surpasses all human understanding.

We have no way of knowing how long it took for Satan's wickedness to reveal itself, but through Ezekiel we learn that it was his pride in his beauty and splendor that triggered its appearance (Ezekiel 28:17).

His pride apparently caused him to believe that exalted as it was, his assigned place in the order of creation was inadequate for someone of his talent and potential. Since no created being was higher, he determined to make himself like the Most High God (Isaiah 14:13-14).

As I said, this introduction of a second will into the universe was no surprise to God, but He couldn’t let it stand. Knowing that one-third of the angelic population had cast their lot with Satan, He moved to put down this revolt and pronounced judgment on Satan and those who had joined him.

Some have speculated that in response Satan accused God of being unjust and having no love. I believe this speculation has merit based on what God did next. Remember, the following was not God’s reaction to Satan’s accusation, but His rebuttal to an accusation He already knew Satan would hurl at Him.

God’s Rebuttal

First, He created Man, a being vastly inferior to the angels but having intellect, the power of choice (free will), and eternal life just like they do.

To demonstrate His justice, He established a set of Laws with which to govern Man’s life. These laws reflected His own standards of righteousness. He declared that all men would be judged according to these laws and those who kept them faithfully would inherit eternal life with Him. However, even one violation would condemn the offender to an eternity of punishment. There would be no exceptions, and no appeal. From the highest to the lowest, all of mankind would be equally subject to these laws and would reap the reward or punishment due him or her according to its provisions.

Of course, God knew that mankind would not be able to meet the requirements of His Law and left to their own devices everyone would be found guilty and condemned to death. But the Law defined His righteousness, and to live in His presence Man’s righteousness had to equal it. Also, in order to be just, the Law could tolerate no deviation from its standards. Every violation had to incur the death penalty.

God didn’t want all of mankind to be lost, but unless He lowered His standards, something His righteousness would not permit, He couldn’t change His Law. His solution to this seemingly unsolvable problem was to pay the penalty Himself for all of mankind's violations. He would come to earth in the form of His Son and die for the sins of the world. His death would pay for all of man's violations of His Law (John 1:29, John 3:16).

Just like the penalty for violating the Law would be the same for everyone, so would the remedy. Anyone, from the highest to the lowest, who accepted the Son's death as payment in full for his or her sins would be granted a full pardon and a place in eternity with Him. It would impute to them a righteousness equal to His own (Romans 3:21-24). Because He had created Man with the power of choice, He wouldn't impose His solution on anyone, but would grant it without exception to everyone who asked to receive it (Matt. 7:7-8).

These two actions, implementing a Law no one could keep, and offering a pardon no one could earn, were God's rebuttal to Satan’s accusations. It combined perfect justice with perfect love. Man was free to choose either alternative. He could strive to live up to God’s impossibly high standards and earn His way into eternity through his own works or he could accept the Son of God’s death on his behalf and be granted eternal life by faith.

The Implementation

After creating Man, God implemented the Law portion of His plan to provide an example for all of humanity to study. His purpose was two-fold. He wanted mankind to see the blessings that came from the level of obedience we are capable of, but He also wanted us to learn that the level of obedience His Law required for our salvation was unobtainable (Romans 3:20). These two points were quickly proven when the first two humans broke His Law soon after being placed in the most blessed environment humanity has ever enjoyed.

This was also no surprise to God. To prevent mankind from becoming obsolete before we got started, He initiated a sacrificial system to teach mankind that we would ultimately be saved through the shedding of His innocent blood. In the mean time, the shed blood of certain innocent animals would set their sins aside temporarily.

Protecting them from destroying themselves through their own sinfulness was no small task. It took the most elaborate religious system ever devised and the sacrificial deaths of untold numbers of innocent animals. He chose one people, the descendants of Abraham, to be the principal participants in this religious system, blessing them enormously when they obeyed and punishing them without mercy when they didn't, all as an example from which the rest of the world could learn about His nature (Romans 15:4).

When the time finally came for God to send His Son to die for our sins, He made His one sacrifice sufficient for all time (Hebrews 10:12-14). Those who died in faith before He came would receive eternal life along with those who died in faith afterward. The Son’s one righteous life was of sufficient value to save all of mankind’s unrighteous ones, from the first one to the last (1 Peter 3:18).

The Judgment

God determined that His plan would have a fixed expiration, after which He would bring it to a conclusion. At that time all of mankind will stand before Him. If they have died He will bring them back to life, never to die again. Everyone will be shown the point in his or her life when the two choices available were made clear to them. Remember, part of God’s plan is to demonstrate that He's a just God (Deut. 32:4). Therefore He can neither reward nor punish anyone who didn’t get an opportunity to choose.

The one exception involves those children whose lives came to an end before they had become intellectually mature enough to understand their choices. A just God cannot punish those who are unable to comprehend, so He declared all such children innocent and counted them as His own (Romans 7:9).

Those who have accepted by faith the pardon He purchased for them will be granted an eternity of unparalleled blessing. Those who have chosen to earn their place in eternity through their own works will be shown their shortcomings and condemned to eternal punishment (Rev. 20:15). Since these are the only two choices available to mankind, those who will have opted out altogether will receive the same destiny as if they had refused the pardon God made available. Receiving the pardon requires a conscious choice to accept it (Romans 10:13). Refusing to choose at all is equivalent to rejecting it.

At that time Satan will receive his final judgment and will be condemned to eternal punishment along with all those who had refused to accept the pardon (Rev. 20:10).

The Conclusion

It’s sad to think that many who chose to earn their own way or refused to choose at all will have thought they were preserving their independence, exercising their freedom of choice. When it’s too late to change their minds they will finally realize that they were actually following Satan’s will, not their own.

Remember, there have only ever been two wills in the universe, God’s and Satan’s. If we don't choose God’s will for us, we've chosen Satan's will by default. In the spiritual sense, free will is simply the option of choosing between God’s will and Satan’s. God wants us all to choose His will (2 Peter 3:9), but He won’t force us to do it against our will.

I believe this is the secret of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, from which God commanded Adam not to eat (Genesis 2:16-17). As I’ve said, there was only one will on earth at that time, and that was God’s will, which was “Good.” Eating the fruit of the forbidden tree introduced a second will, which was “Evil.” This was Satan's will. By getting Adam and Eve to disobey God's will, Satan was getting them to obey his will. In doing so they acquired the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Somehow this altered their genetic make-up in such a way that this knowledge was passed to all their progeny. Today we call this the “flesh” or the “sin nature.” But I think it’s really the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the realization that there are two wills in the universe. We can choose which one to follow, but if we don't consciously choose God's will, Satan’s will becomes the default choice.

1 Corinthians 15:24-28 tells us that the Lord Jesus will reign until He has put all of God’s enemies under His feet, including death.

“Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all rule, authority and power.” (1 Cor. 15:24)

Before the Lord turns the kingdom over to His Father, He will destroy all rule, authority and power. The primary meaning of the Greek word for destroy is “to put down, deactivate or render inoperative.” The one for rule is “the origin, or active cause.” The one for authority is “the power of choice, the liberty of doing as one pleases” and the one for power includes “strength” or “ability.”

This means in eternity we who have accepted the pardon He purchased for us will no longer have the ability to disobey God's will. The origin and active cause of our disobedience will have been rendered inoperative. The disastrous effects of Adam and Eve’s disobedience will have been reversed. The knowledge of Good and Evil will be no more and there will finally be only one will in all of creation again, the will of God. That’s God’s plan in a nutshell.

The Bridegroom and His Bride

2014-12-30T17:39:00.000-08:00

A picture of Jesus and His Church
(Extract from harvardhouse.com)
Understanding ancient Jewish wedding practices makes the meaning of Scripture clear. The wedding is a picture of the covenant Jesus made and reveals His plans to return for His bride, the church. The people of ancient Israel understood what Jesus was going to do because they understood the model of the wedding. The analogy between a wedding and Christ and the Church is described in Ephesians 5:31-32.

Let me show you the practices of an ancient Jewish betrothal and wedding and how Jesus has fulfilled the betrothal portion of the wedding and how He may fulfil the remainder when He comes again for His bride, the church.

ANCIENT WEDDING PRACTICE: MARRIAGE COVENANT AND BRIDE PRICE
When a young man desired to marry a young woman in ancient Israel, he would prepare a contract or covenant to present to the young woman and her father at the young woman's home. The most important part of the contract was the bride price, the price that the young man was willing to pay to marry the young woman.

JESUS' FULFILLMENT: MARRIAGE COVENANT AND BRIDE PRICE
Jesus came to the home of His bride (earth) to present His marriage contract. The marriage contract provided by Jesus is the new covenant, which provides for the forgiveness of sins of God's people. Jesus paid the bride price with His life. At the last supper, when breaking bread, He spoke of the price He was paying:
"...This is my body given for you..." (Luke 22:20) and Hebrews 8:15 makes it clear that Jesus died as the price for the new covenant.

ANCIENT WEDDING PRACTICE: THE CUP
If the bride price was agreeable to the young woman's father, the young man would pour a glass of wine for the young woman. If the young woman drank the wine, it would indicate her acceptance of the proposal. At this point, the young man and young woman would be betrothed. Betrothal was legally binding, just like a marriage. The only difference was that the marriage was not yet consummated. A typical betrothal period was 1-2 years. During this time the bride and bridegroom each would be preparing for the marriage and wouldn't see each other.

JESUS' FULFILLMENT: THE CUP AND GIFT FOR THE BRIDE
Just as the bridegroom would pour a cup of wine for the bride to drink to seal the marriage contract, so Jesus poured wine for His disciples. His words described the significance of the cup in representing the bride price for the marriage contract: Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying:
"Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." (Matt. 26:28-29). The disciples drank of the cup, thus accepting the contract.
Next, the bridegroom would present the bride with special gifts. The purpose of these gifts was to show the bridegroom's appreciation of the bride. They were also intended to help her to remember him during the long betrothal period. He has given us of His Spirit" (1 John 4:13). Jesus described this gift in John 14:26:
"But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

ANCIENT WEDDING PRACTICE: PREPARING A PLACE
During the betrothal period, the bridegroom would prepare a wedding chamber for the honeymoon. This chamber was typically built in the bridegroom's father's house. The wedding chamber had to be built to the groom's father's specifications. The young man could go for his bride only when his father approved. If the bridegroom was asked when the wedding was to be, he might well say "it is not for me to know, only my father knows".

JESUS' FULFILLMENT: PREPARING A PLACE
Just as a bridegroom would have told his bride that he would go to prepare a place for her, so Jesus told His disciples:
"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 that you also may be where I am". (John 14:1-3)

ANCIENT WEDDING PRACTICE: A WAITING BRIDE CONSECRATED
While the bridegroom was preparing the wedding chamber, the bride was considered to be consecrated, set apart or "bought with a price". She wouldn't know when her groom would come for her, so she always had to be ready. Since bridegrooms typically came for their brides in the middle of the night, to "steal them away", the bride would have to have her lamp and her belongings ready at all times.

JESUS' FULFILLMENT: A WAITING BRIDE CONSECRATED
We, the bride of Jesus, are now consecrated or set apart, waiting for the return of our bridegroom. We should be spending this time preparing ourselves for Jesus' return. Jesus used a parable of ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom to describe the need to be alert for His return. (Matt. 25:1-13).

ANCIENT WEDDING PRACTICE: BRIDEGROOM COMES FOR HIS BRIDE
When the bridegroom's father deemed the wedding chamber ready, the father would tell the bridegroom that all was ready and to get His bride. The bridegroom would abduct his bride secretly, like a thief at night and take her to the wedding chamber. As the bridegroom approached the bride's home, he would shout and blow the shophar (ram's horn trumpet) so that she had some warning to take her belongings.

JESUS' FULFILLMENT: BRIDEGROOM COMES FOR HIS BRIDE
Jesus will come back the same way for His bride, with a shout and the sound of a shophar (trumpet) and take His bride home (1 Thessalonians 4:15-16).

ANCIENT WEDDING PRACTICE: MARRIAGE SUPPER
After seven days in the wedding chamber, the bride and bridegroom would emerge and participate in a feast with friends and family. There would be joyous celebrating during this feast. The feast would conclude the wedding celebration.

JESUS' FULFILLMENT: MARRIAGE SUPPER
As the bride and bridegroom celebrated with a joyous wedding supper, so Jesus and His bride, the church will celebrate the marriage.
"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints). Then the angel said to me, write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb'" (Revelation 19:6-9)!

ANCIENT WEDDING PRACTICE: DEPART FOR HOME
After the marriage supper, the bride and bridegroom would leave the groom's father's house where the groom had built the wedding chamber. They would go to their own home, which the bridegroom had prepared.

JESUS' FULFILLMENT: DEPART FOR HOME
Just as the bride and bridegroom left the marriage supper to go to the home that the bridegroom had prepared, so Jesus and His bride will depart for their new home. Jesus will come back with ten thousands of His saints to earth to establish His Millennium Kingdom and to rule for a thousand years. (Rev. 19:11-16)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTVKrM6V0Ak

Playing Chess with the Devil

2014-11-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

(Written by Todd Strandberg)
I have always been terrible at the game of chess. It's not that I don't understand how the game is played--I perfectly understand the rules and moves. The problem is my inability think ahead. If I make a move on the board that seems to be prudent, three moves later, it usually turns out to have been a fatal mistake.

When I play against a computer, I normally get beaten like a rented mule. The only way I've been able to win at the game is by cheating. I have one program that allows me to turn one of my pawns into an extra queen. Sadly, even with this unfair advantage, the devilish program still finds a way to overcome the shortfall and checkmate me.

Chess is often depicted as a sport for wimps, but this label is incorrect. A son once asked his dad why chess is not an Olympic game. His father’s response was brief and to the point: "Chess is not a noble sport. When you play chess, your object is to crush the opponent's mind. In today's world, a man's mind is his most precious commodity. Proving to your opponent that his most precious commodity is useless can be devastating for him."

Satan: The Chess Master
It is anyone’s guess what Satan does for recreation in his spare time, but I imagine he would be very good at chess. For someone who spends most of his time devising strategies for ensnaring humanity with various vices, he would likely be a formidable chess opponent. One of the greatest mistakes we can make is to underestimate Satan’s cunning. We tend to view him as a loser who ran afoul of God and got fired from his job. Unfortunately, he found new employment: the task of damning men's souls to hell.

The Bible certainly doesn't play down the devil's abilities. We are warned that he is an enemy who wishes to destroy all of us. In fact, 1 Peter 5:8-9 says, “Your enemy the Devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

A wise person is someone who realizes it is impossible to match wits with the devil. Just as I would have no chance of winning a game of chess against the world's most powerful computer, Satan can outmanoeuvre me with hardly any effort.

A good example of this can be found in the waning days of World War II. As Germany was losing the war, many Germans realized Adolf Hitler was a mad man who needed to be stopped by any means. At least 42 attempts were made to take his life, and all failed in preposterously inconvenient ways.

Once you read some examples of these attempts, you would have to conclude that some unseen agent was protecting Hitler from harm:

• An Iron Cross recipient at Nuremberg was going to stab Hitler in front of 1,000 soldiers at an assembly. Hitler had a cold that day and decided to go home early.

• A bomb that was intended to blow up the Nazi leader in mid-flight failed to go off because cold weather had hindered the reaction of the chemicals in the bomb.

• An infantry captain made plans to explode a bomb while he demonstrated a new army winter overcoat to the German leader. The day before the bombing was to take place, a British air raid destroyed the uniforms.

• One general tried to kill Hitler with a concealed bomb that was to be detonated by acid. Unfortunately, Hitler left the building before the acid could act.

• A bomb finally did go off next to Hitler. The Fuehrer was spared by a heavy desk that shielded him from the blast.

Historians actually joke that Hitler had “Satan's luck.” The truth is, the devil's hand was as work, and the opposition was pursuing an impossible quest. Perhaps if the Nazi leaders had prayed for “God's luck,” they might have accomplished their goal and saved millions of lives.

Satan's Favourite Moves
Most professional chess players have a series of favourite ploys they like to use against their opponents. Satan has several tricks he regularly uses against us. By being aware of them, we can avoid his snares. Paul said, "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (2 Cor. 2:11). Here are six of the strategies that Satan uses. Because they all begin with letter "D," they should be easy to remember.

Divide - A standard strategy is to divide the enemy force in order to make it easier to conquer. Satan loves to create division so he can pick off the weak and weak-minded people.

Doubt - The Bible says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Once Satan can persuade people to question God's Word and His goodness, forgiveness, and love, he is ensured of victory.

Discourage - This strategy involves getting us to focus on our problems rather than entrusting God to provide a solution. It can also be someone else’s problem that creates discouragement in our own lives.

Diversion - Not all problems are equal. The enemy may come at us with an attack of lesser importance to distract us from his main attack. He may also distract us with good things. For example, parents may become too focused on their careers, enabling their children fall into rebellion.

Defeat - The devil is at his best when he causes people to feel so overwhelmed by failure that they don't even try to resist his onslaught. If we’re not resisting the devil, he will move in for the kill.

Delay - In the game of life, Satan wins by default. We are all born in a lost state, so unless we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we will perish. Because procrastination doesn't require doing anything, this strategy is an easy path for victory.

God: The Ultimate Chess Master

The rivalry between God and Satan is often seen as a battle between two equally skilled chess masters, playing against one another to see whose plan will be victorious. This vision is totally fictitious. There never was a real contest between God and Satan, and there never will be.

God is in charge of everything that happens. His level of control is so absolute, He sets the stage for everything that will happen in the universe. How can Satan compete against a Being who knows every move he is going to make ahead of time? God does more than just rule the chess board. He controls both the white and the black pieces.

The devil is so hopelessly outwitted; God published in the Bible many of Satan’s fatal mistakes far ahead of the time he made them. There are still some blunders yet to come. The Holy Word predicts that the devil will attempt to destroy the Jews and that he will make a stand against Jesus at the Battle of Armageddon. Both will end in total failure.

With God having proven himself unbeatable, one might wonder why Satan keeps challenging Him. The devil's problem is that he has such a depraved, arrogant mind that he is incapable of admitting defeat. There is no limit to the foolishness of a heart that is in rebellion against God. For this reason, Satan still thinks he has a chance to vanquish the Almighty.

The only reason we have the impression that God is in a fair contest with His adversary is the fact He grants His creation free will. Our decision to accept or reject God has no reflection on Him. We can make all the decisions we want, but in the end, they all fit into God's perfect plan.

Winning the Game by Following God's Will
One of the clearest indications of how vulnerable we are to Satan's willpower can be found in the warning Jesus gave Peter in Luke 22:31: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat." At first, I thought this verse meant that Satan had asked for dominion over Peter and Jesus rebuffed the request. Jesus then said, "I have prayed for you Simon, that your faith may not fail..." (Luke 22:31). But I didn't pay attention to the last part. Jesus added "...And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers," which means that God had allowed Satan to sift Peter.

Peter was the type of emotional person that made him easy pickings for the devil. In the space of one night, he rebuked Jesus when He told the disciple of His pending death, he turned to violence by cutting off the ear of the High Priest's servant, and he denied the Lord three times.

Peter met with failure because he was out of God's will. He trusted in his own strength, and Satan made mincemeat of him. When Peter realized his mistake and became totally dependent on God's guidance for his life, he then became a victorious leader of the Church.

I have been whipped by the devil several times because I failed to seek God's counsel on important issues. What has saved me from complete disaster is the belief that Jesus is Lord of life. Giving God credit didn't save me from having to seek His guidance on how to untangle problems that I allowed to come my way.

We generally fail to take our daily matters to prayer because we don't think it’s that important, we’re too lazy, or we just don’t think God will answer us. Because we live in an evil world with an enemy who drools at the thought of being able to destroy the lives of Christians, we can't afford to not seek God's direction.

I will end with these words of advice. Jesus Christ is our Eternal King, and He is Invincible--the ultimate Checkmate Master of this chess match of life in which we are engaged. If we put our trust in the Lord, He will lead us to victory.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 15:57).

Will the USA stab Israel in the back?

2014-11-06T19:56:00.001-08:00

(from Bare Naked Islam)
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA reportedly plans to stab Israel in the back by voting with Israel’s enemies at the UN

In keeping with the administration’s apparent strategy of alienating the one real ally his country has in the Middle East, reports are surfacing that Barack Hussein Obama is close to stabbing the Jewish state in the back in international diplomacy.

Breitbart Several cabinet ministers inside Israel’s government claim that Obama has formally notified Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. may plan a major break in relations with the Jewish state.

The U.S. would reportedly start voting with Israel’s enemies at the United Nations if the Jewish state does not capitulate to various Obama administration diktats. Such demands would pose existential risks to the survival of the Jewish state, such that no elected Israeli leader could possibly accept them.

According to a cabinet minister interviewed by an Algemeiner Journal reporter, “The prime minister told colleagues in recent days … that his office’s understanding of the issue and the government’s take on it is that the Americans will not cast a veto against a resolution that reaches the Security Council.”

If true, and if the White House does issue about-face orders to the United States delegation at the UN, Israel would find itself more isolated and diplomatically exposed than ever since its founding in 1948. If the U.S. stops exercising its vetos of anti-Israel resolutions in the Security Council, Israel would find itself exposed to mandatory, punitive, perhaps even devastating international sanctions, boycotts, and isolation.

A UN Security Council resolution under active consideration now would demand that Israel withdraw completely from all territories acquired in the 1967 Six Day War no later than 2016 or face binding and crippling international sanctions.

More than 75% of the territory captured by Israel in 1967 was already “returned” to Egypt as part of the Peace Treaty of 1979. Other territories include Jerusalem, Israel’s capital city; Judea and Samaria, commonly referred to as the West Bank, the ancient heart of biblical Israel; and the Gaza Strip, from which Israel unilaterally withdrew in 2005.

Officials with the Palestinian Authority claim they have already secured seven of the necessary nine “yes” votes needed to pass a resolution in the 15-member Security Council. A UN Security Council resolution can be vetoed by one of the five permanent members of the body, of which the U.S. is one.

Just over a month ago, President Obama said that his White House meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister “gives us an opportunity once again to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel, and our ironclad commitment to making sure that Israel is secure.” Should reports be true, bipartisan reaction from the U.S. Congress is certain to be ferociously opposed to the President’s move.

The Return Of The Medes

2014-10-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

(Written by Jack Kelley)

"See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants nor will they look with compassion on children. Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians' pride, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flocks there." (Isaiah 13:17-20)

If you've been following the news in the Middle East, you know the Kurds are having a very difficult time lately. Although the majority of Kurds are Muslim, the Islamic State considers them to be idolatrous and has threatened them with extinction. An example of their plight is the city of Kobani on Syria's border with Turkey. Surrounded on three sides by IS fighters, the Kurdish city desperately needs help. But Turkey, whose army is camped just across the border on Kobani's fourth side, won't help because, for reasons you'll see below, they don't like the Kurds. And since the Kurds have been on Syria's side against IS other countries won't help for fear of inadvertently helping Syria. This is the latest in a long line of struggles the Kurdish people have endured in their effort to reclaim the national identity and homeland they had in ancient times.

The Kurds are the modern descendants of the Medes, an Indo-European people who were joined by the Persians in their successful effort to overthrow Babylon and establish themselves as a world power in the 6th century BC. The Persians, while joining mid-campaign, eventually became the more dominant partner in the coalition, but together the Medes and the Persians reigned for over 200 years until Alexander the Great defeated them.

The original ancestor of the Medes was Madai, the 3rd son of Japeth, a son of Noah. After the confusion of tongues at Babel he migrated north and east into the region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea where Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, and Georgia converge today. Locals call this area Kurdistan, or land of the Kurds. Mosul, a prominent city in Iraqi Kurdistan, was known in Biblical times as Nineveh. You may remember how the Kurds held off the Islamic State in the battle for the Mosul Dam this past summer.

Turkey has been a resolute opponent of granting the Kurds a national homeland in Kurdistan because much of the land they would occupy is in Turkey, with some in Iran and Iraq as well. In fact, Turkey thinks it owns the land currently occupied by the Iraqi Kurds, including the rich oil fields there, claiming that their ownership dates back to the days of the Ottoman Empire.

What's The Point?

The Kurdish army, called the Peshmerga (those who confront death), is a fearsome fighting unit, and with modern arms, enough ammunition, and some training could probably defend themselves against the Islamic State. But they are struggling from the lack of these things because their neighbours are afraid they might become too strong and win their long and hard fought battle to regain their homeland. This is something that no one else wants, no matter which side they're on. In fact, WND is reporting that Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the US have all agreed to let Kobani fall to the Islamic State, putting 160, 000 Kurdish people at risk of massacre, rather than coming to their aid. They clearly don't want an independent Kurdistan, primarily because its historical lands sit atop rich oil reserves that Turkey, Iraq, and Iran want for themselves. These countries have reportedly agreed to let the Islamic State solve their Kurdistan problem, thinking they can deal with IS later.

The purpose of this study is to show that no matter what the odds are against them, the Kurds are not going to disappear from the world stage. We know this because their destiny is to be God's agency for the never before fulfilled judgment against Babylon at the End of the Age.

By now we all know that Babylon was never destroyed in the way Isaiah and Jeremiah described when the Medes and Persians took the Babylonian Kingdom in 538 BC. When Darius the Mede assumed the throne in Babylon, he did so without having fought a battle for the right. A contingent of the Medo-Persian armies had slipped into the city at night after Cyrus the Persian diverted the River Euphrates far upstream. With the river reduced to knee high depth they crawled under the bronze bars that descended into the river to keep the city secure, and opened the gates for the Medo-Persian armies to capture the mighty fortress without throwing a spear or swinging a sword.

(This was foretold 150 years earlier in a prophecy from the Lord in Isaiah 44:27-45:3 which describes the manner in which Babylon would be taken and even mentions Cyrus by name. Before he was born, Cyrus was chosen to be the one who would free the Jews from their 70 year captivity in Babylon.)

And yet Jeremiah said that the Babylonian army would be completely destroyed, falling down slain, fatally wounded in the streets of Babylon (Jere. 51:3-4) and "her thick wall will be levelled, her high gates set on fire. The peoples exhaust themselves for nothing, the nations' labour is only fuel for the flames" (Jere. 51:58). The use of the plural for nations in this verse conveys the idea that multiple countries were involved in building the city, another clue that Jeremiah wasn't talking about the Babylon of his time, but of a future one.

Speaking of Babylon's destruction, the Lord had Isaiah say,

"Listen, a noise on the mountains, like that of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms, like nations massing together! The LORD Almighty is mustering an army for war. They come from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens-the LORD and the weapons of his wrath-to destroy the whole country. Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Because of this, all hands will go limp, every man's heart will melt. Terror will seize them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labour. They will look aghast at each other, their faces aflame" (Isaiah 13:4-8).

This sounds more like 21st century weaponry. I'm told that a neutron bomb will melt flesh right off the skeleton while the victim is still standing. Perhaps this is what Isaiah saw.

Never Again

Isaiah said that Babylon would never be inhabited again after being judged, and Jeremiah repeated the pledge seven more times. Yet Babylon has been continuously inhabited and is so today. There must be a future role for the Great City, and it must be a major one to merit six chapters of the Bible. Isaiah 13-14, Jeremiah 50-51 and Revelation 17-18 all speak of it. Isaiah 14 tells us why. It's because the real King of Babylon is Satan himself.

Isaiah 13-14 is a 2 chapter oracle about the destruction of Babylon, some of which we've highlighted above. But Isaiah 14:4 says, "You will take up this taunt against the King of Babylon" and from there on things get personal. Isaiah 14:11 says, "How you have fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning" and then lists the five boasts that Lucifer made in his rebellion against God. It's one of only two glimpses the Bible offers into this mysterious event that many scholars believe preceded Adam's creation. The other is in Ezekiel 28:12-19 where Lucifer is called the King of Tyre. Both foretell of his utter defeat.

There are more good reasons to believe that the Babylon spoken of in these prophecies is the End Times city in Iraq, and that it will be destroyed by the Medes, or rather their modern counterparts, the Kurds. The Medes are mentioned in Isaiah 13:17 & Jere. 51:11, 28 as being involved in a destruction of Babylon that's never happened in history and will result in the eternal desolation of Satan's headquarters on Earth.

Although many nations will be involved, only the Medes are mentioned by name, and both Isaiah and Jeremiah were speaking of them in regards to the city in modern Iraq. Referencing the time as "The Day of the Lord" Isaiah called Babylon "the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans' pride" (Isaiah 13:19) (The Chaldeans were the people of the southern regions who founded and controlled the Babylonian Empire. Some believe that Kuwait is the nation now occupying the land of the Chaldeans, and that this was the basis for Saddam Hussein's claim to Kuwait in the invasion that prompted the first Gulf war.)

Jeremiah went even farther. He used two cryptograms (code words) to authenticate his description, also in the context of the End Times. There are several instances of Hebrew code writing in the old Testament. They typically substituted the last letter of the 22 letter alphabet for the first, the 21st for the 2nd, the 20th for the 3rd and so on.

Jeremiah's two cryptograms can be found in Jere. 51:4 where Leb Kamai is code for Chaldea and in Jere. 51:41 where Sheshach is code for Babylon. I believe he did this to make it unmistakably clear that he was referring to an end times version of Biblical Babylon. How Satan will restore this now largely ceremonial city into the capitol of Earth at the end of the age is a matter of much speculation, some of it sceptical. For now what we know from Isaiah, Jeremiah, and John is that he will.

I say that because some of the language John used in Rev. 17-18 is almost certainly taken from Isaiah and Jeremiah. In Isaiah 13:21-22 Babylon is called a haunt for jackals, owls, and hyenas, words that in Hebrew describe demons as well as unclean animals. Compare that with Rev. 18:2. With a mighty voice he shouted: "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.

Or how about Isaiah 47:7-9 where the Lord accused Babylon as saying "I am the eternal queen ... and not a widow," and said she would be destroyed in a moment, on a single day. Compare that with Rev. 18:7-8. In her heart she boasts, 'I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.' Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her.

Jeremiah called Babylon a gold cup in the Lord's hand who made the whole Earth drunk. He said the nations drank her wine and went mad, and she would fall suddenly. (Jere. 51:7-8) Compare that with John's words in Rev. 17:4 & 18:3. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. All three of these prophets were speaking of the same place, and describing something that hasn't happened yet.

Those who say the restoration of Babylon will require billions of dollars and many years have not considered that its preparation has been under way for several years now. For example, if you take a close look at the dimensions and capabilities of the US embassy in Baghdad you will see how easily it could be converted into a world governmental headquarters. With a compound covering 104 acres, it is the largest and most expensive embassy in the world, and is nearly as large as Vatican City. Babylon is only about an hour away by car.

In addition, one of Saddam Hussein's palaces sits on a hill overlooking ancient Babylon and has been completely restored as a hotel and tourist destination. It could easily house the anti-Christ and his entourage. And there are several large military installations nearby as well. In short, preparing Babylon to become the capitol of the world won't take anywhere near as long as most people think. And remember, this is Satan's city on Earth. Therefore we should realize there will be supernatural power at work in the rebuilding process as well.

But here's the take away from this commentary. Through the Kurds, the Medes have stepped out of history and onto the world stage once again, and another player in the End Times Scenario is taking its place. One day soon, the King of the Medes will again lead a vast army against Babylon, and this time her destruction will be complete, and the Lord's words will be fulfilled. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah.

Are Roman Catholics Christians?

2014-09-18T03:21:00.000-07:00

(Written by Matt Slick)

Are Roman Catholics Christians? They are if they have trusted in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of their sins. However, if they believe they are saved by God's grace and their works, then they are not saved--even if they believe their works are done by God's grace--since they then deny the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice.

Being a Christian does not mean being a member of the Roman Catholic Church. It means being a member of the body of Christ, which is accomplished by faith and trust in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of your sins. It means you do not add your works to His work. Sincerity doesn't forgive sins. Membership in a church doesn't forgive sins. Doing works of penance doesn't forgive sins. Praying to Mary doesn't forgive sins. Forgiveness is received in the faithful trust and acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. You must trust Jesus, God in flesh, for the forgiveness of sins--not a man-made ritual and certainly not the catholic saints. Even though the Roman Catholic Church affirms the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and His physical resurrection, it greatly errors in its doctrine of salvation by adding works to salvation.

The official Roman Catholic doctrine of salvation is that the grace of God is infused into a baby at baptism--making him/her justified before God. This justification can be lost through sin and must be regained by repeated participation in the many sacraments found in the Roman Catholic Church. These sacraments increase the measure of grace in the person by which he or she is enabled to do good works, which are in turn rewarded with the joy of heaven:

"We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere 'to the end' and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ," (CCC, par. 1821).
"Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification," (CCC, par. 2010).

No one can say whether a Roman Catholic is truly a Christian or not since we cannot know people's hearts. However, if anyone, Catholic included, openly denies essential doctrines, then he is not saved; and this is the problem. It appears that the Roman Catholic Church is denying the essential doctrine of justification by faith. It says . . .

"If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified; in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to co-operate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, and that it is not in any way necessary, that he be prepared and disposed by the movement of his own will; let him be anathema," (Canon 9, Council of Trent).
"If any one saith, that man is truly absolved from his sins and justified, because he assuredly believed himself absolved and justified; or, that no one is truly justified but he who believes himself justified; and that, by this faith alone, absolution and justification are effected; let him be anathema," (Canon 14, Council of Trent).
For more on this, please see Council of Trent. Canons on Justification.

Notice that justification by faith alone is denied, and heaven is the reward for doing good works. This is the problem. The RCC does not teach the biblical doctrine of justification by faith. It teaches justification by faith and works. If you want to see more on this, go to The Roman Catholic view on justification.

What is the CARM position on Roman Catholics?

CARM's position is simple. If a Roman Catholic believes in the official Roman Catholic teaching on salvation, then he is not a Christian since the official RCC position is contrary to Scripture. Therefore, as a whole, Roman Catholics need to be evangelized. They need to hear the true Gospel. They need to hear that they are not made right before God by being in a church or by being baptized but by receiving Christ (John 1:12), believing that Jesus has risen from the dead (Rom. 10:9); and that justification is by faith (Rom. 5:1) and not by our deeds (Rom. 4:5). It is only true faith that results in true works (James 2)--not the other way around. Roman Catholics, like anyone else, need to trust in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of their sins and not the Catholic sacraments, not the words of the priest, not the Pope, not Mary, not the saints, not penance, not indulgences, not the rosary, etc. Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

Finally, I believe there are truly regenerate Christians in the Roman Catholic Church--truly Christians in spite of official RCC theology and in spite of the ritualistic offerings of this ancient church which has had too many hands meddling in it through the centuries--gradually moving it away from orthodoxy and into apostasy. Yes, apostasy. The Roman Catholic Church is no longer representing true Christianity.

Jesus alone saves. Jesus alone is Lord. Only Jesus' sacrifice can cleanse us. Only by faith are we made right before God. Justification is by faith--not by anything we do.