Carried off by force

Posted on 12/06/2011 by remso

As I have been trying to reconcile the many concepts of the rapture (pre, mid, etc.) in my mind I am hitting stumbling blocks. I have not changed my mind about the rapture, and our escape from the Great Tribulation period, but the timing seems to be paper thin, and is making the other theories at least a little more understandable. I am not sure what I thought the timing would be, but I sure did not get the impression that we, the church, would witness the entrance of the “the beast”.

An example of this paper thin timing, and the entrance of the beast, is the statement Paul made in his letter to the Thessalonian church.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 KJV (3) “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”
I have many translations and almost all have included the words, “that day shall not come” in italics to indicate that they added them for clarity sake, but what day are we waiting for? The day of the Lord. But I thought we were waiting for the rapture, not destruction. The son of perdition has many names throughout scripture, the beast is one of them, so don’t get all bent out of shape over that.

Read what the prophets of God had to say about the day of the Lord:
Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from

the Almighty shall it come. (Joel 1:15 KJV)

Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand– a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come. (Joel 2:1-2 NIV)

That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and sorrow, a day of wasting and destruction, a day of dark night and deep shade, a day of cloud and thick dark. (Zephaniah 1:15 BBE)

See, the day of the LORD is coming –a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger– to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. (Isaiah 13:9 NIV)

There is not a thing about these passages that seem to bring me great peace for they all portray God’s judgment upon the earth; they all portray the destruction that I have come to recognize with the seven week period in which Israel signs the peace treaty, the antichrist is predominant, and beheadings are the latest craze.
Nor do I feel as though I have a better comprehension about the rapture if I focus on them alone. Truth be known I think it confused me more, and God is not the author of confusion, therefore I keep going back to Jesus words, and you cannot argue with the statements that Jesus made.

In Matthew 24:37 Jesus said it would be as in the days of Noah, so ask yourselves, what do you know about Noah?: The thoughts of man were continually evil, violence filled the earth, and God shut Noah and his family, up in the ark before the floods came.
God seperated Noah’s family from the destruction. Peter, in his second letter, uses Noah as well, but adds righteous Lot into the mix as examples of God rescuing the righteous from destruction.
We briefly touched upon Noah, so let’s touch upon Lot since he is given for consideration. Peter calls him a righteous man, and although I strain to see that in him, God did. It is the final aspect of the Lot story that is hugely significant. When Lot and his family slow down packing their things and getting out, the angels had to remove them, saying “we can do nothing as long as you are here”. Read the story here:

With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.” When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you wThe Destruction Of Sodom And Gomorrah, a paint...ill be swept away!” But Lot said to them, “No, my lords, please! Your servant has found favor in your eyes, and you have shown great kindness to me in sparing my life. But I can’t flee to the mountains; this disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. Look, here is a town near enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee to it–it is very small, isn’t it? Then my life will be spared.” He said to him, “Very well, I will grant this request too; I will not overthrow the town you speak of. But flee there quickly, because I cannot do anything until you reach it.” (That is why the town was called Zoar.) (Genesis 19:15-22 NIV)

I will tell you this, when I find myself confused, I run to Matthew 24:37, and 2Peter 2:7; primarily because Jesus said it, but also because Peter backed it up, and added one other witness. Now if you know your bible then you know that a thing must be established by at least two witnesses and we have them here, therefore I have my anchor, but I think that this concept of snatching should be more predominant. If not, how do you explain all the preaching and teaching, and wrong ideas that has inundated us since Christ left the earth.

Wishing to gain as much understanding as possible I read from the notes section of my study bible. The Life application study bible attempts to define the term: “The day of the Lord” as that period of time when the Lord openly intervenes in the affairs of men, when man’s day has closed. It will be inaugurated with the rapture of the Church.”
(I do not hold strongly to the commentaries, but use them as aids. I really am looking the Holy Spirit to open this up to me. I am also a firm believer in applying logic and reasoning, therefore is something man says, is not reasonable then I challenge it with God’s word. If I feel that God’s word is not reasonable then I challenge myself to understand it.)

Some have read the passage in 2Thessalonians 2:3 and concluded that the antichrist personage has to show up first and then we are removed from the scene. What is the logic and reason that you can apply to this thinking. If the man of perdition is reavealed then that would mean that:
1. He is most likely here and ready to emerge.
2. We, the church, will probably be aware of who he is.
3. And the most painful path of reason is that because of what he does during the seven years, we will most likely see evidence of that beginning to take place.
Consider this, in reading about the battle for Iwo Jima, during WWII, even though this was only a piece of the war, the logistics it took to make that battle happen were mountainous. Do you not consider that the events happening in the world today are nothing more than logistics. God is making everything fall into place, and foolish minded men think that this is their doing.

I think I can see the problem and the source of confusion.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NIV (1) Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, (2) not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us–whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter–asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. (3) Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

Perhaps the confusion exists because there is a context issue when using 2Thessalonians 2:3 as a stand alone verse. The context really begins within the first chapter. In the first chapter Paul begins talking about the persecutions these people are suffering, and an appropriate way for them to look at those afflictions, but as with every other book of the bible, there is an integration of the conversation into end times salvation and the day of the Lord.
2 Thessalonians 1:4-10 NIV (4) Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. (5) All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. (6) God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you (7) and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. (8) He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (9) They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might (10) on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

While we, in the “modern church” are looking for an escape, this body was in it deep. Deep enough for Paul to attempt to encourage them, and by extension, encourage us. In 2Thessalonians 1:6 Paul states, it is “a just thing with God to pay back tribulation to the ones troubling you,”. When is that going to happen? On the day of the Lord, a time of judgment and gloom, and none of us associate our relief from this present world with a time of horror, and yet at the same time as the horror to come we have this admonition –
2Thessalonians 1:7 “to those afflicted, relief with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from Heaven with the angels of His power,”.

Again, I would like to be able to demonstrate a significant separation between our rapture (I assume our rapture here) and the day of the Lord, in which he brings pay back to those that have afflicted us, but look at verse 8 there is no break in thought, those angels mentioned a moment ago are coming with flaming fire.
2 Thessalonians 1:8 LITV (8) in flaming fire giving full vengeance to those not knowing God, and to those not obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Isaiah 66:15 NIV See, the LORD is coming with fire, and his chariots are like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

Jeremiah 10:25 NIV Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the peoples who do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland.

It is difficult to understand how some of this vengeance does not splash over on us, unless we who belong to Him, at that time, are removed from harms way. This is exactly what Peter was talking about when he described how God rescued Lot and Noah, and he will rescue us.

Here are other passages in which I find demonstrable hope, not necessarily a huge separation from the grief to come, but salvation none the less.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 CEV (10) … you are waiting for his Son Jesus to come from heaven. God raised him from death, and on the day of judgment Jesus will save us from God’s anger.

1 Thessalonians 5:9 NIrV (9) God didn’t choose us to receive his anger. He chose us to receive salvation because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done.

Romans 5:6-9 NIrV At just the right time Christ died for ungodly people. He died for us when we had no power of our own. (7) It is unusual for anyone to die for a godly person. Maybe someone would be willing to die for a good person. (8) But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (9) The blood of Christ has made us right with God. So we are even more sure that Jesus will save us from God’s anger.
One last thing crosses my mind as I write this, and just so you know, I write this because I believe that if I struggle then someone else does also.

Look at this:
Ephesians 2:4-10 NIV But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, (5) made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. (6) And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, (7) in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (8) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– (9) not by works, so that no one can boast. (10) For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Colossians 2:6-13 NIV So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, (7) rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (8) See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. (9) For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, (10 KJV) And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: (11) In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, (12) having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. (13) When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,

Jesus, was brutally murdered for our sins, rose from the dead to bring us new life with the Father, and he volunteered to let that happen; why? For you alone! Through our acceptance of that act of salvation we are placed in him.
Will God brutally punish the Son anymore? Absolutely not, and we are in Him, therefore he is not going to pour out judgment upon us either.
He is the King; he is majesty; he is upholding all things by his word, and he is our mediator, presenting himself on our behalf. He is the King of glory, and he has sat down, next to the Father, awaiting all things to fall into place, so that at the appropriate time he can present us, the bride, adorned for her husband.

Hebrews 1:2-3 KJV Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (3) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

If there is a logical path here, it is that if we are in Christ then we are not to be subject to what is to come. Make a distinction, the Great Tribulation includes the time of God’s judgment upon the earth. Read Revelation chapter 6 onward and you will find the wrath of the seals, bowls, and trumpet judgments upon the earth. This is all happening during the seven years called the great tribulation. It also includes the horrors that man places upon man. Driven by Satan in a last ditch attempt to conquer anything that looks like Jesus Christ, he empowers men with the same powers he tempted Jesus with after the wilderness experience. These man on man events are covered by the acts of the beast/antichrist, false prophet, and the harlot. I believe that I could make those characters much more realistic for you if time permitted.

My hope is that I have promoted God’s word, not only as a resource but life itself. He is life, and he is alive.

John 1:1-3 AMP IN THE beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. [Isa. 9:6.] (2) He was present originally with God. (3) All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being.

These following just excites me. Possibly because the thought that all anguish shall cease, and peace that I have never known will come, instantly.

I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed– in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
(1 Corinthians 15:50-58 NIV)

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NIV)

As the church throughout the ages has looked at it’s circumstances they have all said the rebellion is here. They might have been right, for I do not think that God looks at any of this as segmented time, it is just time, such as a day. And yet there is such a marked falling away today. Religious bodies that have been standards are giving in to pressure and allowing homosexuals to hold pastorates. Several generations of children have now grown with absolutely no desire to know God, and Islam is rising as the super power of religions and govermental authority. I believe that the time is now and the man is about to be revealed.

Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. (2 Thessalonians 2:3 NIV)

Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?
(2 Thessalonians 2:5 NIV)
Did Paul tell them this to encourage them of the hope to come, or to warn them? Knowing that persecution is coming can steele you against trouble. Someone or something has brought them doubt. That is really not necessary for it is man’s nature to doubt (we are of course still broken).

The last days are upon us. Look around you and see for yourselves. Jesus, the living one, is coming soon, I can feel it and see it. If you do not know him I strongly suggest that you humbly ask him into your life. Allow him the opportunity to reveal himself to you for things are only going to get worse. He loved you before you were born and gave his life to rescue and redeem you. In a sense you are his anyway. God bless.

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The Lord knows how to deliver the Godly.

Posted on 11/14/2011 by remso

A word study on the phrase “the day of the Lord” landed me here in 2Peter.

2 Peter 2:9-10 AMP Now if [all these things are true, then be sure] the Lord knows how to rescue the godly out of temptations and trials, and how to keep the ungodly under chastisement until the day of judgment and doom, (10) And particularly those who walk after the flesh and indulge in the lust of polluting passion and scorn and despise authority. Presumptuous [and] daring [self-willed and self-loving creatures]! They scoff at and revile dignitaries (glorious ones) without trembling,

(The Amplified bible places words in brackets and italics that they felt would enhance your comprehension of the subject matter. An example: “all these things are true, then be sure” is a reference to Peter’s address of Lot and Noah. Peter verbally demonstrated how God rescued them, therefore God has established a precedent, and will continue to rescue the godly.) While this passage takes in some clear aspects of end times (“the day of judgment and doom,”), there seems, in my mind, to be other things in the passage that can be tied into end times events too.

I had been involved in the faith movement for a short time. During that time I was excited to share what I had been learning with anyone who would listen. I went to a bible study one evening many years ago, and I spoke out in prayer over the life of a person who had requested prayer. Immediately after the prayer, and in front of everyone, I was verbally acosted, with the “leader” using 2Peter 2:11 (out of context) as his club of choice against me. Somehow he took passage this to mean that I had no right to speak against satanic influences in someone’s life. Having the room’s attention he made himself look very pious. I never went back. (This situation had the beginnings of a cult, as the leader reigned supreme and no one dared challenge him.)

A study of God’s word tends to demand that we examine the context of what is being said. That might even require that you back up a chapter or two to really understand the thought process of the writer. Peter, in this letter, shifts quickly between subjects (believers, Jews in general, and the nations) several times and requires our attention in discerning the focus of his attention. Think of this like a magician. A magician is able to do what they do primarily by distraction as fast movement tends to distract people, not because Peter is trying to deceive, but because different subjects, rapidly take center stage as he is delivering a message that the Holy Spirit wanted us to hear.

These two verses in particular intrigue me.

2 Peter 2:9-10 ASV the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment unto the day of judgment; (10 NIV) This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority.

There are those that seem to want to want to go through the tribulation, if not they strongly believe that we must all go through it, not just tribulation, but the GREAT TRIBULATION. My guess is that they feel that they must be punished, and we therefore, all have to be punished alongside them.

Perhaps they do not understand something; the day of the Lord, is a time period, not just a day. It is, in the majority of instances, a time of judgment upon the world. Contemplate this verse then if you choose not to believe that concept.

Isaiah 13:9 NIV See, the day of the LORD is coming –a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger– to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it.

God is not coming to have a picnic lunch with the Christian community on that day. He is coming with vengeance against those who have rejected him. While the verse does not exclude the possibility that Christians are in the land, it does say the sinners within it. In my mind, it would be easier to wipe out the sinners if I did not have to waste time dodging the Christians that are mingled amongst them. A person I know goes to church, primarily for the sake of her children, but takes every opportunity to hit the bars with her friends. Recently she made a public comment that she and company were at at the “Congregation”. Someone responded back to her with, “oh, you are at church?”. She replied, “yeah, and we are drinking some Jesus juice!”. Does she still belong to God regardless of where she is at? I believe so, but she is certainly blending in rather well with the “sinners” that will be destroyed.

I feel as though I have lived under a cloud of ignorance most of my life. I listened to, and adopted the mis-representations that people passed on to me about God; the worst being “God is mad at you”.

(Do not get me wrong! Jesus died that we might live, he is coming again for us that we might live with him, and he will judge the world for rejecting him. My misconceptions have been clearing up as I take the time to READ God’s word for myself.)

If you are going to lean toward your thesis that we all must go through the great tribulation then it would seem you are throwing many aspects of God’s word out the window. The Jews were bold enough to do that, and right in Jesus face. They stated, openly and boldly, that the works he did were of the devil; for that, Jesus called them blasphemous and warned them that they were in danger of hell’s fire.

(Long before modern day theologians got involved with God’s word the Jews firmly understood and believed that hell consisted of a fiery torment. The idea that many of you do not believe in hell is not going to negate its existence. Your arguments come off like this: Why would a loving God throw his own creation into a place like that? I suggest you rethink that question: Why would a God created being, with a free will, reject such tremendous love and grace by following Satan (the deceiver, and accuser of the saints; your surrogate father,) into hell, the place created for him?)

2Peter 2:9 Comes across so clear to me. The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation.

One might read that and think about some base, human desire as your temptation, but you could not be more wrong. Remember we are thinking context. The word translated temptation is peirasmos, and means a trial or proving.

Now what would God be trying to prove?

God does not have to prove anything, he is though allowing the world the opportunity to return his love back. If you are his (that would have happened as you put your trust in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.) then you have become the Godly and removed out of the proving that is the great tribulation. One might think that God is waiting for us to prove our love for him. The answer to that lies in Paul’s letter to the Romans: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NIV)

Consider the possibility that there is a mis-representation of God’s intent behind this dark, bloody period that is coming – the day of the Lord. What if God in his mercy is still trying every means possible to demonstrate that His word is true, therefore believable, and that there is still an opportunity to come to Him. John tells us that an uncountable number of people do come (Revelation 7:9,10), therefore the period called “the day of the Lord” is yet another drive to save those that will choose to see the truth. One of those mis-representations is tied in with the Prophet Joel. He wrote: “The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? “Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. … “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:1-30 NIV – I have greatly shortened the reading, but I encourage you to read it in it’s entirety.)

“The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of trials”

If the game plan is one in which the rapture takes place first, then the next events that are to happen will be the entrance of the anti-christ/beast, the false prophet, the peace treaty with Israel, the great tribulation, the beheading of those who stand for Christ, Jesus return to earth, and judgment. I did not mention that this event (the rapture) seems to be associated with a time of chaos and confusion. This is also what Islam believes, and the Iranian President believes that it is his calling to bring about this chaos.

Why would there need to be a peace treaty with Israel if there is no war or perhaps an impending threat of war? Yes, the middle east is awash in warfare as we speak, but this war has to be significantly different. Scripture seems to describe two major wars. One we refer to as the battle of Armegeddon, the other will be at the end of the millineal reign (1000 year reign). It is probably safe to assume that a warfare of major proportion, directed against Israel, is looming on the horizon. You can expect to see 10 Islamic nations joined together in this venture. I feel strongly that you will see Iran, Ethiopia, Sudan, Chad, Somalia, Lybia, Tangiers, Algeria, Turkey (Turkey may include the southern muslim nations of the former Russian empire), possibly Iraq, and Egypt.)

“and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.”

The judgment then, or trial, would seem to focus on weeding out those who truly do not believe.

In one regard that would seem so obvious, to whom? You and I? As I sat in church recently, the preacher said, “who is the first person that comes to mind when you think of someone who given so much, helped so many, and asked for nothing?” The majority answer was Mother Theresa, and yet as I sat there I could remember the concepts taughts me that condemned that woman to hell because she was a Catholic, and not of OUR faith.

What does scripture say the requirements are? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved. The thief on the cross merely stated, “This man has done nothing wrong, and yet they are killing him; we have. Lord receive me into your kingdom.” His statement tends to imply that he had an understanding of what Jesus represented.

So if the day of the Lord, a time of judging and weeding out the bad from the good is what this is all about, how do you back this claim up.

In Revelation there is a white throne judgment.

Rev 20:11-12 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

Daniel saw this time of judgment also, and what he and John both describe is God reading their lives back from the books.

God separates them into groups, and this is what happens. Look for the mercy of God in this.

Matthew 25:32-40 MSG Then all the nations will be arranged before him and he will sort the people out, much as a shepherd sorts out sheep and goats, (33) putting sheep to his right and goats to his left. (34) “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. (35) And here’s why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, (36) I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’ (37) “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? (38) And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ (40) Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me–you did it to me.’

Those that receive mercy seem to be shocked at the mercy of God, as they are granted entrance into the kingdom. The goats, those that showed no mercy upon others, on the other hand are sent into outer darkness, along with their leader, as God says: “depart from me, I never knew you.”

It seems that God has many names depending upon your nationality, understanding, and language. With Israel having only one language and understanding I suppose it was a little easier to say “tell them my name Yah Veh.” Islam believes that his name is Allah. I always thought of this as “Christian religion” standing there crying out “but Lord! What about these things we did.” Now I suspect that cults and false religions, who make their chants, hoping that a god will respond to them, might well be who he is talking about here.

The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation.

Peter intiated this conversation about God knowing how to save the righteous, by giving you examples of those previously delivered out of TRIALS. He uses “righteous” Lot, and Noah as a pattern. In legal terms we have a precedence.

Ponder the man Lot for a moment with me. You need to know straight out that I have heard plenty of sermons berating Lot for his decision to go to Sodom. Read the 13th chapter of Genesis.

Lot, Abraham’s nephew, is living among his uncle’s men and possessions and his workers are beginning to have clashes with Abraham’s workers. Not so much a rivalry as it is an expansion of businesses bumping into each other. Abraham gives Lot the option of taking the best land and moving on. (Note the quiet display of power when Abraham volutarily steps aside in humility, giving Lot the choice)

What does Lot choose? Sin city. He might as well have said “I am moving my operations to Las Vegas. How difficult would that be for someone to live there and not have a little of that rub off on you.

What do we know about Lot? Not much prior to Sodom and Gomorrah. We have no placid tales of him reading his torah by the streambank, dreaming about heaven, offering up sacrifices to the most Holy. What we do have is snapshots of him in Sodom, and the response of the men in town as he tries to calm them down. When the angels come to Sodom to get Lot where do they find him? Sitting in the gate. That might not seem like much, but that was typically a place comparable to the city council. He was sitting there in the decision making spot, making himself available. Does that make him a righteous man? Not at all, and yet Peter aligned him with God as a righteous man.

When the angels are brought to Lot’s home the men of town attempt to get at them. Lot speaks to the men who have come to have sex with the angels, and they respond to Lot saying, that they are not interested in him telling them what to do and how to live anymore. Intriguing isn’t it.

Genesis 19:9 LITV And they said, Stand back! And they said, This one came in to visit, and must he always judge?

One might think that with impending doom quickly headed his way, that Lot would make haste and leave, but that is not the case; the angels have to escort him, his wife and two daughters out of town. Why? Because they say, “we (the angels) cannot do anything until you are safely away from here.”

Genesis 19:22 LITV Hurry, escape there, for I am not able to do anything until you have come there. So the name of the city was called Zoar.

Does this speak to our theme: “then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials” absolutely.

Noah was our other example. Briefly: Noah, at God’s instruction builds an ark, because rain, something that none of them had ever experienced, was coming. God placed Noah in the ark, safe from the destruction that came quickly after that, and Noah was not touched by it. One might deem that a great tribulation, testing, or perhaps trial. It clearly was a judgment, and yet God was not the least bit interested in judging one of his righteous ones.

Genesis 7:16 MSG male and female of every creature came just as God had commanded Noah. Then GOD shut the door behind him.

“and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished;”
Jesus Christ’s life as a sacrifice was enough, there was no more sacrifice to be made on our behalf. On that day he purchased us out of bondage to sin and death, and released us from the demands for judgment against us, therefore God is not coming back to judge those who have received him; he is coming to judge the unjust. Beside that, if God were coming back to judge us horrid persecution, then since we are in Him (as Paul tells us), wouldn’t he then be coming back to judge his own Son?

Colossians 2:9-12 BBE For in him all the wealth of God’s being has a living form, (10) And you are complete in him, who is the head of all rule and authority: (11) In whom you had a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; (12) Having been put to death with him in baptism, by which you came to life again with him, through faith in the working of God, who made him come back from the dead.

 “…and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment …”

The word unjust here is: ad’-ee-kos

By extension wicked; by implication treacherous. The NIV used the term unrighteous.

Webster’s defines unjust as those: acting contrary to the standard of right established by the divine law. Vines NT words states, “not in conformity with (Grk: dike) what is right.

Here we are, back to the age old question, right based upon what? The obvious answer to me is God’s word.

2 Peter 2:10 AMP And particularly those who walk after the flesh and indulge in the lust of polluting passion and scorn and despise authority. Presumptuous [and] daring [self-willed and self-loving creatures]! They scoff at and revile dignitaries (glorious ones) without trembling,

The word walk in Greek conveys the meaning of the general activities of life. This could apply to anyone, but this is speaking about leaders or teachers of God’s word. This is where context is important. Looking 2Peter 2:1-3 Peter switched from writing about false prophets of the past to false teachers in the present, their teaching was the same-heresy. Peter tells us that the false teachers will introduce destructive heresies. Have you ever wondered what in the world is a heresy. As Easton’s bible dictionary puts it, it is as simple as a choice or an opinion. Now could it be so bad to have choices? It could be detrimental if the choice leads you off a cliff. We are not talking about choosing a car color here. A teacher, bringing in some other choice or opinion, clouds the truth that is in God’s word. Then you find yourself doubting whether God really intends to rescue you, as Peter was teaching, or will he leave you to suffer. If I can get you confused on this issue of salvation then in time I can have you doubting that God is even real.

In the past there were false prophets among God’s people. It is the same now. You will have some false teachers in your group. They will teach things that are wrong–ideas that will cause people to be lost. And they will teach in a way that will be hard for you to see that they are wrong. They will even refuse to follow the Master who bought their freedom. And so they will quickly destroy themselves. (2 Peter 2:1 ERV)

 2Peter 2:9-10 (ERV)…And the Lord will hold evil people to punish them on the day of judgment. (10)That punishment is for those who are always doing the evil that their sinful selves want to do. It is for those who hate the Lord’s authority. These false teachers do whatever they want, and they are so proud of themselves. They are not afraid even to say bad things against the glorious ones.

I have asked you to pay attention to context. 2Peter 2:1 states that there were false prophets among God’s people, just as there will be false teachers among us. Sadly that could be just about any of us, but look for the clues. What is that the flesh wants? To be in control. When man took on his new masters nature in the garden failure, selfishness became the theme of life. Yes, God gave us an out through his Son, but the struggle still remains. So the desire for control is common with man, therefore this is not necessarily a church leader as we might understand, but could easily be a “religious” leader.

2 Peter 2:1-6 NIV But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies [choice or an opinion], even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them–bringing swift destruction on themselves. (2) Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. (3) In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories, [and good-sounding arguments]. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (4) For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; (5) if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; (6) if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;

 But there were also false prophets among the people,

Who were the people that Peter was referring to? Israel. Balaam is one predominant example of a false prophet. Balaam, was a prophet for hire and had been asked to curse Israel. God would not let him do it. He figured out a way to gain a profit and potentially circumvent God’s directive by giving this king the way to push God right out of Israel. He, by his instructions was able to bring about the downfall of Israel. God eventually had Balaam killed for what he did. Did Balaam, by his words and actions, lead Israel to their destruction? You bet he did; does this excuse Israel’s actions and responsibility? No way.

2 Peter 2:1 NIV But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them–bringing swift destruction on themselves.

 We just slid from prophets to teachers. In my mind the prophet carries a bit more weight, as they are generally perceived as speaking on God’s behalf, but doesn’t a teacher do that as well? Policemen break the laws too, and yet they represent the law of the state in which they serve. Are they to be held responsible for misrepresenting the state? You bet, just as a false teacher is held responsible by God for misrepresenting him. I can think of many bible teachers that might be deemed false, because they are misrepresenting God by teaching people to focus on money as a demonstration of God’s goodness toward you, when God’s word tells us that everything in the world is working in opposition to God. God has made it very clear that his goodness toward us is based upon his love toward us. He demonstrated that by the giving the very life of His son as the price for our redemption.

Let’s take this concept of false teachers a step further. I think that we, in the religious world, focus on false teachers within the church, but what if this is an outside influence. Islam, is a religion, and they are converting people at a rapid pace. People who convert are often saying, they want something with a strong moral structure, and Islam enforces that. There are of course liberties that a man can take that a woman can’t, such as, a woman has to have her body covered in public; a man can beat his wife for no reason at all, if he so chooses, but he will attribute the beating to some breach of the Qur’an, and Islamic men, in the name of Jihad (holy war) can rape christian women with no repercussion. So is Islam then covered under the blanket of false teaching? You bet. Do a little research into what they believe about Jesus, the Son of God (you won’t find that description in Islam). They do believe in an end time scenario just as we do. If you compare Islam to Christianity, it begins to sound like Satan copied everything God prescribes in scripture, with an evil and sinister twist, all in the name of destroying anything that looks, acts, and sounds like God or the Son. And by the way, it is all happening slowly, although I have seen a rapid acceleration, by attempting to change the opinions of people.

2 Peter 2:10 CEV The Lord is especially hard on people who disobey him and don’t think of anything except their own filthy desires. They are reckless and proud and are not afraid of cursing the glorious beings in heaven.

 The Amplified bible says they despise authority. The Grk word is: kataphroneō

Thayer Definition:

  1. to contemn, despise, disdain, think little or nothing of

The King James version says they “despise government”. What is government, but the ruling body. Webster’s defines it as control or restraint. I seriously doubt that there are too many of us, here in the United States, that are content with what the Obama administration is doing to us, with their medical plan and every other plan they are dishing out. In a word, most of us are despising government. If it were that simple.

  1. We have people walking after the flesh. Fulfilling their own desires and agendas.
  2. They are false teachers and in some cases prophets. I am telling you, keep a watchful eye on Islam (Islam fulfils one of the major themes in Revelation by providing a false prophet. His name is Isa or to gain your confidence, Jesus the son of Mary).
  3. They despise restraint. While that can apply to most anyone, the lack of restraint sounds more like a person despising God, and that is what Islam does. Don’t be mislead, they believe in one supreme being too, but his name is Allah, and he has no son.
  4. And though one translation says: despise government, the majority speak of cursing glorious beings in heaven. If the government is God, and we are not talking about prayer against Satan, then we are talking about people speaking out against God. That is really much to lite a way to put it. Scripture tells us that the anti-christ spews out abominations against God.

God made the angels and a third of them fell with Satan. Even though Michael and Gabriel are magnificent, they would tell you not to worship them. John got a taste of this when he was taken up into heaven.

What is left to despise in terms of glorious beings in heaven? God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Jews despised Jesus when they attributed his actions to the devil. They caught an earful on that one, as he called them blasphemous, and told them they were seriously close to hell’s fires. The beast/anti-christ/Mahdi/ and False prophet of Islam do just that, cursing God, his Son, and imitating God’s actions in an effort to lead people away from truth; this primarily after the rapture of the active church.

Chain of events, as I see it.

While we are seeing the fingerprints of Islam’s influence upon the world even now, the worst is yet to come. Islam is going to raise its ugly head even further. There will be a 10 nation Islamic confederation under the guise of global order, but there are two undertones that cannot be missed. One is the establishment of a global Caliphate; Islam is advocating this on a daily basis.The other is what some refer to as: “the new world order”. While masked in a cloak of economic success and free enterprise, it is a collection of powerful men, driving for a centralized, one world government where they control the people, and gain more wealth. This should not be a new thing to anyone, while we treat these clouded governmental concepts as we do “area 51”, something of a hoax, the men who have run this country have, with few exceptions, all have been associated with things like the Masons, or the Bohemian Woods. Meetings shrouded in secrecy where decisions are made there that circumvent the voice, and votes of the people. This idea of a new world order may fall under many names but the primary ideals are tied into man’s lust for money and power.

Revelation speaks of the harlot riding upon the back of the beast. (Read Revelation 17 – In it you find a description of the prostitute/harlot, what the true draw is, the global effect she has on the world’s leaders, and shock on the world’s face when they realize how they had been taken in by her.) Satan is the power and motivation behind all of this, but people will not see it. The Harlot then, is the drive for money and power under whatever guise you want to call it.(Revelation 17:5 seems to be screaming out the name and definition, calling the harlot BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF ALL WHOREDOMS. Folks, there has to be something here that God is wanting us to pay attention to. That term Babylon is used for several things, the primary aspect is the satanic spirit behind it.) One of the aspects of this meeting place in the Bohemian Woods is 20 foot tall, cement owl called Moloch – also rendered as Molech, Molekh, Molok, Molek, Molock, or Moloc. As a god worshipped by the Phoenicians, Moloch had associations with a particular kind of propitiatory child sacrifice to which the Jews fell prey and sacrificed their own children to. The Bohemian Woods is not a singularity, this kind of “retreat” can be found around the world, and they have been ongoing since the collapse of the Ottoman empire. One of the predominant players in this world of greed, power, and deceit is a Jewish man, that hates God and all he represents, named George Soros. In his attempts to control and gain wealth he has been a major player in the collapse of several national economies, and you will find his name in the headlines sporadically.

The nations rising against, and surrounding Israel, ten in particular; a possible atomic war against Israel; economic collapse; Islam taking control of nations at the same time; pure pandemonium, and the rapture of the church. Much of this will take place so quickly that many would call it simultaneous.

The Mahdi/the beast, and the anti-christ characters of scripture. He is a man, so do not go looking for some hideous creature; this guy will be charasmatic. He is a muslim, and a religious leader. He will make a peace treaty with Israel that allows for them to rebuild the temple. The peace treaty will be for a seven year period, which he himself will break at 3 and half years into it. Islam believes that the treaty will be bartered by a Jewish priest, this becomes significant when the false prophet becomes predominant. Things to note: Even though he is a religious leader, that is not his pure motive. He too is driven by control and power. Military might is his backbone, and he will use, for a time, the harlot of Revelation 17. He eventually destroys the harlot; that means that they (kings, governments, and their money) will be used and cast aside. If you look at the descriptions of the harlot you will see that wealth is a primary draw with her. Islam appears to shun wealth for spiritual status.

There is another beast/anti-christ that comes.

I saw another beast come from the earth, and it had two horns like a lamb. It talked like a serpent.(Revelation 13:11 GW)

Again I warn you, you are not looking for something hideously ugly. He will represent himself much like Jesus, the Son of God, might have when he walked this earth. Revelation even says he has two horns like a lamb. Who is the lamb of God? Jesus Christ the son, the one who became the sacrificial lamb. Islam describes this man in minutia. He will be a man, a Jew, a muslim, a Jewish high priest of Aaronic decent, that Islam calls by many names: Isa, and Jesus the son of Mary, being two of them. He will by virtue of his name, lineage, and by powerful signsdeceive many into following Islam, proclaiming Allah as the only true god. This is a hard one because I find it difficult to believe that anyone would follow after someone named Jesus in this day and age, especially if he suddenly shows up and does what this guy does. To follow someone like this demonstrates to me how little the world knows or cares about scripture.

  • This Jesus of Islam sets up the image of the beast, and causes it to speak. He will be the enforcer of Sharia law against any that refuse to commit to Allah, and demonstrate their allegiance by most likely wearing something that indicates such.

This entire scenario is horror to me and should be to you too, because of all the misrepresentations that God has had to endure, this is the worst. Jews, those that claim to have been looking for the conquering Messiah, will fall for this person’s deception, throwing logic and reason entirely out the window.

A Mormon man said to me, “doesn’t scripture tell us that God is the happy god?” While there is a passage that indicates that God has laughed at some point, he is coming back to this earth to judge it, and he is coming in rage and fury. At three and half years into the peace treaty with Israel the Mahdi breaks the treaty and Jews will be slaughtered. Only a handful will remain. The false prophet of scripture, this Jesus of Islam, will begin systematically killing those who refuse Allah.

Scripture says that nations will be flattened by earthquakes; the sky will go dark; celestial objects will strike the earth, and 100 pound hailstones will fall. (Try reading Revelation chapters 8, 9, 16) Yet people will still make it through, many cursing God as they go.

Jesus, the Son of God, the King of Ages, will come, plant his feet on the Mount of Olives, and split that mount in two. He will come with an army and there will be a great slaughter in the valley of Megiddo. (Some call that the battle of Armegeddon). For those of you who mock, saying I do not believe in your God, beside that I am homosexual and no harm to anyone. Trust me on this, Islam despises you as well. Islam will give you a choice, worship Allah or die. If you are homosexual you will be killed with no options for Allah does not tolerate that kind of behavior, and violent death is what the Qur’an prescribes for homosexuals.

One last thing you might take note of. If, and I believe that this is the way, the rapture of God’s church takes place, there will of course be about a billion people suddenly gone. Oh sure, you can blame it on aliens, but the thing to pay attention to is how quickly all these horrid things will suddenly fall into place. They are falling into place as you read this, assuming that we are not already gone.

While the Mahdi is making a treaty with Israel there will be two prophets from God standing in the streets of Jerusalem proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ, the risen one. New life in him will still be available, and I would suggest that you grow a backbone and take advantage of that. No, there will be no opportunity for a rapture rescue, you are now going to have to take a strong stand against Islam’s Allah, and you will probably lose your head over it. Scripture tells us in Isaiah 13 that they (Islam) will smash your children’s heads against the stones in front of you. DO NOT ACCEPT ALLAH AS GOD. I am telling you, you can do this. The same Holy Spirit that has walked this earth, for all these years, compelling you to come to Christ while you had the chance at grace, will still be here, and scripture tells us that he will give you the strength to stand and the words to say. Do not be afraid. I know that is easy for me to say now for I am not facing violent death, nor having to watch my children held before me, screaming daddy, as I am pressured into giving into the worship of a false god, accepting some indicator, a mark that I have given in, and giving up my last chance in the hands of the merciful God, who created me, and sent his only Son to die that I could live. Take his hand, close your eyes, saying no to Allah, and yes to the one who loved you from the beginning of time, Jesus the Christ.

This all started with “the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of trials” and surely a bigger one is coming. I have been facing a hard, but minor one at work. Lot, live among these same people that wanted to take the angels and have sex with them; try telling me that was not difficult. Times will be difficult, that is a by product of broken people and the earth we live on. As long you have someone around you they have the potential to act out in their flesh, and the flesh is always selfish. The point in this is that God has not removed us from the daily grind, therefore there has to be something more. We look forward in hope toward our snatching away. 2 Peter is a very strong argument for this concept. Yes, I am painfully aware that believers, all over the, not so free world, are being tortured and killed on a daily basis. If God knows how to deliver the righteous then how about them? I do not have the answer to that, and reality that Christians suffer brutal things for their faith has been with us for as long as there has been Christianity. Paul, while his name was Saul, had to have stood among those crowds of pharisees as they taunted Jesus, declared his works to be of the devil, and attempted to kill him. After Jesus death, Saul the pharisee made it his goal to remove the pollution of Christianity from the earth. God stopped him, and made it clear that what he was doing, he was doing to Jesus. Look this up in Acts 9:4.

Paul later told us that we will suffer for our faith. God has given you the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for him. (Philippians 1:29 GW) What should I make of this? God’s gave us a hope, and false teaches have tried to strip that away. Always cling to hope and faith in His word. As for the suffering, at least make sure it is only for your stand as a believer. We broken humans will have ample opportunity to demonstrate how broken we are. Know that God has you in his hand, and do not make your brokenness a lifestyle.

Posted in End times, Thoughts, Thoughts on scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A second beast

Posted on 10/29/2011 by remso

Revelation 13:11-18 NIV (11) Then I saw a second beast , coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. (12) It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. (13) And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. (14) Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. (15) The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. (16) It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, (17) so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. (18) This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.

Then I saw a second beast In some ways God is making no distinctions between the two beasts for they are both evil, possessed by evil, and serving the same intent, taking God’s people to destruction. Odd, but only if you caught it. I said God’s people, but what is so odd about that. The rapture has already come, possibly three and half years earlier, and yet if you study the scriptures you will begin to see a common thread that runs through all time; up to the day of judgment they are all God’s saints. I hope this begins to give you a new perspective on how you look at those around you, especially those you pass judgment upon.
Scripture gives us some clues about who this second beast is; It had two horns like a lamb. Who do we, in the Christian community understand the lamb to be? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the lamb of God slain for the sins of the world.

Take strong note of how much Satan tries to mimic God’s plan of salvation, using a character that has some similar characteristics. I hope this triggers off a thought process in you. What if this beast presents himself as “the lamb” that we recognize? The deception will be horrific!

Jesus, in response to the disciples question; “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? ” The first thing he says to them is  see to it that no one deceives you! Why ? For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.
Consider Jesus statement for a moment. I understand from scriptures that Jesus will only touch down on this earth one more time. On that day scripture tells us that he is coming on the clouds and every eye will see him (he is not sneaking up on anyone); he will be bathed in light and fire; he will have a sword coming out of his mouth, and he will land on the Mount of Olives and it will split in two as though an earthquake had hit. He will not show up, standing in some farmers field, telling people to follow him, and demonstrating that he is the lamb through powerful signs.
Now with that in mind, all the cracked pots that claimed to be Jesus or his mouth piece, have only been just that, cracked pots. Think about that analogy. No one buys a pot that is cracked on purpose, that is just stupid, but over time the pot that was once useful, and served a purpose, lost its ability to hold anything properly. It is possible that you did not discover the crack until it spilled it’s contents where you did not want it, and quite possibly wasted your dinner.
For a time, here in Southern California, we had a radio show called “the Jesus show”. That seems safe enough, but the man was skilled; he seemed to know scripture, and he spoke with authority. The problem is that he spoke as if he were Jesus. When he did that I was done with him. Is it that the cracks in men are not as obvious? What if, because we are not paying attention, or we are choosing not to see the cracks, we do not pay attention when they spill their contents all over us. Often, by the time that happens it is too late, and that is why we see sad cases where good people followed these leaders to a tragic death.

There is only one thing that will keep you safe from following a counterfeit Christ (by the way, that word Christ means messiah) and that is knowing the real thing. How would you do that? Study the scriptures, for in them you will find life.

Posted in Deception, End times, Thoughts on scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Return to your first love.

Posted on 10/12/2011 by remso

The Church at Ephesus
Revelation chapter 2

Revelation 2:1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write,….

A tad bit of background on Ephesus.

From Gill’s commentary: a city of Ionia, and which Pliny calls (f) the work of the Amazons, and the light of Asia; it was famous for the temple of Diana, but more so for having a church of Christ in it: hither the Apostle Paul came and preached, and continued for the space of two years; where a very famous church was planted by him, and proper officers appointed, to whom he wrote a very excellent epistle: this is now a miserable desolate place, not a city, but a village; and is called by the Turks, Aiasalik: of this place and church; See Gill on Act_18:19, Act_20:17,

Acts 18:19 And he came to Ephesus,…. The metropolis of Asia; according to Pliny (c), it had been called by many names; at the time of the Trojan war, Alopes, then Ortygia and Morges, also Smyrna Trachea, Samornion and Prelea, and which he calls the work of the Amazons: some say (d) it was called Ephesus, because Hercules permitted the Amazons to dwell in it, Ephesus in the Greek language signifying “permission”; Pausanias (e) denies, that the famous temple in it was built by them, but by Ephesus the son of Caystrus, and says that from him the city had its name; though others say it was built by Androclus, the son of Codrus, king of Athens, in the time of David king of Israel; and that having suffered by the sea, it was rebuilt by Lysimachus king of Thrace, who called it after his wife’s name Arsinoe; but he being dead, it was called by its ancient name Ephesus: it is now a poor village in the hands of the Turks, and with them goes by the name of Aiasalik; though with others it still has the name of Epheso; the Syriac version reads, “they came”; not only Paul, but Aquila and Priscilla; and certain it is that they came with him thither, since it follows, and left them there; unless this is to be understood of Cenchrea: this clause is not here read in the Syriac version, but is placed at the end of Act_18:21, where it reads much better; as that he should leave them at Ephesus, when he departed from thence, than when he first came thither; unless the sense is, that he left them in some part of the city, whilst he went to the Jewish synagogue; since it follows, but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews; concerning Jesus being the Messiah, and the abrogation of the law; and the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ, and not by the deeds of the law: which were the principal things in debate, between him and the Jews: Beza’s ancient copy reads, “and the sabbath following he left them there”.

Keep in mind that Revelation itself is a book revealing Jesus. Jesus is who John is seeing, and it is Jesus that is speaking to him; speaking about “what was, what is, and what is to come.” Therefore God is speaking to these churches. It is a message that is specific, for as we can see from the background, already stated, that Ephesus effectively disappeared off the map.

The words spoken over the churches are at first encouraging, for they point out some good aspect(s) prior to the delivery of the bad news.

Revelation 2:2-3 NIV I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. (3) You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

The bad news is:
Revelation 2:4-5 NIV Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. (5) Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.

They only seem to get dinged on one point. The oddity here is, when you read the background information, the potential for many other accusations are there. Consider the pointed way God steers us through scripture and we do not get it. I am not surprised.

What is the one thing that Ephesus does that draws God’s ire? Lost their first love. God’s directive to them: Return to your first love or I will remove your candle stick from its place. John saw Jesus walking among the candlesticks in Heaven. Perhaps this scene is representational of our foundations, but on that, I am not sure. After getting admonished to return to their first love what do they do? Nothing or too little.

Considerations:
What can define a first love?
Excitement
The desire to learn about the one your attentions are set upon.
Passion
Fire
Love
Sincere questioning as you learn about the other.
Studying the other person, memorizing each line of the face (as an example).
Enthusiasm
Exploration
I am sure there are many more aspects, but now apply these ideas to the newness of our relationship with the Father (this has an entirely different meaning when God is your Father.) I will tell you, that as I pondered this, I thought of my own experience in “coming to the Father”. I was raised in church. My mother would lay a blanket down behind the seats in the back row, and in many ways I literally grew up there. I came to know of God as I came to be able to communicate, but in our Christian way of thinking there must be a point in which you, with understanding, make a decision to follow him. I suspect I did that at about age 12. So many will give their testimony how they, after a brutal life, came to know the Lord on a particular day; mine was not so dramatic. I think that it feels more like a family, which gets along somewhat, and there is no painful drama that makes you wish you born to someone else. Within this family there is an expression of love through actions and words. In my quiet times I can hear God telling me that He loves me, just as a father might. I had my attempts at a family and children stripped away from me, but during the time that I had them I held them and told them that I loved them, and that they were valuable. The point in this is that when you are accustomed to loving environment, you may not see or feel the passions that are involved when you leave the nest and find love on your own.

That takes me to my next point, and that is that we tend to associate a first love with a girlfriend or marriage. Sadly, as so commonly happens within a marriage, we tend to lose our first love. Really? Or do we slowly decide that the things that made that relationship exciting are just not worth the effort any more, as you shout out at your wife, “get me a beer”.

So then, the question is, how do you keep you love alive. This becomes important because God told this church to return to their first love. Obviously God and his Son were the basis of this.

An aspect of a first love is exploration. That means finding out what makes the other tick, and and eventually finding out the habits they already have, the good and the bad. Yes, I have been married several times. Now that we are past that I can say my second wife was doing just that, when she asked me what kind of bread I liked, and what kind of toothpaste I used. Wow, I never really thought about the toothpaste thing, but I suppose that it is important, for some taste pretty odd. I answered her question with I will eat just about anything, but I prefer wheat bread. She then seemed shocked, so I asked her why. She had had a relationship with a young man who got very angry over having white bread in their “home”. The way I see it, starving people just eat.

Now God has no bad habits, but he does have a misunderstood reputation. If you are going to have a love relationship with the Father then I would think that it would be a requirement for you to find out who he really is. God is love, and when you have been damaged by people that requires some serious personal time, spent learning about, and building a relationship in which you can love him back. I have found that I respond well to the realization that his goodness is toward me, for no one has ever loved me the way he does; no one listens to me the way he does; no one talks to me the way he does, and no one has ever made me feel so wanted, the way he does.

Within a marriage there comes a point at which you must decide to keep love alive. How does that happen? You become accustomed and complacent. Do I really need to say “I love you” to her that much, if at all. She knows I love her, just look at those pots and pans I bought her for her birthday. Are you serious. Unless you are just an ignorant caveman that scratches his head with a club, then communication is essential. I cannot tell you how many times I have walked away from work depressed and emotionally spent, feeling little to no self-worth, primarily because I feel as though I am not heard; a lack of communication. Aside from communication, keeping love alive requires that you overlook perceived faults, and look for those things that ignited you at the beginning, while thinking outside the box. This makes me think of a commercial in which the family looks at the table with dinner on it, and says, “ same thing again”. So ask yourself, in the early days of your relationship did you constantly do the same things? No, you made life interesting.

I am so dismayed by people that are bold enough to think they have the right to tell God that he cannot act through people in certain manners. For example: tongues, interpretation, and essentially the gamut of the giftings of the Holy Spirit. I approached a lady at a church I visited, because I had told of her. She had directed some questions to the speaker, at his request, and I was appalled at how pitiful and curt the speakers response was to  her questions. I spoke a few words to her that I felt the Holy Spirit had directed me to say, and then asked her if I could pray with her about the situation. The first thing she said to that request was “no ghost”. I could hear this in my head immediately, what are you talking about, and yet I knew the answer. She started to explain that she wanted no refence to the Holy Ghost. An odd thing about that is that  I already feel that way about the term because I am not finding it in scripture, but the negativity was almost overwhelming. To be honest, I wanted to walk away from her at that moment; I did not, but internally I was skeptical about her receiving anything. Sometimes you just do what you are told and let God do his. It all gets sorted out in the end.

We, as a church, seem to struggle with the concept blaspheming of the Holy Spirit. People have serious concerns about the damage they may have done to themselves when they ask, either about themselves or someone else for they think they have may have condemned themselves to hell because of what they said or did. Jesus made the concept of blasphemy pretty clear when he rebuked some pharisees for attributing the miracles, healings, and words that he had done and spoke, to the devil. Addressing the pharisees, he told them that they were blaspheming and in danger of hell itself when they were doing just that. If we associate the acts of the Holy Spirit to something other than God then what makes us think that we are not doing the same thing when we try to restict God, because we have decided that He is inappropriate.

Make note: Even though this church was vibrant and alive, something happened and they “lost that loving feeling” (The Medley Brothers). God warned them to get it back, therefore it was something that they could get back, if they choose to, but they did not, and the fact that little to nothing exists of that metropolis today is a statement to the God whose word is true.

Some will argue that this letter is exclusive to the non-existent church body that met at Ephesus, but what if your wrong. What if every aspect of these churches exists within us today. One of the signs of His return is the falling away of the church; another translation is the rebellion. We as a church have lost our first love, we have fallen away, and we are in rebellion. What if God is telling us to return to our first love, and find that passion, fire, and desire to learn of him. Studying every wrinkle of his face.

Posted in End times, Thoughts on scripture, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

about eating food sacrificed to idols

Posted on 10/11/2011 by remso

Only days ago I read where a large number of food producers in America were now sending products to the market, manufactured under Halal-certified standards. Standards that are mandated under Sharia law.
If Islam were to exist in this country like every other religious or unusual practice, and those who chose to follow Islam’s way did so because they wanted to, then go right ahead, but that is not what is happening. This nation, founded on principles of freedom is rapidly losing that freedom through overhwelming governmental and religious terrorism.
An example:
Secret U.S. Memo Made Legal Case to Kill a Citizen
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
Published: October 8, 2011
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s secret legal memorandum that opened the door to the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born radical Muslim cleric hiding in Yemen, found that it would be lawful only if it were not feasible to take him alive, according to people who have read the document.
The memo, written last year, followed months of extensive interagency deliberations and offers a glimpse into the legal debate that led to one of the most significant decisions made by President Obama — to move ahead with the killing of an American citizen without a trial.

Another example may well be the introduction of permissible foods into every market place. Are we there yet? No, but Costco has added Halal-certified foods into the mainstream, right next to a “regular” chicken. My father saw this piece of news, and with feathers ruffled pointed it out to me. I informed him that this is nothing terribly new. See below; taken from Islam, an informational page in Wikipedia

The leading North American halal food producer and distributor in the United States is the Midamar Corporation. Midamar is the first company in the USA to slaughter halal beef in USDA inspected plants.{Midamar Milestones} This company has been in operation since 1974, and it is based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the home of the oldest mosque in the Americas still standing. The children of Muslims who settled in Iowa around 1900 discerned a need to start producing halal beef and chicken catering to the tastes of American Muslims.
Since 1991, mainstream manufacturers of soups, grains, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, prepared foods, and other products, as well as hotels, restaurants, airlines, hospitals, and other service providers have pursued the halal market. These companies purchase halal-certified products. Halal certification tells Muslims that their ingredients and production methods have been tested and declared permissible by a certification body. It also allows companies to export products to most Middle Eastern countries and South East Asian Countries. The oldest and most well-known halal certifier in the United States is called the “Islamic Services of America”. Something that companies which intend to export halal products must keep in mind, when choosing a certifier, is whether or not the certifier is recognized by foreign governmental bodies.[10]
In 1986, the “Islamic Meat & Poultry Company” was founded in Stockton, California. Islamic Meat & Poultry is a halal-only, U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected, hand-slaughtering and meat-processing facility. This company follows the principles of slaughtering and meat-processing according to the Islamic Shariah.[citation needed]
In 1993, Mr. Ahsan Mohyuddin founded the “Halal Meat & Food Corporation” in Bladenboro, North Carolina.[citation needed]
Also in Europe, several organizations have been created over the past 20 years in order to certify the halal products. A survey recently published by a French association of Muslim Consumers (ASIDCOM) shows that the market of halal products has been developed in a chaotic way. The certification organizations do not have a common definition of “halal” nor agreed upon control procedures and traceability. The controls implemented by individual agencies are all very different: it can go from an annual audit of the slaughterhouse to checking each production with permanent controls in place and on-going independent.[11]

But wait a minute, I am a believer in Jesus Christ, therefore a Christian. Attempting to live my life as peacably as I can, here in the land of the free, so why should this affect me?

For one, maybe it is because we are losing our freedoms. Our government is throwing constitutional freedoms right out the window, and Islam, with its Sharia law, is hell bent on taking over the world. Will they? That is yet to be seen.

Consider how this effects the Christian community, and its scriptural standpoint.

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 NIV (1) Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. (2) Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. (3) But whoever loves God is known by God. (4) So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” (5) For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), (6) yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. (7) But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. (8) But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. (9) Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. (10) For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? (11) So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. (12) When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. (13) Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

Let’s attempt to examine this, one bite (humor) at a time.
Verse 4:
So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.”
“Food sacrificed to idols”
We understand that Halal (Arabic: حلال‎ ḥalāl, “lawful”) is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law (Sharia, الشريعة الإسلامية). (Wikipedia)

Part of what makes it permissible to the Muslim is the manner in which it is slaughtered.
According to the laws of Ḏabīḥah halal, certain prerequisites must be met before an animal is slaughtered: (Wikipedia)
The act of taking an animal’s life is called a “sacrifice”. A statement of practice from the ENA meat packing company. How Halal meat is prepared. From ENA meat packers.
The animal must not be a forbidden substance as per the Quran.[1]
The head of an animal that is slaughtered using halal methods is aligned with the Qiblah (or Kaaba). Dhabiha: method of slaughter Turning of the head towards the Qiblah
The slaughter itself must be done by a sane (mentally competent) adult Muslim, Jew, or Christian as they are considered “People of the Book” (Arabic: Ahl al-Kitāb‎); this is a point of consensus amongst Muslim scholars. They differed however concerning whether Sabians and Zoroastrians are also included under People of the Book as stated in Surah Al-Maa’idah, Ayat 5. Modern authors have proposed that Christians aren’t included in this dispensation, due to the Paulian doctrine of the Trinity. This proposal does not hold much weight however, as the trinity and ascription of a son is mentioned several times disparagingly in the Quran, yet the verse 4:5 was one of the last to be revealed.
All Muslim scholars hold that mentioning God Almighty (Allah Akbar) name at the time of slaughter is a must, they differed as to whether or not forgetting to do so or leaving it off intentionally at the time of slaughter rendered the sacrifice void and thus the meat forbidden for consumption. They also agree that if other than God’s name is mentioned then this would be forbidden, due to the verse “Eat not of that (meat) on which Allah’s Name has not been pronounced.” [Al-Anaam 6:121]
Thus an animal slaughtered by a Christian who did not mention anything at the time of slaughter would be permissible to some, while other scholars would hold it impermissible. (Wikipedia)
Dhabīḥah (Arabic: ذَبِيْحَة‎ ḏabīḥah IPA: [ðæˈbiːħɐ], or Zabiha) is, in Islamic law, the prescribed method of ritual slaughter. The precise details of the slaughtering method arise from Islamic tradition educated by the prophet Muhammad, rather than direct Quranic mandate. It is used to comply with the conditions stated in the Qur’an:

The Kaaba (Arabic: الكعبة‎ al-Kaʿbah IPA: [ʔælˈkæʕbɐ], English: The Cube)[1] is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam.[2] The Qur’an states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham and his son Ishmael, after Ishmael had settled in Arabia.[3] The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if they are able to do so. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to walk seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed from above). This circumambulation, the Tawaf, is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).[2] However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when, officially, about 6 million pilgrims gather to circle the building on the same day.[4][5]
In terms of verse 4: “about eating food sacrificed to idols:”
God gave distinct directions about NOT eating foods sacrificed to idols, but that was under the law.

Paul also spoke about it, because, while the Idol does nothing for the recipient of that food, eating it does bring about a consciousness of the act, the symbolism, and their god. God, being a jealous God, is not the least bit interested in sharing you with something associated with another god; we call that Idolatry.

Paul spoke about our liberty, but he also spoke about the hazards of using that liberty as a license. So, if I have the freedom to not worry about where some meat came from and what it was dedicated to, and my lack of concern causes someone who is weaker to fall away from God because they cannot now justify a good reason to serve the living God, just because they saw me eating something questionable, absurd as that seems. I also have the directive to not exercise my liberties in front of you.

So the question then is: If I eat your Halal-certified food, I am then partaking in your worship, your symbolism, and your false god?
I might be, especially if I am aware of it, and I can certainly see how some weaker Christians might stumble over this. Until just a few days before the writing of this I was not even aware of such certifications on food.
Is the method of slaughter a bad thing? No more than any other, except that they declare the name of Allah over it, and specifically point this animal toward the Ka’aba, in image, an idol, and that was forbidden under the law. If I am not under the law, then why would the Ka’aba be a problem to me? Because God did not say “you shall have no other God’s before me” just to practice speaking. To the modern day Christian that could imply the Television if it takes his place. And there is always the possibility of you stumbling, because they seem to honor god for providing and they honor the animal for giving it’s life that they may live.

Verse 4: “There is no God, but one”
In some ways I have already touched upon this. God is a jealous God, and if you read the scriptures then you saw how angry he got at people carving up a stick and worshipping it, as if it brought them life. God berates these things that have no arms to provide for you, and no lips to speak to you, and yet you waste your time falling over yourself before them.
An example of how preposterous idol worship can be comes to mind. Remember when the Philistines captured the ark? No, then read this.
1 Samuel 5:1-5 NIV After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. (2) Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. (3) When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. (4) But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. (5) That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold.

Verse (5) For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), (6) yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. (7) But not everyone possesses this knowledge.

We really want to believe that we live in a sanitary world, where nothing interrupts our peace, and yet we surrounded with a world occupied with its own mindset. Focused upon their own gods they do not care how their goals impact you. Am I being narrowed minded, no more so than God, but God does give us the freedom of choice. We are free to follow after him or not. There are of course repercussions for that bad decision; an endless life of hell with agony.
One of things we have to settle in our minds is the fact that God is real, and that there is a promised return for following him. How can you know this? God has proven himself to be true. He has done what he said, and done it publicly. Jesus, his Son, and God himself, did exactly what he said. The Jews even attested to this when they could argue any better than to say the works that Jesus did were of the devil. Jesus, did things that, even to them, only God could do.
Isn’t it odd that over 500 years after the death of Jesus, Mohammed comes along with his message in opposition to the cross and Christianity.

What we are dealing with is God’s plan for the end, and we need to be focused upon that. What I see people reacting to, with anger, is people and government. How do you justify your actions when our directive is to PRAY. Yes, God gave us brains and mouths, so with them we speak out against a government that chooses to throw away due process for an American citizen.

If we are going to react with such emotion then let’s get people educated, react at the ballot box, and get some people in government that have a backbone and are willing to keep this nation free and out of debt.
Sadly, I think that is impossible now; you prevent a landside before it happens, not during.

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard someone ask, “why doesn’t the bible speak of the United States in end times events?” Maybe it is because we become an Islamic nation, ruled by Sharia law, where Christians are killed, and this country becomes the base of warfare against the Jews.

It was recently in the news that the Ohio prison system, in response to Muslim prisoners, has implemented Halal foods exclusively for them. You should be aware that the prison systems are the biggest recruiters of converts to Islam here in the United States.

Do you not realize that, scripturally speaking, something is holding back the evil in the world from completely dominating, and Islam is only a part of that team, a major part yes, but still a part. That force, spoken of in second in 2Thessalonians, is a handful, so to speak, of praying people, who are passionately standing against demonic forces that are going to have their way for a relatively short time. Do not think that Islam’s short, violent reign will not be the norm, for Jesus himself tells us that no man would survive their reign if God did not shorten time.

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Signs that we are to watch for regarding His coming.

Posted on 10/05/2011 by remso

Somewhat based upon Pastor Chuck’s blog.

Luke 21:6,7 As to these things which ye are beholding, days are coming in which there shall not be left stone upon stone which shall not be thrown down. And they asked him saying, Teacher, when then shall these things be; and what is the sign when these things are going to take place?

What were they looking at? The temple.

This is a parallel story to Matthew’s account.

Matthew 24:1-3 (Darby) And Jesus went forth and went away from the temple, and his disciples came to him to point out to him the buildings of the temple. (2) And he answering said to them, Do ye not see all these things? Verily I say to you, Not a stone shall be left here upon a stone which shall not be thrown down. (3) And as he was sitting upon the mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what is the sign of thy coming and the completion of the age?

Consider that some time has passed but in comparison to world literature this time frame is nothing. Matthew had first hand experience with the Lord, and Luke is passing along second hand information. Matthew’s occupation would have meant taking notes with detail, and Luke, the doctor was a detailed man also.

The first response out of Jesus mouth, in Matthew’s account is, “see that no one mislead you.”

Who was Jesus speaking to? His own followers, which we believe numbered about 120, but then there were almost always the twelve. One of the immediate examples of deception may have been with Judas Iscariot. It is believed that his motive may not have one of rebellion, but an attempt to motivate Jesus to act out in the role that Jewish zealots were looking for, a warrior king.

One of the things that demonstrates the parallel of these two accounts is the similarity in message.

Luke’s account also shows Jesus first response to the question about the temple as, “”Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. ”

Based upon the directive and apparent danger demonstrated by Jesus statement, let’s look at that.

Watch out that you are not deceived.

Deceive: To mislead the mind; to cause to err; to cause to believe what is false, or disbelieve what is true; to impose on; to delude.

Deception comes in so many ways. People will scream loudly about how corrupting some movie is, but the oddity there is that the thing they are screaming about is so obvious, that it is absurd. Although I cannot remember the name of the movie, there was one that portrayed Jesus as a homosexual; I did not waste my time seeing it. Have I watched alien movies? Yes, I think they are fun, no less fun than Star Trek. Do I need to be careful? You bet, for Star Trek was designed to convey the idea that man was good and did not need God. It also filled the mind with concepts about God that even today, all these years later, force me to READ my bible, so that I can see the true image of the almighty, and I have found Him to be more merciful than I ever imagined.

What is really scary about deception, is the subtle things. Think about what makes a magician good at his craft, deception. They do not saw anyone in half, you go to prison for doing that, but what they will do is draw your attention away from the truth.

Yes, I have watched the Ellen Degeneres show, and yes, I am aware that she is a proclaimed lesbian and an advocate of alternative lifestyles; she is also funny. Does that mean that I follow her advice, or worship her? No. Oprah Winfrey, told people that she was raised in church, and yet advocated that all people have God within them, are good, and need to look inwardly, instead of upwardly, for the answers. She seemed to do good things for impoverished children in Africa, and a few here in America, so it is difficult to ascertain if she is doing anything blatantly harmful. You see, here may be an example of such subtlety that people easily get sucked into. Why, because she is believable, likeable, powerful, and well spoken.

For many will come in my name

This is not as obvious as it seems. One of the things that I became accustomed to, growing up in church was the prophetic. I am not afraid of prophecy, because scripture tells me that Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. He, by the way, came to save me, not destroy me, and that is the message that some prophets want to convey. The problem with the prophetic was delivery. Was the heart of the message sincere? Probably, but habit, learned from listening to someone else I suppose, was to tag it immediately with “Thus Saith the Lord”, when really the delivery person should have said, “this is how I feel about it.” The deception involved with such a statement is that the hearer, if they are not attuned to the Word, forces the untrained ear to attribute somebodies junk with an importance that it does not deserve. If God wanted your attention it could come in a whisper, it will typically verify what you already know in your spirit, and will usually touch you deeply. There is no deception involved or needed.

(Folks, I am going to throw this in for free. God has said all that he needs to say through the scriptures. Scripture answers every question, and speaks to every moment in life. So for someone to get weird and creative is just pushing their luck and yours. I have ventured out in giving words to the church body, and people publicly. I cannot remember a time that you could not have found the things that God had me convey to the hearer, in scripture. I personally think that is very cool, for it takes tremendous pressure off me, I do not have to get creative, and it is the safest things to do. Delivery can give the words a negative impact upon the hearer, but the Holy Spirit will smooth that out with practice. God brought you through life, scarred and all, to make you the person that you are today for a reason. Should you respond to his call and give a word to someone, there is no way that you are not going to have a piece of your personality involved. And do not think that God is unaware of that fact. It might be the primary reason he spoke to you about giving that word out.)

What this coming in my name could imply is a veil of religion. Religion often cloaks itself to look like a godly thing. The Christian Science “church” near me, has meetings to teach on spirituality, awareness of the god in you, and they even have an “uplifting service”, but they do not teach that one needs to accept the King of Glory into their life, as the one who purchased life for them, and that he is coming back again.

Claiming ‘I am he’

For a short time, here on a local radio station, was a man that had the Jesus Christ radio show. He spoke as though he was Jesus, and would say things like, “when I did the miracle of changing the water into wine this is what I was saying”. He seemed to be very knowledgeable with scripture, but just the fact that he portrayed himself as Christ, was certainly off, and at the very least dangerous. Outside of this character I have never heard of anyone so stupid as to do that, and yet Jesus said it was important for us to watch out for. How is that even possible?

People may demonstrate power, Santeria priests, voodoo witch doctors demonstrate power (Isn’t odd that in church we deny God any power.), and yet they do not claim to be the Christ.

There is only one that concerns me and I believe should be taken very seriously, ISLAM. The Qu’ran teaches, and their prophets have spoken it, that one will come named Jesus Christ. Now why is that odd? We people “of the book”, as Islam refers to us, know that, for Jesus told us himself he would come again.

The Islamic Jesus Christ, we know him as the false prophet, is:

1. A Jew – That should get somebodies attention for Islam proclaims that the Jew is the enemy. Those who oppose Islam are the enemy. Those who acknowledge Islam, proclaiming Allah to be the true god, and Mohammed as his messenger, can serve a purpose under Islamic rule. The fact that he is a Jew adds a heightened sense of awareness to me, and it should you too. Scripture tells us that the anti-Christ deceives even the elect. Who are the elect? Jesus response was to Jews and he spoke words that they were meant to understand. Jesus was talking about Jews, mentally, and morally superior Jews, that will be deceived by this person.

2. Islam says he will come on a white horse. There is only one scripture in the bible that they will agree upon and it is this, for they believe it speaks of the Jesus Christ of Islam, and fulfills their prophecy, not ours.

Revelation 6:1-2 NIV I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” (2) I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

This rider does not come to save, he comes to conquer. He does not come with a sword in his mouth, he has a bow, and this does not imply redemption in any form, it is unleashed deception, along with punishment.

Those that wish to fight with me on this point will say something like, this is a depiction of Jesus coming in glory, riding a noble steed, to conquer his enemies at the end of the world. I respond with, isn’t deception a scary thing, for if you believe that then you have not invested any time what so ever in reading the scriptures, for you would know that Jesus will come, in the clouds, land on the Mount of Olives, split that hill in two, and out of his mouth will come a sword to slay his enemies. He, Jesus Christ, the risen one (which by the way, Islam does not believe in.) will arrive at the end of the seven years of Great Tribulation to judge the earth’s inhabitants. Surprisingly he will show more mercy than you ever thought was possible.

Read what Islam says about Jesus and the anti-Christ.

Jesus in Islam: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Islam, Jesus (Arabic: عيسى ʿĪsā) is considered to be a Messenger of God and the Masih (Messiah) who was sent to guide the Children of Israel (banī isrā’īl) with a new scripture, the Injīl or Gospel.[1] The belief in Jesus (and all other messengers of God) is required in Islam, and a requirement of being a Muslim. The Qur’an mentions Jesus twenty-five times, more often, by name, than Muhammad.[2][3] It states that Jesus was born to Mary (Arabic: Maryam) as the result of virginal conception, a miraculous event which occurred by the decree of God (Arabic: Allah). To aid in his ministry to the Jewish people, Jesus was given the ability to perform miracles (such as healing the blind, bringing dead people back to life, etc.), all by the permission of God rather than of his own power. According to the popular opinion and Muslim traditions, Jesus was not crucified but instead, he was raised up by God unto the heavens. This “raising” is understood to mean through bodily ascension. Muslims believe that Jesus will return to earth near the day of judgment to restore justice and to defeat Masih ad-Dajjal (“the false messiah”, also known as the Antichrist).[4][5]

Like all prophets in Islam, Jesus is considered to have been a Muslim (i.e., one who submits to the will of God-Allah), as he preached that his followers should adopt the “straight path” as commanded by God. Islam rejects the Christian view that Jesus was God incarnate or the son of God, that he was ever crucified or resurrected, or that he ever atoned for the sins of mankind. The Qur’an says that Jesus himself never claimed any of these things, and it furthermore indicates that Jesus will deny having ever claimed divinity at the Last Judgment, and God will vindicate him.[6] The Qur’an emphasizes that Jesus was a mortal human being who, like all other prophets, had been divinely chosen to spread God’s message. Islamic texts forbid the association of partners with God (shirk), emphasizing a strict notion of monotheism (tawhīd).

Numerous titles are given to Jesus in the Qur’an and in Islamic literature, the most common being al-Masīḥ (“the messiah). Jesus is also, at times, called “Seal of the Israelite Prophets”, because, in general Muslim belief, Jesus was the last prophet sent by God to guide the Children of Israel. Jesus is seen in Islam as a precursor to Muhammad, and is believed by Muslims to have foretold the latter’s coming.[5][7]

If you have read this information taken from Wikipedia, provided by Islam in an effort to provide you with the truth about their, so called, peaceful religion, you noticed a reference to the anti-Christ, the Islamic Dajjal. Our scriptures tell us that there will be two, not one prophet, standing in the street prophesying in the last days. Islam considers these to be the anti-Christ. Why? Because they speak out against the deception that Islam will be spreading. Their version of Jesus will slay these two. Again, if you have done your homework, you know that after three days these two prophets come to life again. What a shocker that will be.

You will have also noticed many things that cause a tremendous amount of people to question their beliefs. How could it be that Jesus Christ could be a Muslim. Many will believe that it was all a lie and fall into the trap of Satan himself.

This is not about a man or a religion, this about the deceiver of the world, Satan. If you have read this and become angry then you need to know that your anger needs to be redirected, and you need to pray that God opens peoples hearts and minds to receive him. People need to be aware that the end is upon us.

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What are we waiting for?

Posted on 10/03/2011 by remso

My former pastor, (he moved on to another church, and I miss him.) informed us, on Facebook, that he was going to start a new blog on the end times. This is a passion for me and so I responded with “bring it on”.

The second blog he put up seemed to indicate that there are two predominant signs that must be seen before Jesus comes to catch us away.

Look at the verse with me.:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NIV (1) Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, (2) not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us–whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter–asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. (3) Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

Something important that might aid you in your understanding of end times events. All throughout scripture you will find the phrase “that day” or “the day”. Most of the time it has reference to the Lord Jesus Christ’s physical reappearance on the earth. That day he will return to set things straight. He will come with a fury. He will come against those who have refused him, and he will judged those upon the earth. Take a look at Zechariah 14: 4,5.

Now when Paul uses the terminology “the day” as he did here in the Thessalonian letter, he is talking about the time before Christs return to the Mount of Olives, in which Jesus comes with a trumpet blast, remains in the air, and calls those of us who remain on this earth to meet him in the air. We, the church, have gotten comfortable using the term Rapture. That term is not in our bibles. It is a Latin term and only found in the Vulgate translation. The term in the Vulgate is Rapio. What we do have is: harpazō ; to seize (in various applications): – catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force).

The two signs, based upon Thessalonians are:
1. The apostasy
2. The entrance of the anti-christ on the scene.

The Apostasy – It means a falling away or rebellion. Our understanding of the meaning really depends upon the parameters does it not.
Even though a majority of this nation calls themselves Christian, most have no interest in accepting the name of Jesus Christ as their own. Most churches preach a politically correct message, choosing not to offend, and still try to draw people to a generalized message of goodness.

A local Methodist church, that I drive by, sponsored a religious unity day. They put up a sign inviting people of all faiths to come. Islam, Buddhist, Baha’i, Catholic, and Jews; all were welcome.

What would they unite upon? Certainly not Jesus Christ, the risen one, God’s son. Perhaps they could focus on some aspect of God that leads back to the Son. After all, God so loved the world that He sent his only Son. Well, that is not going to happen. There is really only one thing that all can have some form of agreement upon, and that is a goodness aside from God, for everyone wants peace within their own little world. But there is a problem with that!
For any manner of goodness is based upon an absolute moral authority which requires that you accept that there is one who sets the standards and boundaries, and that would be God. Many believe that they are capable of doing this on their own.
Assuming you preach peace based upon Jesus Christ, the Muslim ear, which agrees that there is a person named Jesus Christ, is appalled at the concept of him being a son of God. To them, god (Allah) is entirely pure, and uncorrupted by a woman, therefore it is ludicrous and insulting to imply anything else.
That means our agreement then seems to be limited to the possibility that man can be self-governing, because, again, the world wants to think that man is inherently good. Merely watching the growth of a child will teach you otherwise, for we are all born into a broken condition.

If apostasy means rebellion, then what meaning does the word, as Paul used it, take on?
The majority of the world has rejected and turned their backs upon the Creator. Perhaps we can call that rebellion. Makes sense when you consider that God forgave the sins of the entire world.

What then is God waiting for, things to get worse?
Doesn’t rebellion imply that those who may have been on your side previously have turned against you?
Consider this: Daniel 11 starting at verse 29 describes “the King of the North” showing favor to those who forsake the Holy Covenant. Rebels!
There is a key to this in light of Christ’s coming to catch us away, and the day of the Lord.
1. The “day of the Lord” here in Daniel, has to do with Jesus physically touching down upon this earth, to bring about judgment.
2. This passage of scripture appears to happen after the harpazo (or rapture.)

This brings me to the second point, and that is that pastor says “Christ cannot come until the entrance of the anti-Christ. Whether he is called this or not is irrelevant, but his physical person would have to be here. In one sense we do not have to wait for any fulfillment on this, for even John tells us that many anti-Christs have come already.
If you will read this in 2Thesalonians you will probably agree with me that the timing is extremely tight.

Ask yourself this question: If the Lord Jesus pulled us out of here today, could everything else in scripture begin to fall immediately into place? If you are saying yes then I suggest that you making this harder than it needs to be.
I will give you an example:
1. The mark of the beast.
A. The beast, a spirit, must possess and move a man into a place of power quickly. There are a number of characters that could fulfill that, but Islam believes wholeheartedly in prophecy and end times events as well, and they expect this person, we call the beast to come as the Mahdi. While they believe their prophecies to be somewhat interpretive, you will find that they run somewhat parallel, and close to what Christianity believes, in many ways.
Islam believes that Mahdi is prescribed to be 40 years, and a descendant of Mohammed. Until recently, when the US blew this most recent Al Queada operative, up in Yemen, he fit many of these aspects.
B. The mark – of the beast. English interpretations have butchered this concept so badly, no wonder we have been confused. Scriptures started out as preservation of documents and letters, and were initially written in Aramaic and Septuagint Greek, on skins and clay tablets. There is a man, named Walid Shoebat, a former terrorist, now a Christian, who in giving his testimony, tells how he reading in the scriptures in Aramaic, his native tongue, comes to the place that speaks of the mark. It says “and his mark shall be the number of a man”. In Aramaic it is spelled out clearly “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger.” Mr. Shoebat, even expounded upon this idea by pointing out how a fairly recent movie conveyed this same message when they wore headbands and armbands that read: “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger. To the English speaking mind the symbols that convey this message look very similar to a string to 6’s.

I strongly believe that technology, though a possibility, is not nearly as important to this scenario as people think. Scripture tells us that the “saints” will be beheaded for their testimony. While that is certainly happening today, I can see where we might get one of our concepts that make us believe that the Church goes through the tribulation, for it is God that is calling the beheaded, Saints. We, in our narrow minds, attribute this to Christianities suffering on behalf of the Lord.

Jesus paid our price; get that straight. Either he was enough or not. If not, then there is no salvation, and all we do is waste of time. What we do have is a God whose mercies extend beyond our limitations to people that most of us currently condemn. Think about it, Latter Day Saints, who will not accept Jesus Christ as the price for their freedom, study voraciously. Mormons; advocates of strong families, study voraciously. There has to be others, who on the verge of recognition of Christ as Lord, will be the evangelists of that day.
Islam declares those who call themselves Christians, to be “people of the Book”. Muslims are taught from an early age to hate those who oppose Islam, especially people of the Book.

Spend some time studying the scriptures and you will come to realize that the Holy Spirit is not taken off the earth for many continue to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Lord. You will also find that an Angel flies around the earth, broadcasting the message of Jesus Christ, and salvation.

I wish I could tell you that the Great Tribulation will be exclusive to the middle east, but Islam is bringing ideals and message into your neighborhood. There is no separation between Islam and fanatical Islam, for it is merely Islam, and what they do and believe is all in the Qu’ran. The Qu’ran teaches and advocates lying, especially with the infidels of the book. My own mother felt she had to respond to this statement, with a story of a family friend who married a Muslim man, and he does interfere with her beliefs.
What would make a situation like this so dangerous? If you are permitted to live a justified lie, while waiting for the appropriate time to act, which is precisely what the Qu’ran teaches, this Muslim man could under the guise of Sharia law kill this woman for Apostasy.
There is that word Apostasy again, but this time Islam sees the woman as trying to convert a Muslim and provides for her to be stoned or beheaded. As a side note here. There is no equality or fairness when it comes to sentencing. If a man and woman are caught in adultery the man is buried up to his waist, his arms and hands are free, and if he can dig himself out before he is killed he is free to go. The woman on the other hand is completely bound, buried up to her shoulders and stoned until dead.
Germany has allowed Sharia law such a foothold that recently they unable to prosecute a Muslim man for killing his, justifiable by Sharia law, his religious right.

Here is the point, if I have not made it. The Apostasy is upon us, and it is getting worse by the minute. I believe that the man who will take on the role of the beast exists and lives among us. Islam believes this too. We have seen the tree produce leaves and bud, therefore our sign that the season is upon us has come. Be alert, and pray.

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It is given unto you to know.

Posted on 09/22/2011 by remso

1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 NIV (2) for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (3) While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (4) But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

In Matthew 13:11 Jesus told his disciples, “Unto you, it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it is not given.”

We are in the end times, and the events that are happening on almost a daily basis, are described in scripture. I have always had a desire to understand what is going on in the world in relation to scripture, but found the symbolism, and the things that I thought were symbolic in the bible confusing. My attempts to understand were met with frustration and just seemed to push me away. I honestly believe that part of this confusion is the enemies attempt at keeping not only me, but the majority of the Christian body, blind and stupid.

I actually believe that my desire to learn has been fueled all along by the Holy Spirit, but having a desire to learn and learning are two different things. I have only recently begun to gain some clarity.

I am not a theologian by any means, but with a sincere heart I read regularly, and I write those things that the Spirit speaks to my heart, about what I read. While reading, I attempt to apply logical thought and intelligence to what I am reading; I do not think God expects anything less. Consider that when God says, “come let us reason together” He may well be asking you to do just that, apply thought to what you read, and then talk to Him about it.

If a lack of scriptural clarity is an issue that restricts one from understanding then looking at other versions of the Bible that say it more clearly may be in order, so take a look at the Message.

1 Thessalonians 5:2 MSG (2) You know as well as I that the day of the Master’s coming can’t be posted on our calendars. He won’t call ahead and make an appointment any more than a burglar would.

One of the things that make this an important issue is the “pastor” that recently put up billboards declaring a specific date for the return of Jesus Christ, for the express purpose of gathering His saints. Well, that day came and went, and we are all still here. Do I believe that the return of Christ to gather us to him is that imminent? Absolutely. That means that this pastor was “in the ballpark,” but we do not get to pick the day. If his flock had applied logic and intelligence to scripture, I seriously doubt they would have followed through with this pastor’s wishes.

It is fairly clear that Jesus return is going to sneak up on a lot of people, but his return does not have to sneak up on us, the believer.

1Th 5:4But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

God has always been very upfront in the way he has dealt with man; he is not changing his tactics now.

I guess you noticed that the thief uses darkness to cover his movements. The problem here is that God is not a thief and is not sneaking up on anyone. When you read about what He is described as when he appears you will notice that it is filled visuals of light, lightning, and color. There is vivid imagery of the King riding upon a magnificent stallion, displaying his authority and majesty, and every eye will see him.

Matthew 13:26 and Matthew 24:30, both speak of Him coming in the clouds, and every eye will see him. Does that sound like someone sneaking up?

Matthew 24:30 RV and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

If I have given adequate examples of God not sneaking up then how is it possible that there could be any sense of sneaking involved in end times events. Let’s jump back to Jesus comments for an answer to the question.

Matthew 24:37-39 NIV As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. (38) For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; (39) and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

 So what we see is that life was continuing to go on just as it was the day before. Nothing made a difference to them. They paid no attention to the clues around them.

 – What was there that would have made a difference?

 Without an in-depth look Noah seemed to be the only man that lived a righteous life, and we assume that he preached a message that to their ears sounded impossible. Up to that time the earth, scripture tells us, was watered by a dew, so the concept of rain was completely foreign to them. Maybe the scenario is as simple as the Bill Cosby comedy routine of years ago. In that skit, people would come up to Noah and ask what he was doing. He  responded with the instructions that God gave him, “building an ark.” “Why”, they would ask, “because God told me it was going to rain.” “Whats rain?” and so on. Simply put, they only had one option and that was to believe God, get on board, and escape the coming destruction. It just occurred to me that there was no great demand to change your ways as a stipulation for getting on the ark; observe what happened after the flood, for sin returned in full force through one of Noah’s sons.

 – What do you know about the times the Noah was involved in?

Genesis 6:5 NIV The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

 – What was there that would have alerted them to some impending doom?

 We make the assumption that Noah preached to them, and that may well have been, but that is not spelled out in scripture. What is clear is that Noah was an upright and blameless man. Why is that significant? Because he stood out like a sore thumb in the midst of violence, evil, and perversion.

Genesis 6:8-9 NIV But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. (9) This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

 The fact that he built a boat in what may have been a waterless environment had to have drawn attention. 100 years of collecting, reshaping, pounding upon and nailing wood made no sense to them. When God began drawing the animals to the ark do you really believe that no one noticed, people asked questions? It is probable that Noah told them what he knew; impending doom is coming, and your entrance into this boat will be your only chance of escape.

 “and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.”

 – Considering that God gave them plenty to understand, how is it that they knew nothing?

 This is disturbing, for today we are surrounded by people that know nothing. What do I mean? Sure the earth is filled with so-called intelligent people, and they would be insulted to be called anything less, but their wisdom and intelligence have nothing to do with God. An example might be Islam’s influence, and it’s dangers today.

 I make posts about Islam’s dangers in America, only to be rebutted with “maybe they are just trying to enjoy freedom of worship, and want to be left alone.” I wish that were true. Statistically only 14% of the Muslim’s in America are fanatical. Meaning they desire a pure Sharia law run country and are willing to make that happen. Take a look at countries run by sharia law and then ask yourself, do you want to live like that?

How many Muslims are there in America? That is not well documented, because the freedoms that we enjoy here do not exclude, nor count people based upon their beliefs, but estimates put them at over 400,000. That means with 14% of them taking an actual Islamic position, there are at least 56,000 people spread across this nation that are willing to give their lives, at a moments notice, in an effort to establish sharia law and a global Islamic religious leadership, a Caliphate. It will only take one to ruin your day. On the plus side, if your a believer, you may instantly be with the Lord. Isn’t that odd, that is kind of what they believe also. They have no assurance of salvation as you can have in Christ, but only understand that their acceptance in paradise is only guaranteed at the first drop of their own blood given in an act of Jihad. That might be one of the strong motivations they have for suicide bombings. That might be why Islamic mother’s can send their young children off for training to be a human weapon of mass destruction.

 Having recently read a brief interview in International Christian Concern’s newsletter “Persecution”. The author, Jim King, is publishing an interview that he had with Anjem Choudary, a leader of a well documented radical Islamic group in the UK, refutes the idea that Islam is a peaceful religion. This radical leader, born and raised in the UK, declares that Islam is a religion of Jihad and terrorism. This is not just a fluke, or one mans opinion, Anjem Choudary, in his words, “simply adheres to the teachings of the Qur’an and Hadith.”

 It is Islam’s goal to bring about a global, religious, world order based upon sharia law. If you have been paying attention to world news, they have been rapidly making that happen. Sharia law does not tolerate any religion outside of “there is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is his messenger.” So what you find is persecution and beheadings in the name of Allah.

 The last part of the verse I started with is very revealing, and my final point. Look at it with me, once again:

1 Thessalonians 5:4 NIV (2) for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (3) While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. (4) But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.

 The important part here is that we, believers, are not in the darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. If Paul is conveying the heart of God here, and God does not lie, then what is the problem and where is it coming from.

Ignorance: Ignorance can be a choice, especially when someone says, “I will not listen to that!” Or ignorance is a lack of information. Sadly we may have had a lack of knowledge, but even worse when we were mislead. Think about what scripture says, “the god of this world has blinded them, so that they believe a lie.”

2Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, …..

1John 2:11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. ….

Revelation 13:14Because of the signs it (the antichrist personified) was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth.….

Revelation 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, …

This last one may not apply to you or me, especially since we are the church and not the Jews, but the message is scary in that God hardened their hearts for a reason. I honestly believe that God wants you to understand and believe.

John 12:40 NIV (Jesus speaking about the Jews in their understanding) “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn–and I would heal them.”

 It has taken me the course of many days to edit this and pull my thoughts together. There are many reasons for that, some of which are attributable to learning disabilities, but time is a major factor for me because of my variable work schedule. Life continues to happen around me. Just last night I was invited to a Bible study in which we looked at the first three chapters of Proverbs. This section of the scripture is similar to a prayer that I have spoken to God about. It has been especially important as I find myself not remembering things like I did when I was younger.

 Proverbs 2:1-5 NIV My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, (2) turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding-– (3) indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, (4) and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, (5) then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

 Seeking wisdom is a gift that the Holy Spirit has given to every believer. I cannot understand why we refuse to accept or open our gifts after we receive them.

 If you are interested in knowing what is coming then find the book “The Islamic Antichrist” by Joel Richardson.

 No matter how this makes you feel, your greatest motive should become one of intense prayer for the persecuted church, Israel, and the health of this nation.

Posted in Apostasy, Cult teachings, End times, Thoughts, Thoughts on scripture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

There are three separate gods, not one God in three persons.

Posted on 09/11/2011 by remso

What some groups teach about Jesus and the Bible’s response

Adapted from Rose Publications, Christianity, Cults & Religions, 7th Edition

My disclaimer upfront: I do not agree with this belief. I am though reaffirming my beliefs and hoping to impact others. Another thing you need to know about me is that I am just a guy that is trying to put intelligent thought down on paper; something that I have never been very good at. So if you are going to criticize, be kind.

One of the decisive responses to a statement like this is: Deuteronomy 6:4. It says, Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

As with all scriptures this requires faith. Faith becomes a little easier when like the children of Israel God demonstrates who he is and what he can do for you, on a daily basis. But here we are so many years later, surrounded by a sea of doubt and unbelief.

The children of Israel are dead, there descendents live on, but they have been infiltrated, and integrated into the unbelief of the nations that they were to have conquered. Now comes Isaiah the prophet. God wanted us to understand who he is, and speaks through one of his prophets in an attempt to convey who he is and his plan.

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14 NIV)

One might miss the significance of this when considering who God is until you look attentively at the word Immanuel; for that word means: God with us.

Now how do I integrate what Isaiah said into an argument against the concept that there are three separate gods. How does God, the almighty, stay where he is, and present himself here on earth as a child. He attempts to establish this by having a virgin give birth, and giving the child a name that signifies that he, the child, was God.

Thoughts about a virgin birth:

  1. Who is going to believe you, especially when you are betrothed?

  2. The women folk have ways of telling if you are telling the truth, as humiliating as that can be, and it is hard to believe that they did not scrutinize this young girl thoroughly.

  3. This is not only impossible in mans eyes, but God also tells anyone who will listen what the sex of the child will be. In today’s modern world Doctors can determine what the sex of the child is before it is ever born. It was not that long ago that the sex of the child was totally random.

Consider that God himself wanted us to know and believe; look at Isaiah 43:10.

“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. (Isaiah 43:10 NIV)

God testifies about himself, saying: Before me there was no god formed, nor will there be one after me. How would anyone but a supreme being be able to make such a bold statement?

Matthew 1:18 NIV

(18) This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

If the writer uses the terminology “found to be” then there is the implication that she was examined. That should dispel all doubt, but it did not. By the way, did you notice that the terminology just changed. Whereas Isaiah, by inspiration, had said that God will give a sign, we now have the young girl pregnant through the Holy Spirit. So if you are counting we now have God the Father, having God the Son, through an act of God the Holy Spirit. But as usual this still takes some faith on your part.

Matthew 28:18 NIV

(18) Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Wait a minute. Even in my limited human mind I know that all authority comes exclusively from God, and yet Jesus now says that all authority, in heaven and on earth has been given to him. How can this be without being God himself?

I am well aware that Jesus now sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven. So how do I rectify this situation now, for Jesus seems to be a separate entity. Even as a Son of the creator of the universe he would have had immense power available to him. From what I gather, the mindset of the hearer when this was written was one with no disassociation between the Father and the son. The son carried the weight of the Father and the authority. The Jewish mindset had no separation between the two. To prove this when Jesus argued that he only did the work of the Father, the Jews picked up rocks to stone him because he had, in their minds called himself God.

John 10:30-39 NIV I and the Father are one.” (31) Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, (32) but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” (33) “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” (34) Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”‘? (35) If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came–and Scripture cannot be set aside– (36) what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son‘? (37) Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. (38) But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” (39) Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

To further establish this Jewish mindset let’s look at the letter to the Hebrews.

Hebrews 1:1-14 NIV In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, (2) but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. (3) The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. (4) So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. (5) For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? (6) And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” (7) In speaking of the angels he says, “He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.” (8) But about the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. (9) You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” (10) He also says, “In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. (11) They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. (12) You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But you remain the same, and your years will never end.” (13) To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? (14) Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

So lets’ bring this to a close with a passage from one of Peter’s letters to the church. Peter is writing to the church, when he says, “To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, (1 Peter 1:1)”. We who have chosen to give him our trust, therefore our lives, are the chosen. There is nothing elitist about that attitude, it is merely an understanding that God made the choices long before the world began. God did not exclude anyone by making this choice, for there are no parameters that define those that cannot be chosen. God, while the world was yet in sin, sent His only Son, to die for us; all of us. Where is the distinction then? People have to choose whom they will serve. I know, you think you serve yourself and no one can tell you how to live, but God has an answer for that too, for you are slaves to the one you obey. Take the time to read the sixth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans. There you will find many references to slavery, in terms of a change of ownership.

1 Peter 1:2 (NIV)

who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

 We are all merely slaves, who have changed ownership. Chosen because of the foreknowledge of God the Father, and his great mercy. We who have come to him have done so through the sanctifying (that means to be set apart for righteous service) work of the Spirit (The Holy Spirit of God). So that we could serve in obedience to our new owner Jesus Christ.

 Peter assists us in the argument by showing the three personages of God: the Father, the Spirit, and the Son, Jesus Christ.

It may be just that simple, and it may be that they work in such perfect unison and harmony that there really is no difference. I became a huge fan of the book “The Shack” for in it God, in the form of a large, black lady attempts to define this concept to the main character, Mack. It is not a hard concept, and seems perfectly legitimate, but my mind, and yours too, is broken because of sin. Get real, scripture tells us that all creation is broken and cries for it’s time of redemption as well. Understanding that, I have learned that there are some things that I have to take by faith. This faith thing should not be a hard concept for any of us, because we do this on a daily basis. We believe that cars will stop for red lights as we attempt to cross on the green, and that the money we carry around in our pockets will be acceptable as exchange for things, and food. What makes that concept work? Faith in government that backs it. Is that government quickly failing us? Yes.

 I will throw this in for free, because I struggle with the concept of being a slave, everyone in their right mind will, for God made us to be free and to have dominion (That never meant dominate one another).

In all the years I have known the Lord I have never experienced a feeling of bondage. Sure religious zealots have tried to put me and anyone else they can, in bondage, but that is man’s attempt at damage control, for they do not believe that you will do the right thing, and ultimately they do not believe that the Spirit is capable of guiding us, but there always seems to be rules. Some slave owners were very oppressive and gave those they owned no freedoms at all.

As a slave to Christ are there things that you should not mess with? Certainly. I will give you an example. A married person should not allow themselves the thought of exploring another person outside of their marriage. Why? Because we all have weaknesses, and while one person can hug everyone in the office with no apparent ulterior motive, another may struggle with weaknesses, and a perceived lack of acceptance at home. That lack of acceptance may be real, but that comes out our brokenness as humans and our selfish desires to dominate. That is exactly what slavery is based in, a domination of another. The bottom line here is that an extra-marital affair, whether imagined or real can be like alcohol to an alcoholic; one drink is never enough.

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Jesus was merely created.

Posted on 09/09/2011 by remso

What some groups teach about Jesus and the Bible’s response
Adapted from Rose Publications, Christianity, Cults & Religions, 7th Edition

My disclaimer upfront: I do not agree with this belief. I am though reaffirming my beliefs and hoping to impact others. Another thing you need to know about me is that I am just a guy that is trying to put intelligent thought down on paper; something that I have never been very good at. So if you are going to criticize, be kind.

John 10:30 GW “The Father and I are one.”
Even the trained pharisees and rabbis that he said this to did not accept his statements. They were more than willing to stone him for blasphemy. I find it such an oddity that the world can say He never made any statements declaring that He was God. Are you serious. You only prove that you do not read the scriptures when you say something like that, for the crowd before him heard it. They even restated it back to Him and tried to kill him by throwing him off a hill on one occasion.

I do not think that God expected us to accept everything thrown at us without giving these concepts some thought so look at Isaiah with me: (Isaiah 1:18 ASV) “Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: ..”
Just because he invites you to reason with him does not mean that you are going to change God’s plans, but it does demonstrate his desire for relationship.
Moses approached God, reasoned with Him, and God withheld his judgment.

I do think that applying your brain to statements like this is appropriate. By itself the statement, “the Father and I are one.” has nothing that gives it merit. Take other factors into consideration and it takes on a much larger meaning, and deserves consideration, and your eventual acceptance.

Factors to consider:
1. What evidence does Jesus have to back his claim. In this case “Jesus was created by God”. The strongest argument anyone would have for Jesus being created could be His virgin birth. Did you ever stop to think that God knew you from before the foundations of the earth, and we do not hold a candle to Jesus and the Father’s relationship. What we do have is a pattern to follow. One of the major claimants for Jesus being created would be the Latter Day Saints. Satan is a created being, and for your theory to hold true Jesus would have to follow pattern.
2. Did Jesus follow a consistent pattern. Did he consistently say the same thing, therefore NOT creating holes in his own “brash” statements, or act out of sync with the Father’s wishes?
3. Was there anything else that would corroborate his testimony. Things like miracles, angels, or witnesses. The answer is yes, and though many still will refuse to believe, you should still consider the reactions of the pharisees that heard and saw what he did. They knew and believed that only God could do what this man Jesus was doing.
4. We have the Father’s acknowledgment of Jesus as the Son. When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan the Father acknowledged him as the Son in which he was well pleased, and again upon the cross.
5. After Jesus death, the Angels acknowledged him.
6. He was witnessed by over 400 people after his death, and He rose to the Father just as he said he would.

(John 17:21 MSG) The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind– Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
I am not sure how this refutes the concept that “Jesus was created”, but let’s attack it anyway.

There is a strong theme that runs through this statement and that is oneness. This might be a cruel analogy but a servant never has the same status as the Son, and a created being (Satan) is not a Son, so get the idea of Pinocchio becoming a little boy out of your head. That is not happening.

The point in all this is that whether it is one heart and mind, or what appears in Jesus statement as a clear cut definition of His relationship with the Father as being one in the same, it is there. What it seems to require of you is thought.
An adequate assessment by you will only lead you back to the one who poured out his life for you, and really does not demand you wrapping your brain around every concept.

John 10:31-39 NIV Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, (32) but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” (33) “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” (34) Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”‘? (35) If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came–and Scripture cannot be set aside– (36) what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? (37) Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. (38) But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” (39) Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

We are trying to refute the statement that “Jesus was created by God.” To be created sounds so mechanical, and Satan is not, but Satan is not the son or brother. He was created to do God’s bidding. Satan’s error that got him cast out was in trying to rise above God, by exerting his own will.

The Jews understood, with precision, Jesus statements about His relationship with the Father. To prove that point they are trying to stone him, again. In verse 33 (“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”) They answered Jesus question as to why with, because you claim to be God. There was no skirting the issue here, no speculation about being a creation of God, they would not even allow him that error; they were on a mission to kill him because he claimed to be God, and God is not creating himself.

Jesus attacks their logic by pointing out that the things he had been doing, right in front of them. The Jews knew these were things that only God could and would do. The alternative, God forbid, is that the miracles could be attributed to the devil. For them to say that could have put them into blasphemy and then they would have to be killed, and that was not going to happen.

They were the ones that used the term “a mere man”, therefore we see Jesus turn that back on them.
(34) Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”‘? (35) If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came–and Scripture cannot be set aside– (36) what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?

We can reference Jesus response to something God previously said in the Psalms verse 82:6 BBE
I said, You are gods; all of you are the sons of the Most High:”

The passage goes on to say: Psalm 82:7 But you will come to death like men, falling like one of the rulers of the earth.

The Jews called him a mere man, so his comparison is then with a passage in which God refers to mere men as gods, and in their minds Jesus was certainly that, therefore God was fully capable of working through him as well. If they were going to use this kind of logic on Jesus then I suppose they deserved such a retort.

John 10:31-39
(35) If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came–and Scripture cannot be set aside–
They had already called him a mere man. In referencing this passage, one in which God is referring to mere men as gods, he is also pointing out that he himself, acting as a mere men, is still acting on behalf of his Father for he is doing the works of His Father, and that they should believe that He is who He claims based upon that fact alone.

all of you are the sons of the Most High
This appears to have been penned by King David, and we all know the release from sins had not come yet, for there was no death on the cross. Is he then talking about a time to come, prior to the cross? Even that is a dim piece of logic for Jesus uses it with authority prior to the cross. Is he actually talking about mere men, throughout the course of time? That does not make sense for we have historical record of men throughout the generations that have performed atrocities upon people. Surely God is not talking about them. Are we like Job, thinking that we can tell God how he is to make his decisions?
Is he speaking about a future time frame, after the cross? That would make more sense for the act of becoming a believer brings about an adoption, henceforth making us sons. Alright then, what about those who prior to Christ’s death performed such horrors upon people. We know from scripture that Christ preached to the captives, and that may have included them. While I am trying build a case against fallacy, they is no denying that statements like “all of you are the sons of the Most High” lend themselves to more confusion than, unless you look everything in context.

(36) what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?
In spite of His substantially clear assertion that he was not a mere man, he follows an aggressive path by reiterating that the Father set him apart as his very own, and sent him into the world. If you followed the story in scripture then you know that though they may have been silent for a moment they picked up stones again to throw at him. Why? Because once again he made himself very clear in his assertions of who he was, God’s only Son.

In John 17:5 we have Jesus praying. “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” This he did quietly, in the presence of a few of his disciples. He again has reiterated his association as son, as one that was with the Father at the beginning, and that he was the only one.

God gave us a prophetic word by the mouth of Isaiah. In Isaiah 7:14 it says: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Immanuel – meaning God with us.
Things that strike me as significant in Isaiah 7:14, if they paid attention, is:
1. The time factor. How many years before Christ’s birth was this declared.
2. God himself thought this would be significant to them.
3. It will just be some random child, but a boy.
4. He is to have a specific name. That name carries with it the depth of God himself.

The Jews were confronted with the truth that he, God, was standing before them in so many ways. I have heard it said that there were a large number of prophecies concerning Jesus coming and his life here on earth, all of which the learned ones would have studied. They supposedly awaited his coming, and yet when he came in the specified manner, and lived out a life that fulfilled everyone of those prophecies, they refused to believe it. How much different are we today if we refuse to believe.

One last shot at using scripture to enforce my beliefs.

Proverbs 8:22-31 NIV “The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; (23) I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. (24) When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; (25) before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, (26) before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. (27) I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, (28) when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, (29) when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. (30) Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, (31) rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.

Strong arguments these may not be, but scripture itself is an argument for the existence and veracity of God. Jesus is God whether I can handle the concept or not. I am not alone in that struggle. I recently sat next to an acquaintance from high school, and I asked him, “do you know the Lord?”, he responded with, “I think that God is so beyond our comprehension and ability to know.” I responded by saying, “I can understand why you might say that.”

How does one comprehend a love so great that he gives his only Son to a world that certainly did not deserve it, unless there is a greater goal, the restoration of life in me.

How do you comprehend someone who has always been and there has been no other. This becomes difficult because all I see is death around me, and no one lives forever.

How is it that this God of ours turns out be so compassionate, forgiving, and a lover of beauty, much like me. Perhaps I have this all backwards and the reason that I love beauty is because I am made in His image.

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