Bible Apologetic

Exposing Error / Teaching Truth Ministry Resources

2012-01-29T22:18:00.000-06:00

Reposted with permission from G.G.

This is a compilation of many online ministry resources I have discovered in my research on the New Apostolic Reformation. In this endeavor i have discovered many outstanding teachers, so this has much more to offer than just exposing that which is false. Much edification here on that which is true by the Word of God as well....Movements exposed include the NAR, Kansas City Prophets/ IHOP, Rick Joyner of Morningstar, Toronto Blessing, Brownsville Revival, and Lakeland [Todd Bentley] All these fall under False Revival or LATTER RAIN for this document, Also WoF, Seeker Sensitive, Purpose Driven, Contemplative Prayer, and Emergent. Many of these movements overlap, and many of the ministry resources touch on all of them. NOTE: Latter Rain is term for a movement in the 1940's that birthed both the NAR, WoF and False Revival of today....Because many of my links either are multi topical, or are mixed in order. I will abbreviate which heresy is the focus with each ... Some sites have collections and or links to many others, and they are primarily like a database. With these, some links are very good, some are questionable. One still needs disernment in reviewing each article. One always needs discernment, but most of the sites I will list are maintained by just one person or team who cntrol all content themselves. These sites are only people I have come to trust for overall sound doctrine. Some contriutors are themselves pentecostal or charismatic, but do not subscribe to the office of modern day apostolic or prophetic office. Some are full cessationist regarding the gifts. I myself am a partial cessationist. I consider the belief on spiritual gifts a non essential doctrine. I find there can be particular value, however, when one who is themselves pentecostal or charismatic, still speak against the false signs and wonders movement, because we can know it is not due to a bias against ALL supernatural things. Therefore, their critique will be based more on the fruit of the thing itself......FIRST:PEOPLE TELLING YOU NOT TO JUDGE?Scripture to answer them with:>>>> http://www.forgottenword.org/scriptures.html ...Sermon and scripture to answer them with:Judge Not? J Jacob Prasch, Moriel Ministries.>>>> http://www.moriel.org/articles/sermons/judge_not.htm ______________________________________________________________________NAR, WOF, False Revival. other heretical movementsI endorse this man with confidenceMost articles were written by him, some by others, all very soundArchives of The Plumbine Newsletter, Orrel Steinkamphttp://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/plumblinearchive.html.______________________________________________________________________ General, Israel, prophecy, as well as doctrinal issuesDavid Reagan of Christ in Prophecy on TVMinistry page, with articles, and other media. Outstanding!http://www.lamblion.com/index.php_______________________________________________________________________GeneralJackie Alnor.Apostasy Alert. Another very good sourcs of articles.http://www.apostasyalert.org/______________________________________________________________________False Revival.This specific link primarily focuses on the false revivalGood collection of many articles by many authors.http://religioninfo.org/laughter.html.______________________________________________________________________All False Movements, plus Exceptionally sound teaching and commentary on many Christian issues.Critical Issues CommentaryBob DeWaay.I cannot say enough good about this site. Bob DeWaay does not just expose error but throroughly teaches the truth in opposition to that error. His work has truly blessed me. Unfortunately he is no longer active in ministry but his host church maintains this archive in good order.http://cicministry.org/______________________________________________________________________In connection with the above, here is a resource link from Bob DeWaay's parent church. If I lived in Minnesota, I would know where a good church was. http://www.twincityfellowship.com/ref_links.php._________________________________________________________________________NAR, False Revival,Unbiblical Doctrines, Teachings and Phenomena of the Third Wave Counterfeit Revival Movementcompiled by Sandy Simpson, 1997 [single article with very much good detail]http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/heresy.html.__________________________________________________________________________ General:Deception In The ChurchA massive compilation on all topics, an over all outstanding resource. However not every article linked to from here is good, and not all links work. Still this is a huge resource and has much good to offer.http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/index.html.__________________________________________________________________________GeneralTheBereancall.orgThe ministry of Dave Hunt and T A McMahon.This is another of my all time favorite sites. Like CIC above, Many topics, very good treaching. Topics include exposure on all the false movements as well as other relevant issues. Many resources as well. Browse the site for them all. I am using the Newsletter archive linkhttp://www.thebereancall.org/Newsletter/index.php __________________________________________________________________________General: Many articles on various heresies, and easy to find which sub catagory you are looking for. I do not agree with every link or artice here overall, but those on the history and doctrine of the NAR, False Revival, and such are informative http://www.birthpangs.org/articles-index.html.__________________________________________________________________________NAR/ False Revival: Quotes from false revival leaders, including NAR, with biblical references and correctionshttp://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/quotes.html.__________________________________________________________________________General:Believers In GraceBill Randles. [Many good articles on NAR, False Revival, ALSO many good aticles on Israel. He writes like a Pastor, and is one.I personally like Bill Randles alot. Pentecostal but not a whack job. Strong on Messianic issues as well as focus on NAR and False Revivalhttp://www.believersingrace.com/page/page/5840982.htm_________________________________________________________________________History on Latter Rain, False RevivalE-book from above author:'Weighed and Found Wanting" [a history compilation, e-book by Pastor Bil Randles]http://web.archive.org/web/20040703040810/http://www.geocities.com/Bob_Hunter/1.htm_________________________________________________________________________General:Great resource. Many articles teaching the truth about many errant doctrines.http://www.letusreason.org/._________________________________________________________________________Eastern Regional WatchTreasure Trove on Discernment. This is a HUGE collectionALOT on NAR, False Revival, WoF and other heresies. Constantly updated. Good resource.http://www.erwm.com/page from above for NAR Dominionism specific articles:http://www.erwm.com/Latter%20Rain.htm._______________________________________________________________________General: Discernment, ContemplativeSpiritual Research NetworkChris Lawson.[This is a site I just discovered from an article linked either from my FB News Feed or in the CIP forum.- cant recall which now, as I get alot of duplication- For that reason I cannot vouch fully for or against, as I've not looked at enough yet, but it seems a good resource. For now I will include it and update my doc noting either more favor or removal as needed.]http://www.spiritual-research-network.com/home.html._______________________________________________________________________ General:Moriel MinitriesJames Jacob PraschAll sorts of good stuff. A bit to navigate to find what you want, but gold takes work to mine forVery good teaching and other resources. False beliefs are addressed, but more focus on Israel, Midrash, understanding the Word from Hebrew perspective. Messianic Jewish perspective. There are many offshoots, through Moriel Missions, Be Alert, a newsletter, and other resources. This is one of my top three favorite sites, worth the navigation hedache.http://www.moriel.org/._______________________________________________________________________False Doctrine, also Messianic Jewish Perspective articles.Olive Tree Ministries with Jan MarkellAnother multi service resource. Very soundhttp://www.olivetreeviews.org/._______________________________________________________________________False Revival:A look at the continued influence of the Latter Rain Heresy, Part 1[Part 2 links at end of part 1]http://www.dtl.org/shield/latter-rain-1.htm.________________________________________________________________________NARResource directory specific to NAR, includes affiliated names and organizationshttp://www.talk2action.org/story/2010/1/20/131544/037NOTE: This is a left wing org who opposes the Christian Right.I absolutely do NOT endorse them. I do agree however with their concern over Dominionism, although I am confident our reasons for opposition are quite different. Ther primary concern seems to be over the political agenda of Dominionism. Although they expose the false poitical dominionist ambitions of the NAR, they are unable to discern true Christianity from Heresy.._______________________________________________________________________General, including emergent, contemplativeLighthouse Trails Research ProjectRoger OaklandAnother multi service and good site. Some items for sale, many free resourceshttp://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/index.htmlFrom the Lighthouse:Blog of Roger Oaklandhttp://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/________________________________________________________________________General: Deep Biblical TeachingKhouse.org.Koinonia House. Ministry of Chuck and Nancy MisslerMulti service site including sales. I can vouch that the expositional commentary's for sale are well worth every penny. I have never seen anyone dissect the Word as deeply as Chuck Missler does, and pull as many nuggets out of it. You will be more pursuaded that the Bible is God breathed, not just in thought but every last letter, every time you listen to one of his expositional commentaries. Although the commentaries are spendy, they are not over priced for what one gets, for example 89 dollars for a full 24 hours of quality DVD video, including notes. 24 hours is alot of DVD.This site also has many fee resources and articles, as well as newsletter subscriptions available.http://www.khouse.org/.__________________________________________________________________________ Later Rain, False RevivalJoel's ArmyJewel GreweLink to PDF Free book. Goodhttp://www.discernment-ministries.org/JoelsArmy1.htm__________________________________________________________________________General:Discernment Ministries. A very good collection of works. The book nolted above is from this site. The Herescope blog below also is affiliated. This is a very credible source of good information on much going on in the church today.http://www.discernment-ministries.org/.__________________________________________________________________________Nar, GeneralHerescopeAn enjoyable and detailed blog, features alot on the NAR, but not exclusively.Not too difficult to follow related topics, without just having to blindly scroll backwards by date.I have been very pleased with the soundness found here by the various contributorshttp://herescope.blogspot.com/.__________________________________________________________________________Grace to YouGeneralMulti service site of John MacArthur. I cannot say enough good things abot the sound teaching of John MacArthur, there is also a blog link from this main site.http://www.gty.org/.__________________________________________________________________________ GeneralGood collection of articleshttp://www.forgottenword.org/__________________________________________________________________________General:CrossroadsBerit Kjos.Collection of good aticles by manyhttp://www.crossroad.to/index.html.__________________________________________________________________________EmergentSandy SimpsonSpecific article capturing quotes of Emergent leadershttp://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/ECquotes.html.__________________________________________________________________________GeneralEric BargerTake a Standmany good resourceshttp://www.ericbarger.com/__________________________________________________________________________NARDirect Quotes from C Peter Wagner, chief false apostlehttp://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/wagnerquotes.html___________________________________________________________________________NAR, Dominiosm"Kingdom Theology"Part 1 of 3 part article by Al DagerVery comprehensive. One of the better of all the links I have on this.Parts 2 ad 3 link at bottom of this pagehttp://www.erwm.com/KingdomTheology1.htm___________________________________________________________________________GeneralApprising MinistriesKen Silvamany articles, very solid.http://apprising.org/____________________________________________________________________________In relation to the above:"What Is Dominiosm"Specific clear ansd concise article explains it well.http://apprising.org/2011/01/26/what-is-dominionism/____________________________________________________________________________General:A Time of DepartingMinisry page of Ray Yungenhttp://www.atimeofdeparting.com/articles.htm____________________________________________________________________________General:Stand Up for the Truth. This is a radio ministry with programs exposing many heretical movements today. The website also has articles and other resources.I learned of this ministry through Amy Spreeman, who joined our Chriist in Prophecy Forum Her site has also been endorsed by the Christ in Prophecy team, specifically Nathan Jones.http://standupforthetruth.com/_____________________________________________________________________________False Revival: VIDEOKUNDALINI WARNINGAndrew StromJohn the baptist TVI do not fully endorse Andrew Strom. I credit him for coming OUT of this false movement and renouncing it. I credit him also for preaching repentence and the cross, and last I credit him for exposing this Kundalini warning. I know this is important to him. I cannot fully endorse him, as he still holds to some odd ideas, but I can comfortably regard him a full brother in the faith. I trust God will finish what He has began, in totally seperating Anderw from this false ideology.That said, I do fully endorse his effort in the Kundalini Warning.http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/category/tv-videos/ _______________________________________________________________________________Voddie Bauchamhttp://www.gracefamilybaptist.net/voddie-baucham-ministries/______________________________________________________________________________

X Marks the Spot Hot Water Bottle Cozy (FREE Pattern)

2012-01-26T15:25:00.001-06:00

Made this for my mom who doesn't like electric heating pads. The Red Heart (worsted 10 ply) is perfect for this, but you can use any yarn of same weight.

Download FREE Pattern

Favorite or queue on Ravelry:

I Can Only Imagine!

2012-01-18T08:48:00.001-06:00

This was touching to an animal lover like myself, but above the touching story it reminded of our awesome life after this one. Much like us, I believe that poor elephant who'd been in bondage and by the looks of it abused all her life, she could not imagine what was prepared for her! 1 Corinthians 2:9 "but just as it is written, “ THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”"

I've often felt that Paul's prison epistles must be especially comforting to Christians in prison, but I realize that we are all in chains in this life, this world. But while in this world to be bondservants of the Lord, we can be content (Phil 4:11) even in chains. Ephesians 6:20 "for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."

FYI, the Greek word for slave (Greek: 'Doulous') is normally translated bondservant or servant, but should be 'slave'. John MacArthur has a great set of sermons on slave and a book which I have not read but heard good things about. http://www.gty.org/products/Audio-Lessons/41-54/The-Greatness-of-Being-a-Slave

Jesus said in John 14:1-3 "1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

The place is prepared, you need only accept Him as your Lord and Savior, give yourself over to Him entirely and only then will you have eternal life with Him and know what it truly means to live (in this life and the next) out of bondage.

WHAT JOHN PIPER AND JIM WALLIS HAVE IN COMMON AND WHY THE POPE WILL BE DELIGHTED

2012-01-07T14:28:00.000-06:00

WHAT JOHN PIPER AND JIM WALLIS HAVE IN COMMON AND WHY THE POPE WILL BE DELIGHTED

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Jan 7, 2012 in AM Missives, Current Issues, Features

Apprising Ministries continues tracking the evangelical pilgrimage back to Rome through its spiritually deadly sordid lust affair with corrupt Counter ReformationContemplative Spirituality/Mysticism(CSM).

It’s critical to remember that CSM flowered in the antibiblical monastic traditions of the Church of Rome and it would produce apostate Roman Catholicism in the first place.

We also have to keep in mind that this spurious CSM slithered into the mainstream of the church visible through , which largely the work of Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster along with his spiritual twin and Southern Baptist minister Dallas Willard.

This neo-Gnostic cult of Foster-Willardism masquerades as so-called Spiritual Formation and its crown jewel is a form of meditation in an altered state of consciousness commonly called Contemplative/Centering Prayer (CCP). CCP is transcendental meditation only lightly sprayed with Christian terminology.

So, just what do Reformed New Calvinist John Piper and apostate emerging Progressive Christian Rev. Jim Wallis have in common? Well, we begin to see it in Beth Moore And John Piper Lead Lectio Divina-Lite At Passion 2012. That right; they both want the organizations they head to practice the CSM practice of Lectio Divina.

The below is from Jonathan Parnell in A System for Praying in 2012 , which was his New Years Eve post atDesiring God blog:

(Online source)

No guilt-by-endorsement here; this is strictly guilt-by-endorsement. Since it’s not the main subject of this piece, for more on the CSM practice of Lectio Divina I refer you to Dangers Of Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism: Lectio Divina.

Right now I will remind you that the current antichrist pope in Rome will be delighted with John Piper because:

Benedict XVI believes that the recovery of the practice of “lectio divina,” prayerful meditation of Scripture, will bring a “new spiritual springtime” for the Church. (Online source)

The above comes from Benedict XVI Promotes Biblical Meditation and the blaspheming “Vicar of Christ,” so deluded he thinks he’s the Holy Spirit, goes on to explain that Lectio Divina is know by those who invented it as “The Monk’s Ladder.”

Here’s more on this man-centered foolishness from someone who knows precisely what Lectio Divina is:

The systematization of “lectio divina” in four steps dates back to the 12th century, explained the Holy Father. Around 1150, Guido, a Carthusian monk, wrote a book entitled “The Monks’ Ladder,” where “he set out the theory of the four rungs: reading, meditation, prayer and contemplation [i.e. CCP],” according to the Pope. “This is the ladder by which the monks ascend from earth to heaven.” (Online source, emphasis mine)

Hmm, I guess now the monks are going to have to make room on that ladder for the New Calvinists. In closing this, for now, as a servide to our neo-Gnostic neo-Reformed friends, below is a little lesson in Lectio Divina and CCP. Let me introduce you to our CSM spiritual directors.

First we have former pastrix Rose Marie Berger, whose title is at Soujouners of Jim Wallis is Associate Editor.Guru Berger was co-pastrix at Sojourners Community Church. Our other instructor for our little Lectio Divina lesson is Web Editor Jeannie Choi, former youth pastrix at Temecula Calvary Korean Church.

It’s interesting to note that at 2:24 into the first video clip guru Choi tells us she was introduced to CSM and Lectio Divina by one of her professors at ostensibly evangelical Wheaton College. Now in the Reformed sector CSM continues reversing the Reformation and ushering in pietism and syncretism.

Source: WHAT JOHN PIPER AND JIM WALLIS HAVE IN COMMON AND WHY THE POPE WILL BE DELIGHTED

Graceful Legwarmers (FREE Pattern)

2012-01-04T14:36:00.002-06:00

Graceful Legwarmers (Download FREE Pattern)
[Baixe também em português] Portuguese version

Easy double moss stitched, textured but not boring. These were made with about 325 yds of Vanna's Choice in Eggplant colorway.

Ravelry link to favorite or queue

But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20:24)

It's Tebow Time!!!!!

2011-12-21T17:14:00.002-06:00

Loved this video.....kinda crazy with Christmas and I've been suffering from a bad back. Hard to sit too long at the computer, so thought this was a nice share. This may come as a big surprise to those who know me, but I dig Gospel rap :) I don't know this singer, a friend just shared it on Facebook.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, but above all, a Christ-filled Christmas......remember the greatest gift we have been given was not under a tree, but nailed to one!

Church shopping? 35 Key Questions to Ask the Church

2011-12-08T22:08:00.000-06:00

This is really timely for me. Whether you are searching for a Church home or a member of one already, it's important to know where they stand on key issues because many, if not MOST evangelical Churches today are apostate or on the verge of following strange doctrines.

Church shopping? 35 Key Questions to Ask the Church

FAITH | DECEMBER 8, 2011 BY AMY SPREEMAN | 0 COMMENTS

If you are looking for a new church, you need to ask some very important questions of church leadership before you become a member. Here are 35 to get you started:

FOUNDATIONAL BELIEFS

1. Is the Bible the 100% true, accurate Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit?

2. Is Jesus the Son of God and the only way to eternal life with God? Is there any way to God or eternal life other than through Jesus?

3. What does the Bible say the world will look like when Jesus returns? Do we need to gaindominion of the earth before that happens?

4. Can man, through his actions, change or alter biblical prophecy?

THEOLOGY

5. What is the doctrinal statement of the church and may I have a copy?

6. Does a person have any responsibilities to God upon accepting salvation?

7. What books other than the bible have you used to develop sermons?

8. What are your views on “Replacement Theology”?

TEACHINGS AND SERVICES

9. Is your Bible Teaching solely based on the Five Sola’s ?

10. How important is popular culture in structuring your services?

11. How do you train and equip your people to carry out the Great Commission?

12. Does your worship service include people laughing or being slain in the spirit?

13. Do you preach sermons that talk about exposing false teachers and false doctrines, or do you preach that Christians should never question anointed teachers?

14. What curricula do your children and teen programs use?

15. Are you a Willow Creek Association church?

DEPTH OF SPIRITUALITY LEADERSHIP

16. Who are some of your favorite authors? What books other than the bible have influenced your theology or teachings?

17. To whom are church leaders accountable? Has your leadership ever been questioned by members? How was it addressed?

18. What growth is more important to our church—growth in numbers or in depth of spiritual commitment of our members? (Only let them pick one, not both !!)

19. What is the most crucial issue your church has faced and how was it resolved?

20. How do you determine the spiritual growth of your members?

SOCIAL ISSUES

21. What is meant by the word “Church,” and what is its purpose?

22. What is the role of the church in social issues or politics?

23. When do you believe that life begins?

24. What are the church’s views on marriage and sexuality? Please share scriptures that confirm your beliefs.

25. How does the church feel about/handle divorce among your members?

26. What are your views on “contextualization” of the gospel? How important is being “relevant” to the community?

27. Do you believe that Christians and Muslims pray to the same God; that Yahweh and Allah are the same?

MODERN MOVEMENTS WITHIN THE CHURCH

28. What are your thoughts and the church’s stances on:

29. The Purpose Driven Church

30. Spiritual Formation

31. Contemplative Prayer and Biblical meditation

32. Word of Faith

33. The New Apostolic Reformation

34. Social Justice Movement

35. The Emergent Church

Is the Emergent Church movement dead (or dying)? (standupforthetruth.com)
Where Are the Christian Mentors? (standupforthetruth.com)
John MacArthur Says Emerging Church in “Disarray and Decline” – Evidence Shows Differently (lighthousetrailsresearch.com)
What is the Church? (defendingcontending.com)
Spiritual Warfare Eschatology (herescope.blogspot.com)
North American Pastors and the Church on Borrowed Time (lighthousetrailsresearch.com)

Christian Churches To Go Underground in America?

2011-12-07T15:22:00.000-06:00

Christian Churches To Go Underground in America?

IN THE NEWS | DECEMBER 7, 2011 BY AMY SPREEMAN | 2 COMMENTS

The Christian Post published a story today titled, Christian Churches To Go Underground in America?

The article is a paraphrase of a blog by J.D. Longstreet, a 30-year veteran broadcaster and writer for Right Side News.

I got the feeling that the Post was disdainful of the term “Real Christians,” and in fact didn’t even post J. D.’s first name or a link to the original piece.

“Real,” as I’m sure J.D. Longstreet meant it, is simply a term used to describe one who believes that the Bible is 100 percent true and that Jesus is who He says He is.

So I did some searching and found the real article by the author:

Christian Churches To Go Underground in America?

Tuesday, 06 December 2011 09:30 J. D. Longstreet

Back in 2009, I wrote a piece in which I asked if the Christian church in America was being forced to go underground. As I recently read the news that pastors were being sued for preaching that homosexuality is a sin, I saw clearly that yes, the “real” Christian church in America, in order to continue to stay true to their belief and to God, will be forced to do as the early Christians did – go underground.

At the risk of being accused of being a wild-eyed, bible-thumping, Holy Roller, I need to explain what I mean when I say “the REAL Christian Church” in America.

In the past three decades, or so, many of the mainline Christian churches have slipped away from their foundation on the Holy Scriptures and adopted more and more secular tenents and leftist, politically correct, philosophy until they have become only a shadow of the true followers of Christ. In my opinion, those denominations can no longer claim to be “Christian” churches simply because — they are not.

A few years ago, I left my own denomination, one of the mainline denominations in America, because it had chosen to forsake the tenents of the Bible and the “Good News,” the Gospel, as enunciated by the very person from whom the church had received its mission.

Allow me, please to state, flat out, that I do not hold myself to be a better Christian than any other follower of Christ. Nosiree! I am nothing more than a sinner saved by the grace of God – no more, and no less. It was a gift from a loving God. There was nothing I could have done and nothing I can ever do, which would have either bought that grace – or — made me worthy of receiving it. In the eyes of God, I believe I am just as bad as the worst murderer on death row and just as good as the Pope. Our shared commonality is that we are all sinners.

Unfortunately, many of our mainline denominations have become nothing more than social clubs with many franchises nationwide. Their pastors “preach” feel good “sermonettes” about the environment, and things like “social justice.” In my opinion, that is not the mission of a church that purports to follow Christ. In fact, Christ, Himself, spelled out the mission of the church in what we refer to as The Great Commission.

After His resurrection and shortly before he ascended to heaven, he gave his followers this mission: ¹⁸And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

¹⁹Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Matthew 28:18-20

That commission from Christ is the reason the church exists … period. To fulfill that mission the church MUST stand firmly upon the foundation of the Holy Scripture and the teachings of Christ. That means insisting that the standard(s) set by Christ are, and remain, the guiding force behind everything the church does. Of course, that means pastors are compelled to preach that those things the Scripture marks as sin are duly, and publicly, noted from their pulpits as SIN. If a church is reluctant to do this, or refuses to do this, then, in my opinion, that church is not a Christian church.

Today, in America, pastors are fearful of preaching the scriptures. They are fearful of pointing out man’s failings, man’s falling short of the mark. They are concerned that they will be dragged into court, and accused of slander or some form of libel because some sinner, as defined by the scriptures, has been offended or even embarrassed. It is a very real threat, especially to the evangelical church in America.

As a result those churches, which hold true to the gospel, now feel that they must consider meeting in secret for Bible classes, for worship services, or other bible centric gatherings.

The fact is, dear reader, America has deteriorated into such an ugly mess, that she has become the kind of country to which early America used to dispatch missionaries of The Gospel.

There is a clear attempt by the government (local, state, and federal) to criminalize biblical preaching and prevent thousands of churches and clergymen from practicing their faith without threat of penalty from our government.

So, yes, the Christian Church, I believe, WILL be driven underground in America, as it has been in other nations around the globe. Otherwise, it will cease to exist in this land many firmly believe was founded by Christians.

As much as it pains me to say this — America is no longer a Christian nation. At least, America’s government no longer governs by men and women who base their convictions on the Judeo-Christian code of laws and beliefs.

And very soon now, I believe, the Supreme Court of the land will be in the hands of socialists, as well, and THAT will be the end of the experiment called “America” — a nation which was to have been governed only by the voice of it’s people and their God.

The wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah could not hold a candle to the wickedness in America today.

If the true Christian church is to survive in America, it MUST go underground.

Will There Be Animals / Pets in Heaven? What Do the Scriptures Tell Us?

2011-11-07T10:47:00.001-06:00

Our rescue Peanut

I've been in discussions regarding the issue of whether our pets will be with us in Heaven many times. For those of us who are ardent animal lovers and Bible students, it's an interesting study. The short answer is, God has not chosen to reveal that to us.

There are, however, many interesting passages in the Bible about animals in Heaven. Any definitive statement about our pets in Heaven, however, would be purely speculative. All verses I cite below regard (as I understand them) the Millennium reign of Christ, not Heaven per se. I encourage you however, to be Berean, look them up and study on it. There will undoubtedly be others which apply, please leave a comment with additional passages or input you would like to add to the post.

We know that there will be animals in the New Jerusalem, the Millennium reign of Christ on this earth:
Isaiah 65:25 The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD.

Isaiah 11:6-9
6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them.
7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox.
8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.
9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.
Illustrating the now dangerous animals still present in the Millennium, yet not causing any harm even to a small child or to other animals. Showing them reverted back to the apparent state in which they lived before the fall of man in the Garden of Eden - vegetarian and harmless.

In Ezekiel 34:25 God says “I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods." This shows we will not be surrounded by only the "good" animals, because as we can see in the Isaiah passages above, God specifically says there will be cobras, bears, wolves, etc. But rather that God in His omnipotence will turn harmless the animals we now know as dangerous.

God is the giver of life, He cares even for the smallest creatures. Jesus said in Matt 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. He was speaking about God's omnipotence and omniscience.

Revelation 19:11-14
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.
John is shown Heaven, and in it were horses.

Digging a little deeper, there is Scripture that says that the Lord gives breath to every living being, that includes animals. Ecclesiastes 3:18-2118 I said to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts.” 19 For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. 20 All go to the same place. All came from the dust and all return to the dust. 21 Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?
The final verse is a question, not a statement. This verse tells that all die, man and beast, but where the beasts go is a question that's been asked for thousands of years.

Psalm 104 speaks of all God's works and His care for them:
24 O LORD, how many are Your works!In wisdom You have made them all;The earth is full of Your possessions.
25 There is the sea, great and broad,In which are swarms without number,Animals both small and great.
26 There the ships move along,And Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
27 They all wait for YouTo give them their food in due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You hide Your face, they are dismayed;You take away their spirit, they expireAnd return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;And You renew the face of the ground.
NOTE: In v. 29 (spirit of animals) as well as in v. 30 (Holy Spirit of God) are the same Hebrew word in the original text. It seems to say the animals have within them the same Spirit which we Christians have within us, the Holy Spirit. Both words in Hebrew is רוח = 'ruach', which is the Hebrew word for the Holy Spirit). To follow that thought, if the Holy Spirit is the restrainer and He will be removed at the Rapture might all the animals also be removed? Would that be part of the famine in the Great Tribulation? 2 Thesasalonians 2:6-8: 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;

Speaking on the resurrection of the human body and the Rapture, the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?” .........38 But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish........50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. He is speaking of course of the human resurrection, not at all about animals - however v.39 makes the distinction of the flesh.

There are undoubtedly many more passages I might add. We MUST test everything thru the lense of Scripture so that we don't get caught up in deception. The anthropomorphic view we can have of animals gives us a warped sense of who they really are, and we can find ourselves thinking that it wouldn't be Heaven without them. It's important to remember:
1. We must not worship our pets, but trust the that the Lord loves all His creatures, as Scripture shows us. Know that His will is perfect and always done in Heaven!
2. Heaven is not a place where God takes us to rest and enjoy ourselves, it's a place of complete and total worship to Him. Man's words cannot explain the wonders of God. John wrote in John 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they *were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself *would not contain the books that *would be written.

“THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” - 1 Corinthians 2:9

Finally, as interesting as it is to study on God's Word in this or any other subject which touches your heart, remember always.....do NOT let it not be an idol to you beloved. Like you I am an ardent animal lover, I feel they are great blessings to us in THIS world and pray that they will be with us in Heaven, however I trust in God's perfect plan if not.

God wishes that none should perish and go to hell 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance., You might wonder, why then is there a hell? Jesus answered that. A person who has not confessed his sins repented (turned away from those sins) and accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross as the one and only salvation of his soul, is choosing to join Satan and his demons in hell: Matthew 25:41-46 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;.......These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

If you are reading this and have not accepted Christ's sacrifice to you, know that Heaven is real, our pets may not go to Heaven, but man has a definite final destination after this life.

Recommended reading: Lamb & Lion Ministries Do pets go to Heaven?Some thought-provoking answers to the age-old question.

Your Best Lie Now

2011-11-04T12:17:00.004-05:00

Recently I read a blog post by Albert Mohler called Does Joel Osteen Not Know? Or Does He Not Care? That's an important distinction, but what's important on a personal level is that we be discerning and turn away from any false Gospel. Some like to say we are judging, and the invariably quote Matt 7:1-2 which says “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. As you will see if you watch the video attached to this post below, that's taking Jesus' words out of context. Read the verses following and you will see He is speaking about hypocrisy, judging others for things which you yourself commit, and possibly to a greater degree.

In fact, the Scripture tells us in many places to be discerning about who we trust to feed us the Word of God: 1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

In 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 the Apostle Paul wrote to a Church which was mired in false teaching - clarifying that it was important to fulfill the Great Commision AND to purge the false teachers from among them:
9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people;
10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world.
11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church?
13 But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.

So, what's the difference between discernment and judgmentalism?
Discernment is measuring someone's life or words by the Scripture - are they leading a righteous life and in the case of teachers / preachers, are they teaching God's Word in truth or manipulating it to fit what they want it to say?
Judgment is stating as fact something you don't know, which is their heart. That's why I said it's important to make the distinction in my opening paragraph. I DON'T know the heart of the likes of Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland, Paul Crouch, Kenneth Hagin, Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyers and the like, but I KNOW by their outright LIES regarding the Word of God, not to mention their blasphemies of the Scriptures that these are indeed false teachers. And I pray for them to be saved, imagine the testimony of such a one who already has millions watching them, being fleeced by them!

Watch this short video with commentary and Scripture in context to show Osteen's false preaching:

The Word of Faith Movement (see Justin Peters post below), also known as false prosperity theology of Osteen and MOST of what you see in so-called "Christian TV" today. There is very little worth watching on those channels! Listen from the wolves' mouthes their heresies, in this MP3 of Justin Peters: A Call for Discernment - A Biblical Critique of the Word of Faith (or the Health, Wealth & Prosperity) Movement at Grace Community Church on 7/12/2008.

These wolves in sheep's clothing show their contempt for the Word of God by the very fact that they do not take God's own warning to false teachers seriously in James 3:1 "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment."

I was studying in Ezekiel 9 this week and something interesting jumped out from the pages. In this passage, God is about to punish Judah (the Southern Kingdom) by allowing them to be taken captive to the Babylonians. before He does, he sends an angel to mark the small remnant who were faithful and gave order to slay the unfaithful, and where did God command the judgment to begin? His sanctuary, that is the Temple in Jerusalem:

4 The LORD said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.” 5 But to the others He said in my hearing, “Go through the city after him and strike; do not let your eye have pity and do not spare. 6 Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women, but do not touch any man on whom is the mark; and you shall start from My sanctuary.” So they started with the elders who were before the temple. 7 And He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” Thus they went out and struck down the people in the city.

As always, no matter WHO is speaking to you about God's Word, be like the Bereans of Acts 17:11. Don't take my word, or the word of the person who made the video above. Look up those Scriptures, read them in context, go to the Word to see if these things are so.

2 Peter 2 talks all about false teachers and the dangers they pose to the body of Christ. Matt 7:21 Jesus makes a very sobering statement: 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

PupPee Sheila Knit Diaper

2011-10-31T21:19:00.002-05:00

Girl diapers are harder to keep on the body than boy ones, since the fabric must go under the body and up the back they tend to slide off. I created a new girl diaper, I'm calling it the 'Sheila' as that is the Aussie word for girl, to differentiate from the original PupPee Girl Knit Diaper. This one starts with a belly "band" similar to the boy diaper, thus tends to slip less.

Download FREE pattern

Ravelry pattern page (to favorite or queue)

The Watchman's Bagpipes: Joel Osteen, Confirmed Heretic

2011-10-27T11:35:00.000-05:00

The Watchman's Bagpipes: Joel Osteen, Confirmed Heretic: Joel Osteen is again in the news, and again proclaiming that Mormonism is just another form of Christianity. Albert Mohler has an excellent...

180 Movie

2011-10-21T16:19:00.003-05:00

Ray Comfort's http://180movie.com/ now out on YouTube:

Gementria in Christ's Genealogy (Mindblowing)

2011-10-17T12:42:00.003-05:00

The Astonishing Pattern of SEVENS (Gementria) in Genesis 1:1

by Grant R. Jeffrey (from his book "The Signature of God")

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1)

Ivan Panin carefully examined the Hebrew text of Genesis 1:1 and discovered an incredible
phenomenon of multiples of 7 that could not be explained by chance. Genesis 1:1 was composed of
seven Hebrew words containing a total of 28 letters. Throughout the Bible the number seven
appears repeatedly as a symbol of divine perfection - the 7 days of creation, God rested on the 7th
day, the 7 churches, the 7 seals, the 7 trumpets, etc. In total, Panin discovered 30 separate codes
involving the number 7 in this first verse of the Bible.

A Partial Listing of the Phenomenal Features of Sevens Found in Genesis 1:
1. The number of Hebrew words = 7
2. The number of letters equals 28 (7 x 4 = 28)
3. The first three Hebrew words translated "In the beginning God created" contain 14 letters
(7 x 2 = 14)
4. The last four Hebrew words "the heavens and the earth" have 14 letters (7 x 2 = 14)
5. The fourth and fifth words have 7 letters
6. The sixth and seventh words have 7 letters
7. The three key words: God, heaven and earth have 14 letters (7 x 2 = 14)
8. The number of letters in the four remaining words is also 14 (7 x 2 = 14)
9. The shortest word in the verse is the middle word with 7 letters
10. The Hebrew numeric value of the first, middle and last letters is 133 (7 x 19 = 133)
11. The Hebrew numeric value of the first and last letters of all seven words is 1393 (7 x 199 =
1393)
12. ...

When professors on the mathematics faculty at Harvard University were presented with this biblical
phenomenon they naturally attempted to disprove its significance as a proof of divine authorship.
However, after valiant efforts these professors were unable to duplicate this incredible mathematical
phenomenon. The Harvard scientists used the English language and artificially assigned numeric
values to the English alphabet. They had a potential vocabulary of over 400,000 available English
words to choose from to construct a sentence about any topic they chose. Compare this to the
limitations of word choices in the biblical Hebrew language which has only forty-five hundred
available word choices that the writers of the Old Testament could use. Despite their advanced
mathematical abilities and access to computers the mathematicians were unable to come close to
incorporating 30 mathematical multiples of 7 as found in the Hebrew words of Genesis 1:1.

The number "seven" permeates the totality of Scripture because the number speaks of God's divine
perfection and perfect order. The actual number 7 appears 287 times in the Old Testament (7 x 41
= 287) while the word "seventh" occurs 98 times (7 x 14 = 98). The word "seven-fold" appears
seven times. In addition, the word "seventy" is used 56 times (7 x 8 = 56).

Ivan Panin discovered literally thousands of such mathematical patterns underlying all of the books of
the Old Testament before his death in 1942. I refer the interested reader to Panin's book, The
Inspiration of the Scriptures Scientifically Demonstrated, which discusses these phenomena
extensively. Panin and others have examined other Hebrew literature and have attempted to find
such mathematical patterns, but they are not found anywhere outside the Bible.

The Pattern of SEVENS in Matthew 1:18-25 - The History of Christ's Birth
1. The number of words in the seven word passage is 161 (7 x 23 = 161)
2. The number of Vocabulary words is 77 (7 x 11 = 77)
3. Six Greek words occur only in this passage and never again in Matthew. These six Greek words
contain precisely 56 letters (7 x 8 = 56)
4. The number of distinct proper names in the passage is 7
5. The number of Greek letters in these seven proper names is 42 (7 x 6 = 42)
6. The number of words spoken by the angel to Joseph is 28 (7 x 4 = 28)
7. The number of Greek forms of words used in this passage is 161 (7 x 23 = 161)
8. The number of Greek forms of words in the angel's speech is 35 (7 x 5 = 35)
9. The number of letters in the angel's 35 forms of words is 168 (7 x 24 = 168)

This phenomenal discovery by Panin has been examined by numerous authorities and the figures
have been verified. In total, Panin accumulated over forty thousand pages of detailed calculations
covering most of the text of the Bible before his death. These incredible, mathematical patterns are
not limited to the number seven. There are numerous other patterns. These amazing patterns appear
in the vocabulary, grammatical forms, parts of speech, and particular forms of words. They occur
throughout the whole text of the Bible containing 31,173 verses. When you consider the amazing
details of this mathematical phenomenon you realize that the change of a single letter or word in the
original languages of Hebrew or Greek would destroy the pattern. Now we can understand why
Jesus Christ declared that the smallest letter and grammatical mark of the Scriptures was persevered
by God's Hand: "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18).

What was Panin's own view of the Scriptures after a lifetime of diligent study? He wrote the
following statement in one of his essays after warning of the limitations of wisdom found in secular
philosophy. "Not so, however, with The Book. For it tells of One who spake as men never spake,
who was the true bread of life, that which cometh down from the heavens, of which if a man eat he
shall never hunger." Ivan Panin's conclusion of the matter was the following challenge. "My friend of
the world, whose you are: Either Jesus Christ is mistaken or you are. The answer that neither might
be is only evading the issue, not settling it. But the ages have decided that Jesus Christ was not
mistaken. It is for you to decide whether you shall continue to be."

Reference: Jeffrey, Grant R., "The Signature of God", Frontier Research Publications, Inc. (1996),
p.230-237

Source: http://www.heavendwellers.com/hd_astonishing_pattern_of_sevens.html

Women Preachers - What God's Word Says

2011-10-07T23:18:00.001-05:00

God's Word is the ultimate authority, in my life, and if you are a Christian it should be in your life. Even if what it says is hard for you to accept. We cannot choose what parts of God's Word we would follow or believe. This is a subject very close to my heart. The human desire to usurp authority is nothing new, you may be a man or a perhaps a woman who has no desire to be a preacher, therefore, this teaching will not be hard to accept. But if a woman is on the pulpit (i.e. Joyce Meyers etal), she is going against God's word and being disobedient to God.

If you disagree I urge you only to listen, praying for the Holy Spirit to show you the Truth. Read over and meditate the verses mentioned in this study and above all, choose to glorify God with your gift of teaching, rather than yourself.

In love!

Exposing Word of Faith Prosperity Gospel:Justin Peters/SO4J-TV

2011-09-28T15:24:00.000-05:00

Galatians 1:8
"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!"

These false teachers will have to answer to God, let US be discerning and stay away from them!!!!!!!! James 3:1 "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment."

This Is Why All This Has Happened To Us

2011-09-25T19:43:00.000-05:00

This Is Why All This Has Happened To Us

Source: http://www.billmuehlenberg.com/2011/09/24/this-is-why-all-this-has-happened-to-us/

As I have said so often before, Christians who do not read the Old Testament are robbing themselves. They are also robbing God, since a full 77 per cent of the Christian Bible is made up of the Hebrew Scriptures. We do an extreme disservice to ourselves and others by being ignorant of such a large portion of our Bible.

In today’s reading I was blown away by one particular chapter: 2 Kings 17. It is a goldmine not only of historical but spiritual truths and principles. It has so much for today’s church. It is a pity so few believers today make use of this treasure house, and all the rest of the 39 OT books.

So let me provide a bit of quick background material here. After Solomon the Kingdom was divided. Jeroboam leads Israel (the northern kingdom with Samaria as its capital), while his son Rehoboam leads Judah (the southern kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital).

All the kings of the two kingdoms are covered in I and II Kings, while II Chronicles covers only the kings of Judah. The chapter we are looking at here describes the reign of Hoshea, the last of the kings of Israel (vv. 1-6), then explains why Israel went into exile (vv. 7-23). Then an interesting report about Samaria is found in vv. 24-41.

Verse 7 begins this way: “All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the LORD their God.” Christians are not deists; we believe God is actively involved in this world. When bad things happen on a big scale, it is always worth asking why these things might be.

True, we do not have prophets as Israel did in the OT to tell us exactly why various things are befalling us, but we can certainly gain some general principles by looking at what occurred to Israel. This text makes it clear that national calamity was directly tied up with sin and rebellion against God.

In these 15 verses we learn about all the horrible things the people did, even though God had delivered them from the bondage they were in back in Egypt. The aware Christian would do well not just to glide over these verses, but to ask God if there are some clear parallels with God’s people today.

We Christians have also been set free from the bondage of sin and self to follow God. But are we any better than ancient Israel? Read what Yahweh says about them: “They worshiped other gods and followed the practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before them, as well as the practices that the kings of Israel had introduced. The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right….”

The passage goes on to speak of this wretched idolatry in detail. We read over this and think, “Tsk, tsk, what a bunch of rebels those guys were.” But we never think for a moment that we are probably little different. We may be more sophisticated in our idolatry, but we are up to our ears in it nonetheless.

A.W. Pink reminds us that an idol is “anything which displaces God in my heart. It may be something which is quite harmless in itself, yet if it absorbs me, if it be given the first place in my affections and thoughts, it becomes an ‘idol’. It may be my business, a loved one, or my service for Christ. Any one or any thing which comes into competition with the Lord’s ruling me in a practical way, is an ‘idol’.”

So what is your idol, and mine? It would not hurt for all of us to stop whatever we are doing right now and get on our knees and ask God this question. I do not doubt for a moment that our evangelical Bible-believing churches today are just as full of idolaters as ancient Israel was back then.

The text continues, “They forsook all the commands of the LORD their God and made for themselves two idols cast in the shape of calves, and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the starry hosts, and they worshiped Baal. They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sought omens and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, arousing his anger.”

There are of course plenty of modern-day equivalents of these sins as well. Sacrificing children was one of the most despicable of all practices which the Canaanites did, yet incredibly the Israelites ended up doing this as well. Today we do exactly the same, but we use euphemisms for it, like “a woman’s right to choose” or some such thing.

The two abominations are one and the same, and I have tied these two sins together elsewhere:www.billmuehlenberg.com/2006/09/01/a-different-perspective-on-abortion/

And what about all the Christians today who see nothing wrong with astrology, tarot cards, fortune telling, various New Age practices, and the like? All this was soundly condemned back then, but we are still doing it today. One expects non-Christians to be into all this stuff, but it is scandalous just how many so-called Christians dabble in all this as well.

One of the most wrenching parts of this chapter comes in the end. There we read about how the King of Assyria brought in all kinds of peoples “and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites”. Verse 25 says this: “When they first lived there, they did not worship the LORD; so he sent lions among them and they killed some of the people.”

So the King was told about this and he “gave this order: ‘Have one of the priests you took captive from Samaria go back to live there and teach the people what the god of the land requires.’ So one of the priests who had been exiled from Samaria came to live in Bethel and taught them how to worship the LORD.”

The concluding verses are quite remarkable: “They would not listen, however, but persisted in their former practices. Even while these people were worshiping the LORD, they were serving their idols.” Wow, and how much does that sound like us today as well?

How many people are claiming to be followers of Christ yet persist in their former practices? How many folks name the name of Christ, and even tag along to church, yet have never renounced their former idols? How many think they can actually be a follower of Christ and at the same time still cling to their false gods and idols?

But we find this all over the place today. We have “churches” actually blessing abortion today. We have churches ordaining practicing homosexuals today. We have churches deeply involved with interfaith services where Muslims lead a church service and/or readings from a Koran occur. All this is perfectly described in the end of chapter 27.

I began by stating how vitally important that we Christians know our Old Testament, and know it well. I have stated before that reading a mere three chapters a day will get you through the Bible in a year. But there is a downside to all this as well.

The trouble is, Christians today can glibly read through these passages and not for a moment realise that they speak to us just as much today as they did to God’s people thousands of years ago. We can glide over these chapters without even seeing the slightest resemblance to our own situation today.

We may think that those guys were a pretty pathetic bunch, little realising that we are in so many ways exactly like them. So I do encourage every believer to get into the OT. But I also warn them: do not read it as simply a matter of ancient history only.

Read it as the living Word from the living God to the living church today. Learn its lessons and apply its truths. It has so very much to teach us. And if we refuse to read this gift to us, we will one day give an account for this. So read and be blessed. But also read and be challenged, convicted and persuaded when necessary.

Mega-Ministries

2011-09-10T00:01:00.001-05:00

I never thought I would post a news video on my blog, I refrain from posting anything political unless it touches on Bible prophecy but this was SO on the money (pun intended) that I had to post. I see so many people defending these pulpit pimps online, people who profess to be Christians and yet they are deceived by these charlatans......OR don't take the time to read their Bibles to be discerning about what they are reading (that includes my own writings) or seeing on TV.
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Everything on this video is correct and you should double check it against sites which expose them such as inplainsite.org's Televangelists' Lifestyles and pulpit-pimps.org. They are all false teachers who do not preach the Gospel and known by their fruits, so why do so many people still give them money? Probably because they are ignorant of the Scriptures and therefore can't tell a wolf when they see one!

Jesus said in John 14:6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. Osteen said on the Larry King show that Jesus is not the only way to Heaven. This is NOT preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, therefore he is a false teacher. We MUST be discerning enough and know our Scriptures in order to know what we are hearing is not Truth.

Paul said in Galatians 1:8 "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!"

2 Peter 2:1-
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master... who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

I'm measuring every word against Scripture like the Bereans. 1 John 4:1-3
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

I have been criticized for being judgmental in this regard. I'll take God's word over man's any day! The Bible does not say we cannot judge, how could we make decisions without judgment calls. The Bible simply tells us that in the manner in which we judge we will also be judged, therefore judge righteously (meaning measuring by God's right and just Word).

Don't assume just because someone mentions the name of Jesus or God that that He is speaking Truth, remember Satan quotes Scripture too. Jesus said:
Matthew 7:15-23
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

Can You Lose Your Salvation?

2011-09-03T10:07:00.002-05:00

Salvation can never be lost!!!!!! If truly saved (and only God knows their heart for sure, so I continue to pray for some who say they are but do not live it) they won't suffer God's wrath. They may lose out on rewards in heaven, but they will not go to hell. Scripture's clear about that and I think all the Scripture has been quoted above.

A true Christian cannot bear to continue living in sin, but some will remain immature and in "milk" all their lives. Notice they are still saved, (below), since Paul refers to them as "brethren". They are carnal Christians ("fleshly")

1 Cor 3:1-3
1 And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. 2 I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, 3 for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?

In John 10 Jesus tells us:

7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. 11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18 No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

V. 25-29 (Jesus speaking to the Pharisees):
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. 26 But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

In Ephesians 4:30 Paul said "and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, WHEREBY YE ARE SEALED UNTO THE DAY OF REDEMPTION." when you got saved you were sealed, so how do we grieve the spirit of God, we do this when we sin. You can not lose your salvation but you can grieve the Holy Spirit. What happens when we sin after we except Jesus Christ????? read Hebrews 12:1-11. Other Scripture concerning salvation is found in
Romans 8:9-17
1 John 5:10-12
Ephesians 2:8-9
Romans 6:1-14

NOTE: I personally keep ANY preacher on a short list and measure EVERY word against the word of God, which is what you did by posting here as well. ALWAYS go to the Word to verify and if that person/pastor/teacher is NOT teaching Truth, GET AWAY from them! I got out of a Church this year which I was uncomfortable in, then they invited a charlatan and it was sayonara for me!!!!!!!! Those of us who had discernment to leave are in a home fellowship now. Stay away from anyone who is teaching against God's Word. Paul HIMSELF said in Galatians 1:8 "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!" In the Greek accursed is "anathema" points to something having been offered to a false god, in other words, have nothing to do with it!!!!!!!

Pulpit Pimp: Ed Young Jr.

2011-08-11T08:26:00.002-05:00

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 "6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

This shows where some Churches heart, especially the larger ones, really is at. Tithing is unBiblical, it's Old Testament and did you EVER hear Jesus or any of the Apostles talk about the need to tithe in the New Testament (this dispensation)?

This doesn't mean we are not to give to the Church, see 2 Corinthians 9 verse above. We are to support ministries which teach truth (unlike this one in the video above). Our own personal giving multiplied exponentially when we started to learn this, because the Holy Spirit put it in our hearts and the Lord made it possible!

Pimp Preachers like these can be researched on the site www.pulpit-pimps.org, be a Berean and read and know God's word so you may discern the lies most pulpits preach today!

Psalm 22

2011-08-02T09:49:00.002-05:00

Psalms 22-24 are called the Shepherd Psalms, and 22 particularly is interesting. In it David describes crucifixion hundreds of years before it was even invented as a form of torture by the Persians. Ps. 22 starts with Jesus' first words from the cross (22:1 "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:48 and Mark 15:34 record this) and ends with His last words on the cross (John 19:30) in the Greek Septuagint of the OT "Tetelestai". It's one word in the Greek meaning "it is finished". In Jesus' day Tetelestai was stamped on bills "paid in full"....as our sins were paid in full when Jesus gave Himself up on the cross for them.

In researching this I found this wonderful page: http://www.messianicart.com/chazak/yeshua/psalm22.htm (contents copied below for your convenience, but check out the website for lots more)

The twenty-second psalm continues to ignite controversy, in the dialogues between Christians and Jews, concerning the messiahship of Yeshua of Nazareth. The crux of this dispute reaches critical mass in verse 17 (16 in Christian editions), which many Christians translate, "They have pierced my hands and my feet." Jewish translations adhere to the majority reading within the family of the Masoretic text, "like a lion are my hands and feet." In the midst of the fierce clash, it is indisputable that this psalm, whether reading from the Christian or Jewish editions, bears remarkable similarities to the crucifixion of Yeshua of Nazareth, as depicted in the Gospels.

The Subject of Psalm 22

Of whom does Psalm 22 speak? The Rabbis apply psalm 22 to Esther, an interpretation which can be seen in Rabbinic literature such as the Bablyonian Talmud and the Midrash on Psalms. In the most literal, non-prophetic sense, the psalm most likely described David's confrontations with his enemies, and his desire for Adonai's help. In light of this, Rabbi Tovia Singer of Outreach Judaism, incorrectly states,

". . . missionaries are confronted with another remarkable problem as they seek to project the words of this Psalm into a first century crucifixion story. In the simplest terms, this text that Christians eagerly quote is not a prophecy, nor does it speak of any future event."1

First of all, this is not at all a "remarkable problem," as David's life was itself a prophetic picture of the coming Messiah, and an inspiration for the messianic prophecies he composed. Second, Singer's assumption that Psalm 22 "is not a prophecy," is fallacious. Rarely, if ever, does the Hebrew Bible explicitly identify passages as a prophetically "messianic". Regarding the messianic prophecies, you have to interpret them to evaluate their messianic status. Singer then correctly says,

All of the Gospels similarly [quote] Psalm 22:19 . . . in their crucifixion narratives, and Hebrews 2:12 quotes Psalm 22:21 to explain why the messiah had to suffer for humanity."2

Interestingly, there exists another piece of ancient literature that quotes this Psalm to support the concept of Messiah ben Yosef's suffering for humanity, but does not occur in Christian literature. It appears in a 9th century Jewish work, in which a remarkable interpretation materializes, explaining that the Messiah, named Ephraim, suffers for the sins of Israel, and of the world, when God makes an agreement with him to be vicariously afflicted for their sake. This amazing portrayal of the Messiah Ben Yosef's work, cites Psalm 22 as the foundational Scripture for the Messiah's atoning torment:

During the seven-year period preceding the coming of the son of David, iron beams will be brought low and loaded upon his neck until the Messiah's body is bent low. Then he will cry and weep, and his voice will rise to the very height of heaven, and he will say to God: Master of the universe, how much can my strength endure? How much can my spirit endure? How much my breath before it ceases? How much can my limbs suffer? Am I not flesh and blood?
It was because of the ordeal of the son of David that David wept, saying My strength is dried up like a potsherd (Ps. 22:16). During the ordeal of the son of David, the Holy One, blessed be He, will say to him: Ephraim, My true Messiah, long ago, ever since the six days of creation, thou didst take this ordeal upon thyself. At this moment, thy pain is like my pain . . .
At these words, the Messiah will reply: Now I am reconciled. The servant is content to be like his Master.
Pesikta Rabbati, Piska 36.2, translated by William G. Braude, Yale University Press, pg. 680-681

It is taught, moreover, that in the month of Nisan the Patriarchs will arise and say to the Messiah: Ephraim, our true Messiah, even though we are thy forbears, thou art greater that we because thou didst suffer for the iniquities of our children, and terrible ordeals befell thee . . . for the sake of Israel thou didst become a laughingstock and a derision among the nations of the earth; and didst sit in darkness, in thick darkness, and thine eyes saw no light, and thy skin cleaved to thy bones, and thy body was as dry as a piece of wood; and thine eyes grew dim from fasting, and thy strength was dried up like a potsherd - all these afflictions on account of the iniquities of our children . . .
Pesikta Rabbati 37.1, translated by William G. Braude, Yale University Press, pg. 685-686

Ephraim is a darling son to Me . . . My heart yearneth for him, in mercy I will have mercy upon him, saith the Lord (Jer. 31:20). Why does the verse speak twice of mercy: In mercy I will have mercy upon him? One mercy refers to the time when he will be shut up in prison, a time when the nations of the world will gnash their teeth at him every day, wink their eyes at one another in derision of him, nod their heads at him in contempt, open wide their lips to guffaw, as is said All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head (Ps. 22:8); My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my throat; and thou layest me in the dust of death (Ps. 22:16). Moreover, they will roar over him like lions, as is said They open wide their mouth against me, as a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is become like wax; it is melted in mine inmost parts (Ps. 22:14-15).
Pesikta Rabbati 37.1, translated by William G. Braude, Yale University Press, pg. 686-687

Like a Lion or They Have Pierced?

In verse 16 (17) of this psalm, the minute difference of a centimeter of ink has ignited a firestorm of controversy. The majority reading of the Masoretic text literally reads, "Like a lion my hands and feet." This reading is difficult, and doesn't make sense. In the Septuagint (LXX), the text reads, "they have pierced my hands and my feet." The difference between the Hebrew letters vav and yud are extremely small, yet the change it makes is incredibly significant.

Because of this controversial reading, anti-missionaries have accused Christians of tampering with the text. This is a simple reaction to issues that are much more complex and difficult. G. Shapiro, an anti-missionary, says that, ". . . mistranslations prove only that the missionaries trying to convert you are deceptive."3 Then, however, Shapiro goes on to insert words into the text that are absent from the Hebrew: "like lions [they maul] my hands and feet."4 The words "they maul" are missing from the original text, which is why Shapiro has brackets around the words. Ironically, however, it is the Christians who are "deceptive" with their "mistranslations", but it is acceptable for the anti-missionary to add to Adonai's word. The question may be asked, "Why is it necessary to have to add to Adonai's word?" Indeed, sometimes adding minor words such as, "one, as, to", makes the ancient Hebrew flow better in modern English, but in this case, the words are completely foreign to the text, and are interpolated so this sentence will make sense. According to the Tanakh,

"Every word of Elohim is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar."
Proverbs 30:5-6, NIV

Rabbi Singer, probably the most prominent accuser of "deceptive mistranslations", also adds to the text with, "like a lion they are at my hands and my feet."5 He unashamedly writes,

". . . in an effort to distance Christians from a compelling Jewish message, the founders and defenders of Christianity methodically altered selected texts from the Jewish scriptures. This rewriting of the Tanach was not done arbitrarily or subtly. The church quite deliberately tampered with the words of the Jewish scriptures in order to bolster their most startling claim which is: The Old Testament foretold of no messiah other than Jesus of Nazareth. With this goal in mind, missionaries manipulated, misquoted, mistranslated and even fabricated verses in Tanach in order to make Jesus' life fit traditional Jewish messianic parameters and to make traditional Jewish fit the life of Jesus."6emphasis mine.

Rabbi Singer also utilizes the following words to describe the Christian translation of Psalm 22:16(17):

1. "Christian translators rewrote the words of King David
2. The insertion of the word "pierced" into the last clause of this verse is a not-too-ingenious Christian interpolation that was created by deliberately mistranslating the Hebrew word kaari () as "pierced". . .
3. "the phrase “they pierced my hands and my feet” is a Christian contrivance that appears nowhere in the Jewish scriptures."
4. ". . . this stunning mistranslation in the 22nd Psalm. . ."
5. "This verse was undoubtedly tampered with years after the Christian canon was completed."
6. "The Bible tampering. . ."
7. "Why then did [the Christian translators" specifically target Psalm 22 for such Bible tampering?"
8. "this church revision of the 22nd Psalm. . ."
9. "The church, therefore, did not hesitate to tamper with the words of the 22nd Psalm . . ."
10. " . . . the stunning mistranslation in this chapter. . ."7

Even in light of these SERIOUS allegations, Singer himself interpolates foreign words to the text of Psalm 22 with,

"Dogs have encompassed me.
A company of evildoers has enclosed me;
like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet."8

On his website, Tovia Singer doesn't even put brackets around the words, "they are at", which are completely absent from the Hebrew. Yet immediately after this quotation, he then accuses Christian translators of inserting the word pierced!

"The insertion of the word “pierced” into the last clause of this verse is a not-too-ingenious Christian interpolation that was created by deliberately mistranslating the Hebrew word kaari . . ."9

Sadly, all of the epithets wielded against "Christian mistranslators" by Rabbi Singer on his website, can now be justly applied to himself. However, if my memory serves me correctly, Singer's workbook does place brackets around the inserted words, but this particular page on his anti-missionary website, in its current form does not. (The original version of this essay was created about 1-17-01. There were no brackets around the inserted words then. The latest revision of this essay, 4-6-06, still, unfortunately, it does not put brackets around "they are at". In fact, in my quick re-reading of his article, I don't see it even mentioned anywhere that those words were added, and it is presented as if this is a "proper translation"!)

Gerald Sigal, another anti-missionary, follows suit and adds to the text. Sigal says, "The text should read, in effect: 'Like a lion [they are gnawing at] my hands and my feet.' This is the most plausible interpretation of the text."10 Again, the question is: Why is he adding to the text?! If it is really the "most plausible interpretation of the text," why does he have to insert words to make this "plausible interpretation," in essence, "plausible"? He goes on to say, "Rashi's interpretation of the verse--"As if crushed by the mouth of a lion are my hands and my feet"--is similar in thought to the one we have offered though differently. While these interpretations fit with the diction of the entire psalm, the Christian translation--"They pierced my hands and my feet"--does not."11 Says who? And how can they "fit with the diction of the entire psalm," if he has to add to the text to make it fit? The need for the anti-missionary to insert words into the passage for it to make sense, only provides more support for the "pierced" translation.

Gleason Archer, professor of Old Testament and Semitic studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, writes,

" . . . we find in the MT of Psalm 22:17 (16 Eng.) the strange phrase "like the lion my hands and my feet" (kaari yaday we raglay) in a context that reads "dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men have encircled me- like the lion my hands and my feet!" This really makes no sense, for lions do not surround the feet of their victims. Rather, they pounce on them and bite them through with their teeth. Furthermore, this spelling of the word "lion" (ari) is rendered more doubtful by the fact that in v.13 (14MT) the word "lion" appears in the normal way 'aryeh. it is most unlikely that the author would have used used two different spellings of the same word within three verses of each other. Far more likely is the reading supported by most of the versions: ka'ru (They [i.e. the dogs or evildoers] have pierced" my hands and my feet). This involves merely reading the final letter yodh as a waw, which would make it the past tense of a third person plural verb. This is apparently what the LXX read, for oryxan ("they have bored through") reflects a a karu from the verb kur ("pierce, dig through"). The Vulgate conforms to this with foderunt ("They have dug through"). The Syriac Peshitta has baz'w, which means "they have pierced/penetrated." Probably the ' (aleph) in ka'ru represents a mere vowel lengthener that occasionally appears in the Hasmonean manuscripts such as 1QIsa and the sectarian literature of the second century B.C."
Dr. Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, pg. 37

Mitchell Dahood, Professor of Ugaritic Language and Literature at The Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, translates the controversial reading,

My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
my tongue sticks to my jaws,
And they put me upon the mud of Death.
For dogs have surrounded me,
a pack of evildoers encircle me,
Piercing my hands and my feet.
Psalm 22:16-17, Psalms 1-50, The Anchor Bible, translated by Mitchell Dahood, pg. 137

His commentary to the translation, notes,

Piercing my hands. Much-contested k'ry is here tentatively analyzed as an infinitive absolute from kry, "to dig," with the archaic ending -i, as in Gen xxx 8, xlix 11; Exod xv 6. See W.L. Moran in The Bible and the Ancient Near East: Essays in Honor of William Foxwell Albright, ed. G.E. Wright (New York, 1961), p. 62; J.M. Sola-Sole, L'infinitif semitique (Paris, 1961), pg. 185b. The aleph would be intrusive as, e.g., in Prov xxiv 7, r'mwt for rmwt.
Mitchell Dahood on Psalm 22:17, Psalms 1-50, The Anchor Bible, pg. 140-141

There is an occurrence in Rabbinic literature reading the contested word ka'ari/ka'aru as a verb. However, it would not be conclusive in this instance, because hermeneutic principles exercised in midrashic eisegesis sometimes play with the literal reading of the text, as Burton Visotzky notes,

"It is the mark of midrashic literature, however, to take liberalities with the biblical text - to pun on
it, to twist its plain sense, and often to modify the meaning of a word by a change in its vowels, all for the sake of homily."
Burton Visotzky, The Midrash on Proverbs, Yale University Press, pg. 14

The occurrence in the Midrash on Psalms, however, is worth noting,

For dogs have compassed me (Psalm 22:17) - that is, Haman's sons have compassed me; the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me (ibid.) - that is, Haman's hosts have enclosed me.
My hands and my feet they made repulsive51 (Psalm 22:17). According to R. Judah, Esther said: "Though Haman's sons practiced sorcery on me so that in the sight of Ahaseurus my hands and feet were repulsive, yet a miracle was wrought for me, and my hands and my feet were made to shine like sapphires.
But R. Nehemiah said: The verse is to be read At my hands and my feet he was favored with blessing52, and conveys much the same meaning as with the verse "The Lord hath blessed thee at my foot" (Gen 30:30). Thus Esther meant: Because of the work of my hands, blessing came to Ahaseurus.

Footnotes:
51. The word ka'ari, rendered in JV "like a lion," and in AV "They pierced," is taken by R. Judah to be derived from k'ar, "ugly, repulsive."
52. Apparently, R. Nehemiah takes ka'ari as related to the Greek chara, "favor," or "blessing."
Midrash on Psalms, Psalm 22, translated by William Braude, Yale University Press

The Dead Sea Scrolls

In 1947, a discovery of a collection of ancient texts would revolutionize our understanding of the Bible, Judaism and Christianity. About If there is one place in this entire debate where one may find an unbiased source, it is the Dead Sea Scrolls. Separated from the debates of Jews and Christians, the Dead Sea Scrolls represent an independent witness to the Hebrew text. The discovery of the scrolls attest to the accuracy of the transmission of the Hebrew Bible, throughout the centuries, however, they also note a variety of textual variants. One of the places where the Dead Sea Scrolls differ from the Masoretic Text is in Psalm 22:16(17). The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible, translated by Martin Abegg, Jr., Peter Flint and Eugene Ulrich notes,

"Psalm 22 is a favorite among Christians since it is often linked in the New Testament with the suffering and death of Jesus. A well-known and controversial reading is found in verse 16, where the Masoretic text has "Like a lion are my hands and feet," whereas the Septuagint has "They have pierced my hands and feet." Among the scrolls the reading in question is found only in the Psalms scroll found at Nahal Hever (abbreviated 5/6HevPs), which reads, "They have pierced my hands and my feet"!"
Abegg, Flint and Ulrich, The Dead Sead Sea Scrolls Bible, pg. 519

James VanderKam and Peter Flint, in The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls, note:

"The different reading in v.16 depends on a single word: k'ry (), which means like a lion. The Gospel writers quote from the Greek Bible, which reads; "They have pierced my hands and feet." Some scholars have suggested that the Septuagint represents a modification of the Hebrew like a lion, perhaps because it was difficult to make sense of the Hebrew. Another suggestion is that early Christian editors changed the Greek text in order to find evidence of Jesus' crucifixion in the Hebrew Bible.

Among the Dead Sea Scrolls, the reading in question is not preserved at Qumran, but in the Psalms scroll from Nahal Hever (5/6HevPs), which is textually very close to the Masoretic Text. In line 12 of column 10 we read: "They have pierced my hands and feet"! For the crucial work () the Hebrew form is grammatically difficult; but it is clearly a verb, not a noun and means they have bored or they have dug or they have pierced."
The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls, James VanderKam & Peter Flint, HarperSanFrancisco, pg. 124

The Dead Sea Scrolls have a vav instead of a yod at the end of the contested word, ka'ari/ka'aru. The strength of the anti-missionary argument against the Dead Sea Scroll reading of pierced arrives in the point that the word contains an aleph, which according to Sigal, "is not part of the root." Dr. James D. Price, professor of Hebrew and the Old Testament at the Temple Baptist Seminary, however, states:

"Sigal gave the impression that the presence of the Aleph in the word "ka'aru" prevented it from being derived from a Hebrew root which has no Aleph. But the words "ka'aru" and "karu" being variant forms of the same verb (as explained by the lexicographers) is demonstrated by the following Hebrew words that have the same kind of middle Aleph and the same kind of relationship: bo'r, bor (pit, cistern) from the verb bur (dig); da'g, dag (fish) from the verb dug (fish for); la't, lat (secrecy) from the verb lut (be secret); m'um, mum (blemish); n'od, nod (skin); q'am, qam (he arose); ra'sh, rash (poor) from the verb rush (be poor); sh'at (contempt) from the verb shut (treat with contempt); also in Aramaic, da'er (dweller) from the verb dur (dwell); and qa'em (riser) from the verb qum (he arose). These examples are sufficient to demonstrate that a middle Aleph frequently occurs in words and forms derived from middle Waw verbs as in this passage. His argument is convincing only to those who know little or nothing about Hebrew."12

Prophetic Fulfillment

Even if the contested reading were to discovered to definitively agree with the majority Masoretic rendering, a denial of the similarities between the travails of the sufferer of Psalm 22, and the crucifixion of Yeshua of Nazareth in the accounts of the four Gospels, would be deliberate ignorance. Neither could one charge the New Testament with a "deliberate mistranslation," because the New Testament text itself doesn't specifically quote the disputed verse. Anti-missionaries have noted this, and have attempted to make a case that the reading of "pierced" was unknown the the New Testament authors. That, however, is an argument from silence, which is no argument at all. There are many messianic prophecies the New Testament authors could have quoted, and many they could have cited in relation to Yeshua's life, that they didn't. However, the life of Yeshua speaks for itself, and bears not only remarkable similarities to prophecies of the Tanakh, but even the interpretations of the ancient rabbis, as we have seen above.

Conclusion

The words and accusations the anti-missionaries employ are offensive, and the initial reaction against such rhetoric was to respond with equally charged language. In doing so, however, I would be guilty of the very thing I disagree with, concerning their presentations. When working and distributing information from the internet, one must be careful not to use defamatory propaganda, in order to demonize, and discredit one's opponent. The internet has the potential to reach to a massive audience, and one who owns a website, or dispenses information through e-mail lists or any other media interface, has an special responsibility to the minds of their readers and viewers.

Such strong language only serves to stir the emotions of the reader, and attempts to give the argument an authoritative tone. One should observe that Rabbi Singer, in his website, gives no actual evidence that "Christian bible translations were meticulously altered" the Bible - other than the allegation that it was the word ka'ari, not ka'aru, that the translators were attempting to translate and a theological motive for "painting Jesus into the Tanakh," because of the importance of this psalm in Christian tradition. The argument that, "this stunning mistranslation in the 22nd Psalm did not occur because Christian translators were unaware of the correct meaning of [ka'ari]," is already null, because it implies that Christian translators are a.) attempting to translate the word ka'ari, and not ka'aru, as we just stated, b.) provide a translation solely from a controversial Masoretic text, all the while not taking into account the witness of the other ancient versions. It is also important to understand that the Masoretic text itself is not one monolithic text, but a family of texts, of which, a very small amount of have the vav, instead of a yud, at the end of this controversial word, thus agreeing with "pierced". It would be a stretch for anyone to say that it was a "stunning, deliberate, mistranslation", due to the problematic nature of the verse, and the fact that the difference between a "vav" and a "yud" is a centimeter of ink.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls also gave us a major contribution to textual scholarship, providing some of the most ancient Biblical texts known in history. The Scrolls, which could not have been influenced by an apologetic or defensive theology on either side of the debate, have ka'aru, instead of ka'ari! This seriously damages the anti-missionary allegation of a "mistranslation", and provides significant textual weight for the translation "pierced".

Overall, we have seen that: Anti-missionary accusations of deliberate mistranslation against believers in the messiahship of Yeshua of Nazareth are without merit. Anti-missionaries add to the text of Psalm 22 to "make it fit", because the reading, "like a lion are my hands and feet" makes no sense. An ancient Jewish work, Pesikta Rabbati, applies Psalm 22 to the suffering of the Messiah ben Yosef, who is described in remarkably similar terms to that of Yeshua ben Yosef. 4.) The Masoretic text has a minority witness for the "pierced" reading, along with other translations like the Septuagint and Peshitta, and most powerfully, 5.) the Dead Sea Scrolls favor the "pierced reading". Sometimes, it is painful to see the truth, but fear not, Messiah ben Yosef of Nazareth took our pain upon him, as it is written:

"They have pierced my hands and my feet."
Psalm 22:17(16)

1. Rabbi Tovia Singer, A Lutheran Doesn't Understand Why Rabbi Singer Doesn't Believe in Jesus: A Closer Look at the "Crucifixion Psalm", Outreach Judaism
2. Ibid.
3. G. Shapiro, Psalm 22, Shomrai HaBrit-Keepers of the Covenant
4. Ibid.
5. Rabbi Tovia Singer, A Lutheran Doesn't Understand Why Rabbi Singer Doesn't Believe in Jesus: A Closer Look at the "Crucifixion Psalm", Outreach Judaism.org
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Gerald Sigal, Crucifixion Item: 57, Jews for Judaism
11. Ibid.
12. Dr. James D. Price, Response to a Skeptic

The Evangelical Subculture

2011-07-22T17:13:00.001-05:00

The Evangelical Subculture
(Click to read on site Proclamation, Invitation, & Warning)

Shall we be disciples of Jesus together? Or would you rather just participate in a Religious System?

Two Different Conversions - Like Joining a Club - The Subculture, Institutionalism, & Deception - Articles

Two Different Conversions

When I became a follower of Jesus Christ I underwent two different conversions, although I didn't realize it at the time. First, I was converted from my old life into the Body of Christ by reconciliation with God through Jesus. Hallelujah! At about the same time I bought into the Evangelical Subculture under the false impression that it WAS the Body of Christ. It took me years to realize the difference between the two.

I had been aware of "Christendom": that worldly religious structure consisting of political and economic empires and bureaucracies, both Protestant and Catholic, that had fought religious wars and undertaken crusades to retake the "Holy Land", that had burned people at the stake, that continued to preach false Christs and false gospels of works, and that continues to talk about the counterfeit unity called Ecumenicalism.

But I had not understood the nature of the Evangelical Subculture, that is a part of the worldly structure of "Christendom". This subculture has its own organizations and institutions, denominations, parachurch organizations; its own magazines and radio stations and TV networks; its own schools and colleges and universities; its own celebrities; its own music industry and book stores; its own marketing and advertising worlds.

Like Joining a Club

The tragedy of the Evangelical Subculture is that people who have a sincere desire to follow Jesus get side tracked into a zeal for being a part of this worldly system. It is like joining a club. The club member begins to wear the clothes and trinkets bought at the "Christian" book stores; watch "Christian" TV and listen to "Christian" radio; buy the latest fad books that sweep the "Christian media"; subscribe to the "Christian" magazines; worship the "Christian" celebrities; use all the latest jargon promoted in the latest books by the celebrity authors.

A cult-like mentality develops among people who see this Evangelical system as identical to the Body of Christ. Their zeal is for the trappings of the subculture. It is its own religion. If someone tries to point out the unbiblical nature of some aspect of this subculture people will take offense because you are criticizing their religion. The subculture becomes the message. The "gospel" that people preach is for conversion to the system, not really to Jesus Christ.

The Subculture, Institutionalism, & Deception

The pop culture of Evangelicalism feeds on institutionalism, denominationalism, "non-denominational" institutional church organizations, and the professional clergy system. The professional clergy and their church organizations, in turn, find an indoctrinated constituency to fill their pews and programs. Both the subculture and the institutional churches turn a relationship with Jesus and his people into a participation in a religion and a lifestyle.

This Evangelical subculture has played a major role in setting professing Christians up for deception. It seduces people to think and act like the subculture instead of reading the Bible for themselves and deriving their understanding from the Bible. It has been this subculture that has infected the Evangelicals with psychology, self-esteem, political action and social activism, unity at the expense of sound doctrine, mysticism, and cult attachments to gurus, movements, and organizations. Ultimately, the end of this deception is a merging of the Evangelical Subculture with the global counterfeit religious vision.

We ought to be content with the simplicity of following Jesus and being the Body of Christ together with those the Lord provides for fellowship, according to the teachings of the Apostles in the New Testament.

Please consider the following articles that explore this issue of the Evangelical Subculture vs. the true Bride of Christ.

Click to read followthrough links: The Evangelical Subculture

Grow Up. Settle Down. Keep Reforming. Advice for the Young, Restless, Reformed

2011-07-20T16:48:00.000-05:00

Grow Up. Settle Down. Keep Reforming. Advice for the Young, Restless, Reformed

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

by John MacArthur

It has been five years since Christianity Today published Collin Hansen’s article titled “Young, Restless, Reformed.” Hansen later expanded the article into a book with the same title (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008). He has carefully documented a very encouraging trend: large numbers of young people (college age and younger) are discovering the doctrines of grace, embracing a more biblical and Christ-centered worldview, and beginning to delve more deeply into serious theology than most 20th-century evangelicals were prone to do.

In short, Calvinism, not postmodernism, seems to be capturing the hearts of Christian young people.

Hansen cites evidence that Calvinistic seminaries are growing. Several new national conferences feature speakers committed to reformed soteriology (R.C. Sproul, John Piper, Al Mohler, Mark Dever, and others)—and these conferences are consistently full to overflowing with students. Books rich with meaty doctrinal content rather than relational fluff have begun to show up on Christian best-seller lists. There is even a surge of interest in Jonathan Edwards.

Hansen’s original article gave some definition and a name to this developing movement. That article finally brought attention to a powerful trend that theretofore had been all but ignored by Christianity Today’s editors. (They had been preoccupied for a decade or more with Emergent and postmodern fads, open theism, and various currents drifting in a totally different direction.) But (in Hansen’s words): “While the Emergent ‘conversation’ gets a lot of press for its appeal to the young, the new Reformed movement [is arguably] a larger and more pervasive phenomenon [with] a much stronger institutional base.”

Five years later, the so-called Emergent Church is now in a state of serious disarray and decline. Some have suggested it’s totally dead. Virtually every offshoot of evangelicalism that consciously embraced postmodern values has either fizzled out or openly moved toward liberalism, universalism, and Socinianism. Scores of people who were active in the Emerging movement a decade ago seem to have abandoned Christianity altogether.

But young, restless, Reformed students (YRRs) still seem to be multiplying and gaining influence. I’m very glad for most of what this movement represents. It seems to be a more biblically-oriented, gospel-centered, theologically-grounded approach to Christian discipleship than this generation’s parents typically favored—and that is most certainly to be applauded.

YRRs have by and large eschewed the selfishness and shallowness (though not all the pragmatism) of seeker-sensitive religion. They are generally aware of the dangers posed by postmodernity, political correctness, and moral relativism (even if they don’t always approach such dangers with sufficient caution). And while they sometimes seem to struggle to show discernment, they do seem to understand that truth is different from falsehood; sound doctrine is opposed to heresy; and true faith distinct from mere religious pretense.

It is overall a positive development and a trend to be encouraged—but the YRR movement as it is shaping up also needs to face up to some fairly serious problems and potential pitfalls. So I have some words of encouragement and counsel for YRRs, and I want to take a few days here at the blog to write to them about their movement, its influences, some hazards that lie ahead, some tendencies to avoid, and some qualities to cultivate. (A few men on our staff will also join the discussion with a few thoughts of their own.)

Our chief concerns have to do with immaturity, instability, and inconsistency in the YRR movement. It is clear from Scripture, of course, that people who are young need to aim for maturity (2 Peter 3:18; Ephesians 4:13; Hebrews 5:12-14)—not perpetual adolescence. Scripture likewise makes clear that it’s better to be “like a tree planted by streams of water” (Psalm 1:3) than to be constantly restless. And one cannot be genuinely “Reformed” and deliberately worldly at the same time. The two things are inconsistent and incompatible. To embrace the world’s fashions and values—even under the guise of being “missional”—is to make oneself God’s enemy (James 4:4). Many supposed reformations have faltered on that rock.

No one is truly Reformed who is not constantly reforming.

In all candor, some of the ideas YRRs seem most obsessed with—starting with their standard methods for reaching the unchurched and “redeeming culture”—seem to be holdovers from the pragmatism that dominated their parents’ generation. If we profess theology that recognizes and honors the sovereignty, majesty, and holiness of God, our practice ought to be consistent with that.

It is a wonderful thing to come to grips with the doctrines of grace, and it is a liberating realization when we acknowledge the impotence of the human will. But embracing those truths is merely an initial step toward authentic reformation. We still have a lot of reforming to do.

And let’s face it: the besetting sin of young Calvinists is a brash failure to come to grips with that reality.

I’ll elaborate more on these points in the days to come.

Dr. Ed Young Promoting contemplatinve Spirituality/Mysticism For His Southern Baptists

2011-07-17T21:48:00.003-05:00

DR. ED YOUNG PROMOTING CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY/MYSTICISM FOR HIS SOUTHERN BAPTISTS

By Ken Silva pastor-teacher on Jul 14, 2011 in Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism, Current Issues, Features, Southern Baptist Convention

For at least the past six years now online apologetics and discernment ministries like Lighthouse Trails Research, as well as here at Apprising Ministries, have been warning about the sinfully ecumenical [i.e. Reformation repudiating] Emergent Church aka the Emerging Church.
Sadly, it’s now grown into a neo-liberal cult operating within evangelicalism infecting it with their new postmodern form of Progressive Christian quasi-universalism under their spiritual circus “big tent” Emergence Christianity.
Here’s the heart of the matter: The EC would prove to be a Trojan Horse where Satan has been able to off-load his ne0-Gnostic mystic corruption Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism (CSM), an infestation of which is now becoming pandemic within the very heart of the church visible.
If you didn’t know what effect this cult of postmodern Liberalism 2.0 is having upon the professing Christian community, then I strongly suggest that you make the time to actually look at the evidence I’ll bring before you in Mainstream Evangelicalim Embracing Contemplative Mysticism and In Touch Magazine Of Charles Stanley Promoting Contemplative New Monasticism.
Then I want you to tell me wherever in the proper Biblical doctrine of Reformation theology do we find “Protestant” CSM ala that supposedly “discovered” by Living Spiritual Teacher and Quaker mystic Richard Foster, and now perpetrated as supposed Spiritual Formation with an able assist from his spiritual twin SBC minister Dallas Willard? Answer: We don’t.
With all of this in mind then, I continue on where Promoting Contemplative Spirituality/Mysticism Ok In Southern Baptist Convention left off. I told you that we’d visit a major SBC megachurch and that you’d see this church has a teacher of contemplative spirituality i.e. mysticism right on its own staff. I also mentioned that you’ll be able to watch his sermon from last Sunday right within my next piece.
The video is below and you’ve probably realized the church in question is Second Baptist Church in Houston, TX where Dr. Ed Young, Sr. is the senior pastor. Now the sermon I’ve spoken of was done by Gary Thomas, whom I mentioned previously e.g. in Mark Driscoll And Contemplative Idolatry, which also gives you futher illustration concerning how far CSM has slithered into the whole of the church visible.
If you didn’t know, Thomas’ bio informs us:

Gary Thomas is a bestselling author and international speaker whose ministry brings people closer to Christ and closer to others. He unites the study of Scripture, church history, and the Christian classics to foster spiritual growth and deeper relationships within the Christian community. (Online source, emphasis mine)

We’ll return to those so-called “Christian classics,” but for now, in addition to his international ministry, we find out that Dr. Ed Young, Sr. announced that Gary Thomas had “joined the staff of Second Baptist Church as writer in residence and a member of the preaching team” this past October:

(Online source)
So let’s keep in mind as we go on that Thomas was well known within evangelical circles prior to joining the preaching staff at Young, Sr.’s huge SBC megachurch Second Baptist Church (2ndBC). In fact, Young. Sr. himself was very familiar with the work of Gary Thomas:

“If Gary Thomas writes a book, you need to read it. It’s as simple as that. He has incredible insight into spiritual truths and is able to make those truths graspable for all audiences. In Pure Pleasure Gary reminds us it is OK for Christians to feel good—even have fun! A refreshing message at the right time for contemporary believers. You are going to enjoy this book.”
—Dr. Ed Young, Second Baptist Church, Houston, Texas (Online source, emphasis his)

My concern here is the propensity of Gary Thomas to push the spurious CSM mentioned above so I’m going to focus upon the evidence documenting his teaching; another time we’ll talk further about CSM itself, and its crown jewel Contemplative/Centering Prayer, which is itself a form of meditation in an altered state of consciousness. Let me focus your attention upon Thomas’ book Sacred Pathways (SP); this book forms the basis of his sermon below.
From my personal copy of SP I can tell you that Thomas shares with his readers a form of “mantra meditation,” which is traced to Dom (father) John Main (1926-1982). It’s important to note that Main was an apostate Roman Catholic priest and monk of the Order of Saint Benedict (OSB). He’s also universally known by those in the so-called “contemplative tradition” as the man who rediscovered “the practice of pure prayer, or Christian meditation.”
Not upon Scripure mind you; no, this is using a “holy phrase” also known as a mantra in order to enter into an altered state of consciousness. Chapter 9 of Thomas’ SP happens to be a veritable ode of praise for sola Scriptura-repudiating contemplative mystics, some of which you’ll hear in his sermon below. Thomas dreams the following mythology about mystics telling us they:

simply want to bathe in the ocean of love God has for his children, while the rest of us seem unfortunately content to experience that love drop by drop.[1]

Thomas then continues on with his romanticizing of mystics as he tells us about the “Acts of Contemplatives,” which he calls “many forms of prayer and activities that contemplatives can make use of in addition to general contemplative prayer.” Next Thomas goes through “The Jesus Prayer,” “Secret Acts of Devotion,” “Dancing Prayer,” “Centering Prayer” (it’s the same as Contemplative Prayer), “Prayer of the Heart,” “Stations of the Cross,” and finally “Meditative Prayer.” You’ll also see mystics refer to this as “the silence” and/or “wordless prayer”[2]; but, the truth is, it’s nowhere taught in Scripture.
Under that section Meditative Prayer Thomas goes into a short spiel about Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, the militantly pro-Roman Catholic Church mystic group who on orders of the Pope functioned very much like a spiritual Counter Reformation Gestapo Unit during the Protestant Reformation; you may have heard of the Inquisition. Thomas though tells that “The Spiritual Exercises, [of Ignatius of Loyola] helped make mental prayer more popular.”[3]; and this mental prayer Thomas is speaking of here is CCP.
You should know that CCP was never practiced or taught by Jesus; nor was it practiced or taught by His Apostles, but rather, it orginated with 4th century desert hermits in Egypt. All of this romancing of mystics sounds quite pious; however, in reality it’s a classic case of seeking individual, personal, experience with God, which by nature is highly subjective. Frankly, the prolonged practice of CSM does serve to bring the practioner into ignoring the Protestant Reformation.
As an example I’ll show you now that in the Free Resources section of Thomas’ website we find those Christian classics mentioned earlier under Classic Christian Authors:

(Online source)

You’ll see Thomas is already sowing confusion because Francis De Sales (1567-1622) was “Bishop of Geneva, [and] Doctor of the Universal [Roman Catholic] Church”[4], Nicholas Herman aka Brother Lawrence (1605-1691) was a Roman Catholic priest “in the Carmelite order mean[ing] his spiritual practices were derived from or heavily influenced by Teresa of Avila”[5], and François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon (1651-1715) was a “celebrated French [Roman Catholic] bishop.”[6]
Each of those men died as slaves serving the false gospel of the apostate Roman Catholic Church; the same organization that placed its anathema upon the very Gospel of repentance and forgiveness of sins, salvation by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in the finished work of Christ alone on the Cross. With all due respect, under what authority does Gary Thomas now come along and reverse the Reformation to pronounce such as these Christians?
Does Dr. Ed Young, Sr., twice president of the SBC—reputed to be the largest Protestant denomination in the United States—also hold this same view? The Other Christian Classics contains a host of other Counter Reformation, and counter sola Scriptura, Roman Catholic mystical works including The Cloud of Unknowing, which Thomas says is “considered a classic of mystical spirituality,” and Experiencing The Depths Of Jesus Christ by Madame Guyon, who was even considered heretical by Rome.
In closing this out, for now, we also find Dark Night Of The Soul by John of the Cross, who was a disciple of the aforementioned emotionally troubled Carmelite nun Teresa of Avila. As I showed you before in my In Touch Magazine Of Charles Stanley Promoting Contemplative New Monasticism Dr. Gary Gilley is right as he explains:

The phrase “dark night of the soul” has become, on a popular level, the description of a period of deep depression or dryness, but this is certainly not what St. John meant…
Classical mysticism is composed of three parts: purgation, in which the senses and spirit are purged of all desires; illumination, in which God supernaturally floods the soul with His love while the individual remains passive; and union, in which the soul is united with God in perfection.
Such an individual will be able to skip purgatory since purgatory’s work has been completed in this life (pp. 107-108, 174). To this pursuit the medieval monks and hermits devoted their lives.
The mystical way is nowhere supported by Scripture, even though St. John makes many attempts to do so… (Online source)

Yet Thomas tells us this apostate Roman Catholic monk is, “One of my favorite authors, John wrote with an unparalleled passion for God.” I wonder, is this also what Dr. Young believes? Keep in mind that the Protestant Reformers, contemporary with Avila and her disciple, rejected their mystic musings; but now we’re to believe that they were in error because people like Gary Thomas hundreds of years after the fact know more than they did?
From years of studying mysticism I can tell you that people who persist in CSM eventually end up with a delusion that somehow the Reformation is over. However, if you’d actually make the time to read, and to check the sources within for yourself, you’ll find the answer is absolutely not to the following question: Has The Roman Catholic Church Really Changed?
Finally, consider the following from Thomas’ latest book Thirsting for God: Spiritual Refreshment for the Sacred Journey (T4G):

I sought guidance for devoting myself to becoming close to God,… I opened a book that was written 1500 years ago, an Eastern Christian classic by John Climacus called The Ladder of Divine Ascent. I felt as if something that had atrophied inside me was suddenly being nursed to life.
I soon found myself meeting new friends, spiritual soul mates who were on the same search, like John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, who joined forces in the sixteenth century to bring renewal to a stale religious order.[7]

Thomas is “spiritual soul mates” with Roman Catholics advancing a different gospel during the Protestant Reformation? Sounding not a little like EC icon Rob Bell or Living Spiritual Teacher and EC guru Brian McLaren in T4G we see Thomas tell us:

So many of our theological discussions today highlight issues upon which we profoundly and often vehemently disagree. But as I met these writers throughout church history, I soon witnessed a beautiful tapestry of common truth that gave stunning witness to the accepted faith of the wider church…[8]

Does Gary Thomas not realize the “theological discussions” of the Protestant Reformation involved the Gospel itself? If we don’t share that “common truth” then we have no basis for Christian koinonia i.e. fellowship. Yet you’ll see below that Thomas is in the midst of teaching his revisionist history to the congregation of 2ndBC, one the biggest churches in the entire SBC.
Thomas tells us:

I would like to introduce you to some precious Christian brothers and sisters who have walked this life before us… The men and women who wrote the Christian classics were masters at understanding the spiritual life…
We may not accept every single doctrine they teach,…[but t]hey taught basic Christian spirituality.[9]

Herein we reach the heart of the matter; I’ve shown you irrefutable evidence that Thomas includes a bevy of Roman Catholics among the authors of these “Christian classics.” Then he refers to them as “precious Christian brothers and sisters” whom he tells us were “masters at understanding the spiritual life” and “taught basic Christian spirituality.” Ask yourself: How could a master of Christian spirituality end up preaching a false soteriology and then devote themselves to a church that cursed God’s Gospel?
As a former Roman Catholic, I say until next time remember, it is still written:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9)

________________________________________________________________________
End Notes:
[1] Gary Thomas, Sacred Pathways [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000], 182.
[2] Ibid., 182-189.
[3] Ibid., 189.
[4] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06220a.htm, accessed 7/14/11.
[5] http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/brotherlawrence.htm, accessed 7/14/11.
[6] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06035a.htm, accessed 7/14/11.
[7] Gary Thomas, Thirsting for God: Spiritual Refreshment for the Sacred Journey [Eugene: Harvest House, 2011], 12.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid., 12, 14.
See also:
PROMOTING CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY/MYSTICISM OK IN SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION
SOUTHERN BAPTIST SOUL SHAPING RETURN TO RELIGIOUS BONDAGE
DISCIPLINES TO DECEPTION IN SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION
RICK WARREN, SADDLEBACK CHURCH, AND SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES
JOHN PIPER, RICK WARREN & FOSTER-WILLARDISM
SADDLEBACK CHURCH OF RICK WARREN USING ROB BELL TEACHINGS
CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY/MYSTICISM PRODUCES A FALSE SENSE OF REALITY

source: http://apprising.org/2011/07/14/dr-ed-young-promoting-contemplative-spiritualitymysticism-for-his-southern-baptists/

His Word His Way: THE REALITY OF REAL DISCIPLESHIP (PART 1)

2011-07-16T17:56:00.000-05:00

His Word His Way: THE REALITY OF REAL DISCIPLESHIP (PART 1): "THE REALITY OF REAL DISCIPLESHIP (Part 1) Matt. 10:24-33; Selected Scriptures Saiko Woods, Pastor-Teacher 1. Real disciples recognize..."

Read the Gospels: JC is not PC (John MacArthur)

2011-07-13T17:03:00.003-05:00

Let's be brutally honest: most of Jesus' teaching is completely out of sync with the mores that dominate our culture.
I'm talking, of course, about the Jesus we encounter in Scripture, not the always-gentle, never-stern, über-lenient coloring-book character who exists only in the popular imagination. The real Jesus was no domesticated clergyman with a starched collar and genteel manners; he was a bold, uncompromising Prophet who regularly challenged the canons of political correctness.

Consider the account of Jesus' public ministry given in the New Testament. The first word of his first sermon was "Repent!"--a theme that was no more welcome and no less strident-sounding than it is today. The first act of his public ministry touched off a small riot. He made a whip of cords and chased money-changers and animal merchants off the Temple grounds. That initiated a three-year-long conflict with society's most distinguished religious leaders. They ultimately handed him over to Roman authorities for crucifixion while crowds of lay people cheered them on.

Jesus was pointedly, deliberately, and dogmatically counter-cultural in almost every way. No wonder the religious and academic aristocracy of his generation were so hostile to him.

Would Jesus receive a warmer welcome from world religious leaders, the media elite, or the political gentry today? Anyone who has seriously considered the New Testament knows very well that he would not. Our culture is devoted to pluralism and tolerance; contemptuous of all absolute or exclusive truth-claims; convinced that self-love is the greatest love of all; satisfied that most people are fundamentally good; and desperately wanting to believe that each of us is endowed with a spark of divinity.

Against such a culture Jesus' message strikes every discordant note.

Check the biblical record. Jesus' words were full of hard demands and stern warnings. He said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" (Luke 9:23-25). "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26).

At one point an unthinkable Roman atrocity took the lives of many Galilean pilgrims who had come to worship in Jerusalem. Pilate, the Roman governor, ordered his men to murder some worshipers and then mingled their blood with the sacrifices they were offering. While the city was still reeling from that awful disaster, a tower fell in the nearby district of Siloam and instantly snuffed out eighteen more lives.

Asked about these back-to-back tragedies, Jesus said, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:2-5).

Ignoring the normal rules of taste, tact, and diplomacy, Jesus in effect declared that all his listeners were sinners in need of redemption. Then, as now, that message was virtually guaranteed to offend many--perhaps most--of Jesus' audience.

Those with no sense of personal guilt--including the vast majority of religious leaders--were of course immediately offended. They were convinced they were good enough to merit God's favor. Who was this man to summon them to repentance? They turned away in angry unbelief.

The only ones not offended were those who already sensed their guilt and were crushed under the weight of its burden. Unhindered by indignation or self-righteousness, they could hear the hope implicit in Jesus' words. For them, the repeated phrase "unless you repent" pointed the way to redemption.

From: http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/grace-to-you/read/articles/read-the-gospels-jc-is-not-pc-9614.html

Song for Sarah (Randy Stonehill)

2011-07-08T21:23:00.003-05:00

This means a lot to me. It was the first Christian song I ever heard, and it was shared by a very special guy in my life:

Why we Don't Hold Our Pastors Accountable?

2011-07-08T10:18:00.002-05:00

The church has had enough spin, denial and closed-door settlements. Leaders must demonstrate humility and repentance.

A few years ago a minister in my city went through a divorce, and the messy details of the settlement between the pastor and his wife were reported in our newspaper. But when the divorce was finalized there was no public statement. The man’s wife disappeared from the stage, her photo vanished from the church website and nothing further was said. Zip. Nada. No comment.

The message: It’s none of your business what happened between the pastor and his wife. He’s the anointed messenger of God. Just follow him.

Another pastor in my city stepped down from his pulpit briefly for unknown “indiscretions”—and then it became known that he had been carrying on an affair with a stripper from France. The man never resigned from leadership, and his wife eventually divorced him. Today, this preacher appears on Christian television, and he still has a following.

The message: Anointing is what’s important. Character is secondary. If a guy can preach the paint off the walls and get everyone shouting, then relax—it really doesn’t matter how he runs his personal life.

Then last month, Bishop Eddie Long of Atlanta settled out of court with four young men who had accused him of using gifts, trips and jobs to entice them into sexual relationships. The pastor of 25,000-member New Birth Missionary Baptist Church told his congregation last fall that he would fight the charges. But in late May, Long agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to the four men, and the terms of the agreement were sealed. The church said in a statement that the settlement was engineered “to bring closure” and that the congregation will now “move forward with the plans God has for this ministry.”

The message: Case closed. We are never going to tell you what happened. It really doesn’t matter whether your pastor committed serious sins.

Is this how we’re supposed to run a church? I don’t think so. Neither does Bishop Paul Morton, founder of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship and a former colleague of Eddie Long’s. Morton rebuked Long in a recent sermon and demanded that he come clean about what happened with his accusers.

Morton aired his public message to Long on June 19, saying: “If you have repented, show me some signs. Show me some humility. You can’t just come and tell me nothing. Tell me something. Those who have stood with you, tell us something. Tell your church something.”

The issue at stake here is crucial: Should a pastor who falls into serious sin—or who is just accused of a serious sin—respond publicly and address the charges? Does he need to be open with his congregation? Or does the Bible give him immunity? Does his standing as a Christian leader give him permission to hide his faults from view?

In the squirrelly world of independent charismatic churches, where accountability is sometimes a dirty word, some pastors think their ability to make people shout and swoon on Sunday mornings gives them a Get Out of Jail Free card whenever they commit a heinous sin. But I don’t see that concept in Scripture, especially when I read the Apostle Paul’s list of required qualities for church leaders in 1 Timothy 3. Notice these:

“An overseer must be … above reproach” (3:2, NASB). The King James Version translates this as “blameless.” That doesn’t mean leaders never sin. But it means his or her record is important. The Greek word is anepilemptos, which means “cannot be laid hold of; not open to censure.” In other words, if a man bilked people out of thousands of dollars, he’s not qualified to be in ministry now because his reputation would bring a reproach on the gospel. A Christian leader should not have a dark cloud of scandal hanging over his head.

“An overseer must be … the husband of one wife” (3:2). Christians have argued for years about whether this verse disqualifies people who have gone through a divorce. Regardless of that aspect, most scholars agree that the sense of the phrase means “a one-woman man”—in other words, sexually pure. Church leaders should not be involved in adultery, fornication, homosexual affairs, perversion or sex with minors. Period.

“An overseer … must have a good reputation with those outside the church” (3:7). Again, the inference here is that a leader’s past is important. If he is dragging the baggage of past marriages, children out of wedlock, rumored affairs or criminal activity, he has no business in the ministry unless those issues can be fully resolved.

“Deacons … must not be double-tongued” (3:8). While this qualification is mentioned for deacons in Paul’s list, I mention it here because we charismatics are the masters of spin. “Double-tongued” comes from the Greek word dilogos, which means “saying one thing with one person and another thing to another, with the intent to deceive.” Sound familiar? People who talk out of both sides of their mouths certainly cannot preach an uncompromised gospel. And liars cannot be trusted to give us the truth.

God has abundant mercy and forgiveness for all of us when we fail Him. But when a leader fails, he must walk through the humbling process of restoration—and this requires full confession, authentic repentance, willingness to accept discipline from others and the good sense to step out of the pulpit, when necessary, until he can be trusted again.

Repost from http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2011/July02/0251.html

Translation: Bible Cover in Portuguese

2011-07-02T16:41:00.001-05:00

Postagem em português.

I translated Lisa Hamblin's pattern (with permission) into portuguese. Photo shows my finished project from her pattern.

Link above takes you to the Portuguese post for this pattern or click
Download the free pattern in Portuguese. The original version is located on Lisa's site at Crochet n More

On Ravelry you can find it in Portuguese or English.

McGee on the End Times: Spiritual Condition of America

2011-06-30T09:16:00.000-05:00

What is the spiritual condition of America today?

Dr. David Reagan and I recently had the pleasure of asking this question of our old friend Evangelist Don McGee on the show Christ in Prophecy. Don is the founder and director of Crown & Sickle Ministries (Rev. 14:14) based in Amite, Louisiana. Don travels all over the Unites States preaching about the soon return of Jesus Christ and speaking at Bible prophecy conferences.

Dr. Reagan: Judge Robert Bork was a man who was nominated to be on the Supreme Court. It's a tragedy he didn't make it because he was just personally crucified. Judge Bork wrote a powerful analysis of American society in 2003 called, "Slouching Towards Gomorrah," in which he indicated that our nation like the Old Roman Empire was being destroyed by internal moral rot. Would you agree, and what would be your assessment of the spiritual condition of America today?

Don McGee: I think Judge Bork hit it just dead on. If that analysis was written today, it wouldn't be "Slouching Toward Gomorrah," I think it would be "A Headlong Fall Into the Morass of Evil." I believe that things have gotten much worse since he wrote that. We can see today that there are so many things which are contrary to God's nature and what He said about morality that are being put out there for acceptance by the public. We are not longer a God fearing nation.

I'm reminded of something that President Lincoln called for in the dark days of the Civil War. He called for a National Day of Prayer and Repentance. He said a lot of things in that call which you can pull up on the Internet and read what he said. One of the important points he made was that we have allowed our prosperity and our independence to propel us into a position where we think we've got everything. It's like we believe we've got a tiger by the tail on a downhill drag, meaning that we don't need to worry about God anymore. But, that is just not true.

Lincoln made that remarkable statement of his, and it basically attributed the whole Civil War as being due to our rebellion against God. He believed we needed to go to our churches and our synagogues and spend a whole day repenting and praying. I think if a President were to issue such a declaration like that today there would probably be an immediate move to impeach him. That's how far we've moved away. And, in a presidential election, I believe that if a candidate would stand up and say, "A National Day of Prayer and Repentance is what I will institute once I am inaugurated," I think that person would feel heat like no president ever has. I believe that he is going to see heat from different directions, too. He's going to see it from the Hollywood elite. He's going to see it from Wall Street. He's going to see it from Madison Avenue. He's going to see it from the Halls of Congress. But, more importantly, he's going to see it from a lot of so-called Christians.

Dr. Reagan: What are some of the indicators of moral rot in America today?

Don McGee: For one, the perversion of homosexuality being accepted as a normal lifestyle and as something that is genetically normal. Supporters of homosexuality even go as far as saying they're born that way, and that it is genetic and they can't do anything about it.

Dr. Reagan: Did you think you would ever live to see churches endorsing same-sex marriage?

Don McGee: When I was a young man I thought that would never happen. Not only are they endorsing same-sex marriages, but many of their leaders who are also practicing homosexuals and lesbians are being ordained as bishops and priests and preachers in direct opposition to God's Word. They pick a pig-path through the Scripture. They take scissors and they cut out what doesn't agree with them.

Nathan Jones: In cutting out the words of God that they don't agree with, they're acting as if Jesus isn't God and doesn't have anything to say about this sin?

Don McGee: Yes, how can you argue with the plain Word of God? In fact, these people don't even argue with it anymore because their hearts are so calloused. They just flat out reject it.

Then, there's the murdering of babies. No country can escape the wrath of God when they kill millions of little babies every year before they are even born. That is sin like other things are a sin, but to harm the innocent is from what I see in the Old Testament and in the New Testament when Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me," indicates to me that there is a special place in the great heart of God for the innocent.

Dr. Reagan: What about national debt? I consider that to be an immorality.

Don McGee: Stewardship is something that is taught throughout the Bible. Anytime you spend more then you take in, at least in my house, debt arises.

Dr. Reagan: What we are doing right now with out debt would be the equivalent to me going out and buying a fifty million dollar mansion and signing an agreement to pay for it over the next 200 years, putting that debt on my children, my grandchildren, and even my great-grandchildren. That would not be a moral action.

Nathan Jones: Years ago Japan passed something like an inheritance tax where their people could actually sign a contract like for a loan on a house and then pass that expense onto their grandchildren to pay for it. I remember we as a nation all got up in arms about the injustice of that tax when hearing of it, but now even ten years later we are doing the exact same thing to our children, we just don't point it out this time.

Don McGee: You can't make such debts yourselves at your house because you can't print money, but if you are the government then they can print as much money as they want, though it incurs debt and inflation.

Dr. Reagan: There are just so many signs of moral rot in America today. One of them certainly is vocabulary. I remember that in 1939 the first movie ever to have a curse word in it was Gone with the Wind. It was held up by the censors for several months because it had just one curse word in it right at the end. Today, you go to the average movie put out by Hollywood and the language is just absolutely overwhelming in terms of every horrible word you could possibly think of. We've become desensitized to cursing.

Don McGee: Absolutely! I just concur whole-heartedly. Recently I was in a family restaurant and there was a family of four: mom, dad, two kids. The language that was coming out of that father's mouth in front of his little children was absolutely atrocious, but he felt no problem using it.

Nathan Jones: Just go to the playgrounds. My kids play with other kids who swear like sailors. It sad that they are so young and you know they learned those words from their parents.

Don McGee: When I was a teenager, I didn't think girls burped. That was something they just didn't do, but I certainly knew that girls did not use that kind of language. Today, their mouths are as filthy as any sailor that I have ever heard. So, the weaker sex as it used to be called is no longer immune from that kind of degradation and foul language.

Dr. Reagan: We see a lot of moral decay has come from greed. Greed seems to be the motivating force in America today. No matter how much I've got, I've got to have more. This is certainly an indication of the moral rot of the nation. There are just so many signs of this decay. It's rather like the Old Roman Empire all over again in terms of its internal moral rot.

Don McGee: Another aspect of the decay is gambling. When you talk about gambling, you talk about a god. What you are doing is practical atheism. You are believing that you are in control of your life and that you are going to insure your future. You believe that what God has given you is not sufficient and so you've got to go out and get it some other way. For every one person that wins, a thousand people have to lose.

Dr. Reagan: One of the problems is that professing Christians are involved in all of this sin, too. If professing Christians would stop getting abortions, the abortion mills would have to close. If professing Christians would stop buying lottery tickets, they wouldn't have them. Because 85% of the people in America profess to be Christians, it could be argued that we are part of the problem.

Don McGee: Yes, I think that one of the reasons for this is because people really don't understand what "Christian" means anymore. It's become a cultural thing. They believe that since they were raised in a Christian home and went to church maybe once a year that they are a Christian. Cultural Christians claim that since their dad was a preacher or a deacon and their mom was a Sunday School teacher, then automatically they are a Christian.

Nathan Jones: What's sad about all this immorality, this not having the foundation of the Bible anymore, and I remember seeing it a lot especially during the 90's in songs by Alanis Morissette and others, is that after all this pleasure does not fulfill then apathy sets in. People have filled their lives with so much pleasure that never ever satisfies them that they end up becoming hopeless.

Dr. Reagan: That's a good point, Nathan, because most of our children today don't even know basic Bible stories like Adam and Eve and Moses. They don't even know the basic biblical concepts. They are quite biblically illiterate and so they have no moral basis upon which to make moral decisions. They have to turn to television which teaches you to solve all of your problems with violence.

In the next part of our discussion with Don McGee concerning the end times, we'll ask him why there are so many different end time viewpoints.

False Teachers! "Agony of Deceit" [Prosperity Gospel-Word of Faith]

2011-06-18T15:38:00.001-05:00

The abundance of false teachers is becoming so much more apparent, I don't know if it's the Holy Spirit showing me the wolves in my path, and He did this VERY clearly recently. I thank Him that I was able to see through the charlatan & I left that Church the very next week!

This video was powerful! James 3:1 says "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment." Until recently I meditated on this verse and wondered exactly what the "stricter judgment" referred to. I believe these false teachers lead many who are lost to reject the Gospel, they are greedy money grabbers who live in luxury, preach prosperity theology and Old Testament tithing..........thereby effectively leading the lost right to hell - and for that they will be severely judged by God.

Many of the false teachers and the heresies mentioned in the video below are often exposed on the site www.pulpit-pimps.org. Check it out, bookmark and and read it often. It will sharpen your skills at spotting a wolf in sheep's clothing.

ALL we have belongs to God. Giving is important, but as 2 Corinthians 9:7 teaches, it needs to be given with the right heart attitude "Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." However, we must be good stewards and not give to greedy and false teachers. That is not . You will find many of the ones mentioned in the video below living in luxury, check out Televangelists' Lifestyles.

The first rabbinically approved sacrifice in 1500 years has been performed in Israel

2011-06-13T20:59:00.000-05:00

It's been 1500 years since there has been a rabbinically approved sacrifice to take place in Israel and the rabbis did approve a Gentile who trained under the leadership of selected rabbis to perform the sacrifice of two turtledoves recently in Israel. The ceremony took place in the Jordan Valley near Jericho as a number of rabbis watched to make certain all Levitical laws were kept in the offering of these two doves.

There are a number of religious Jews that have been preparing for the building of the temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem who believe that Jews need to become accustomed once again to the offering of animals for the sacrifices called for when the temple is once again standing in Jerusalem.

Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News

A rabbinically approved sacrifice being performed in Israel is tangible evidence that Bible prophecy will be fulfilled. Since the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70AD there has not been an opportunity for Jews to offer any of the required sacrifices called for under Levitical law. Over the last 2000 years there have been several occasions in different parts of the world where rabbis would approve the offering of animals in sacrifice but nothing compared to the days when the temple was standing in Jerusalem. Recently a Gentile, one trained by a number of rabbis, performed a sacrifice of two turtledoves in the Jordan Valley near the Dead Sea, the first rabbinically approved sacrifice in 1500 years.

This is a part of a program to prepare the Jewish people for the restoration of the sacrificial system that is called for in the first 7 chapters in the book of Leviticus. Daniel 9:27 reveals that the sacrificial system will be restored when there is a temple in Jerusalem. Even the Messiah's temple described in Ezekiel 40-46 calls for sacrifices to be restored as a part of daily Jewish life. There will be two temples in the future for the Jewish people, one in the Tribulation period and then another in the time of the Millennial Kingdom of the future. In both of these temples, sacrifices will be made. In fact for the next temple all preparations have been made and its ready to be built in Jerusalem even right now.

A sacrifice made in Israel recently is indeed evidence that Bible prophecy will be fulfilled.

Zombie Killer Slouch (FREE Pattern)

2011-06-06T16:17:00.011-05:00

Recently we watched the hilarious movie Zombieland on TV. I don't know why we hadn't heard of it before, it's a RIOT!

Needless to say, when I saw the character Little Rock's simple slouch I immediately searched for some pattern like it. Found some which were close, but not close enough. So I made up my own. I wrote down the easy pattern and it's yours free. Enjoy! It's a fast 1-2 day knit on bulky weight yarn.

Zombie Killer Slouch
Download pattern FREE

V.2 is now published (link above). Only change is alternate decrease. The blue one did not look exactly like the one in the movie, so I reworked the decreases and gave you both options. The red one uses JUST over a skein of the Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky (yarn used for my hats), so if you run out of yarn you can simply frog back and do the blue hat decrease instead.

NOTE: I posted this link in a reply below but thought it best here for anyone else who might need it. A short video on How To End a Hat.

The One Foretold: Why Jesus is the long-anticipated Messiah

2011-05-04T09:33:00.000-05:00

The One Foretold
by Bob Mendelsohn on Wednesday, 04 May 2011 at 02:24
This taken from the Australian Presbyterian magazine March, 2011 by Bob Mendelsohn.

Why Jesus is the long-anticipated Messiah.
"These followers were so close... However, they were wrong on the critical point – it was not the rabbi from Brooklyn." "Many references in the Talmud counter the argument by modern rabbis that Isaiah 53 is about the Jewish people."

Ask Jewish people about their belief in a personal Messiah, and you will be met with an array of images from ultra- orthodox Jewish people circle-dancing in fur hats and long coats to people who reply dismissively, “If he (the Messiah) were going to come, he should have come long ago. It’s too late now.”
The idea of a Messiah is historically Jewish. However, it is remote to most Jews in Australia today. Seventy years ago, the idea of a messianic hope was wrapped up in anti-Hitler rhetoric. Hope of a coming Messiah became the hope of general salvation from the death camps. It also became mingled with hopes of the creation of the land of Israel.

Today, there is an ongoing dispute within Judaism over the meaning of “messiah”. For some within traditional Judaism, the Messiah is seen as an “anointed one” (the literal translation of the word “messiah”), descended through the line of King David, who will gather the Jews back into the land of Israel and usher in an era of peace.

Since about 1880, liberal Jews have equated the coming of the messianic age to a new, stable era of world peace. However, most of them do not believe that such an era will be associated with the sole rule of a personal Messiah.

A new development in Jewish messianism occurred in 1994. A rabbi died in Brooklyn, New York. That’s not exactly news, as there are half a million Jewish people who live in that borough of New York City – many of whom are rabbis. And each year many rabbis die. However, 1994 was different. Menachem Mendel Schneerson was the leader of the ultra-Orthodox sect known as the Lubavitcher chassidim, and some of his followers claimed, and continue to claim, that he was the Messiah.
When he died that summer, tens of thousands of his followers gathered in New York to honour him and to await his resurrection, believing that he would rise from the dead within four days. Why? The rabbis teach that the spirit of a man hovers over a corpse for three days (Genesis Kabbah 100:7) and on the fourth day, the spirit dissipates. So there, at his grave, throngs of people waited in anticipation of his rising, only to be disappointed, leaving with their heads hanging down on the fourth day.
These followers were so close. Yes, the Messiah would die! They were also right in another regard – the Messiah would rise from the dead before the fourth day. However, they were wrong on the critical point – it was not the rabbi from Brooklyn.

Jacob Neusner, in his book, Judaisms and Their Messiahs, reminds us that in Jewish tradition, the term “messianism” historically refers to “a man who at the end of history, at the eschaton, will bring salvation to the Israel conceived by the social group addressed by the way of life and worldview of that Judaism”. The Messiah would be anointed with holy anointing oil and would rule the Jewish people during the messianic age (the Hebrew word, mashiach – “anointed” – is the same as the Greek word Christos).
However, a difference has emerged between Jewish and Christian understandings of the Messiah. William Scott Green classifies “Jewish messianism as national, ethnic, political and material, while Christian messianism is universal, cosmopolitan, ethical and spiritual”.

Many Jewish people have claimed to be the Messiah, or have allowed others to tout them as such. They include:

Simon of Peraea, a contemporary of Y’shua (Jesus), a slave of Herod the Great, who rebelled against and was killed by the Romans.
Theudas, who had 400 followers. He was killed and the 400 dispersed.
Menahem ben Judah, another Jesus contemporary, son of Judas of Galilee, who took part in a revolt against Agrippa II before being slain by a rival Zealot leader.
Vespasian, c.70, according to Josephus.
Simon bar Kosiba (about 135 CE), led a Jewish revolt before being defeated in the Second Jewish-Roman War. Rabbi Akiba called him ‘Bar Kochba’ as a reference to his being Messiah (Numbers 24.17).
Moses of Crete (about 470), who convinced the Jews of Crete to attempt to walk into the sea to return to Israel, and disappeared after that disaster!
Serene (around 720), who claimed to be the Messiah and advocated expulsion of Muslims and relaxing various rabbinic laws. He was arrested and forced to recant.
Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676), an Ottoman Jew who claimed to be the Messiah, but then converted to Islam. He still has followers today in present day Turkey and the former Ottoman Empire.
Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), the chabad rabbi who tried to “prepare the way” for the Messiah. An unidentifiable number of his followers believe him to be the Messiah.

According to Green, “there are 38 times in the OT where the noun “mashiach” is used. It applies twice to the patriarchs, six times to the high priest, once to Cyrus, and 29 times to the Israelite king, usually Saul or David.”

Most Christians understand the mashiach, the future Israelite king, to be the Messiah, the Saviour Jesus. This is supported specifically in Psalm 2:2 where it states, “The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed.” Another such reference to the Son of God, Y’shua (the original Aramaic name for Jesus), is found in Psalm 45, which is also quoted in the book of Hebrews, “You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows” (Ps. 45:7, Heb. 1:9). The picture painted here is one of anointing, mirrored by the actions of Y’shua’s early ministry.

For example, this is evident in the first sermon Y’shua gave in the synagogue: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, Because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives, And freedom to prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18). The word “anointed” here is the word mashiach.

The most clear-cut biblical reference for a Messiah is found in Daniel. In chapter 9, verses 25 and 26 we read, “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and 62 weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the 62 weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.”

Here we see the messianic timeline laid out that indicates the time of the death of Messiah (“cut off ”). Maybe that’s why so many rabbis don’t allow their students to read Daniel 9 until they are 30 years old.
The most quoted biblical passage by Christians in support of the Messiahship of Jesus is Isaiah 53. While the word “messiah” is not used specifically, Jesus’ life, ministry, healing, crucifixion and resurrection are foretold. Nevertheless, some rabbis will counter that this is simply a reference to the Jewish people. Rabbi David Rosen in the book, The Christian and the Pharisee, writes, “for me it is obvious that Isaiah 53 refers to the children of Israel”. He continues, “our under- standing of what Isaiah is saying is that if one is chosen by God... then all that is hostile to the godly and the goodly will be hostile to you!”
Mordecai ben Samuel gave a sermon in 18th century Poland, called Sha’ar ha’malek. In it he gives an eloquent apology for itinerant preachers and identifies them with the suffering servant in Isaiah 53. “Let no one say that these emissaries go forth to speak only because of the coins they will be given. Certainly not! ...Therefore God arranges things so that they will be economically afflicted. It is as the verse says, ‘He is wounded because of our sins, crushed because of our iniquities’ (Isa. 53.5). God crushes them so that they will go forth in their need and serve as the world’s oars, bringing people toward the goal.”
The Targum Jonathan by Jonathan ben Uzziel (an early translation of the Biblical text, somewhat like the Living Bible to modern Christians) reads Isaiah 53 as “Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper.” While Rabbi DY Abarbanel did not agree with ben Uzziel, around 1500AD he wrote, “Jonathan b. Uzziel interpreted it in the Targum of the future Messiah, but this is also the opinion of our learned men in the majority of the midrashim.”

Even the Zohar, a Jewish mystical book, which dates to about 100-200AD, makes certain statements which “have an obvious reference to the Isaiah passage”. Arnold Fruchtenbaum says, “The Zohar in this quotation quotes from Isa. 53 and referred the passage to the Messiah himself. The passage further makes Israel distinct from the one referred to in the Isaiah passage.”

There are many other references in the Talmud that are available to counter the argument by modern rabbis that Isaiah 53 is about the Jewish people. Despite what Jewish writers may say today, there is a strong tradition within Judaism that regards Isaiah 53 as messianic and which points to an individual who suffers for His people.

The point is that Messiah is foretold through the record of the Older Testament, and we would do well to listen, learn and believe all that the prophets have spoken.

Jesus in Every Book of The Bible

2011-05-02T14:42:00.002-05:00

Super!

The Gospel According to Twitter

2011-04-30T10:05:00.002-05:00

Very cool!

Flower Child Preemie Cap (FREE Pattern)

2011-02-25T00:33:00.007-06:00

After pattern testing and valuable feedback, this pattern is now available in 2 sizes, link below.

Favorite or queue on Ravelry pattern page:
Flower Child Preemie Cap

Download FREE Pattern

Portuguese:
Boné Flôr Para Bebê Prematuro

Final pattern (Large: 11" circumference):

Finished pattern (Small: 9" circumference):

Rastaflorian Hat (FREE Pattern)

2011-02-22T13:58:00.012-06:00

Lately I've gone on a crochet kick, and my sweet friend Linda (Stoneybrooke Cottage) turned me onto her addiction to African Flower Hexagons. This turned into a pentagon, but rather preferred the asymmetry of it, and kept on designing.

The pattern directions for both a 'regular' slouch and extra-slouchy versions (all pictures shown in pattern are less slouchy).

Finishing options are regular (white hat shown) or picot (brown hat shown).

Enjoy this free pattern, favorite or queue it on the Ravelry pattern page.

Rastaflorian Hat

(FREE Pattern)

February Lady Sweater

2011-02-21T15:52:00.000-06:00

Mothers are special, and mine definitely is. In Exodus 20:12 God gives the commandment to "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you."Did you know that was the only commandment given with a promise attached to it?

Mom turned 81 years young last week. I her a February Lady Sweater, actually a vest because I ran out of yarn. I intended to make her sleeves but she liked it just this way!

The buttons are vintage cat’s eye buttons which HER dad wore on his vests back in the 1910's & 20’s and they match the yarn PERFECTLY!!!!!!!!! I had the exact number of buttons I needed (3).

Close up of buttons:She wore it out to lunch and then to Bible Study. It was a great day.

Basic Message of the Bible

2011-02-11T19:08:00.000-06:00

Do you know what the Bible is all about? This is it! I pray you have come to Salvation. If not, just watch this and see what it's all about. For Christians, this is also a good example of how to share Jesus with another.

What's Your INCONVENIENCE?

2011-02-03T10:14:00.000-06:00

This blind quilter is such an inspiration - I wanted to share this with you. She truly knows the secret to happiness, to, as the Apostle Paul said "LEARN to be content in whatever circumstances" (Philipians 4:11). She says (and proves) that blindness is not her handicap, but her "inconvenience".

Praise God for her and her encouragement!

Consistent Biblical Futurism (Part 4)

2011-01-21T10:52:00.002-06:00

By Dr. Thomas Ice
Pre-Trib Research Center

When one looks at the New Testament Epistles for specific prophecy relating to the current church age, there is virtually nothing to be found. The church age is not a time of specific prophetic fulfillment and does not have a specific prophetic countdown or timetable, as does Israel and her 70 weeks of years prophecy (Dan. 9:24-27). The only specific future event prophesied for the church age is its end found in the rapture of the church event (John 14:1–3; 1 Thess. 4:13–18). There are general descriptions that give us an idea of the trends of the church age, but there is not specific prophecy like that which is found in abundance to describe the tribulation period. The church age mainly has specific prophecy about its beginning (Acts 1 and 2) and its ending (1 Thess. 4:13–18). The general admonition that "evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Tim. 4:13) is characteristic of the Lord's revelation relating to the church age.

The Course of the Church Age

The current church age, in which believers live today, does have a general course or direction in which this dispensation is moving. First, James says in Acts 15:14:

"Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name."

The purpose of the present church age is to be a time of great Gentile salvation. This does not mean that there will not be Jewish believers during this age, because there is a remnant of Jacob throughout the church age which is added to Gentile ingathering in order to form the body of Christ. Ephesians chapter two teaches us that the Lord is taking the Jewish remnant and joining them with Gentile converts into one new man in which Jewish and Gentile believers are one, thus, coequal with Christ during the church age. However, when the last elect Gentile is saved whom the Father has chosen to be part of the body of Christ, then, as Paul says, "the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" (Rom. 11:25). Fullness in this context has the connotation of "full number of Gentiles." This means that when that last Gentile is converted to Christ, His body will be complete and the rapture will occur, ending the current church age.

The course of this age is given to Christians primarily by Christ's parables in Matthew 13 providing insight into the course of this dispensation. Since Matthew 13 surveys this present age in its relation to the postponement of the kingdom, the parables cover the period of time between Christ's two advents — His first and second comings. This includes the tribulation, second coming, and final judgment, after the rapture, but nevertheless includes an important overview of our present era. Therefore, the items that relate to the end of the age in Matthew 13 do not apply to the church age, since our dispensation will end via the rapture, while the broader inter-advent age continues with the tribulation and Christ's physical return to planet earth at the end of that seven-year period. How does Matthew 13 depict this age?

The parable of the sower (Matt. 13:1–23) teaches that this age will be characterized by the sowing of the gospel seed onto different kinds of soil. The sowing of the seed will receive opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil, resulting in various responses to the gospel message. The parable of the tares (Matt. 13:24–30) teaches that the true sowing will be imitated by a false counter-sowing, which will result in a side-by-side development as a result of the two sowings. Judgment at the end of the tribulation, at least seven-years after the conclusion of the church age will separate the two with the wheat entering the Messianic Kingdom and the tares being excluded. The parable of the mustard seed (Matt. 13:31–32) teaches that there will be an abnormal external growth of Christendom [1] until it becomes a monstrosity, which will become a resting place for birds, who are pictured as agents of Satan. Christendom has been for many years and remains the largest religion in the world today. The parable of the leaven (Matt. 13:33–43) teaches that false teaching, represented by leaven, will be introduced into this age resulting in corruption of doctrine. False teaching will grow until it permeates all branches of Christendom. The parable of the hidden treasure (Matt. 13:44) teaches that the treasure hidden is the field representing Israel. It teaches that there will be a remnant that will be saved out of Israel who is scattered around the world during the church age. Yet, there will be Jews coming to Jesus the Messiah during the current dispensation. Finally, the parable of the pearl of great price (Matt. 13:45) teaches that since the pearl originates in the sea and when the sea is used symbolically it represents Gentiles. Thus, the main point of this parable is that Gentiles will also come to a saving knowledge of Jesus as their Messiah. The last two parables in Matthew 13 do not relate to the church age, thus, they will not be dealt with.

The Last Days for the Church

The New Testament clearly speaks about the last days for the church. Note the use of the following terms that speak of the end of the current church age: "latter days" (1 Tim. 4:1); "last days" (2 Tim. 3:1; Heb. 1:2; Jam. 5:3; 2 Pet. 3:3); "last times" (1 Pet. 1:20; Jude 18); "last time" (1 Pet.1:5; 1 John 2:18). A number of New Testament Epistles clearly speak of the condition within Christendom near the end of the church age. Interestingly, virtually all of these comments come from the Epistles written shortly before the death of each Apostle writing (i.e., during the last days of the various Apostles), as if to emphasize the dangers latent during the church's last days. The following is a list of the seven major passages that deal with the last days for the church:

Every one of these passages emphasizes over and over again that the great characteristic of the end of the church age will be that of apostasy. Pentecost concludes:

"This condition at the close of the age is seen to coincide with the state within the Laodicean Church, before which Christ must stand to seek admission. In view of its close it is not surprising that the age is called an "evil age" in Scripture." [2]

The New Testament pictures the condition within the professing church at the end of the age by a system of denials.

Denial of God — Luke 17:26; 2 Timothy 3:4-5
Denial of Christ — 1 John 2:18; 4:3; 2 Peter 2:6
Denial of Christ's return — 2 Peter 3:3-4
Denial of the faith — 1 Timothy 4:1-2; Jude 3
Denial of sound doctrine — 2 Timothy 4:3-4
Denial of the separated life — 2 Timothy 3:1-7
Denial of Christian liberty — 1 Timothy 4:3-4
Denial of morals — 2 Timothy 3:1-8,13; Jude 18
Denial of authority — 2 Timothy 3:4 [3]

Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, founder and first president of Dallas Theological Seminary, characterized the last days for the church in the following way:

A very extensive body of Scripture bears on the last days for the Church. Reference is to a restricted time at the very end of, and yet wholly within, the present age. Though this brief period immediately precedes the great tribulation and in some measure is a preparation for it, these two times of apostasy and confusion — though incomparable in history — are wholly separate the one from the other. Those Scriptures which set forth the last days for the Church give no consideration to political or world conditions but are confined to the Church itself. These Scriptures picture men as departing from the faith (1 Tim. 4:1-2). There will be a manifestation of characteristics which belong to unregenerate men, though it is under the profession of "a form of godliness" (cf. 2 Tim. 3:1-5). The indication is that, having denied the power of the blood of Christ (cf. 2 Tim. 3:5 with Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 1:23-24; 2 Tim. 4:2-4), the leaders in these forms of righteousness will be unregenerate men from whom nothing more spiritual than this could proceed (cf. 1 Cor. 2 :14). [4]

The clear course of the last days for the church consists of constant warnings to the believer to be on guard against doctrinal defection, otherwise known as apostasy. Apostasy means "the abandonment or renunciation of a belief or principle." [5] When one scans the New Testament for how apostasy or departure from the faith is used, we see that it relates to departure from sound doctrine and godly behavior. Such a characteristic provides for the Christian today a clear sign that the end of this present age is near.

Conclusion

Even though specific prophecy is not given concerning the present church age, we have seen that the New Testament does paint a general picture of the course of this age. We learn that the purpose of this age is to preach the gospel throughout the world, knowing that there will be various responses to the message. As the church starts out small, like a mustard seed, it will nevertheless grow into a large tree where birds will come and dwell in its branches. Thus, the larger that Christendom grows the more apostate it will become. So we see that these general trends will continue until that last person is saved and then the rapture will end the church age, preparing the way for Antichrist and the tribulation. Maranatha!

The Sequence of Pretribulation Events

2011-01-14T18:40:00.003-06:00

The Sequence of Pretribulation Events (Biblical and Sound)...based on teach of Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum (Ariel Ministries):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZAhNvA3QlY&feature=player_detailpage

Thankful Most of All for My King!

2010-11-25T09:51:00.000-06:00

A well-known video (below).....do YOU know Him?

On this Thanksgiving Day, I've given a lot of thought to what I have to be thankful for.....there are many things I WANT (not NEED Luke 12:29-34.....it would be a sin to focus on those). The greatest gift is that Christ died for your sins. John 3:16

Read Through the Bible in A Year in 2011

2010-11-23T10:18:00.001-06:00

I once used this Bible in a year program from my Ryrie Study Bible and loved it. There are many other plans out there, but this has been my favorite by far. If you are interested in joining me in reading through it in 2011, feel free to download the PDF and I will attempt to post notes as often as possible.

I scanned this from my own Bible, so it has notations, highlights, etc.

Read Through the Bible in a Year (PDF)

John MacArthur Rebukes Joel Osteen

2010-11-13T10:43:00.000-06:00

Think It Thru: Is Christianity Jewish?

2010-10-27T19:14:00.000-05:00

Dr. Michael Brown answers the question:

Think it Thru: Is Christianity Jewish? from RealMessiah.com on Vimeo.

Why Does God Allow Evil?

2010-10-20T14:32:00.000-05:00

Why DOES God allow evil? Listen to Alan and learn the Truth.

יהוה Shadow / Illusion Scarf (FREE Pattern)

2010-10-02T14:40:00.011-05:00

יהוה Shadow Scarf

יהוה = Yahweh in Hebrew.
1 Chronicles 16:11
Seek the LORD (יהוה) and His strength; Seek His face continually.

In shadow knitting you have to search for the pattern, you can only see it at a certain angle. When you look at the scarf head on it looks like a plain striped scarf.

Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. - Isaiah 55:6

PDF of pattern

(free download)

The Holy Spirit in the Believer's Life

2010-09-20T14:44:00.000-05:00

In John MacArthur's recent podcast (7/31/10) sermon titled Boldness in Prayer he explained in great detail the TRUE blessing a Christian has in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I don't most of us understand the importance of that nearly enough! We flippantly say "walk in the Spirit" but do you know what that really means?

An excerpt below, because he cited SO many important passages! In italics was added by this blogger.

Do you understand that everything that has happened to you as a believer is a product of the work of the Holy Spirit? And at this point we could go into what’s called pneumatology, the study of the Spirit.

As a sinner you were convicted by the Holy Spirit, John 16:13, that’s how you came to understand your sin
When you confessed Jesus as Lord, you did it because of the Holy Spirit. “No man confesses Jesus as Lord but by the Holy Spirit,” 1 Corinthians 12:3
You received the knowledge of God’s truth from the Holy Spirit because it’s only the Spirit that knows the things of God, 1 Corinthians chapter 2, “The natural man doesn’t understand them.”
You were given liberty from the law of sin, the law of death by the Holy Spirit. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is,” 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “there’s liberty.”
You were sealed to eternal life by the Holy Spirit, Ephesians 1:13
You walk in righteousness by the Spirit, Romans 8
You were baptized into the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12, literally immersed into His life and power
You are indwelt by the Spirit, 1 Corinthians 6:19 and 20
You are filled with the Spirit, Ephesians 5:18
You are gifted by the Holy Spirit, 1 Corinthians 12
You’re given godly virtues by the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5
You’re empowered by the Spirit for evangelism, Acts 1:8
You are constantly prayed for by the Spirit, Romans 8, who makes groanings which cannot be uttered interceding for you
You are sanctified by the Spirit, 2 Thessalonians 2
You are made like Christ by the Spirit from one level of glory to the next, more and more like Christ, 2 Corinthians 3:18
You have hope in the Spirit, Romans 8:23. The Spirit is the arrabon [in Greek the "downpayment", the "earnest-money"], the guarantee, the down payment, the engagement ring of your future eternal glory

In summary, when the Lord gave you the Holy Spirit, He gave you everything, absolutely everything. “By His presence, by His power, by His grace we are permanently the possessors of everything we need and so much more that He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can...what?...ask or think.” You have more resource in the Holy Spirit than you can even imagine. It’s all over the top, the whole passage. God gives you more in giving you the Holy Spirit, then you could ever possibly understand. That’s why the prayer also of Paul was that God would give us the Spirit of wisdom and knowledge that we would understand what we have. And it’s to those who ask. You ask and He doesn’t give you what is the Spirit’s, He gives you the Spirit.

John MacArthur (Grace To You Ministries)
CD
Online at Oneplace.com
Transcript at biblebb.com

The Sequence of Pretribulation Events

2010-08-30T13:57:00.001-05:00

The Sequence of Pretribulation Events is based on the writings of Dr. A. G. Fruchtenbaum (Ariel.org).

Pray For Our Nation

2010-08-18T13:10:00.000-05:00

The Bible explicitly teaches us to pray for our leaders ..... and as Paul taught, prayer should be "without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Prayer isn't something we as Christians should "restort" to in need, in hard times, it's a constant part of our intimate relationship with the Lord.

We must remember as Christians that the Bible tells us that all authority is put in power by God (Romans 13:1-8), AND that we are to pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-2) - kings, presidents, governors, etc.

God's word also teaches us that He uses kings/governments as instruments to punish His children. He did it to Israel & Judah. In fact, I was surprised to read in Isaiah 45:1 God Himself referring to King Cyrus of Persian (a pagan king who took Judah into Babylonian captivity) as God's "anointed", meaning he was doing God's work by punishing His people. The original word in the Hebrew is Strong's H4899

מָשִׁיחַ

mâshı̂yach

maw-shee'-akh

From H4886; anointed; usually a consecrated person (as a king, priest, or saint); specifically theMessiah: - anointed, Messiah.

If that doesn't surprise you, it should!

God never leaves us wondering, He tells us exactly why He did it.............. "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God I will gird you, though you have not known Me; That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me.I am the LORD, and there is no other"

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