Thankful Most of All for My King!

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

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

Think It Thru: Is Christianity Jewish?

Dr. Michael Brown answers the question:


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

Why Does God Allow Evil?

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

יהוה Shadow / Illusion Scarf (FREE Pattern)

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

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

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

Pray For Our Nation

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"

ANTI-Christianity Today

Christianity Today's Anti-Christianity Today

By T. A. McMahon 
The Berean Call 

According to the online encyclopedia Wikipedia.org, "Christianity Today [CT] is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, IL. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming readership of 290,000. The founder, Billy Graham, stated that he wanted to 'plant the evangelical flag in the middle-of-the-road, taking the conservativetheological position but a definite liberal approach to social problems.'

"Today it, and its 13 sister publications, reach well over 2 million readers in its traditional paperbound form, and more than 10 million pageviews per month in their Internet form."

It was right after I became a born-again Christian more than thirty years ago that I encountered my first copy of Christianity Today. Having grown up Roman Catholic, my appetite for anything evangelical was ravenous. Yet even in those early years of my faith, there were things that I read in that magazine that troubled me. I recognized, in Mr. Graham's own words, "a definite liberal approach to social problems" in the promotion of "Christian" psychological counseling (see TBC, July 1999).

Of even more concern, however, were articles that clearly favored Roman Catholicism. This was disconcerting for one who had recently been delivered from the bondage of the false gospel of Rome. I remembered also reading an old quote from Billy Graham, which he had spoken nearly a decade before he started CT. He declared that "The three gravest menaces faced by orthodox Christianity are Communism, Roman Catholicism, and Mohammedanism" (Plains Baptist Challenger, March 1984). Incredibly, years later, among CT's contributing editors and writers were Roman Catholics, including Catholic priest Richard John Neuhaus. It was Neuhaus, along with CT editors Chuck Colson, J. I. Packer, Timothy George, Thomas Oden, Richard Mouw, and Mark Noll, among others, who formed, were promoters of, and/or were signers of "Evangelicals and Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium." Their news release proclaimed:

"[L]eading Catholics and evangelicals are asking their flocks for a remarkable leap of faith: to finally accept each other as Christians....[E]vangelicals including Pat Robertson and Charles Colson joined with conservative Roman Catholic leaders today in upholding the ties of faith that bind [them]....They urged Catholics and evangelicals...to stop aggressive proselytization of each other's flocks."

The Catholic bias of CT is reflected in the modus operandi of Graham's crusades: they were, and continue to be, publicized and subsidized by eachCatholic diocese where they take place. Additionally, the crusades continue to be outfitted with Catholic counselors who guide those Catholics that "come forward" to return to their local Catholic churches.

The list of Catholic luminaries celebrated by CT includes popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II (Graham told Larry King that he and the pope "agree on almost everything"), Mother Teresa, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, Buddhist/Catholic monk Thomas Merton, and mystic Catholic priest Henry Nouwen. Catholic mysticism is further promoted by CT contributing editor Richard Foster, who is the godfather of the modern contemplative/mystical (read "Eastern") movement within evangelical Christianity.

It seems that no voice that advances apostasy has been omitted from CT's list of contributing editors or writers: Ron Sider, President Obama's leftist theologian; Notre Dame professor Mark Noll; Eugene Peterson (who wrote his own bible called The Message); Eastern Orthodox followers Frederica Mathewes-Green and Bradley Nassif; former executive editor Terry Muck (who writes of his love for the Buddha); Leith Anderson (who promotes the experiential over the propositional, i.e., that emergent experience trumps doctrine); and psychology and Bible integrationist Eric L. Johnson, to name but a few.

All of this leads us to Christianity Today's senior managing editor, Mark Galli, and his article of July 15, 2010, titled "Divine Drama Queen," which is his characterization of the God of the Bible. We've reprinted here extensive excerpts of CT's God-demeaning/man-exalting article (albeit reluctantly, due to its wicked content) as further evidence of this "evangelical" magazine's continuing slither into the last days' apostasy. What Galli has written is CT's latest installment of corrupting the faith, generated from decades of undermining the Word of God and distorting the God of the Bible. Editor Galli makes this so obvious that what he writes needs few comments on my part. Nevertheless, his writing is in italics, and my words appear in brackets and regular type:

I like a tranquil, even-keeled, self-controlled God. A God who doesn't fly off the handle at the least provocation. A God who livesone step above the fray. A God who has that British stiff upper lip even when disaster is looming.

When I read my Bible, though, I keep running into a different God, and I'm not pleased. This God says he "hates" sin. Well, he usually yells it. Read the prophets. It's just one harangue after another, all in loud decibels. And when the shouting is over, then comes the pouting.

Take his conversation with Hosea....He orders Hosea to take a prostitute for a wife; she becomes a symbol of Israel's unfaithfulness to God. This is no down-on-her-luck-but-with-a-heart-of-gold prostitute like those so often portrayed in movies. This is some sleazy woman who, even when given a chance at a decent life, keeps "whoring."

God then tells Hosea to have children with this woman. When the children are born, he tells Hosea to call the first Jezreel, explaining, "I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel." The second, God calls No Mercy, because "I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all." The third he calls Not My People, "for you are not my people, and I am not your God" (Hosea 1:1-9).

This God is like the volatile Italian woman who, upon discovering her husband's unfaithfulness, yells and throws dishes, refuses to sleep in the same bed, and doesn't speak to him for 40 days and 40 nights.

[I refrained from drawing conclusions up to this point on my first reading of this article because I suspected that Galli would indicate his own misunderstanding of God. I guessed wrong. This is the kind of blasphemy that one would expect from militant atheists and humanists, such as Richard Dawkins, or foul-mouthed, Christ-mocking comedians like Bill Maher. It is total blasphemy - a mischaracterization of God as well as a denigration of His perfectly holy character.]

We may think this a crude depiction, except that Jesus - God with us - seems to suffer the same emotional imbalance. He rants about Pharisees and Scribes - or "snakes" and "hypocrites," as he calls them. So upset is he over sacrilege in the Temple, he overturns tables and drives people out with a whip. And then we find him lamenting, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate!"(Matthew 23:37-38). This God knows nothing about being a non-anxious presence. This is a very anxious God, indeed.

[It's difficult to restrain anger here. The Creator of the universe, the sacrificial Lamb of God, who paid the full penalty for our sins, and His Father, who sent Him to the Cross for our sake - they suffer from "emotional imbalance"?! They - whose Word tells us to be anxious for nothing - they are anxious?]

I'd rather have a God who takes sin in stride. Why can't he relax and recognize that to err is human. I mean, you don't find us flawed humans freaking out about one another's sins. You don't see us wrathful, indignant, and pouting. Why can't God almighty just chill out and realize we're just human?

[Has the reader been manipulated by Galli into fleshing out his own similar thoughts about God? Will he now set the record straight?]

It's that little phrase, "we're just human," that may be the rub with God. Sin seems to be a big deal to God because apparently we're a big deal to him. That little phrase, "we're just human," signals that we may not be as big a deal to ourselves....[God] believes that to be human is to be destined for glory. As Peter put it, he has "called us to his own glory and excellence," that we "may become partakers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:3-4).

[So much for repenting of the character assassination of God the Father and God the Son. Instead, Galli panders to mankind's self-image, dangling before us the "glory" of humanity. He then leads the reader to the next step, self-deification - the same lie that Satan offered to Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:5).]

That's right: he [God] thinks "just humans" can become nothing less than gods. Not in the sense of beings who should be worshipped, but beings who have become, in the fullest sense, bearers of the image and likeness of their Creator....He created beings with deep awareness of themselves and their Creator, who could envision the absolute heights they could scale and the perfect love they could enjoy, and who knew they could have all this forever and ever....

[Nowhere in Scripture do you find the word "god" (with a lowercase "g" ) ever used to denote a righteous person or entity.]

...And yet God gambled. He has thrown everything into this grand enterprise. He made the creation of these beings not a matter of course or compromise, but a matter of life or death. Everything was on the line with this roll of the dice. To win meant for these creatures a bliss that only God knows. To lose meant death and eternal destruction. There was no holding back. God was going to make human glory a winner-take-all proposition, even if it killed him.

[God gambled? Does he mean that God doesn't know how things will turn out? This is the heresy of Open Theism, which denies God's omniscience - denies that He is the God of prophecy as He proclaimed in Isaiah 46:9-10: "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done...."]

So when things start going south, we find him throwing dishes and slamming doors....God rants at us as an Olympian curses himself for losing concentration during a crucial part of the race. Or as a novelist chastises herself for lazy writing. For the righteous perfectionist (versus the neurotic perfectionist), every detail matters. God wants nothing less than perfection, because he knows that perfection is the only way for us to become what he created us to become: godlike.

[Galli must be having flashbacks to his college Greek mythology classes. At least I hope that's his excuse. Of course, he could plead insanity. How much more irrational could one be than to posit a "righteous perfectionist" who throws dishes, slams doors, rants, and curses himself. Again, this is unashamed blasphemy. It is anti-Christianity from Christianity Today.]

When the stakes are so high, of course, the consequence of failure, even in the smallest detail, spells disaster. It's like a space shuttle - one of the most sophisticated and marvelous of machines - crashing to earth because of a faulty oil ring. When God sees the space shuttle hurtling toward its destruction, he weeps, he rants, he pulls his hair out. And something inside him dies. Our God cares about us frail, fickle, weak human beings because he knows something we often forget: we're not "just human." He'll go to any length to get us to grasp and live into our glory, even if it kills him.

[Our glory? What about the glory of God that Galli has dragged through the gutter of his paganized imagination?]

This is why the Bible traffics in such dramatic language. There is nothing cautious, careful, or reasonable about the human enterprise. It's about being lost or saved. Living in darkness or in light. Knowing despair or being filled with hope. Death or life. The Bible is not interested in a religion that merely improves the human condition, or makes life manageable. It's not about success or happiness or helping us all get along. These are paltry aspirations. No, what God wants is to raise the dead and make gods out of sinners.

[No! Once again, that was Satan's goal.]

So what we have, for better or worse, is a melodramatic God. He yells and throws dishes, and walks off in a huff, slamming the door behind him-and then he turns around and gives his life for us. In a foreshadowing of Jesus, he says to Israel through Hosea: "How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel?...for I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath" (Hosea 11:8-9). He's anything but calm and collected, reassuring and reasonable. He's as mercurial as gods go.

[God is] like the crazy uncle in the family. At some point, you have to let your friends know about him, but you'd just as soon avoid having to introduce him.

I much prefer reasonable religion with reasonable expectations, and a God who doesn't get bent out of shape every time his people trip up. But then again, I don't love as God loves. Not God. Not others. Not myself.

[So, are we to suppose that Galli was just trying to get our attention with his blasphemies for effect? Did we misunderstand his "literary cleverness"? No. What he paraded before us was a mockery of God akin to what Jesus suffered from those who gathered to watch Him being crucified and to what every God-hating humanist has since voiced.]

The road to hell is paved with reasonable religion with a non-anxious god. Most days, I'm pretty happy driving down that road. But I keep running into this Crazy Fellow along the way. At every stop light, he jumps up and down to get my attention. He pounds on my window asking me where the heck I think I'm going. He stands on the front bumper, shouting at me to turn around. When all else fails, he throws himself in front of the car. He's such a drama queen.

[Galli is "pretty happy" driving down the road to hell? God is a Crazy Fellow? God is a Drama Queen? I have two suggestions: 1) Send your reaction to Galli's article to the founder and honorary chairman of CT, Billy Graham, noting what seems to be the ultimate degeneration of what he started, and 2) Pray for Mark Galli, that he will repent. "[Regarding the wicked] there is no fear of God before his eyes" (Ps 36:1).

(Billy Graham's address: BGEA, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, NC 28201)

Hebrew Translation & Meaning of Books of the Bible

ENGLISH TRADITION	HEBREW TRANSLITERATION	TRANSLATION
Genesis	B'resheet	In the Beginning
Exodus	Shemot	Names
Leviticus	V'yakra	And He Called
Numbers	B'midvar	In the Desert
Deuteronomy	Devarim	Words or Things
Joshua	Yehoshua	Yah Saves
Judges	Shoftim	Judges
1 Samuel	Shmuel Aleph	Heard by God - One
2 Samuel	Shmuel Bet	Heard by God - Two
1 Kings	Malachim - Aleph	Kings - One
2 Kings	Malachim - Bet	Kings - Two
Isaiah	Yesha'yah	Yah is Salvation
Jeremiah	Yirmi'yah	Yah Lifts Up
Ezekiel	Y'chizki'el	God Strengthens
Hosea	Hoshea	Yah Save
Joel	Yo'el	Yah is God
Amos	Amos ("Ah-mose")	Burden Bearer
Obadiah	Oved'yah	Servant of Yah
Jonah	Yonah	Dove
Micah	Mikhah (shortened of "Mikhayah")	Who is Like Yah
Nahum	Nachum	Comforter
Habakkuk	Chav'kuk	Embracer
Zephaniah	Zefan'yah	YAH hides
Haggai	Chagi	My Feast
Zechariah	Zachar'yah	Yah Remembers
Malachi	Malakhi	My Messenger
Psalms	T'hilim ("Te-hee-leem")	Praises
Proverbs	Mashali	My rule/wisdom
Job	Yob ("Yobe")	Hostility
Song of Solomon	Shir Hashirim	The Song of Songs
Ruth	Rut (Moabite)	Chained/Welded
Lamentations	Akhah	How?
Ecclesiastes	Kehilat	Community
Esther (Babylonian: "a star")	Hadasah	Myrtle Tree
Daniel	Dani'el	God is My Judge
Ezra	Ezra	Help
Nehemiah	Nacham'yah	Yah Comforts
1 Chronicles	Davari Hayamim - Aleph	Word of the Ages - One
2 Chronicles	Davari Hayamim - Bet	Word of the Ages - Two
1 Maccabees	Makabim - Aleph	Hammers - One
2 Maccabees	Makabim - Bet	Hammers - Two
Matthew	Matit'yah - ha'Levi	Gift of Yah - the Levite
(John) Mark	Yochanan-Makabi	Yah Enables - the Hammer
Luke	Ur	Light
John	Yochanan	Yah Enables
Acts of the Apostles	P'yilut Hashaliachim	Activity of the Sent Ones
Romans	[no Hebrew]
1 & 2 Corinthians	[no Hebrew]
Galatians	[no Hebrew]
Ephesians	[no Hebrew]
Philippians	[no Hebrew]
Colossians	[no Hebrew]
1 &2 Thessalonian	[no Hebrew]
1 & 2 Timothy	[no Hebrew]
Titus	[no Hebrew]
Philemon	[no Hebrew]
Hebrews	Mashiakim Yehudim	Messianic Jews
James	Ya'akov	Heel of Yah
1 & 2 Peter	Kefa - Aleph v'Bet	Stone - One & Two
1 & 2 & 3 John	Yochanan  - Aleph v'Bet v'Gimmel	Yah Enables - One & Two & Three
Jude	Y'hudah	Praise With Hands Lifted
Revelation	Hagilu Natan Elohim	The Revelation Given of God

Half the Israeli Public Wants to See Holy Temple Rebuilt

Half the Israeli Public Wants to See Holy Temple Rebuilt Written: 07-18-2010 Rapture Forum Staff: Chris Sometimes while viewing the vast landscape of the current news and events in the world, you see an article that really stands out screaming that Bible prophecy is lining up as the Bible foretold. Today while searching the news headlines I came across one such news article that seemed to do that. This article was a news report from the Israel National Newswebsite that indicates that half the Israeli public wants to see the Third Jewish Temple built. The INN article reports: Half the Israeli public wants the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash) to be rebuilt. This is the main finding of a poll commissioned by the Knesset Television Channel and carried out by the Panels Institute. The poll was taken in advance of this Tuesday’s national day of mourning, known as Tisha B’Av, on which the two Holy Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed, 2,000 and 2,500 years ago, respectively. The article went on to break down the statistics of the polls which showed: Forty nine percent said they want the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, while 23% said they do not. The remainder said they were unsure. The public is about evenly split on whether they believe it will happen, with a slight edge – 42% to 39% – to those who believe the Third Holy Temple will be rebuilt. Should the State of Israel take active steps towards the reconstruction? Forty-eight percent said no, while 27% said yes. The poll has some very interesting results that show that the majority of Israelis are in favor of building the Third Temple, but for one reason or another do not think time is right for following through on the construction of it. While we know that many preparations for the building of the Temple itself and the construction of the ancient temple vessels have been ongoing in recent years by the Temple Institute and Temple Mount Faithful, the fact remains that that the Jewish people have decided that time is not right to build the Third Temple but it does appear that it could be close at hand. I believe that students of Bible prophecy should be able to see a subtle shift in Jewish thinking about the Third Temple. It seems to me that as Israel finds itself up against the wall in the international community as well as being surrounded by hostile enemies, that the spiritual side of the Jewish people is beginning to awaken and look towards God more. However, I believe this "awakening" is in the early stage and will fully manifest itself when the Israelis win convincing future conflicts with their enemies in the prophecies concerning Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, and Ezekiel 38-39. I believe that this spiritual awakening is what will cause the Jewish people to demand that a Third Temple be built and that a return to Old Testament style worship will be reinstated. We are told in the Book of Daniel that there will be a Third Temple during the end times in which the future Antichrist will erect his abomination of desolation and declare himself to be god on earth. This abomination of desolation will eventually lead to the cutting off of Old Testament style animal sacrifices and as a result will start the time known as the "great tribulation". The Bible warns the Jewish people to flee to the mountains (Petra) to the place God has prepared for them so they can wait out the final half of the seven year tribulation period. But before these things happen, Israel must be spiritually awakened and demand a Third Temple in order to resume their Old Testament style worship. The Bible tells that when the Ezekiel 38-39 war occurs that the Jewish people and the entire world will know that the Lord saved them and as a result will have their spiritual flame lit again. Eze 38:23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I [am] the LORD. Eze 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not [let them] pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I [am] the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. Eze 39:23 And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. Currently Israel is approximately 90% secular, with only about 10% being religious. This imbalance will need to change drastically in order for a Third Temple to be built in Jerusalem and I believe that the event that will do it is the Ezekiel 38-39 war of Gog and Magog, when the Russians lead a moslem coalition on an invasion of Israel from the north. Right now the Middle East news is dominated by the soured relationship between Israel and Turkey. This relationship has been going downhill for a while now but recently hit rock bottom with the May Gaza flotilla crisis. I believe that we are seeing the setup for Turkey to fall into the hands of the Gog and Magog coalition, if they have not already done so by now. For a long time Turkey cooperated with Israel on the economic and military fronts, but since the inception of the radical Islamic led government of Turkish PM Erdogan, Turkey has been on the fast track to cutting ties with Israel. They have for a long time been the only Islamic country to hold close ties with Israel. But all of this is changing and pretty fast might I add. This is why students of Bible prophecy will need to remain fixated on the Middle East region as things continue to grow tense with each passing day. With time running out to stop the Iranian nuclear program, Israel faces threats on all sides as well as from afar. This is a time in history when the friends of Israel need to support her more than ever. Please continue to join with me in praying for Israel and for the peace of Jerusalem. Until next time, stay tuned!! God bless.

Lord, I Need a Miracle

So many of us may be feeling very much like Jan described in her newsletter this morning, so I wanted to share it in its entirety.

Lord, I Need a Miracle
By Jan Markell
www.olivetreeviews.org
July 15, 2010

Every one of us has said that! You need a miracle! You're not alone. So my column is going to stray from news. I am going to reveal some personal things, which is not always the best idea.

 

However, as I write this, I am supposed to be undergoing a 10-hour surgery that would require one year before life would have been normal again. I have dealt with pain beyond description since March. So I have to thank many of you for praying for me these last few weeks since that was made known. Prayer made the difference.  The pain diminished about 98% in the last 2 weeks and the surgeon canceled the procedure -- a gruesome one to say the least! 
I would also ask that at this time advice not be sent back to me. I am still trying to process all that has happened, and there could be more mountains to climb down the road. In other words, I continue to ask for your prayers. Because of the uncertain future, we are leaving up the Caring Bridge page posted here. If it is taken down, it won't be by us. Please save my office staff further pressures. Check that link rather than e-mailing or calling here. We've all had a rough ride since March and this will save my staff further pressures. 

 

When trying ordeals happen, we often first ask, "Why me, Lord?" Well, why not? The Bible reminds us that all believers will suffer, be it persecution, betrayal, or affliction. We see Paul wrestling with his "thorn." I suspect you who are reading this have gone through your own personal "dark night of the soul." You may be there now. That's the real reason I am writing this -- not to reflect on me but to focus on you. The ordeal doesn't have to be physical. It is any kind of a difficult time for you that you think will never end. You want someone to walk along side you for comfort and counsel. You have trouble even reading the Bible some days. You are overwhelmed. And our trying times today, worldwide, don't help. 

 

I understand. I labored for 20 years with  "chronic fatigue syndrome" until the Lord just took it away in the summer of 2000. You can read about that ordeal and related thoughts and issues in my 1993 book published by Baker Book House, Waiting for a Miracle.

 

I have learned that affliction and trials transform lives, either for good or for bad. They will make you or break you.  God is speaks to us through our pain. He can use it to make us more aware of Him. The symphony He is working out includes minor chords, dissonance, and tiring fugal passages. But those of us who follow His conducting through these early movements will, with renewed strength, someday burst into song!

 

Affliction is not bashful. It shows itself in spite of our best efforts. The reason wellness is one of the greatest gifts is that affliction will sap our energy, make us irritable, strain our relationships, cloud our plans for the future, and totally occupy our thoughts. The affliction becomes a full-time job, for it goes with us wherever we go. And the world of the "well" just cannot understand, particularly if we look good. It's those pesky invisible diseases that are so frustrating. You just know people think you look so good you must be making some things up! You want to scream but perhaps your body aches so that won't work!

 

God seldom gives us a long-range view of our journey through this darkness that He wants to use for our good. We wonder what lies ahead. Is our livelihood at stake? Will our family abandon us? Will our financial resources run out? Will we be deemed hypochondriacs? Will anybody understand? Will we lose everything? Some learn from the heroes of Hebrews 11. We hear them relate their experiences, tell of the darkness of their night, and disclose some of the humanly impossible situations they found themselves in. I think of the words of Spurgeon who said, "I learn more from the fire, hammer and chisel than to anything else in my Lord's workshop."

 

The most tempting thing for those who hurt is to feel that God has abandoned them. God does not "send" illness to a specific person. He doesn't have a weekly quota of malignant tumors, sick spines, and weak hearts to distribute. He doesn't consult a computer to find out who deserves a certain affliction and who could handle it the best. I take comfort in what Paul Billheimer says in one of the best books ever written, Don't Waste Your Sorrows. His brilliant conclusion is that we are in training for reigning and this is part of that process! Does that help?

 

At this office we hear from a lot of people who are afflicted, disappointed, confused, anxious, hurting, and scared. God promises that in spite of your shattered dreams right now, He wants to build a new foundation out of your brokenness. He says, " 'For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not harm you; plans to give you hope and a future' " (Jer. 29:11). And if you are feeling devastated, He promises to restore the years the locusts ate (Joel 2:25).

 

Many of these thoughts in this column have been taken from my book Waiting for a Miracle. I am not featuring it to make a sale. The book has helped tens of thousands of people through tough times. Right now, only Olive Tree Ministries carries it. Many say it is more helpful than a doctor's appointment and the best prescription they have taken.

 

If God can heal me of a 20-year illness and keep me off of yesterday's operating table, He has some kind of miracle for you as well. No, I don't hold to the theology that everyone will be healed. That is all a mystery. Whatever your heartache, remember that the past and the present must never be a measure of your future. God desires that you leave the future to Him while you mind the present and hang on to some of His promises.
There are no easy answers. Those of you who suffer, remember that under the beating of the rain there are springing up spiritual flowers of such fragrance and beauty as never before grew in the unchastened life. We see the rain; Lord, help us smell the flowers.

 

Again, for updates on my situation, visit Caring Bridge.Thank you for your prayers. I wish I could say that to each one of you individually. I will in Heaven. Won't it be grand? We won't even remember affliction, trials, testing, pain, and sorrow. Bring it on. Come, Lord Jesus.

 

Get acquainted with "Understanding the Times" radio. We air live out of Minneapolis/St. Paul onAM980 KKMSand AM1280 "The Patriot," Saturday, 9  to 11 a.m. CST. You can "listen live" at those Web sites.

 

Here are our other airing outlets. 

 

For podcasting via iTunes, visit this link.

 

All live Saturday programming is posted to our Web site at"Radio Archives" Sunday evening.

 

Brannon Howse sat in for me last weekend. Check the programming here. I return to the microphone this weekend in spite of an announcement that I would be out for 2-3 months.

 

God is good!

The World is Turned Off by Christians

Ghandi was once asked what was the greatest barrier to Christianity in India, his answer in a word: "Christians".  His entire quote I believe was "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. If Christians would really live according to the teachings of Christ, as found in the Bible, all of India would be Christian today." I think that applies to the entire unsaved world. Hypocrisy is the greatest barrier to an unsaved person, practice [religion] as I say, not as I do! I am not innocent of this, we all do it but as with any other sin, until we admit it, repent of it and ask the Lord to change our hearts, we will continue in the sin of hypocrisy. Thereby missing opportunities, often completely unaware, to plant the seed of the truth of the Gospel and the Savior Yeshua.

Jesus greatly admonished the religious leaders of His day regarding this. Jesus WAS the the most unreligious (in today's secular parlance read that "religiously incorrect" person who ever lived.

In a recent online discussion 2 interesting questions were posed which are usually brought up by non-Christians......

Question 1: If God’s Word is inspired and Jesus not even one “jot or tittle” will fall away, why are there so many translations?

Question 2: If the Church is supposed to “be one” how come there are so many churches claiming to be the right Church?

This can be answered with one word, but I will elaborate, as always from Scripture.

Answer: Man

The answer to both questions is quite simply fallible, sinful man. As Bible Believers, we can disagree on certain doctrinal issues (regarding Question 2), but never the redemptive work and person of the Lord Jesus Christ. THAT is the most important thing!

Q1: The jot & tiddle is referring to the smallest parts of the Hebrew alphabet’s letters, what amounts to parts the size of an apostrophe which can make a difference. A jot on the edge of a letter canges that letter entirely, such as the tail added to a ‘P’, making it an ‘R’. Therefore; all those versions of the Bible are man-made, i.e. man’s interpretation and re-interpretation of the original texts. Some of them are quite dangerous, if not Satanic! ………Which is why it’s important to stick to the versions which are closest to the original Hebrew & Greek texts…..by my research those are the KJV/MKJV, as well as the ASV1909 and the NASB which might be called the Modern ASV1909.

Q2: Again, man-made divisions. Paul said in 1 Cor. 1:12-13 ”Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”………….So setting aside cults and false teachings such as Mormonism entirely, because they are false religions maskerading as Christianity……….those “divisions” (I’m talking the mainline reformed, denominational churches Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian types of denominations) come from men deciding they needed a “new” way of worshipping which while still accepting and teaching Jesus Christ as Lord (assuming those DO, I am not an expert on denominational churches). Division were created by men who wished to do certain things differently, such as child baptism (Presbyterians), assert certain dress codes, etc. Man-made decisions and/or basing their differences on 1 or 2 verses of Scripture, often misunderstood or taken out of context entirely........NOT at all commanded or instructed in God's word, the 66 books of the Holy Bible.

Deuteronomy 4:2 says ”“You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” The Jewish religious leaders did that from the OT times, adding to the burden of the people:

Jesus was the most UNreligious person to walk this earth, the religous establishment of the time (correlates to todays organized denominational church) was all about adding to God’s word, and taking away the purity and simplicity of the worship of the Living God. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 ”But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”

Luke 11:46 Jesus said: ”“Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.” Lawyers here is in the original text Greek text νομικός = nomikos an expert in the (Mosaic) law:) - i.e. the Scribes and Pharisees.

Matt 23:15 Jesus said: ”“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

Matt 16:5 Jesus said: ”“Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”” - leaven, signified sin in the OT and He was referring to all the rules (about 5000) that the Pharisees added to their laws.

Mind you Jesus WAS referring to the only religious authority of His time, the Pharisees……which frankly I see being identified more and more to our money & power-hungry so-called “evangelical” churches every day. In NT we read in James 3:1 a warning, if you’re going to teach God’s word, don’t teach falsehood, water it down, nor mix your own 'leaven' into it - because at the judgment seat of Christ you will be judged more harshly!: ”Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.”

In fact, ADDING to God’s word/restrictions was aparent even before original sin, no doubt contributing to it. We see Eve, just before eating the forbidden fruit stating to the serpent in Genesis 3:2-3 ”The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it , or you will die.’””…..God didn't say don’t touch it. What He said in Genesis 2:16-17 was ”The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.””…..notice though he said that to the man, NOT the woman, so some commentators have speculated that Adam was not doing his job as the spiritual leader of the family because he must not have correctly taught her what God had told him. But that’s another post and important subject altogether.

The Gulf Oil Spill And The Second Trumpet Judgment

Some Christians are starting to speculate whether the BP Oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico relates to Revelation 8:8-9:

⁸ The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood,

 ⁹ and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed.

The answer is simple, the Scriptures are clear, the answer is NO! God's word is clear and this spill, as huge and damaging as it is right now, is not that large. The proof however, is the fact that and those Trumpet Judgments will come after the Rapture of the Church, to judge the unbelieving............ And that very soon.
2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 

 ⁶AND YOU KNOW WHAT RESTRAINS HIM NOW, SO THAT IN HIS TIME HE WILL BE REVEALED.

 ⁷FOR THE MYSTERY OF LAWLESSNESS IS ALREADY AT WORK; ONLY HE WHO NOW RESTRAINS WILL DO SO UNTIL HE IS TAKEN OUT OF THE WAY.

 ⁸Then 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;

Maranatha!

The Gulf Oil Spill And Rev. 8

Q. I’m curious about your thoughts on the current gulf oil spill being a fulfillment of the prophecy in Revelation 8:8-9?  It certainly sounds like a verse by verse description but I’m wondering if it is in conflict with any other biblical references?  I ask this because I understood the church would be raptured before God’s judgments.  Thanks for your insight!

A. You’ve answered your own question.  Because the Gulf oil spill has come before the rapture of the Church, it has also come before the End Times judgments begin.  Also, if you look at the area covered by the spill, it’s only a small portion of the Gulf of Mexico, which in itself is only a small portion of Earth’s sea.  Rev. 8:8-9 says one third of the sea will be turned to blood. Therefore, as big as it seems now, the Gulf oil spill is only a very, very small sample of what’s coming.