River Forum

20 Questions: Disputing Eternal Security

2010-04-19T18:40:00.000-04:00

1. Why Endure if you are Eternally Secure?

Matthew 10:22

2. How can the Eternally Secure who know God and willfully walk away from Him denying Christ, not escape his wrath?

Romans 1:18-32

3. Why should the Eternally Secure "patiently continue in well-doing"?

Romans 2:7-8

4. Are the Eternally Secure continuously obedient?

John 15:14

5. Why should the Eternally Secure remain diligent in God's Word at all?

Hebrews 2:1-2

6. Can the Eternally Secure neglect their salvation and escape the wrath of God?

Hebrews 2:3

7. Why must the Eternally Secure person "take up his cross daily"? Shouldn't it be enough that person picked it up once to be saved? After all, why should the Eternally Secure person need to go back to the cross at all, having gone once?

Luke 9:23

8. Can the Eternally Secure person sin and not die?

Genesis 3:4

9. Can the Eternally Secure person or church have their minds so deceived by Satan as to lose their salvation?

2 Corinthians 11:3

10. Can the church, the collective of Eternally Secure people, be conquered in this world?

Matthew 11:12

11. Can someone rob a Christian of their salvation?

Revelation 3:11

12. Peter Denied Christ. Was he Eternally Secure?

Matthew 10:33

13. Can we deny Christ and maintain that we are Eternally Secure, having once professed Him?

2 Timothy 2:12

14. Can one know God, exhibit no fruit, and yet be Eternally Secure by their profession of Faith?

Luke 9:16

15. Is one "Once Saved, Always Saved?"

2 Peter 2:20-22

16. Can one be saved from the world and still partake of it without risk to salvation?

Luke 9:62

17. What happens if "We" (the elect) deny Christ or refuse to suffer for his Name?

1 Timothy 2:12

18. Can we continue to sin and expect that our Eternal Security will keep us saved?

Hebrews 10:26

19. Can people who have been sanctified for salvation lose their salvation? Can they be totally lost? Or are those who have partaken of salvation and who deny Christ still Eternally Secure?

Hebrews 6:4-6

20. Will all professing Christians make it to heaven?

Matthew 25:1-13

Christian Heavy Metal?

2010-04-19T18:22:00.002-04:00

I'm writing this as one who used to front a heavy metal band before salvation, played in church, and who now plays original christian rock music.

The real barometer is, "Does it magnify your flesh?" or "Does it magnify God?"

If you want to reflect Christ in your music, then you need to reflect him in your presentation. The Character of Christ. Screaming like Sepultura, Mastadon, Testament, etc is confusion. If, at first listen, you cannot understand the lyrics, it is confusion. If the music is too dissonant without enough resolution, or simply thrashes on like a drone.. you get into repetition, and invite an almost chant-like mindset that can open the spirit up to the demonic a la Maryln Manson's Beautiful People.

The main thing is that with most harder rock, Christ is not glorified.. the musicians are.... but that is not limited to genre.
If you have ever watched Michael English sing on TBN, that is probably one of the best examples of self-glorification in music.
The bible teaches us that no flesh should glory in the sight of God. Music and worship were the office of Lucifer before it was given to the church. Music has a way of bringing the inner psyche of a person to a place where it can be easily manipulated. Even our churches abuse this principle when they contrive services toward a specific end like an alter call or tithes and offerings.

But, if the aim of the music is to express the angst of the human condition in song or lyric, then the music itself as reflecting that problem should also direct the listener to the solution through resolution both musically and lyrically.

Leaving one at the end of a song with the same feeling of angst, anger, rebellion, as when it began only fuels that mindset and helps lock the person into that disposition. There are two types of christian music in my mind. The first brings people to the cross and the second maintains them there. If we are bringing more secular reconciliation music to the unsaved, then the message of salvation should be present. Our goal should be to craft music that addresses where a person is at and then through that music help them progress to a place where they are at least one step closer to the cross and reconciliation.

Music as ministry and music as entertainment are two different animals.

I play ministry music, and I play secular music that is family friendly that entertains but still contains threads of the human condition and a pointer to the cross or to get someone to deal with a tough issue like loss, woundedness, etc...

We are supposed to put off anger, malice, hate, as works of the flesh...
Jesus didn't express hatred even toward the devil. And the Angels did not bring railing accusation against him.

Are we entitled as children of God to walk in anger, rebellion, malice... EVEN if against sin? No.

We are to follow peace with all men. Blessed are the peacemakers...

Does the music help someone acheive peace? Or does it only discuss the problem and emotion without a true solution?

Pay with a wave of your hand? Implantable Chips on MSN.COM

2009-09-19T15:08:00.000-04:00

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/FinancialPrivacy/pay-with-a-wave-of-your-hand.aspx

An implantable chip could allow you to charge purchases or even start your car. It'd be convenient, to be sure. But would it be too creepy?

It's a simple concept, really: You inject a miniature radio frequency identifier the size of a grain of rice between your thumb and forefinger and, with a wave of your hand, unlock doors, turn on lights, start your car or pay for your drinks at an ultrachic nightspot.

RFID hacks

The problem is, the whole concept is a little geeky for most of us, nauseating for some, Orwellian for a few and even apocalyptic for a smattering of religious fundamentalists.

Forget the science of it -- and yes, it does work remarkably well. Forget the convenience of it. Forget that similar identifying technologies, from bar codes to mag stripes, overcame similar obstacles and are now ubiquitous.

Radio frequency ID implants face a hurdle the others did not: ickiness.

"There is sort of an icky quality to implanting something," says Rome Jette, the vice president for smart cards at Versatile Card Technology, a Downers Grove, Ill., card manufacturer that ships 1.5 billion cards worldwide a year.

How RFID devices work
The RFID technology is un-yucky, however. The implanted tag -- a passive RFID device consisting of a miniature antenna and chip containing a 16-digit identification number -- is scanned by an RFID reader. Once verified, the number is used to unlock a database file, be it a medical record or payment information. Depending upon the application, a reader may verify tags at a distance of 4 inches up to about 30 feet.

The RFID implant has been around for more than 20 years. In its earliest iteration, it provided a convenient way to keep track of dogs, cats and prized racehorses. Few took note or voiced much concern.

Then, in 2002, Applied Digital Solutions (now Digital Angel) of Delray Beach, Fla., deployed to its foreign distributors a beta version of its patented VeriChip technology for human use. Two years later, the VeriChip became the first subcutaneous RFID chip to receive FDA approval as a Class 2 medical device.

One VeriChip distributor in Spain sold the concept to the ultratrendy Baja Beach Club, which offered its patrons in Barcelona and Amsterdam the option of having an implant inserted in their upper arms to pay for their drinks without having to carry wallets in their swimsuits.

Judging by the ensuing outrage, you would think VeriChip had given the pope a wedgie.

'Mark of the beast'?
Web sites sprouted like mushrooms, accusing VeriChip of being the biblical "mark of the beast" predicted in the Book of Revelations as a foreshadowing of the end of the world.

CEO Scott Silverman was equally vilified as being tied to Satan or, worse, Wall Street. Big Brother was surely coming, though he'd have to get pretty close to read your implant. Claims that the tags cause cancer based on lab rat tests upped the amps of outrage.

Were people suddenly curious about RFID implants?

"Curiosity is probably an understatement," Silverman concedes. "People have always taken interest in VeriChip. Part of the lore and part of the trouble of this company over the past five years has been just that."

Though VeriChip played no part in using its implant as a payment device, the company quickly moved to calmer waters. Today, it markets its VeriMed Health Link patient identification system to help hospitals treat noncommunicative patients in an emergency. Its future may include more advanced medical applications, including a biosensor system to detect glucose levels.

"A lot of the negative press that we received was a direct result of people having a misconception of what this technology is all about," says Silverman. "We believe that the medical application was and still is the best application for this technology.

"That said, if and when it does become mainstream and more patients are utilizing it for their medical records or for diagnostic purposes, if they want to elect to use it for other applications, certainly they'll be able to do that. But it's going to take a company much larger than us to distribute the retail reader end of it into the Wal-Marts of the world."

Versatile's Jette has watched contactless RFID battle for acceptance in the credit card arena. Just as Silverman suggests, the dynamics and scale of the payment industry tends to work against widespread deployment.

"Mobil Speedpass tried to do it; they got some traction and decided to see if there was any mileage to take this to a Walgreens or McDonald's. You used to be able to use your Speedpass at McDonalds, but that ended because, at the end of the day, you still only have two gigantic payment processors out there, Visa and MasterCard," he says. "To me, the idea of any kind of payment device having ubiquity requires an awful lot of back-end cooperation, of people willing to say, 'I don't need my brand in the customer's wallet.'"

Although the coolness factor is effective from a marketing standpoint -- American Express Blue with its smart (if largely unused) chip is a good example -- Jette says most cardholders would balk at the very thought of a needle.

"With the implanting in the nightclubs, there is a cache of exclusivity there, especially among a certain demographic where people are piercing themselves and getting tattoos. But those are things that really only 20-somethings do a lot. I really doubt that there will be any market for injectable RFID tags or even any single point-of-sale payment device."

Video: Protect yourself against credit, debit card hackers

"A lot of times, the technology is a solution looking for a problem. Sometimes people fall in love with the technology for its own sake and then try to evangelize a home for it. My business group is just smart cards, and I never forget that although we make money with smart cards, the bills are paid with mag stripe cards. As backwards and old-fashioned as they are, that is still the bulk of what the transactions are going to be in America for a very long time."

This article was reported by Jay MacDonald for CreditCards.com.

Pay With a Wave of Your Hand: Articles from creditcards.com

2009-09-19T15:04:00.001-04:00

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/rfid-chips-convenient-but-creepy-1273.php

Implantable credit card RFID chips: convenient, but creepy
By Jay MacDonald

It's a simple concept, really: You inject a miniature radio frequency identifier the size of a grain of rice between your thumb and forefinger and with a wave of your hand unlock doors, turn on lights, start your car or pay for your drinks at an ultrachic nightspot.

Radio frequency identifier (RFID) chips are so tiny they can be injected under the skin -- and here are 12 cool ways that the technology has been put to use.

The problem is, the whole concept is a little geeky for most of us; nauseating for some, Orwellian for a few and even apocalyptic for a smattering of religious fundamentalists.

Forget the science of it -- and yes, it does work remarkably well. Forget the convenience of it. Forget that similar identifying technologies, from bar codes to mag stripes, overcame similar obstacles and are now ubiquitous.

RFID implants face a hurdle the others did not: It's icky.

"There is sort of an icky quality to implanting something," says Rome Jette, vice president for smart cards at Versatile Card Technology, a Downers Grove, Ill., card manufacturer that ships 1.5 billion cards worldwide per year.

How RFID devices work
The RFID technology is un-yucky, however. The implanted tag -- a passive RFID device consisting of a miniature antenna and chip containing a 16-digit identification number -- is scanned by an RFID reader. Once verified, the number is used to unlock a database file, be it a medical record or payment information. Depending upon the application, a reader may verify tags at a distance of four inches up to about 30 feet.

The RFID implant has been around for more than 20 years. In its earliest iteration, it provided a convenient way to keep track of dogs, cats and prized racehorses. Few took note or voiced much concern.

Then, in 2002, VeriChip Corporation of Delray Beach, Fla., deployed to its foreign distributors a beta version of its patented VeriChip technology for human use. Two years later, the VeriChip became the first subcutaneous RFID chip to receive FDA approval as a Class 2 medical device.

One VeriChip distributor in Spain sold the concept to the ultratrendy Baja Beach Club, which offered its patrons in Barcelona and Amsterdam the option of having an implant inserted in their upper arm to pay for their drinks without a wallet bulging their bikini bottoms.

Judging by the ensuing outrage, you would think VeriChip had given the pope a wedgie.

'Mark of the beast'?
Web sites sprouted like mushrooms, accusing VeriChip of being the biblical "mark of the beast" predicted in the Book of Revelations as a foreshadowing of the end of the world.

CEO Scott Silverman was equally vilified as being tied to Satan, or worse, Wall Street. Big Brother was surely coming, though he'd have to get pretty close to read your implant. Claims that the tags cause cancer based on lab rat tests upped the amps of outrage.

Were people suddenly curious about RFID implants?

"Curiosity is probably an understatement," Silverman admits. "People have always taken interest in VeriChip. Part of the lore and part of the trouble of this company over the past five years has been just that."

Though VeriChip played no part in using its implant as a payment device, the company quickly tacked to calmer waters. Today, it markets its VeriMed Health Link patient identification system to help hospitals treat noncommunicative patients in an emergency. Its future may include more advanced medical applications, including a biosensor system to detect glucose levels.

A lot of the negative press that we received was a direct result of people having a misconception of what this technology is all about.

-- Scott Silberman
VeriChip CEO

"A lot of the negative press that we received was a direct result of people having a misconception of what this technology is all about," says Silverman. "We believe that the medical application was and still is the best application for this technology."

"That said, if and when it does become mainstream and more patients are utilizing it for their medical records or for diagnostic purposes, if they want to elect to use it for other applications, certainly they'll be able to do that. But it's going to take a company much larger than us to distribute the retail reader end of it into the Wal-Marts of the world."

Jette has watched contactless RFID battle for acceptance in the credit card arena. Just as Silverman suggests, the dynamics and scale of the payment industry tends to work against widespread deployment.

"Mobil Speedpass tried to do it; they got some traction and decided to see if there was any mileage to take this to a Walgreens or McDonald's. You used to be able to use your Speedpass at McDonalds, but that ended because, at the end of the day, you still only have two gigantic payment processors out there, Visa and MasterCard," he says. "To me, the idea of any kind of payment device having ubiquity requires an awful lot of back-end cooperation, of people willing to say, 'I don't need my brand in the customer's wallet.'"

Although the coolness factor is effective from a marketing standpoint -- American Express Blue with its smart (if largely unused) chip is a good example -- Jette says most cardholders would balk at the very thought of a needle.

"With the implanting in the nightclubs, there is a cache of exclusivity there, especially among a certain demographic where people are piercing themselves and getting tattoos. But those are things that really only twentysomethings do a lot. I really doubt that there will be any market for injectible RFID tags, or even any single point-of-sale payment device."

"A lot of times, the technology is a solution looking for a problem. Sometimes people fall in love with the technology for its own sake and then try to evangelize a home for it. My business group is just smart cards, and I never forget that although we make money with smart cards, the bills are paid with mag stripe cards. As backwards and old-fashioned as they are, that is still the bulk of what the transactions are going to be in America for a very long time."

See related: 12 cool uses of RFID chips, Contactless credit cards 'floundering', Cell phone + contactless credit card = Yak, wave, buy, 'Contactless' credit cards spark concerns for data privacy

Published: August 5, 2009

Concordant Church Positions on Tongues as the Evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost

2009-09-02T02:45:00.011-04:00

PENTECOSTALISM (FROM WIKIPEDIA):

Estimated to number around 115 million followers worldwide in 2000, Pentecostalism is sometimes referred to as the "third force of Christianity." Pentecostal and Charismatic church growth is rapid in many parts of the world. The great majority of Pentecostals are to be found in developing countries although much of their international leadership is still in North America.

LYCOS
http://www.lycos.com/info/pentecostalism--world.html
Pentecostalism was estimated to number around 115 million followers worldwide in 2000; lower estimates place the figure near to 22 million (eg. Cambridge Encyclopedia), while the highest estimates apparently place the figure between 400 and 600 million. The great majority of Pentecostals are to be found in Developing Countries (see the Statistics subsection below), although much of their international leadership is still North American. Pentecostalism is sometimes referred to as the "third force of Christianity." The largest Christian church in the world is the Yoido Full Gospel Church in South Korea, a Pentecostal church. Founded and led by David Yonggi Cho since 1958, it had 780,000 members in 2003. The True Jesus Church, an indigenous church founded by Chinese believers on the mainland but whose headquarters is now in Taiwan.

(YEAR 2000 ESTIMATED ADHERENTS WORLDWIDE) Wikipedia

Catholic 1,200,000,000
Eastern Orthodox: 210,000,000
Pentecostal: 133,000,000
Baptist: 105,000,000
Lutheran: 87,000,000
Anglican: 82,000,000
Oriental Orthodox: 75,000,000
Methodism: 75,000,000
Reformed: 75,000,000
Non-Denominational Evangelical: 40,000,000

2000 RECENT PENTECOSTAL STATISTICS FROM WIKINFO.ORG

African...........................41.1 Million
South American....................32.4 Million
North American....................21.5 Million
Asian.............................15.3 Million
European...........................4.3 Million
Oceania............................3.3 Million

Ethiopian Outpouring:

Modern figures are distinctly higher as Pentecostal churches
have the highest growth rate of any Christian sect.

Pentecostals & Charismatics in Latin America
............................................1900 1970 1990 2005
Pentecostals and Charismatics (in millions) 0.01 12.6 118.6 156.9
Pentecostals and Charismatics
as % of Total Population.....................0.0 4.4 26.9 28.1
Source: World Christian Database

200 Filled in the Phillipines

Apostolic Churches

"In order to obtain salvation, we believe that an individual must be born of the water and of the Spirit by being baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and being filled with the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance"

Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ (AOLJC)

"SALVATION consists of deliverance from sin through the blood of Christ. This is accomplished by REPENTANCE from sin, WATER BAPTISM IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST for the remission (forgiveness) of sins, and receiving the BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, and the continuance of a godly life"

Assembly of God (AG)

"The baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance. The speaking in tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues, but is different in purpose and use."

Church of God

"In speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance and that it is the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost."

Church of God in Christ (COGIC)

"that tongue-speaking is the consequence of the baptism in the Holy Ghost with the manifestations of the fruit of the spirit"

Four Square

"We believe that the baptism in the Holy Spirit empowers believers to exalt Jesus, to live lives of holiness, and to be witnesses of God’s saving grace; we expect the Spirit’s incoming to be after the same manner as that in which He came upon believers in the days of the Early Church"

Full Gospel Churches International

"We believe that the speaking in tongues is the initial evidence that one has received the gift of the Holy Ghost."

International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC)

"We believe that the "initial" (or first) evidence of the reception of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is the speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance"

Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW)

"Presently, there are more than 193,000,000 Pentecostals world-wide. Out of that number, 20,000,000 are oneness Pentecostals whom we call Apostolics. When we examine the move of God through the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we understand why we are called the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World.."

Pentecostal World Fellowship (PWF)

"that for the salvation of lost and sinful man regeneration by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ is absolutely essential;
in the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance according to Acts 2:4, and in the operation of the spiritual gifts and ministries.
in the ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life;"

United Pentecostal Church

"Another reason why God chose other tongues as the initial sign of receiving the Spirit is that speaking in tongues is a uniform evidence. It applies to everyone, regardless of race, culture, or language."

Outpouring in Mexico

Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship

“Being baptized in” or “with”, “being filled with”, and “receiving” the gift of the Holy Spirit are all synonymous biblical phrases which describe the same experience. Luke’s description of this phenomenon is: “They were all filled with Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues (languages) as the Spirit gave them utterance,While there are a number of signs that are recorded as accompanying the infilling of the Holy Spirit, the normative New Testament experience upon the initial receiving of the Holy Spirit included speaking with other tongues. (Isaiah 28:11,12, Mark 16:17, Acts 2:4 10:48, 11:14, and 19:6, I Corinthians 14:14, 15, 18). Speaking in tongues in Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6 and the gift of tongues as explained in I Corinthians 12 and 14 are the same in essence, but different in use and purpose."

OTHER MINISTRIES

Billy Cole

Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN, or The 700 Club)

Now, having asked and received, begin to practice the power of the Spirit. An ideal place to begin is where the first apostles did, praising God in a new language. To do this, begin praising God out loud in whatever words come to you. Tell Him how much you love Him. Thank Him, worship Him, and yield your voice to Him. Now let Him give you new words of praise you never heard before. Praise Him with those words, too. You'll find that thiscan be a very rewarding experience of communication with God that will build up your faith. Continue to pray to God each day in the language that the Holy Spirit has given you. But this "prayer language" is just one of the gifts that God wants to give you through the baptism in His Spirit.

Joyce Meyer Ministries

"The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift from God. He helps empower the believer to develop the character of Christ and live every day in God's will." ... "The Holy Spirit's gift of tongues has not passed away--and every Christian should be open to it. " ..."when we pray in tongues, we are assured that we are praying as we should because the Holy Spirit is praying through us..."

John Osteen's Experience (father of Joel Osteen)

Dad continued by showing John the various scriptures dealing with the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. John began to see that receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues was scriptural, and he therefore had faith to receive this outpouring. Mom and Dad laid their hands on Osteen, and he was filled with the Spirit and spoke in other tongues.

Reinhard Bonnke - Christ for All Nations (CFAN)

Re-generation by the HOLY SPIRIT is essential for personal salvation.
The redemptive work of Christ on THE CROSS provides healing for the body in response to believing prayer. The BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who ask for it, with the evidence of "speaking in tongues". In the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is able to live a HOLY LIFE.

Kenneth Hagin

"The Baptism in the Holy Ghost is a gift and is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues"

Pastor Dan Dean of Phillips, Craig, and Dean

"We believe that in order to live the holy and fruitful lives that God intends, we need to be baptized in water and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church."

HILLSONG CHURCH STATEMENT OF FAITH:

"We believe that in order to live the holy and fruitful lives that God intends for us, we need to be baptised in water and be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit enables us to use spiritual gifts, including speaking in tongues."

Allan Anderson for the Cambridge University Press:
"An Introduction to Pentecostalism: Global Charismatic Christianity"

Pentecostal churches constitute the fastest growing group of churches in Christianity today, representing already a quarter of all Christians worldwide (1). Depending on the definition, the global number of Pentecostal adherents may range from about 250 million to over 500 million (11–12).

Rev. David Yonggi Cho's South Korean Yoido Full Gospel Church -
The Largest Church in the World(over 700,000 members):

""Full Gospel" is literally taking the Bible and accepting fully and totally all that is in the Bible, to revitalize the faith and fullness of the Holy Spirit as was done in Pentecost." ... "The two most visible, outward signs of the Holy Spirit baptism are the speaking in tongue and truly effective witnessing. When the gift of the Holy Spirit (the outward signs) and the fruit of the Spirit (inner signs) continue to be manifest, it is called the filling of the Holy Spirit."

Smith Wigglesworth

Smith Wigglesworth got to a point in his walk with God where he said, “I cannot rest any longer, I must have these tongues.” A woman in the faith replied, “Brother Wigglesworth, it is not the tongues you need but the Baptism. If you will allow God to baptize you, the other will be alright.” When she rose up and laid her hands on Smith, the fire of God fell. Wigglesworth cried out, “The fire’s falling.” Wigglesworth said of the experience:

“Then I saw that God had purified me. It seemed that God gave me a new vision, and I saw a perfect being within me with mouth open, saying, ‘Clean! Clean! Clean!’ When I began to repeat it I found myself speaking in other tongues. The joy was so great that when I came to utter it my tongue failed, and I began to worship God in other tongues as the Spirit gave me utterance.”

Indeed, as it was on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit of the Lord came as fire and filled all who had assembled to pray, so too does the Spirit of God fill hungry hearts today. Upon being filled with the Holy Spirit, they did not just begin to speak – but they spoke “with other tongues” (Acts 2:4)."

Kirk Franklin - Gospel Musician / Singer
Lyric Excerpt: "Let it Go"

Church taught me how to shout and how to speak in tongues
But preacher, teach me how to live now when the tongue is done, help me...

Three in One Bearing Record in Heaven?

2009-08-13T22:01:00.008-04:00

It has been said by Kenneth Copeland Ministries in defense of the Trinity that:

The deity of the Lord Jesus Christ is something that can never be questioned by any born-again believer. Our very salvation rests on the fact that Jesus Christ is divine, the second person of the Godhead, God--the Son.

The Apostle John puts to rest any doubt about that in his account of the gospel: "In the beginning [before all time] was the Word [Christ], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself" (John 1:1, "The Amplified Bible").   

Anyone who doubts what that verse says could not possibly be born in the kingdom of God. For the deity of Jesus forms the very foundation of our faith in Him.   

God is revealed in three persons and this three-part Godhead is referred to as the Holy Trinity. In the Trinity none is greater or less than another, but the whole three persons are coeternal and coequal together. "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" (1 John 5:7).

Upon first reading, this passage seems to be a very orthodox treatment of the Godhead as it conforms to the larger teaching of Christian Sects. Even though this teaching is prevalent it still must bear the Berean Test, which applies the Scriptures in a legal sense to these statements. Truth bears record of itself. If our terminology and concepts come directly from the Bible and not from popular teaching, we can escape a Spirit of Error and be free from intellectual mistakes regarding the person and nature of our God and Savior, Jesus.

One of the main cries of the Reformation was "Sola Scriptura"...Scripture alone. If scripture really is to be our standard for our Doctrine, and the Bible warns us to remain in the Apostle's Doctrine that was first delivered to the Church through their oracle, it behooves us then to conform our understanding to exactly what that Doctrine is and represent it accurately before mankind, lest we be made ashamed by the Word itself. Paul instructed Timothy to Rightly Divide the Word. In so doing, the popular teaching of 1 John 5:7 will be examined,

1 John 5:7 in the KJV says:
"For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" (1 John 5:7).

But in the NIV it says something completely different which makes more sense when looking at the preceding verse 6:
7For there are three that testify: 8the[a] Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. (1 John 5:7, 8) NIV

The Alfred Marshall Greek NT interlinear says literally:
Because three there are the [ones] bearing witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood, and the three in the one are.

Marshall explains that Late Manuscripts of the Vulgate (Latin Vulgate) only offer this rendition which was accepted by trinitarians into the King James English Bible, however the passage is not found in any Greek Manuscript extant before the sixteenth century! (1500's A.D.)

The KJV added the above verse interpolated from the Latin Vulgate which,is an Old Catholic translation relying on only a few late Greek manuscripts. These late maunscripts themselves bear record of Catholic meddling.

Applying the rule that the majority of existing, and indeed the earliest, Greek Manuscripts did not contain this augmentation to 1 John 5, it forces us to throw out the entire selection in regular typeface below, leaving only what is behind in bold...

6This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
7For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
8And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.

For centuries this passage, this vestige of Catholic revisionism, has plagued our New Testaments offering an addition to the words of John, effectively rewriting his view of the Godhead as Triune when truly John the beloved understood God and the Lord Jesus much differently.

Just as men today try to rewrite our American Constitution using revisionist principles, supposing the founders meant something they did not (that too, only after a few hundred years) Others take a more constructionist view in that they believe that the founder's said exactly what they meant.

Just as the majority view may be that abortion does not violate someone's right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, the Trinitarian theologians of the day thought (and still think!) nothing of interpolating a majority view when faced with the problems presented for them by leaving the passage as it was written - without further elucidation.

How then should we read 1 John 5:7-9?

Exactly as it is written, and within its given context which discusses how the elements of water, spirit, and blood bear witness of the testimony of the Christ.

If we see Spirit (holy ghost baptism) Water (water baptism) Blood (covenant) as bearing record in heaven as one testimony in agreement before God, we can see that this passage actually has nothing to do with the Godhead but has to do with the witness and testimony of Jesus Christ who came by water and blood, and the Spirit witnesses of his coming.
Another way to approach this verse is looking at Christ on the Cross who "gave up the Ghost" or Spirit, and when he was pierced water mixed with blood gushed forth from him. Spirit, Water, Blood.

The typology of Spirit Water and Blood is all over the bible. It's in the Tabernacle, In the Wilderness, At the Cross, at the Birth of the Church...

Just as the 4 Gospels "agree as" or "agree in" one, so too do the witness of Spirit, Water, and Blood "agree as" or "agree in" one combined witness of Jesus Christ. Spirit is not blood. Jesus said so in

Careful study of the word will always help us live free from the bonds of tradition and of the doctrines of men.

John 5:39
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Acts 17:10-12 (King James Version)

10And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
12Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

"God the Son" or "The Son of God" - Does it make a difference?

2009-08-13T21:45:00.003-04:00

GOD THE SON or THE SON OF GOD? DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Excerpt: Bernard, Oneness of God

We should consider the dual nature of Christ into the framework of biblical terminology. The term Father refers to God Himself - God in all His deity. When we speak of the eternal Spirit of God, we mean God Himself, the Father. God the Father, therefore, is a perfectly acceptable and biblical phrase to use for God (Titus 1:4). However, the Bible does not use the term "God the Son" even one time. It is not a correct term because the Son of God refers to the humanity of Jesus Christ. The Bible defines the Son of God as the child born of Mary, not as the eternal Spirit of God (Luke 1:35). Son of God may refer solely to the human nature or it may refer to God manifested in flesh - that is, deity in the human nature.

Son of God never means the incorporeal Spirit alone, however. We can never use the term "Son" correctly apart from the humanity of Jesus Christ. The terms "Son of God," "Son of man," and "Son" are appropriate and biblical. However, the term "God the Son" is inappropriate because it equates the Son with deity alone, and therefore it is unscriptural.

The Son of God is not a separate person in the Godhead, but the physical expression of the one God. The Son is "the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:13-15) and "the express image of His [God's] person" (Hebrews 1:2-3). Just as a signature stamp leaves an exact likeness on paper, or just as a seal leaves an exact impression when pressed in wax, so the Son of God is the exact expression of the Spirit of God in flesh. Man could not see the invisible God, so God made an exact likeness of Himself in flesh, impressed His very nature in flesh, came Himself in flesh, so that man could see and know Him.

Many other verses of Scripture reveal that we can only use the term "Son of God" correctly when it includes the humanity of Jesus. For example, the Son was made of a woman (Galatians 4:4), the Son was begotten (John 3:16), the Son was born (Matthew 1:21-23; Luke 1:35), the Son did not know the hour of the Second Coming (Mark 13:32), the Son could do nothing of Himself (John 5:19), the Son came eating and drinking (Matthew 11:19), the Son suffered (Matthew 17:12), a person can blaspheme against the Son but not the Spirit and be forgiven (Luke 12:10), the Son was crucified (John 3:14; 12:30-34), and the Son died (Matthew 27:40-54; Romans 5:10). The death of Jesus is a particularly good example. His divine Spirit did not die, but His human body did. We cannot say that God died, so we cannot say "God the Son" died. On the other hand, we can say that the Son of God died because Son refers to humanity.

As stated above, "Son" does not always refer to the humanity alone but to the deity and humanity together as they exist in the one person of Christ. For example, the Son has power to forgive sin (Matthew 9:6), the Son was both in heaven and on earth at the same time (John 3:13), the Son ascended up into heaven (John 6:62), and the Son is coming again in glory to rule and judge (Matthew 25:31).

Son Of God

One note needs to be added to our discussion of the phrase "God the Son." In John 1:18 the KJV uses the phrase "the only begotten Son" and the RSV says "the only Son." However, the NIV says "God the only Son" and TAB says "the only unique Son, the only begotten God." These last two versions are based on variant readings in some Greek texts. We do not believe these variant readings are correct. If we could justify the use of the phrase "God the Son" at all, it would be by pointing out, as we have done, that "Son of God" can mean not only the humanity of Jesus but also the deity as it resides in the humanity. However, John 1:18 uses Son to refer to the humanity, for it says the Father (the deity of Jesus) is revealed through the Son. This verse of Scripture does not mean that God is revealed by God, but that God is revealed in flesh through the humanity of the Son.

What is the significance of the title "Son of God"? It emphasizes the divine nature of Jesus and the fact of His virgin birth. He is the Son of God because He was conceived by the Spirit of God, making God literally His father (Luke 1:35). When Peter confessed that Jesus was "the Christ, the Son of the living God," he recognized the Messianic role and deity of Jesus (Matthew 16:16). The Jews understood what Jesus meant when He called Himself the Son of God and when He called God His Father, for they tried to kill Him for claiming to be God (John 5:18; 10:33). In short, the title "Son of God" recognizes the humanity while calling attention to the deity of Jesus. It means God has manifested Himself in flesh.

We should note that the angels are called sons of God (Job 38:7) because God created them directly. Similarly, Adam was the son of God by creation (Luke 3:38). The saints (members of God's church) are also sons of God or children of God because He has adopted us into that relationship (Romans 8:14-19). We are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, having all the legal rights of sonship. However, Jesus is the Son of God in the sense that no other being is or can be, for Jesus is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:16). He is the only One ever conceived or begotten by the Spirit of God. Thus, His unique Sonship attests to His deity.

Son of Man

The term "Son of man" draws attention primarily to the humanity of Jesus; it alludes that He is the offspring of mankind. The Old Testament uses this phrase many times to refer to mankind. For example, the following verses of Scripture use it to mean mankind in general or any man without specific identification: Psalm 8:4, 146:3; Isaiah 51:12; Jeremiah 49:18. (Psalm 8:4 has an underlying meaning that refers prophetically to the Messiah, as shown by Hebrews 2:6-7.)

The term "son of man" also refers many times to a specific man, especially in Ezekiel where it designates the prophet (Ezekiel 2:1, 3, 6, 8; Daniel 8:17). In a few verses of Scripture, it connotes a man to whom God has given sovereignty and power (Psalm 80:17; Daniel 7:13). This last meaning appears frequently in Jewish apocalyptic literature of the intertestamental period. [15]

Jesus applied the term "Son of man" to Himself many times. In most instances, He used it as a synonym for "I" or as a title emphasizing His humanity. In some instances, it connotes not only the mere fact of His humanity, but also the power and authority given to the Son by the eternal Spirit of God (Matthew 24:30; 25:31). In short, Jesus adopted the title with its connotations of power and world rulership, but applied it to Himself in all situations. The title serves to remind us that Jesus really was a man.

The Word

We discussed the concept of the Word in Chapter 4 - JESUS IS GOD. However, we look again at this term to distinguish it in usage from the term Son. The Word or Logos can mean the plan or thought as it existed in the mind of God. This thought was a predestined plan - an absolutely certain future event - and therefore it had a reality attached to it that no human thought could ever have. The Word can also mean the plan or thought of God as expressed in the flesh, that is in the Son. What is the difference, therefore, between the two terms, Word and Son? The Word had pre-existence and the Word was God (the Father), so we can use it without reference to humanity. However, the Son always refers to the Incarnation and we cannot use it in the absence of the human element. Except as a foreordained plan in the mind of God, the Son did not have pre-existence before the conception in the womb of Mary. The Son of God pre-existed in thought but not in substance. The Bible calls this foreordained plan the Word (John 1:1, 14).

Begotten Son Or Eternal Son?

John 3:16 calls Jesus the only begotten Son of God. However, many people use the phrase "eternal Son." Is this latter phrase correct? No. The Bible never uses it and it expresses a concept contradicted by Scripture. The word begotten is a form of the verb beget, which means "to procreate, to father, to sire." Thus begotten indicates a definite point in time - the point at which conception takes place. By definition, the begetter (father) always must come before the begotten (offspring). There must be a time when the begetter exists and the begotten is not yet in existence, and there must be a point in time when the act of begetting occurs. Otherwise the word begotten has no meaning. So, the very words begotten and Son each contradict the word eternal as applied to the Son of God.

We have already discussed that "Son of God" refers to the humanity of Jesus. Clearly the humanity of Jesus is not eternal but was born in Bethlehem. One can speak of eternality - past, present, and future - only with respect to God. Since "Son of God" refers to humanity or deity as manifest in humanity, the idea of an eternal Son is incomprehensible. The Son of God had a beginning....

...In conclusion, we have learned that the term "Son of God" refers to the Incarnation, or the manifestation of God in flesh. God planned the Son before the world began, but the Son did not come into actual substantial existence until the fulness of time. The Son had a beginning, for the Spirit of God begat (caused the conception of) the Son in the womb of Mary. The Son's reign will have an ending, for when the church is presented to God and when Satan and sin and death are finally judged and subdued, the role of the Son will cease. The Son fills many roles that in the plan of God could only be fulfilled by a sinless human being. Of course, the ultimate purpose of the Son is to provide the means of salvation for fallen mankind.

We conclude three things about the use of the term "Son of God." (1) We cannot use it apart from the humanity of Christ, for the word always refers to the flesh or to the Spirit of God in flesh. (2) Son is always used with reference to time, for the Sonship had a beginning and will have an ending. (3) As God, Jesus had all power, but as the Son He was limited in power, Jesus was both God and man.

The biblical doctrine of the Son is a wonderful and beautiful truth. It presents some complex ideas primarily because it is difficult for the human mind to comprehend a being with both a human and a divine nature. Yet through the Son, God vividly presented His nature to man, particularly His matchless love.

The doctrine of the Son does not teach that God the Father so loved the world He sent another person "God the Son," to die and reconcile the world to the Father. On the contrary, it teaches that God the Father so loved the world that He robed Himself in flesh and gave of Himself as the Son of God to reconcile the world to Himself (II Corinthians 5:19). The one Jehovah God of the Old Testament, the great Creator of the universe, humbled Himself in the form of man so that man could see Him, understand Him, and communicate with Him. He made a body for Himself, called the Son of God.

God Himself provided a means of redemption for mankind: "He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him" (Isaiah 59:16). His own arm provided salvation. A proper understanding of the Son, therefore, has the effect of magnifying and glorifying the Father. In His role as the Son, Jesus prayed to the Father, "I have glorified thee on the earth… I have manifested thy name… I have declared unto them thy name" (John 17:4, 6, 26). The Father has both revealed Himself to the world and reconciled the world to Himself through the Son

Understanding Michael Servetus

2009-06-01T12:26:00.000-04:00

Excerpts from the Preface to “The Man from Mars: His Morals, Politics, and Religion, by William Simpson, 3rd ed., Beattle, San Francisco, 1900.

PUBLIC DOMAIN

The persecution of Michael Servetus by John Calvin, one of the leaders of the Reformation, was one of the most unjust and inhuman exercises of religious authority that the world has seen. There were many features in this tragedy of burning at the stake, that were out of the common. The victim was a man of unblemished character, of great learning, and a scientist, with a genius for investigation. He was a skilled practitioner of medicine out of which profession he derived his income. He had made some advances in medical science, coming so near to a discovery to the circulation of the blood, that it is quite likely, but for his untimely death, he would have reached it instead of Harvey, many years afterward. His active mind led him to devote much of his leisure to the study of theology, and, laboring among its problems, he strove to reconcile a number of orthodox beliefs and doctrines with the scientific knowledge of his time, not combating them or contriving at their destruction, but by changing the sense of the words, to make them apparently accord with known elements of truth. He was an ardent supporter of the Reformation, and a friend and admirer of Calvin, and he began and maintained for some time, a correspondence with him, with the view of obtaining his advice and support. The proposed modification in the sense of scriptural texts was not favorable received by Calvin, and the two were drawn into a controversy which finally became acrimonious. The world, at present, partially recovered from its long period of hypnotized reason, is able to appreciate the small value of the questions which engaged these two men, and which led one to strike the other down to death, and it is also able to judge how much Servetus was in advance of his adversary in their discussions.

Calvin maintained, that under instructions from God through the Bible, an infant, dying without baptism, could not escape the tortures of Hell, a locality described by the same authority, as a place of horrors, of endless burning amid sulphurous fires, of never ending thirst, and of a “weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth” through all time to come. Servetus expressed his doubts of the justice of this infliction upon sinless infants, and attempted to show that it was not authorized by the Sacred Book. He also denied the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, as it was commonly received. He did not deny a kind of Trinity in the unity of God, but believing that it was merely formal, and not personal, mere distinctions in the divine essence, and that, as generally understood, it was a dream, and an invention of the Fathers of the Church. He also asserted, upon good authority, that there was a Christian doctrine before there was any adoption of the Hebrew legends; that these legends did not become a part of the church, until nearly a century after the great moral teacher had met his cruel death. He also came as near as he dared, to expressing his belief, that the Son was merely a man, with the divine inspiration in a large degree. Such advanced ideas as these, asserted with the positiveness of conviction, and backed with answerable argument, were the cause of his undoing.
Calvin, at this time, was at the head of a church already powerful. He ruled it with autocratic will, and upon all questions of doctrinal beliefs, he was the last court of appeal. He had long accepted the homage of his followers, as one selected by the Almighty for their spiritual guidance, and, with the common weakness of humanity, he became arbitrary and despotic in his management of church affairs. He was always ready to advise and direct, and in his first letters to Servetus, assumed some show of argument while denying his doctrines. Servetus answered him, not with that deference that his adversary usually received, but in all the spirit of earnest debate. Nothing more exasperating to Calvin could have occurred, and to cap the climax of affront, his adversary, a mere layman, published a book of “Christianity Restored” setting forth his advanced views and with a reckless temerity, sent the reformer a copy.

The controversy between them immediately degenerated into mutual recrimination and abuse. Calvin’s anger was raised to a white heat, when he saw the errors and blasphemies, as he regarded them and which he had vainly sought to combat, confided to the printed page, and thrown broadcast upon the world. Besides the alleged heretical matter of the book, he found himself taken to task, declared the error, and in his most cherished doctrines controverted. But he discovered withal some matter in the book which pleased him. His enemy had committed himself in abusing the Papacy: evidence sufficient to convict him at once of blasphemy in the Roman Catholic city of Vienne in France where Servetus then resided, and he proceeded at once to put the cruel scheme of his death into execution. By information to the authorities at Vienne through dictated letters, he succeeded in having Servetus thrown into prison there, from whence he escaped, and became an outcast for months. The malignant and inhuman manner in which this Christian leader followed his innocent victim, could scarcely have occurred upon any other question, but a religious one, and his murderous intent, form the first, is shown by a letter from Calvin to a friend in which he says “Servetus wrote to me lately, and besides his letter sent me a great volume of his ravings, telling me, with audacious arrogance, that I should find there things stupendous and unheard of until now. He offers to come thither if I approve; but I will not pledge my faith to him; for, did he come, if I have any authority here, “I SHOULD NEVER SUFFER HIM TO GO AWAY ALIVE.” And he proved himself, in this instance, true to his word.

The Roman Catholic authorities of Vienne, discovering after a while the connivance of Calvin, in putting the execution of his enemy on them, contrived, it is said, to make his escape easy. They had no mind to have this work thrust upon them. They probably felt that the reformers should take care of their own heretics. Servetus, after his escape, wandered about from place to place, all the time his life in imminent danger, and finally brought up in Geneva, the home of Calvin, disguising himself, and hiding on the outskirts. What induced him to take such desperate chances is not positively known. His intention is supposed to have been to go to Naples, and to be gone from Geneva on the first favorable opportunity. Weary of confinement, and always piously inclined, he ventured imprudently to show himself, at the evening service of a neighboring church, and being there recognized, intimation of his presence was conveyed to Calvin, who, without loss of a moment, demanded his immediate arrest, making his arraignment himself, and industriously working until the end, as chief prosecutor and witness. The barbaric cruelty during imprisonment to this famous man, in an eminently Christian community, and by a Christian leader is shown by the following letter from his prison cell. “Most noble Lords, it is now three weeks since I petitioned for an audience, and I have to inform you that nothing has been done, and I am in a more filthy plight than ever. In addition, I suffer terribly from the colic, and from colic and my rupture, which causes me miseries. It is very cruel that I am not allowed to speak, nor not have my most pressing wants supplied; for the love of God sirs, in pity give orders on my behalf.” And here is another one: “My most honored Lords, I humbly entreat of you to put an end to these great delays, or to exonerate me of the criminal charge. You must see that Calvin is at his wits ends, and knows not what more to say, but for his pleasure, would have me rot here in prison. The live eat me up alive, my breeches are in rags, and I have no change, no doublet, and but a single shirt in tatters.”

Thirty-eight articles of impeachment were drawn up by Calvin, and after a protracted trial, wherein he acted as chief interrogator, this unhappy victim was sentenced to be burnt at the stake. Servetus, during his whole examination, showed himself to be a brave, conscientious, religious man. His answers to each one of the articles was able, consistent, and would have been considered in this day unanswerable, and what is more his views have since been adopted by the most advanced of Christian sects. The following is a description of his execution recorded at that time.

“When he came in sight of the fatal pile, the wretched Servetus prostrated himself on the ground and for a while was absorbed in prayer. Rising and advancing a few steps he found himself in the hands of the executioner, by whom he was made to sit on a block, his feet just reaching the ground. His body was then bound to the stake behind him by several turns of an iron chain, whilst his neck was secured in like manner by a coil of a hempen rope. His two books, - the one in manuscript sent to Calvin in confidence six or eight years before for his stricture, and a copy of the one lately printed at Vienned were fastened to his waist, and his head was encircled in mockery with a chaplet of straw and green twigs bestrewed with brimstone (sulfur). The deadly torch was then applied to the fagots and flashed in his face; and the brimstone catching, and the flames rising, wrung from the victim such a cry of anguish as struck terror in the surrounding crowd. After this his was bravely silent; but the wood being purposely green, although the people aided the executioner in heaping fagots upon him, a long half hour elapsed before he ceased to show signs of life and suffering. Immediately before giving up the ghost, with a last expiring effort he cried aloud, “Jesus, thou Son of the Eternal God, have compassion upon me!” All was then hushed, save hissing and crackling of the green wood, and by and by there remained no more of what had been Michael Servetus, but a charred and blackened trunk, and a handful of ashes.”

So died in advance of his age, this victim of religious fanaticism and personal hate, a fitting triumph of the theological over the scientific methods of thought, the result among many thousands like it of the adoption of the Jewish Legends by Christianity, and in this case, brought about by a Christian leader, the founder of a creed, in which to this day, enough of his spirit remains to make it the greatest enemy of free thought and liberal opinion, among all the creeds of Protestantism. Of this disgraceful tragedy was it the spirit of the Master which led the inhuman crowd to vie with each other in piling on the fagots, or was it the malign influence of a vindictive and cruel Hebrew God?

Every conflict between science and theology since the days of Copernicus has resulted in an unequivocal victory of the former. Both churches resisted the truth of the rotundity and movement of the earth as though their existence depended on it. They fought each question as it arose in the same spirit. The Mosaic account of the creation, the age of the world, the deluge, the length of man’s sojourn upon the earth, are questions as effectively settled adversely to the “truths of scripture” as the one for which Galileo suffered. (…)

…The intention of the new church (reformed church) was to do away with those rituals and ceremonies, which had been adopted from paganism a compromise in the second and third centuries, and to bring their church back as far as possible, to that simplicity which characterized the first teachings of Christianity. But the leaders of the Reformation never attempted nor had they any desire to bring back that entire freedom of thought and expression which existed in the early days. No one with immunity would be allowed to deny the doctrine of the Holy Trinity…as the Greek philosophers were wont to do. Such vital questions it was torture and death to adversely consider, Servetus being an early victim to such temerity. There were questions enough however within the limits of safe discussion, to set agoing those unending controversies which distinguished Protestantism to this day. The newly acquired privilege of discussing sacred affairs among laymen as well as others, were indulged in to such an extent that the debate between the sects, in defense of their several interpretations of scriptural texts, monopolized in society its hours of intercourse and conversation...Questions that had been settled centuries before by authority in the old church were dragged forth to renewed discussion.

In these beliefs the two churches (Catholic and Protestant) were in entire accord and must equally answer for the miseries and cruelties they have inflicted upon humanity in enforcing them. Theories and doctrines so persistently advanced and upheld by both churches, and which have proved so disastrous to humanity do not properly belong, and should have no place in Christianity. They are not only without the authority of the Master (Jesus Christ), but are mostly in opposition to his teaching and example. The most harmful of them owe their origin to the fables and myths introduced…

In these days of enlightenment and higher thought, the vestiges are everywhere of our fifteen centuries of misdirection. Almost every life bears the impress of these cruel traditions. If we have, for more than fifteen centuries, yielded ourselves to doctrines conveyed to us through all the highways of life, so assiduously, that neither infancy, youth, manhood, or old age, have escaped their tireless importunities for acceptance’ doctrines, which consign seven eighths of humanity to eternal torture for no faults to most of them but a lack of opportunity, which under (Calvin’s) Providence has been denied, it is not unreasonable to conclude, with this experience of the mutability of human understanding, that there are other beliefs fastened on our minds by ages of custom and mistaken thought, equally untenable, which may be as justly placed in our catalog of errors.

We shall never know how much the industrious promulgation of error is due to the selfish love of corporate, power. But for all that, we shall never arrive at the extremity of despair; for the cultivation of the mind, the deductive use of positive knowledge, and the untrammeled exercise of reason, lead to truth, as directly, as the line of gravity points to the center of the earth, and only by these will its reign be established in the world.

-- W.S.

The Expurgation of Reason: Manifesting the Doctrines of Calvin

2009-02-13T18:34:00.002-05:00

Will the Closing of Gitmo Launch the Mark?

2009-01-31T00:46:00.006-05:00

The major question on everyone's mind lately, is "When President Obama closes Guantanamo Bay, what will happen to the terrorists?" I believe that the answer will unfold in this next year and a half.

If you have been following RFID, Verichip, GPS, and other implantable chip technology, it is not suprising that the technology exists to implant chips in people which track their whereabouts.

I submit that the world will be calmed when they learn that all of the Guantanamo Bay prisoners will be microchipped with GPS trackable chips contain a number code that will serve as their identification. They will not be able to make a move without alerting global authorities. Also, they will not be able to move money.

In a global cashless fiscal system with implantable microchips, every transaction will be able to be tracked by the the number identifying the parties to the transaction, this number is embedded into the microchip and is scanned or used like a Social Security Number.

The gateways to the public acceptance of this process are these issues:

Freedom from Terrorism,
Access to medical records,
Identification, tracking,
Tracking of Criminals/Felons
Fraud prevention,
Identity theft prevention,
Tax fraud prevention
Controlling Illegal Immigration,

These things fit in very nicely with President Obama's declaration that we do not have to sacrifice our freedoms for our ideals.

Here are some likely scenarios:

CASH WILL NO LONGER BE VALUED AS A MEANS OF PURCHASE:
Why would people no longer desire to use cash?

Perhaps when the cash no longer has its value. When there is so much of it in the market that is not circulating that it drives inflation up so high that it becomes worthless like many African countries. When we no longer value our cash, and it is not backed by specie, we will demand revaluation of our currency. This will be demanded globally when triggered by a worldwide recession. By leveling global currencies electronically and insuring commerce and financial transactions through positive measures of identification, the chip will be introduced to the global scene as the "Solution" to most of the world's economic and social woes. Already more and more people are using cards instead of cash. When the government has large interested in private banks, and the banks cannot repay the loans, guess who owns the banks? The Government. When the government owns the banks, they own your entire personal banking history which includes your income, payments, debts, credit and more. The thin wall of separation between the public and private sector will be eroded to the point where it no longer exists.

UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE WILL BE THE STANDARD:
When the government introduces universal health care, the government will also demand that those records will be accessible nationwide. Universal Applications need systems and controls in place for them to be effective. The chip is that control. It positively identifies the patient whether or not they are conscious, links to their medical records, can be implanted/read by any medical staff with a scanner (just like your vet can do now!) This system is already FDA approved and it exists. The makers of this chip are already partnered with Microsoft to help deliver the network to patient consumers. Global applications of this technology will mean that governments will effectively be able to see outbreaks of infectious diseases as they are reported medically. By geo-tracking patients, they can contain viral diseases and pinpoint their origins, whether natural or contrived. Companies producing the chip are peddling fear with common diseases that require tracking like alzheimers, epilepsy heart disease, diabetes and more.

THE DEFEAT OF TERRORISM WILL COME THROUGH SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY:

By introducing the chip, it will allay fears of wondering who is hiding in the shadows to commit a heinous act of terrorism. It will positively identify who is entering or leaving a country. The identification capabilities can also be linked by virtue of the Patriot Act, inter-departmentally. This means any institution that the government has oversight into: Universities, Post Offices, Banks that are Federally Insured, Driver Licensing. It will also help civil and military authorities locate, identify, and track domestic and international criminal populations. Any time anyone buys or sells, travels, enrolls in a civil program, gets arrested, walks into an airport or courthouse, that ID will pop up on the network. In this way, criminals cannot escape being found. Military troops can be tracked using this technology.

FRAUD AND MANY OTHER CRIMES WILL BE VIRTUALLY ELIMINATED:
With the chip, no one will ever be able to steal your wallet and your ID, hack your computer for your credit card information. No one can kidnap your children and not be caught. Missing persons will never be missing. Drug dealers will no longer be able to move across borders with ease. Felons cannot disappear into the shadows when they can be tracked. If they even try to buy a stick of gum, they will need their chip. So how will the government handle catching and incarcerating all of these repeat offenders? In the secret FEMA prisons. The reason FEMA could not react to Hurricane Katrina is because it was spending so much money being diverted to create secret prisons. The closing of Guantanamo Bay is no problem because these prisons have already been built with Federal Dollars.

It is being peddled as the answer to crime, and also as a security measure to control access to secure government facilities.

What are the problems now facing our once-great nation?

Drugs and Gangs?
The chip can track them physically and financially

Medical Access?
Universal Healthcare and easy access to medical records via the chip

Immigration?
Anyone who is not chipped will not be able to get an income or buy food or escape taxation.

Kidnapping?
When children or travelers are chipped, they can be located via GPS

Terrorists?
They can be found, tracked, or monitored. Visas can be monitored and passports will be unneccessary.

Theft?
Who can steal cash or credit cards from you when you never have to carry them

Identity Theft/Fraud?
When all forms of identification are reconciled to the chip, no identity can be stolen.

Tax Evasion?
Making sure that everyone pays their fair share will be obligatory as the chip will be the gateway to your employee ID, your TAX ID, your Social Security, your Medicare, your Unemployment insurance.

So why if this all sounds like such an enormous resolution to world issues, does the Bible warn against it and proclaim it as part of the system of Antichrist?

First one must understand that Antichrist is not going to be some overtly diabolical mad person like one would see in "The Omen" or "The Exorcist". Instead, he will be a man of the world, highly intelligent, an inspiring leader with a global appeal. He will be seen as a visionary, and as a result of his work, the world will cry "Peace, Peace".

Antichrist simply means, opposed to, against, or countering Christ. Christ is controlled by God to offer salvation to people from heaven. The Antichrist will be controlled by Satan to offer salvation to people from within the world system.
There are many Antichrists, and there always has been a spirit of Antichrist.
Anyone who denies Christ, is in fact "anti" Christ. Because Hollywood has so portrayed evil as embodied by some Demon or creature from Evil Dead 2, the world has been deluded from understanding what evil really is. The AntiChrist will not be shockingly morbid or diabolical in appearance like Marilyn Manson. Rather he will be attractive and well-liked. Revered. Worshipped.

Evil is simply the opposite of Good. In essence Evil is Lie, Good is Truth. All evil has a root in some form of deception, distortion, omission, or perversion of Truth. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no man comes to the Father but by me." But of Satan, Jesus warned that he was the "Father of Lies".

So, a man being filled by Satan, or posessed, may truly be utterly wicked. But one forgets that Satan, a fallen archangel, posesses supreme intelligence and cunning. Of course he does use fear, violence, and malevolence to control people and shock them, but no one would truly accept a world leader so universally if this was his demeanor. He already tried it in Hitler. But... even Hitler used Charisma and oratory strength to delude the masses. Privately he was deeply involved in the occult.

No, the universal leader of our time will use the chip system and harness it as a global solution. He will broker true peace between Palestine and the Jews, how? Because Satan, being the spirit provoking the sides to violence, will send his ambassador (antichrist) to sort it out. He being the architect of the violence, will influence the concessions that will allow for the peace itself. The Bible even speaks of him confirming this Covenant, a 7 year treaty of peace which he himself will break after 3.5 years.

Some teach that the rapture of the church will help make this possible because the main wedge keeping the antichrist system from rising will be taken from the earth. However, even without that event happening before the advent of this system, many will compromise their beliefs when forced with the fact that they will not be able to make financial transactions without chip identification. They will choose financial security and "staying on the grid" rather than suffer being shut out of the entire domestic and global system. Some people will refuse to take the chip, but they will be forced out of mainstream civilization into pockets of resistance. With antichrist and that system having free reign, he will declare world peace and be hailed as the Messiah.

During this process, the Jewish Temple will be rebuilt. As I write this, everything is already in place for that to begin. The Sanhedrin, the artifacts, the red heifer, etc. The global man will declare himself to be messiah in that temple and will be accepted as such. Muslims will hail him as the Mahdi, some Jews as Messiah, some as the returned Christ, agnostics and atheists will revere him for his accomplishments.

So how close is this? in 2006 Tommy Thompson who was the former Secretary of Health and Human Services under GWB, joined (and now has left) the board of Verichip, the company owned by 'Digital Angel' (interesting name eh?) that produces the implantable chip, placed in the right arm that when scanned, produces a 16 digit number.

The gentleman Scott Silverman in this video, just took over Verichip as the controlling interest. The newscaster comments: "I already have them in my dogs, why wouldn't I have them in my children too?"

Revelation 13
16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Nicene Creed and the Trinity - Another Look

2009-01-09T23:54:00.002-05:00

A nice exposition on the roots of modern trinitarianism.
http://www.sullivan-county.com/deism/trinity.htm

Thomas Jefferson Weighs in on the Trinity in favor of Unity

2009-01-09T23:39:00.003-05:00

The following are excerpts from Thomas Jefferson's Deistic refutations of the Trinity. taken from http://www.sullivan-county.com/deism/jeff_letters.htm

Letters from Thomas Jefferson are as follows:

----- To John Adams, 1813

It is too late in the day for men of sincerity to pretend they believe in the Platonic mysticisms that three are one, and one is three; and yet that the one is not three, and the three are not one . . . But this constitutes the craft, the power and the profit of the priests. Sweep away their gossamer fabrics of factitious religion, and they would catch no more flies. We should all then, like the Quakers, live without an order of priests, moralize for ourselves, follow the oracle of conscience, and say nothing about what no man can understand, nor therefore believe.

----- To Dr. Waterhouse, 1815

The priests have so disfigured the simple religion of Jesus that no one who reads the sophistications they have engrafted on it, from the jargon of Plato, of Aristotle and other mystics, would conceive these could have been fathered on the sublime preacher of the Sermon on the Mount. Yet, knowing the importance of names, they have assumed that of Christians, while they are mere Platonists, or anything rather than disciples of Jesus.

----- To Carey, 1816: N. Y. Pub Lib., MS, IV, 409

On the dogmas of religion, as distinguished from moral principles, all mankind, from the beginning of the world to this day, have been quarreling, fighting, burning and torturing one another, for abstractions unintelligible to themselves and to all others, and absolutely beyond the comprehension of the human mind. Were I to enter on that arena, I should only add an unit to the number of Bedlamites.

----- To Van der Kemp, 1816

Altho' I rarely waste time in reading on theological subjects, as mangled by our Pseudo-Christians, yet I can readily suppose Basanistos may be amusing. Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them; and no man ever had a distinct idea of the trinity. It is mere Abracadabra of the mountebanks calling themselves the priests of Jesus. If it could be understood it would not answer their purpose. Their security is in their faculty of shedding darkness, like the scuttlefish, thro' the element in which they move, and making it impenetrable to the eye of a pursuing enemy, and there they will skulk.

----- To C. Thompson, 1816

I am a real Christian, that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who call me infidel and themselves Christians and preachers of the gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its author never said nor saw. They have compounded from the heathen mysteries a system beyond the comprehension of man, of which the great reformer of the vicious ethics of deism of the Jews, were he to return on earth, would not recognize one feature.

----- To E. Styles, 1819

I am not [a Calvinist]. I am of a sect by myself, as far as I know. I am not a Jew, and therefore do not adopt their theology, which supposes the God of infinite justice to punish the sins of the fathers upon their children, unto the third and fourth generation; and the benevolent and sublime reformer of that religion has told us only that God is good and perfect, but has not defined him. I am, therefore, of his theology, believing that we have neither words nor ideas adequate to that definition. And if we could all, after this example, leave the subject as undefinable, we should all be of one sect, doers of good, and eschewers of evil. No doctrines of his lead to schism. It is the speculations of crazy theologists which have made a Babel of a religion the most moral and sublime ever preached to man, and calculated to heal, and not to create differences. These religious animosities I impute to those who call themselves his ministers, and who engraft their casuistries on the stock of his simple precepts. I am sometimes more angry with them than is authorized by the blessed charities which he preaches.

----- To Van der Kemp, 1820

The genuine and simple religion of Jesus will one day be restored: such as it was preached and practised by himself. Very soon after his death it became muffled up in mysteries, and has been ever since kept in concealment from the vulgar eye. To penetrate and dissipate these clouds of darkness, the general mind must be strengthened by education.

----- To Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse, June 26, 1822

Dear Sir,- I have received and read with thankfulness and pleasure your denunciation of the abuses of tobacco and wine. Yet, however sound in its principles, I expect it will be but a sermon to the wind. You will find it as difficult to inculcate these sanative precepts on the sensualities of the present day, as to convince an Athanasian that there is but one God. I wish success to both attempts, and am happy to learn from you that the latter, at least, is making progress, and the more rapidly in proportion as our Platonizing Christians make more stir and noise about it. The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.

1. That there is one only God, and he all perfect.
2. That there is a future state of rewards and punishments.
3. That to love God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself, is the sum of religion.

These are the great points on which he endeavored to reform the religion of the Jews. But compare with these the demoralizing dogmas of Calvin.

1. That there are three Gods.
2. That good works, or the love of our neighbor, are nothing.
3 That faith is every thing, and the more incomprehensible the proposition, the more merit in its faith.
4. That reason in religion is of unlawful use.
5. That God, from the beginning, elected certain individuals to be saved, and certain others to be damned; and that no crimes of the former can damn them; no virtues of the latter save.

Now, which of these is the true and charitable Christian? He who believes and acts on the simple doctrines of Jesus? Or the impious dogmatists, as Athanasius and Calvin? Verily I say these are the false shepherds foretold as to enter not by the door into the sheepfold, but to climb up some other way. They are mere usurpers of the Christian name, teaching a counter-religion made up of the deliria of crazy imaginations, as foreign from Christianity as is that of Mahomet. Their blasphemies have driven thinking men into infidelity, who have too hastily rejected the supposed author himself, with the horrors so falsely imputed to him. Had the doctrines of Jesus been preached always as pure as they came from his lips, the whole civilized world would now have been Christian. I rejoice that in this blessed country of free inquiry and belief, which has surrendered its creed and conscience to neither kings nor priests, the genuine doctrine of one only God is reviving, and I trust that there is not a young man now living in the United States who will not die an Unitarian.

But much I fear, that when this great truth shall be re-established, its votaries will fall into the fatal error of fabricating formulas of creed and confessions of faith, the engines which so soon destroyed the religion of Jesus, and made of Christendom a mere Aceldama; that they will give up morals for mysteries, and Jesus for Plato. How much wiser are the Quakers, who, agreeing in the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, schismatize about no mysteries, and, keeping within the pale of common sense, suffer no speculative differences of opinion, any more than of feature, to impair the love of their brethren. Be this the wisdom of Unitarians, this the holy mantle which shall cover within its charitable circumference all who believe in one God, and who love their neighbor! I conclude my sermon with sincere assurances of my friendly esteem and respect.

----- An additional letter to theologian James Smith -- December 8, 1822 -- further elaborates Jefferson's views on the subject.

"Sir, -- I have to thank you for your pamphlets on the subject of Unitarianism, and to express my gratification with your efforts for the revival of primitive Christianity in your quarter.

No historical fact is better established, than that the doctrine of one God, pure and uncompounded, was that of the early ages of Christianity; and was among the efficacious doctrines which gave it triumph over the polytheism of the ancients, sickened with the absurdities of their own theology. Nor was the unity of the Supreme Being ousted from the Christian creed by the force of reason, but by the sword of civil government, wielded at the will of the fanatic Athanasius. The hocus-pocus phantasm of a God like another Cerberus, with one body and three heads, had its birth and growth in the blood of thousands and thousands of martyrs. And a strong proof of the solidity of the primitive faith, is its restoration, as soon as a nation arises which vindicates to itself the freedom of religious opinion, and its external divorce from the civil authority. The pure and simple unity of the Creator of the universe, is now all but ascendant in the Eastern States; it is dawning in the West, and advancing towards the South; and I confidently expect that the present generation will see Unitarianism become the general religion of the United States. The Eastern presses are giving us many excellent pieces on the subject, and Priestley's learned writings on it are, or should be, in every hand. In fact, the Athanasian paradox that one is three, and three but one, is so incomprehensible to the human mind, that no candid man can say he has any idea of it, and how can he believe what presents no idea? He who thinks he does, only deceives himself. He proves, also, that man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without a rudder, is the sport of every wind. With such persons gullibility which they call faith, takes the helm from the hand of reason, and the mind becomes a wreck."

"I write with freedom, because while I claim a right to believe in one God, if so my reason tells me, I yield as freely to others that of believing in three. Both religions, I find, make honest men, and that is the only point society has any right to look to. Although this mutual freedom should produce mutual indulgence, yet I wish not to be brought in question before the public on this or any other subject, and I pray you to consider me as writing under that trust. I take no part in controversies, religious or political. At the age of eighty, tranquility is the greatest good of life, and the strongest of our desires that of dying in the good will of all mankind. And with the assurance of all my good will to Unitarian and Trinitarian, to Whig and Tory, accept for yourself that of my entire respect."

----- To W. Short, 1820

The Presbyterian clergy are loudest; the most intolerant of all sects, the most tyrannical and ambitious; ready at the word of the lawgiver, if such a word could be now obtained, to put the torch to the pile, and to rekindle in this virgin hemisphere, the flames in which their oracle Calvin consumed the poor Servetus, because he could not find in his Euclid the proposition which has demonstrated that three are one and one is three, nor subscribe to that of Calvin, that magistrates have a right to exterminate all heretics to Calvinistic Creed. They pant to re-establish, by law that holy inquisition, which they can now only infuse into public opinion. We have most unwisely committed to the hierophants of our particular superstition, the direction of public opinion, that lord of the universe. We have given them stated and privileged days to collect and catechise us, opportunities of delivering their oracles to the people in mass, and of molding their minds as wax in the hollow of their hands. But in despite of their fuminations against endeavors to enlighten the general mind, to improve the reason of the people, and to encourage them in the use of it, the liberality of this State will support this institution [University of Virginia], and give fair play to the cultivation of reason.

The Bias of Perspective

2008-11-23T00:39:00.002-05:00

Do you sometimes ever wonder how two people with different hearts can look at the same thing and arrive at two totally divergent conclusions. Some say that our worldview affect creates our bias, and others biases create their worldview. Or that we bring preconditions to our arguments and views before we articulate them.

Consider what two imperfect men said of the same perfect man.

Luke 23
39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

Is Christ to you the one you yell at and try to coerce to act on your behalf to prove Himself to you, or do you accept that he was a sinless man, God in the Flesh, and is an instrument of Love, self-sacrifice, and reconciliation.

When you consider the cross itself and what Jesus did on behalf of mankind. Do you see a judge or a vengeful God? Or do you see Mercy and Long Suffering, and a road to peace.

Did Christ come to the world to condemn it? Or did he come to save it?

Does he have power or does he not?

Can you know Him, or can't you?

Must he prove Himself to you? Or has he already done enough to prove Himself?

Was Christ a man evolved from an ape? Or is Christ the perfect Created man who has power over Nature itself?

Is God condemnation? Or is God Love?

If you were on a cross next to Jesus, being crucified...

Which thief would you be?

What Does Gender Have to do With it? (Updated!)

2008-11-22T17:24:00.001-05:00

What Does Gender Have to do With it?

If evolution is true, then how did gender and reproduction arise?

Single cell mitosis/meiosis or asexual reproduction is the basic form of microbial or monoclete reproduction, however how can the evolutionist explain the rise of gender and of sexual reproduction? There is no advantage biolgically for a simple organism, which depends on its own genetics to recapitulate, to suddenly produce a like organism that only carries half of the genetic codes required. It would be mathematically self defeating and would result in the extinction of the life form.

Let's ask evolutionism why is reproduction even a facet of life at all?

The evolutionist cannot explain death and the purpose of reproduction in species preservation despite death. Once an early organism would have died, its existence would cease. Thereby that newly "mutated and evolved organism", if it could not reproduce, would never fully exist again.

For the existence of life to re-emerge, the same unlikely probability of spontaneous life generation would have to recur thousands and millions of times for there to be enough probability of there to be another single cell bacteria or monoclete who could "evolve" into either a multi-celled organism or one that reproduces sexually reflecting gender.

There would have been NO more life were it not for the possibility of continual spontaneous generation of life from the fabled "primordial soup" proposed by Stanley Miller. And if that were true, what force maintained that generation?

Primordial Soup?

Stanley Miller proved quite successfully that attempts to artificially create life or even ONE protein building block is not possible. That is, not without the right conditions and a highly intelligent designer. Certainly one more intelligent than Darwin, Miller, De Vries, Leakey, Sagan, Einstein...all combined. For, in the history of intelligence in the human race, none has been able to create life from inorganic matter.

The entirety of all of the collective genius of all mankind has YET to produce or even understand the processes at work in a single living cell.

We can look at the inorganic and understand it down to the atomic and sub-atomic level, yet living and functioning organisms are perpetually complex and without explanation.

Another problem evolution faces is that when gender variations "start to exist" in the biological timescale no explanation is given for the sudden rise in the new structures necessary to facilitate the exchange of DNA between gendered organisms?

Mutation does not solve this puzzle because in the lifetime of the gendered organism, once the first halving of DNA begins and is divided between the sexes and without the instant presence of delivery structures, BOTH newly gendered organisms would die and the end of the biological strain would be certain.

Wikipedia even asks the question:
"A major question is why sexual reproduction persists when parthenogenesis appears in some ways to be a superior form of reproduction."

Parthenogenesis? Here's a very interesting word. From the Greek Parthenos + Genesis It literally means "virgin creation" (Jesus' birth is another topic). Basically a fancy term for asexual reproduction meaning self-reproduction.

It all fits together.

With sexual reproduction there necessitates the presence of the complimentary developed reproductive organs for the recapitulation of that species to occur. The problem is that once one organism "evolves" a sexual organ that contains only 1/2 of the genetic material, there must be another existant organism that will concurrently "evolve" a complimentary sexual organ with PRECISELY the other half.

Probable Cause?
Applying probability to this equation ensures the death of all species who "mutate" to become sexually dimorphic relative to reproductive structures.

"An Object at Rest..."
Also, applying the Second Law of Thermodynamics ( which IS a proven fact) with all matter having a tendency toward entropy, there is no reason or mechanism for a successful monocyte that can reproduce by budding or asexual reproduction/self cloning would in fact become more organized into a sexually dimorphic organism.

Because to assume this is to imply that cells have information, that they have code, & they can become increasingly ordered rather then entropic. And if cells have code, order, information...there must be a source to that order. Darwinian evolution is completely diminished by the mere presence of gender.

Halfsies?
Once gender "evolves", and the genetic code is halved and assigned to one gender-based individual, it kills the species because it forces that there must be an analagous formation to compliment. Again, in the precise order that matches the other half. This probability which not only virtualy ends the recapitulation of that organism, also forces that the origin of life must begin all over again to re-create those individuals who could "mutate" all over again.

Again, all of this implies code, design, intelligence.

Intelligent design.

Trumped Again.
Even in the face of this, secular humanist scientists, hold fast although they cannot prove the origin of life, the successful mutations of individuals, or the mechanism for living organisms' violation of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, the overcoming of probability and causation, etc
STAGGERINGLY IMPROBABLE! click here to watch

Speaking of Recapitulation:

In the Darwinian progression of species there is the assumption that single celled organisms (whose existential causation is unknown) which reproduce asexually, have evolved via mutation or other causation into organized multi-cellular organisms with the capability for sexual reproduction.

It is materially impossible to substantiate the existence of gender based on evolutionist theory in light of the proliferation of species biodiversity and genderization.

It all goes back to the discussion of the chicken and the egg. Which came first?

The Creationist says the Chicken. This can be substantiated by observed science.
The Evolutionist says the Bacteria. This cannot.

Even if the egg came first, the protein information had to be organized into DNA in order to form the chicken and then that chicken would have grown up into either a rooster or a hen.

So, if you have one gender arising from an egg or DNA strand, that that necessitates another gender arising spontaneously from another egg or DNA strand. The likelyhood that these would occur independantly, let alone in the same timeframe in the geological time scale for them to reach parallel maturity to mate would be so astronomically and infinitesimally small that the only way that science could explain it actually happening would be to refer to it as what Christians call, "a miracle".

It would be far more likely that an asexual chicken would arise. that could simply lay an egg and clone itself.

Evolutionary theory is in essence a mathematical proponent of automatic self cloning rather than gender-based sexual reproduction. This however, would lead to lack of variation and susceptibility to mutation, disease, and more leading to the demise of life.

The very fact that there is rich biodiversity, gender, and sustained reproduction is a testament NOT to evolution, but to intelligent design.

Evolution has no answers for these questions. One cannot substantiate untruth with truth. If a theory cannot be tested, verified, and reproduced... it remains a theory. Not a fact.

Declaration of Independance: Jefferson got it right!

"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

God is the Creator of Gender.

The fact is, that GOD our Creator created gender. He created it to preserve species, to create variation and strength in the genetics, and to insure against disease, mutation, and extinction.

These things that did not exist before the fall (the curse). Notice that Adam and Eve did not actually have children until after the fall. That is another discussion entirely, but one to mull over.

The Bible has this to say about gender:

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 5:2
Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Genesis 6:
19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

Matthew 19:
4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Mark 10:
6But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

The concept of "apparent maturity"

As with rocks, God made Adam and the earth with "apparant maturity". Meaning that he instantly created a mature structure. Adam was not a baby devoid of speech and function. He was made as a Man that was fully aware, sentient, communication, working, walking, speaking, breathing. He had hands, ribs, lungs, eyes, mouth, everything that a man has today.

So why the female gender?

Man was created as a complete genetic structure, but God saw it was not good for him to be alone. This is not because he needed help doing the dishes as chauvanists may have it. The Bible calls the woman a helpmate or "help meet for him" meaning both a mate and an appropriate physical partner.

The genetics for woman were taken from Adam's DNA and from it God made woman. Adam himself called her Eve "the mother of all living". But why?

Because without Eve, Adam would not have multiplied being created inherently gendered as male. He would either have had to live forever as male, or if he were to die in order for his race to continue he needed a conduit of genetic recapitulation. Since he was a highly developed complex organic multi-cellular, multi-systemic creature with a highly functioning brain..asexual budding or self cloning was not a possibility.

1 Timothy 2:13
For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

Adam, as made in the image of God (Christ) would not be able to produce Christ throughout time were it not for Eve. God, looking down through time saw that if Adam were to fall, or die, he would utterly die and that would make God's Creation of none effect and imperfect. Since God by definition is Absolute and Perfect, he created the answer for Adam's possible future in death by making Eve a conduit of life.

Thereby, God intervened in the biology of men and species to create males and females.
This is a theory that we can verify, reproduce, and test today. That is why it is called a fact.

Creationism is a scientific fact.

1 Timothy 6
20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings,
and oppositions of science falsely so called:
21 Which some professing have erred concerning the faith.

Darwinian Evolution is not Fact. It is not even theory.
It is Willfully Ignorant Secular Materialism.

The Myth of Eternal Security...20 Rhetorical Questions answered by Scripture

2008-11-20T22:17:00.010-05:00

Many modern evangelicals believe in eternal security, a doctrine
that they derive from the scripture in Romans 8:

Romans 8
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

However, in so doing they assume that "the love of Christ" (v35, 39) is the same thing as "Salvation"

Remembering that:

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

The overall question remains...

Though the Love of God for man does not cease, and though he is not willing that any should perish, is the fact that God loves us and desires us tantamount to Salvation itself? Or is Romans 8 referring to those who are already abiding in Christ and who are being challenged in their faith toward their destruction? Does Romans 8 mean that one is Eternally Secure once professing Jesus Christ? Or does it mean that for one who is born again, that they cannot be ripped away from God against their will no matter what comes against them?

I thought to answer this question that I would begin by writing an essay, but I decided that it was best to actually pose rhetorical questions and let the scriptures speak for themselves.
----------------------------------------------------

1. Why Endure if you are Eternally Secure?

Matthew 10
22And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

2. How can the Eternally Secure who know God and willfully walk away from Him denying Christ, not escape his wrath?

Romans 1
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

3. Why should the Eternally Secure "patiently continue in well-doing"?

Romans 2
7To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

4. Are the Eternally Secure continuously obedient?

John 15
14Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

5. Why should the Eternally Secure remain diligent in God's Word at all?

Hebrews 2
1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;

6. Can the Eternally Secure neglect their salvation and escape the wrath of God?

Hebrews 2
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

7. Why must the Eternally Secure person "take up his cross daily"? Shouldn't it be enough that person picked it up once to be saved? After all, why should the Eternally Secure person need to go back to the cross at all, having gone once?

Luke 9:23
23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

8. Can the Eternally Secure person sin and not die?

Genesis 3
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

9. Can the Eternally Secure person or church have their minds so deceived by Satan as to lose their salvation?

2 Corinthians 11
3But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

10. Can the church, the collective of Eternally Secure people, be conquered in this world?

Matthew 11
12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

11. Can someone rob a Christian of their salvation?

Revelation 3
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

12. Peter Denied Christ. Was he Eternally Secure?

Matthew 10:33
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

13. Can we deny Christ and maintain that we are Eternally Secure, having once professed Him?

2 Timothy 2:12
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

14. Can one know God, exhibit no fruit, and yet be Eternally Secure by their profession of Faith?

Luke 9
16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

15. Is one "Once Saved, Always Saved?"

2 Peter 2
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

16. Can one be saved from the world and still partake of it without risk to salvation?

Luke 9
62And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

17. What happens if "We" (the elect) deny Christ or refuse to suffer for his Name?

1 Timothy 2
12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

18. Can we continue to sin and expect that our Eternal Security will keep us saved?

Hebrews 10
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

19. Can people who have been sanctified for salvation lose their salvation? Can they be totally lost? Or are those who have partaken of salvation and who deny Christ still Eternally Secure?

Hebrews 6
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

20. Will all professing Christians make it to heaven?

Matthew 25
1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Endnote:

Of the Father of the Eternal Security Doctrine, John Calvin, was he Eternally Secure after burning people alive in condemnaton for disagreeing with him?

1 John 4:1
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world

Matthew 7
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Galatians 1:8
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Galatians 1:9
As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Does our faith not exceed the Devils?

James 2:19
19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Sylvania Machado: "Gold Dust" exposed as a Plastic Glitter Parlor Trick.

2008-11-10T00:59:00.004-05:00

Source; http://www.voici-les-miracles.com/article-2190975.html

I have met Sylvania Machado, and have friends that host her when she comes to the US. I have seen the “gold dust” and the “oil”

The gold dust is not gold dust, but plastic glitter. It is all done by sleight of hand.

She never praises Jesus, Worships, or declares that Jesus Christ is her Saviour.

The oil is a homemade concoction of essential oils in olive oil.

When I met her and saw her, I was struck by the Holy Ghost and a horrible mourning came over me by the power of Christ and I begin to travail in the Spirit. Jesus spoke to me and told me that this woman was a high-coven witch priestess and that she was preying on the elect and the naive not only for money but for dark magic inroads.

Our friends whom she stayed with worked at the Pentegon. Sylvania asked to be taken there to see Donald Rumsfeld. She wanted to go there and meet him and “pray” over him. They went to his office but he was not present. Her aim is to help establish prinicipalities.

I confronted the family of what God had told me and they refused to believe me, although I had a good report with them and they respected me. They were under some kind of bewitchment.

I grieved and prayed fervently for them and began spiritual warfare against Sylvania. The woman could not look me in the eye.
After I prayed Sylvania was struck quickly with a bad sickness and had to abruptly leave the country for Brazil. Shortly afterward, her host came down with a freak case of rare meningitis and had to be hospitalized. Two other friends, when she was in the hospital came to her independantly of me and informed her that the Lord had told them she was a victim of witchcraft. We all prayed against the witch and our friend regained her health. She still entertains people from her delegation. We no longer associate with her in fellowship, only in friendship.

Just thought this might help someone along the way.

Read below what others have to say in agreement.

MIRACLE GOLD DUST TURNS OUT TO BE PLASTIC
http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/miraclegold.htm

Recent issues of Charisma magazine have reported on two relatively new phenomena associated with this "revival" -- gold fillings miraculously appearing in people’s mouths and "glory gold dust" appearing on faces, hands, and clothing. Both of these "miracles" have been reported by the Toronto Airport Church pastored by John Arnott, as well as by many other churches associated with the "revival."

The November 1999 issue of Charisma contains more reports on this. One article, titled "Glory Dust from Heaven?" is about Silvania Machado, a Brazilian who is appearing in churches across America. Three years ago, she was allegedly dying of cancer. After she "tried everything, including witchcraft," a charismatic pastor’s wife urged her to "give God 30 days to heal her." It is alleged that she was healed after five days. There is no information in the article as to whether she rejected Roman Catholicism or witchcraft or whether she was born again through faith in the finished atonement of Jesus Christ. In 1996, after an American charismatic woman laid hands on Machado for "the baptism of the Holy Spirit," gold specks began appearing on her face during worship services. She "gets so much gold that it covers almost all of her face and rains from the top of her head." In May, Machado spoke at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship, and Pastor John Arnott had some of the gold specks analyzed by the University of Toronto Geology Department. Charisma magazine also had tests done by the U.S. Geological Survey. The conclusion? The particles contain no gold or platinum, but are merely plastic glitter!

There is no end to the gullibility and confusion of the charismatic movement. This is the danger of seeking after signs and wonders.

"A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas" (Matthew 16:4).

Transfiguration, Glory, and Gold Dust:
http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:_7ddruPJjlAJ:www.epcra.ch/papers_pdf/leuven2/smith_2001.pdf+sylvania+machado&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us

As far as I have been able to determine, the first appearance of gold dust in North American religious circles wasduring a visit by a Brazilian woman, Silvania Machado, to Calvary Pentecostal Campground in Ashland, Virginia, inAugust 1998. This woman gave an amazing testimony of coming to the Lord and finding salvation and completehealing, when by normal medical standards she should have been well beyond the point of death. A report posted onthe Calvary Pentecostal website describes what else happened when the Lord healed her: A holy woman from Brazil, named Silvania, was at Calvary Pentecostal Campground from August 18-21, 1998 andagain in February of 1999. In the process of her physical healing of four types of cancer, oil began to flowsupernaturally from her body and later, gold dust began to be manifested on her face and the crown of her head. Asshe praises and worships, this phenomena is seen. Her Brazilian pastor gathers the holy gold flakes and anoints theforehead of the sick and needy. Many miracles fall. (http://www.revivalglory.org/camptest.htm, cited 5/7/01).My wife and I were present in 1998 when Silvania spoke in Ashland, and we saw the gold coloured dust that camefrom her hair. We saw it as well on the face of Ruth Heflin, director of Calvary Pentecostal Ministries, and on JaneLowder, who later succeeded Miss Helfin as director, and on others?including my wife---as they worshipped.Similar phenomena have appeared in Canada, notably at the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship and at severalchurches in the Vancouver area. A Canadian newspaper, Christian Week, March 30, 1999, reported that as of thatdate more than three hundred people ?claim to have received gold or silver fillings or gold caps on their teeth? at theToronto Airport Christian Fellowship. The report continues by attributing the origin of such ?bizarre events? to goldfillings in Argentina in the early 1990's. It refers to Pastor John Arnott seeing miraculous gold fillings in Mexico and inSouth Africa, and praying that the same thing would happen in Toronto. Gold dust has also been reported at theToronto Airport Christian Fellowship, yet Charisma News reported September 8, 1999, that after initial openness,Pastor Arnott decided to cancel three remaining evening services with Sylvania Machado, since an analysis of the?gold dust? that came from her head on the first of four scheduled appearances had reportedly showed it to be a type ofplastic film. The same article notes that Ruth Heflin continued to support Sylvania, and quoted Heflin as saying thatGod?s presence, not the gold dust, had convinced her, and that a more accurate designation of the phenomenonmight be ?glory dust?, because its composition is not important (www.charismanews.com/news.cgi?a=145&t =search.html, cited 5/7/01).

Recognize the False Prophets
http://www.met.org.za/htm/Engels/Recognise%20the%20false%20prophets.htm

Here is another example: The Joy Magazine has issued an article about the coming visit of Sylvania Machado. She is one of the first proponents of the gold dust. Gold dust falls from her hair. She claims to have seen angels pour out the gold dust over the people. Oil is also known to drip from her fingertips. Wonderful, supernatural events do take place in her presence.

She has even been known to sell photographs for R10 with samples of the gold dust pasted on the back. Apparently there is a special blessing on these photos, and you can place them under your pillow or you can place them on people to bring about healing. The oil that drips from her fingertips has been put into bottles and has been given to spiritual leaders, they again, are then able to bless or anoint their members with it. She claims to have a healing and a love ministry and concentrates particularly on working with spiritual leaders.

False Miracles
http://www.alittleleaven.com/2008/03/false-miracles.html

This all has root in the 'river' movement via a woman by the name of Sylvania Machado, who was supposedly healed of liver cancer and began manifesting 'gold dust' coming out of her. In fact, according to a couple of discernment webpages, the Toronto Fellowship cancelled the rest of a series of meetings after seeing this manifest in the first meeting, taking gold samples specks, and had it analyzed by an University of Toronto geochemist who stated that the specks contained not gold, but a kind of glittery plastic film.

Pastors have been known to be kissed on the mouth and to be anointed by her, people for whom she prays, say that every time they read their Bible after that, gold has appeared to them. One of Sylvania's fellow workers also sells CD's. If you take your wedding ring or your cheque book, and place it on the CD, it will bring a blessing to your marriage or your cheque account. There is the promise of blessing to whatever problem you might be having. Is this from the Lord, or is it a subtle form of deception? How will we know, because Satan is also able to perform amazing signs and wonders.

AuH20
http://availablelightonline.com/blog/2008/07/04/auh2o/
AuH2O
I was talking to a e-friend via e-mail one night and they mentioned to me about reading online about gold dust in church services…

I told this person about the alleged gold dust manifestations heard about during the Toronto Blessings. I mentioned Sylvania Machado and also the Calvary Pentecostal Campground in Ashland, VA where some of this was supposed to have taken place.

It was during the writing of this e-mail that I decided to look at if any references to gold dust was in the Bible. I found one very disturbing, but intriguing reference in Exodus 32 where Moses had went up on Mount Sinai and had been there for some time and the people asked Aaron to make them a god because they felt that Moses was forever gone.

Aaron, in verses 2-6, complied with their request and made a golden calf and an altar to the calf and then proclaimed (in verse 5) a feast to the Lord (capitalized as in deity) that was syncretistic in nature.

God, then told Moses in verses 7-18 to get down off the mount because of what the people had done as God was prepared to put his wrath on them until Moses pleaded with God.

However, the most interesting part of this is found in verses 19-20 which state:

So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it.

It was there after reading these verses that the thought came to me that the two most popular things that were heavily emphasized during the Toronto Blessing and the River revivals were:

gold dust and taking a drink (of living water)

I find it interesting at what the two things that the riverites are obsessed with are the two things Moses used to bring forth the wrath of God upon the people for the creation of their ‘idol’. I also find it interesting that the signs and wonders became the thing that they worshiped instead of worshiping the God who was the giver of the gift.

And the signs, wonders, and experiences did become their idol

Not All That Glitters Is Gold
By Rob & Louisa Forrest
http://www.bibleprophecymagazine.com/golddust.html

An evangelist from Brazil named Silvania Machado was the first to take center stage in the gold dust phenomenon that has been sweeping the charismatic churches world-wide. The late Ruth Heflin, Pastor of Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle, was responsible for bringing Machado to America and was her biggest promoter. Machado prays for people during these services as 'gold dust' falls from her head. It is taken by some as a sign from God. But is it? Machado, herself, has stated that, "Some people focus on the signs instead of the fruit."

Charisma recently had samples of the 'gold dust' from Machado's hair analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington D.C. The tests show the 'gold dust' was nothing more than plastic glitter that had no gold content at all. Is this a sign?

Prior to the materialization of gold in church services, there have been other accounts of the "gold phenomenon." In his book, Voices, Visions and Apparitions, Michael Freze states, "On June 24th, 1987 one lady stated that her rosary had turned to gold while she was visiting Medjugorje (a major Marian site of visitation). This same woman claims that over forty people, whom she ministered to, had their rosaries turned to gold. This phenomenon is not at all remarkable... thousands have come back from Medjugorje testifying that their rosaries turned to gold immediately during a prayer service in the presence of hundreds of witnesses."

However, this does not happen only at Medjugorje, but also at Conyers, Georgia in the United States. Gold dust has been promised by "Jesus and Mary" to the Mary worshippers who gather there. From the messages of April 23, 1993, devotee Nancy Fowler tells us, "A beautiful crown appeared over the blessed Mother's head"... Nancy goes on to say, "She was beautiful. More suffering will befall all of mankind if you continue to violate the law of God." The blessed Mother told Nancy that rosaries will turn to a golden color and that there would be sprinklings of gold dust." See Conyers Apparition website at http://conyers.org/conyers.html

Many times when people are evangelized, especially in places where paganism is rampant, Christianity is assimilated into aberrant belief systems. History also reveals that many aberrant belief systems also find a home in Christianity.

Gold Dust, Gemstones and Angels by Randall Grier
A VISION IN 2000 ABOUT GOLD DUST
http://www.zimbio.com/Christianity/articles/611/Gold+Dust+Gemstones+Angels+Randall+Grier

I was praying in September 2000, when suddenly I had a vision and received revelation about the “gold dust phenomenon.” Many ministers and Christians declared this was the power of God causing a miracle manifestation. I had heard a little about this but did not know what to think of it, until I received this vision and revelation.

In the vision, I saw something that appeared to be a black satanic cloud spreading from the East Coast of the United States toward the West Coast. The Lord said to me:

“The ones that stand at the forefront of what is called the gold dust and precious gems miracles will be removed from the scene. I have given them space to repent for yielding to satanic spirits and deceiving my people and they have failed to do so. They have made a false step and opened up their lives to the devil.”

It was a lady minister that introduced this to the U.S. and a man minister joined in with her. This vision happened on Friday, September 8, 2000. On Friday September 15, 2008 the lady minister died. That was one week after I had the vision. The man died in July 2001.

I am not saying that they went to hell but they had to be removed. They were removed because they were deceived by Satan and were causing others to be deceived with satanic lying signs and wonders.

I don’t believe either of these ministers set out to be deceived by Satan or to accept satanic miracles as miracles of God. They were both seduced when they accepted something that was not in the Bible. We must strictly adhere to the Bible to keep from being deceived.

THE ORIGIN OF GOLD DUST

The satanic gold dust miracle, jewels and feathers appearing got its start in the country of Brazil. Brazil is a country that is filled with supernatural miracles from false religious cults. Witchcraft, sorcery and the occult are very powerful there. I researched this all myself after the vision I had.

A lady in Brazil came down with a severe form of cancer. In the mid 1990’s she got down to the point of death and her body begin to ooze putrid yellow bile through the pores of her skin. In her desperation for a cure she sought those who claimed to heal in Brazil.

She got better and improved right away. She claimed she was healed by Jesus Christ. The putrid oozing of yellow bile stopped and something that looked like golden flakes and oil begin to appear on her skin. She and others claimed it was a sign from God of His miracle power.

In 1998 she became well known in the U.S. because the lady minister that died had brought her to the U.S. to speak in her meeting. The gold dust lady appeared in this lady ministers Campmeeting and gave her testimony and showed this satanic miracle and became famous.

The lady and man minister’s both died from cancer. The devil placed on them what he had placed on the gold dust lady and they died. Satan seduced them and then took their lives with this horrible disease.

This gold dust movement is coming on the scene again with more lying signs and wonders than before. Do not believe it is from God and stay away from it! It is supernatural but it is the power of Satan.

SATAN PRODUCED MIRACLES LIKE GOD

“And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods” (Exodus 7:10-12).

Moses and Aaron worked a miracle by the power of God. The wise men, sorcerers and magicians of Egypt produced the same miracle by the power of Satan. They were able to perform more miracles just like Moses and Aaron. (See also Exodus 7: 17-22; 8: 6-7)

The power of Satan worked miracles like the power of God up to a point. The rod of Aaron that turned to a serpent swallowed up their rods that turned to serpents. The devil never wins, the power of God is always victorious. Satan can produce miracles that look like God and seem like God but aren’t.

End Legalism, Spiritual Abuse in Churches

2008-08-04T20:31:00.003-04:00

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/end-legalism-control-spiritual-and-financial-abuse

Help fight legalism, control, spiritual, and financial abuse in Christian Churches and other faiths who profess allegiance to the Bible as the Word of God. Break free from leaders who manipulate, contrive, control, and pressure. Live according to conscience toward God in alignment to his Word, not in the traditions of men which make the Word of God of none effect.

Two issues affecting many churches today, and historically, are the power that the clergy has over the laity, and in the improper or undisclosed handling of money.

Watch this video on my blog for an example:
http://riverforum.blogspot.com/2008/07/great-post-exposing-benny-hinn.html

Do the standards, expectations, and social structure of your church or assembly limit the power of God and the manifestation of both the fruit and the gifts of the spirit? Are your leaders intolerant and rigid?

Or are they charismatic people who turn the church into a three-ring circus?

This position does not focus on seeking allowances for sin, or weights that the Bible condemns as not being part of the Christian Life. We are not talking about licensure to sin or to use the body in an unnatural way, or to promote any form of excess.

Rather, is your church and its doctrine limiting you from reaching your fullest potential in God? Why?This petition is also partly a survey to see where the real problems are so we can go about addressing them constructively. We are not interested in helping whistleblowers in individual churches. What we aim to do is look at general trend by denomination and assess the problems. Then, our aim is to develop a national inter-church care ministry that is designed to individually counsel and assist those hurt, wounded, and disfellowshipped people who still love Jesus Christ.

Shining a candle in a dark world.

Please when you answer this petition, know that your name is not necessary to post. You can post anonymously. But, please give at least your state, or the state where your experiences were, your denomination or sect, and or your current church affiliation. If none, please comment that you have none.

If you would like to share your full testimony, that it may serve others. Please feel free to share it. Anything that helps us get to the root of the problems out there is one step closer to the answers we all need to see form in our spiritual leaders.

Email it to riverforum@yahoo.com

Remember this as you sign. Spiritual leadership is a hard thing. People want to make pariahs out of imperfect leaders. Please state your experience accurately, without inflammatory rhetoric, keeping in mind that your leaders are flawed as you are.

In Jesus' Name.

River Forum

Secret Morman Rituals

2008-07-28T19:31:00.001-04:00

Baptism for the Dead, Blood Oaths, and Necromancy

Great post exposing Benny Hinn

2008-07-28T19:10:00.004-04:00

Note: if the movie will not play, go directly to Youtube to watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUyPjeIFKug

Excerpt from Dateline NBC

Also Mainstream Media covers Kenneth Copeland:

New Yahoo Group

2008-07-22T19:26:00.003-04:00

We have just established a new Yahoo Group as a resource for people who have left or are considering leaving, or are struggling within the UPC. This is a care ministry.

Direct link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/river-forum

Click to join river-forum

Reform the United Pentecostal Church

2008-07-18T12:22:00.000-04:00

Petition powered by ThePetitionSite.com

Email your suggestions and comments to riverforum@yahoo.com

Why Baptise in Jesus Name

2008-04-29T02:30:00.001-04:00

Baptism In Jesus Name Rev. Mangun

2008-04-29T02:21:00.001-04:00

A Cartoon Presentation of Mormonism

2007-12-12T23:58:00.001-05:00

Funny Bit about Mormon Underwear

2007-12-12T23:00:00.000-05:00

Excellent Morman Rebuttal

2007-12-12T22:59:00.002-05:00

Do the Rocks Lie? and What does Gender have to do with it?

2007-05-25T08:50:00.000-04:00

Do the Rocks Lie?

Geologists have long stood by the accuracy of their claims that rocks on the earth date back as far as 4 billion years ago.

Creationists, and intelligent design proponents alike, point to errors in radiometric rock dating and the innacuracies involved with even dating carbon-based life forms with c-14, Potassium-Argon, and U238 dating methods citing estimations, wide variations in poly-striate specimens, and assumptions as to both the mathematics of half-life and of source amounts of the control substance (c14 for example).

In a recent article on www.icr.org Dr. John Morris discusses how that the study of modern volcanism truly undermines the theories widely accepted by many geologists. He states:

"Keep in mind that most of the damage done by the eruption (of Mount St. Helens) was water related. Mount St. Helens had been glacier-covered, and when it got hot, water raced down the mountain as a mighty flood, eroding soil, rocks, trees -- everything in its path -- eventually redepositing them at the foot of the mountain. Volcanic episodes added to the fury. When the eruption calmed, up to 600 feet of sediments had been deposited, full of plant and animal remains. Now the sediments have hardened into sedimentary rock and the dead things have fossilized. Furthermore, wood is petrifying. Peat (the precursor to coal) has formed. A deep canyon has been gouged out. Many features which geologists are taught take long ages to form, were seen to happen rapidly. Igneous rocks which formed since 1980 yield radioisotope dates of millions of years, but are obviously much younger in age.

A catchy slogan helps illustrate this. To form geologic features, it either takes a little bit of water and a long time, or a lot of water and a short time. Even though we didn't witness the Flood, we do see modern catastrophes, and they rapidly accomplish things the Flood did on a grander scale. In a short, Biblically compatible time scale, such a Flood can account for the features we see on earth, features which many geologists mistake for evidence of great age. Earth doesn't really look old, it looks flooded."

What Does Gender Have to do With it?

If evolution is true, then how did gender and reproduction arise?

Single cell mitosis/meiosis or asexual reproduction is the basic form of microbial or monoclete reproduction, however how can the evolutionist explain the rise of gender and of sexual reproduction? There is no advantage biolgically for a simple organism, which depends on its own genetics to recapitulate, to suddenly produce a like organism that only carries half of the genetic codes required. It would be mathematically self defeating and would result in the extinction of the life form.

Let's ask evolutionism why is reproduction even a facet of life at all?

The evolutionist cannot explain death and the purpose of reproduction in species preservation despite death. Once an early organism would have died, its existence would cease. Thereby that newly "mutated and evolved organism", if it could not reproduce, would never fully exist again. For the existence of life to re-emerge, the same unlikely probability of spontaneous life generation would have to recur thousands and millions of times for there to be enough probability of there to be another single cell bacteria or monoclete who could "evolve" into either a multi-celled organism or one that reproduces sexually reflecting gender. There would have been NO more life were it not for the possibility of continual spontaneous generation of life from the fabled "primordial soup" proposed by Hugo DeVries. And if that were true, what force maintained that generation?

Another problem evolution faces is that when gender variations "start to exist" in the biological timescale no explanation is given for the sudden rise in the new structures necessary to facilitate the exchange of DNA between gendered organisms? Mutation does not solve this puzzle because in the lifetime of the gendered organism, once the first halving of DNA begins and is divided between the sexes and without the instant presence of delivery structures, BOTH newly gendered organisms would die and the end of the biological strain would be certain.

It is materially impossible to substantiate the existence of gender based on evolutionist theory in light of the proliferation of species biodiversity and genderization.

It all goes back to the discussion of the chicken and the egg. Which came first?

The creationist says the Chicken. This can be substantiated by observed science.
The Evolutionist says the Bacteria. This cannot.

Even if the egg came first, the protein information had to be organized into DNA in order to form the chicken and then that chicken would have grown up into either a rooster or a hen. So if you have one gender arising from an egg or DNA strand, that that necessitates another gender arising spontaneously from another egg or DNA strand. The likelyhood that these would occur independantly, let alone in the same timeframe in the geological time scale for them to reach parallel maturity to mate would be so astronomically and infinitesimally small that the only way that science could explain it actually happening would be to refer to it as what Christians call, "a miracle". It would be far more likely that an asexual chicken would arise. that could simply lay an egg and clone itself.

Evolutionary theory is in essence a mathematical proponent of automatic self cloning rather than gender based sexual reproduction. This however, would lead to lack of variation and susceptibility to mutation, disease, and more leading to the demise of life.

The very fact that there is rich biodiversity, gender, and sustained reproduction is a testament NOT to evolution, but to intelligent design.

Evolution has no answers for these questions. One cannot substantiate untruth with truth. If a theory cannot be tested, verified, and reproduced... it remains a theory. Not a fact.

The fact is that GOD created gender. He created it to preserve species, to create variation and strength in the genetics, and to insure against disease, mutation, and extinction. (Things that did not exist before the fall). Notice that Adam and Eve did not actually have children until after the fall. That is another discussion entirely, but one to mull over.

The Bible has this to say about gender:

Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 5:2
Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

Genesis 6:
19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

Matthew 19:
4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Mark 10:
6But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

As with rocks, God made Adam and the earth with "apparant maturity". Meaning that he instantly created a mature structure. Adam was not a baby devoid of speech and function. He was made as a Man that was fully aware, sentient, communication, working, walking, speaking, breathing. He had hands, ribs, lungs, eyes, mouth, everything that a man has today. He was created as a complete genetic structure, but God saw it was not good for him to be alone. This is not because he needed help doing the dishes. The Bible calls the woman a helpmate or "help meet for him" meaning both a mate and an appropriate partner. The genetics for woman were taken from Adam's DNA and from it God made woman. Adam himself called her Eve "the mother of all living". But why? Because without Eve, Adam would not have multiplied being created inherently gendered as male. He would either have had to live forever as male, or if he were to die in order for his race to continue he needed a conduit of recapitulation.

1 Timothy 2:13
For Adam was first formed, then Eve.

Adam, as made in the image of God (Christ) would not be able to produce Christ throughout time were it not for Eve. God, looking down through time saw that if Adam were to fall, or die, he would utterly die and that would make God's Creation of none effect and imperfect. Since God by definition is Absolute and Perfect, he created the answer for Adam's possible future in death by making Eve a conduit of life. Thereby, God intervened in the biology of men and species to create males and females.
This is a theory that we can verify, reproduce, and test today. That is why it is called a fact.

Creationism is a scientific fact.

The Bible even calls Jesus the Second Adam. The genetics of Adam were present in Jesus Christ just as they are in all of us. This is one reason why that the man Jesus Christ was so important to mankind in its redemption. His flesh, connected by genetics to Adam, bore the penalty for transgressions for all humanity.

1 Corinthians 15:22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

1 Corinthians 15:45And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Once fully redeemed, men will become like angels. In immortality, reproduction is unneeded:

Matthew 22:30
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

Mark 12:25
For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven.

Luke 20:34-36 (King James Version).
34And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
35But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
36Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.

So how does one attain to this?

You must be Born again of the Spirit (Acts 2:38)

John 3 (King James Version)
3Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Acts 2 (King James Version)
1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance...

...36Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
40And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Question about the Body of Christ

2007-05-17T10:56:00.000-04:00

The following question was asked of me in a Bible chat forum:

05/16 18:25:46
the bible says that god is a spirit does not have flesh and blood and it also says that jesus christ is god so when the rightous go to heaven will god have a body and contradict the bible or will jesus get rid of his immortal body and where will it go?<>

Here is my response:

The Bible describes Jesus as the "express image of His person" (Hebrews 1:3) and Jesus Himself said "I and my father are one" (John 10:30). John declared that the "Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14)

Christ was fully man and fully human. He had a dual nature. (Phillipians 2:6) Just as you and I have a human spirit that is intangible and unseen, yet alive. So too did Jesus Christ, excepting that the Spirit of Life within Him was God Himself and that is why he was pure and sinless. (John 14:20)

Remember that Adam was made in the image of God. (Genesis 1:27) What image was that if not of the man Jesus Christ since "God is a Spirit"(John 4:24), "no man has seen God at any time"(John 1:18), and "a Spirit hath not flesh and blood" (Luke 24:39).

In Revelation we see Jesus sitting on the white throne of judgement as the incarnation or temple of God Himself. (Revelation 4:2) As one with God, the Man Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. The Bible declares that the Lord no longer dwells in temples made with men's hands. (Acts 7:48, 17:23-25)

The immortal body of Jesus is everlasting and the life within the flesh of Jesus is none other than God himself. (Luke 23:46) (Isaiah 9:6)

It is not that God is a material being limited to finite space and matter, but that God made a man in whom to dwell and rule through, speaking, acting, judging, blessing, healing, delivering, and ultimately loving. (Hebrews 1:1-14)

It is not for His sake that he put on a robe of flesh, but for ours.

"To wit, that God was in Christ reconcling the world unto Himself". 2 Corinthians 5:19

An Atheist Challenge

2007-05-17T10:46:00.000-04:00

I read recently a post on a discussion forum that I thought to share. It is a great statement of logic- one worthy of committing to memory.

"They find 700 new species in Antarctica, but somehow we know there is no God. Never fear. Those species didn't exist either until we found them" -"sumatra"

Amazing Ethiopian Crusade Videos

2007-04-29T17:27:00.000-04:00

CRUSADE IN ETHIOPIA

These videos represent the services at first where over 48,000 people received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.

Recall that even in the Bible we only see records of 3,000 (Acts 2:41) and 5,000 (Acts 4:4).

This Apostolic Crusade is the largest single outpouring of the Holy Ghost documented in the history of Christendom.

While I am not much for the preaching histrionics and stagemanship, it is AMAZING to see what God did for the Spiritually Hungry People of Ethiopia. I believe that, despite the antics of men, God in His Love will still reach down and meet a soul in need wherever they are at.

The preachers will all go back to their pulpits, but the Ethiopians have been sealed for redemption and have been given true joy, power, and victory. These were all baptised in water as well, by the attending churches and Pastors according to Acts 2:38 in the Name of Jesus Christ

There were also reports, witnessed by secular media (CNN) and physicians of the dead being raised and people being healed miraculously.

The key to revival is in the hunger. A true hunger for God.

God Sends the Latter Rain (Fire)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2719341600001562930&q=Ethiopia+Revival+UPCI&hl=en

This 2nd video shows an abrupt onset of rain which was hailed by the Ethiopian people at the time as a miracle from God, as they had been in great drought and in dire need of water.

God Sends Actual Rain (Water)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8481420230629529133&q=Ethiopia+Revival+UPCI&hl=en

The Foolishness of Preaching and the Increase of Knowledge

2007-04-29T16:34:00.000-04:00

In an age of intelligence, rapid influx of new technology, and information increase, the question begs to be asked: "Why is preaching the Word of God still relevant today, when so many people have instant access to the Bible online?"

In the end of days, the Bible predicts that there will be an exponential increase in learning and knowledge as well as in transportation. The prophecies preceding Daniel 12:3-5 are to occur during this time frame.

Daniel 12:3-5 (King James Version)
4But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

A family member recently sent me this link that really details just how much that knowledge has increased. Watch this link before reading on.

http://www.glumbert.com/media/shift

Now read the Word in context to better understand our world in context:

Daniel 12 (King James Version)
1And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

2And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

3And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

4But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Now... some more food for thought: Note the emphasis I have added in bold face type.

1 Corinthians 13:2
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:8
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

2 Corinthians 10:4-6
4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

===================================================
2 Timothy 3 (King James Version)

1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

6For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,

7Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

8Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.

9But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as their's also was.

10But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,

11Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.

12Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

13But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

14But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

15And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

============================================
1 Corinthians 3:19
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
===============================================

1 Corinthians 1 (King James Version)
18For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

19For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

20Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

21For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

22For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

23But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

24But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

25Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

29That no flesh should glory in his presence.

30But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

31That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

==========================================================
So what is the answer to the question?

Q: "Why is preaching the Word of God still relevant today, when so many people have instant access to the Bible online?"

A: Because God chose the foolishness of preaching to confound the wise and save them that believe. He has not chosen the wise, prudent, learned, or polished. He has chosen the broken, the humble, the meek, the unlearned so that by giving his power and glory and salvation to these, the wisdom of men and their knowledge would be made foolish.

Peter was an unschooled fisherman who hacked out his living with rough guys on an inland sea hand drawing nets. Yet it was to him that God gave such power that even the passing of his shadow healed both the sick and lame people instantly Acts 5:14-16

So why is preaching still important? Because not everyone who reads the Bible is able to understand it and be saved.

Remember what happened to the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts 8? He was a faithful worshipper of the One true God and was reading the book of Isaiah's prophecies about Christ. He did not understand them because it was hidden from him by God. God sent Phillip to him to expound the Word through the anointing. As a result, his understanding was opened and he was baptised and gave his life over to Jesus Christ:

30And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?

31And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.

==========================================================
Romans 10:13-15 (King James Version)

13For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

15And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

AMEN COME QUICKLY LORD JESUS.

JLA

What killed all the American Camels?

2007-04-28T20:56:00.000-04:00

As a part of my ongoing research in antediluvian geography and plate tectonics, I often pause to consider components of natural history that speak to the former connections between the landmasses.

Remembering that, in the days of Eber in the Book of Genesis, Peleg was born and was so-named because in his day, "the earth was divided".

Genesis 10 (King James Version)
25And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan.

Quite literally, this meant that the known global landmass was divided in two. This was a phenomenon witnessed by men after the flood and recorded as such in the Bible. A simple whole-earth view on Google Earth will reveal that directly down the center of the Atlantic Ocean lies the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This ridge is a giant fissure that runs longitudinally down the middle of the ocean.

The fissure is constantly pushing the landmasses apart and that force is what caused the western coast of North America to collide into the Pacific Plate systems. This collision is what both caused the pacific plates to become subluxed and what in turn created the up force and crumpling that became what are now known as the rocky mountains.

The division at first was sharp and violent, most of it occurring under the waters of the Great Flood. When those waters receded and also became Glacial Ice, the range was revealed, and is why today you can still find aquatic fossils at the tops of many of the western mountain ranges of the United States.

This cataclysm was described as occurring around 7-9 thousand years ago according to geneological tables. One of the main points of interest in illustrating just exactly which landmasses were adjoined can be revealed when looking at botanical, zoological, anthropological, and paleontological records. The prevelance or absence of species over the paleontological record can easily speak to migrations, range of habitat, and more.

One often wonders how the glory of Northern Africa and the history of its civiliations ebbed into abandonment with the onset of the desertification of its land geography. What caused the Sahara to engulf Northern Africa? And what remnants of civilization lie beneath its sands?

Go back in your mind to when the continents were attached. Careful study of tectonics reveals that the northern edge of South America and its underwater shelf, fit neatly into the Eastern Recess of Western Africa. A review of the existing rivers in Western Africa and of Brazil do not bring one to a spurious conclusion. In fact, when formerly connected it was the AMAZON river that flowed steadily into and watered much of Western Africa bringing nitrogen rich sediments along with it to bring fertility to the region. Once seperated, over time, this freshwater source continued to flow into the Atlantic Ocean.

So what is the mechanism that kept the Mid-Atlantic Ridge actively volcanic?

Consider when this fault line began that the fissure was not very wide, but by contrast, it WAS very deep. As water over the Pacific Ocean, over time, evaporated, and rained down on the land mass, the waters would become concentrated and would drain to the fissure. As the Amazon and Missisipi poured in and as the Mediterranean did the same, as well as the African Rivers over time, this water kept filling in more and more.

The weight of fresh pure water is 8 lbs per gallon. As all of this water over time began accumulating it also pressed down on the earth's crust putting immense pressure on the ocean floor. This is what caused the Great Continental Drift and the development of the Rocky Mountain Range. Any Geologist, regardless of their flawed dating methodologies, will tell you that the Appalachian range is far older and more mature than the Rockies, and is far lower in elevation. You still find active volcanism, earthquakes, and faultlines on our west coast to this day while our eastern ranges are quiet.

So while the Amazon continued to pour in, and the Evaporation of the Pacific rained down, and while the North American Glaciers melted as Canada and the US drifted more Southernly, and as Africa's Rivers Drained into the west, the Atlantic Ocean was formed. Now the plates are moving at a very slow rate, but certainly at a rate that is measurable. It was this geological activity, brought on by the conditions of a post-diluvian world devoid of a thick atmospheric water layer, that not only created the nutrient depleted Sahara, but that created the Atlantic Ocean and the Rocky Mountains.

These facts explain the prevalance of both old and new world monkeys that are confined to the Southern Hemispheres. Of Both American and European Bison, Foxes, Bears, Wolves, and Mammoths occuring only in Northern Hemispheres. These are only a few examples. One most recent discovery (below) highlights a rare find of North American Camels 10,000 years old or younger.

This is an exceptional find. Camels are highly migratory and range widely. This is witnessed not only in Northern Africa, but in Australia as well. The finding of North American Camel bones dated to this time period is a fabulous piece of evidence linking us to a recent tectonic adjoinment with Northern Africa. This is where the species of camels are thought to originate. Other Camel species as well are found in South America (Llama, Alpaca, Guanaco). This too, is another speciation of a historical camel anscestor that lived in a range that encompassed both Africa and the Americas.

Read the Article Below for the press release on the find...

I wonder if they will ever bring themselves to admit just what exactly that "great event" was that "wiped out a great deal of mammal life".

Genesis

PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- Workers digging at the site of a future Wal-Mart store in suburban Mesa have unearthed the bones of a prehistoric camel that's estimated to be about 10,000 years old.

Arizona State University geology museum curator Brad Archer hurried out to the site Friday when he got the news that the owner of a nursery was carefully excavating bones found at the bottom of a hole being dug for a new ornamental citrus tree.

"There's no question that this is a camel; these creatures walked the land here until about 8,000 years ago, when the same event that wiped out a great deal of mammal life took place," Archer told The Arizona Republic.

Wal-Mart officials and Greenfield Citrus Nursery owner John Babiarz have already agreed that the bones will go directly on display at ASU.

Archer said some of them may be placed on display very soon, but most will take several months "to get sorted out and stabilized."

"In my 15 years at ASU doing this work I can think of six or seven times when finds this important have been made," Archer said. "This is the first camel. Others have been horses, once a mammoth on Happy Valley Road. This sort of thing is extremely rare."

So.... what killed all of the Camels?

Genesis 7 (King James Version)
4For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.

17And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bare up the ark, and it was lift up above the earth.

18And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters.

19And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.

20Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered.

21And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man:

22All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

23And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.

24And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

CNN Reports: Dutch Man Builds Noah's Ark Replica

2007-04-28T20:52:00.000-04:00

Here is the Associated Press article reprinted for your convenience and cited:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/04/28/dutch.ark.ap/index.html
New Noah's Ark ready to sail
POSTED: 4:41 p.m. EDT, April 28, 2007

SCHAGEN, Netherlands (AP) -- The massive central door in the side of Noah's Ark was thrown open Saturday -- you could say it was the first time in 4,000 years -- drawing a crowd of curious pilgrims and townsfolk to behold the wonder.

Of course, it's only a replica of the biblical Ark, built by Dutch creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.

Reckoning by the old biblical measurements, Johan's fully functional ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That's two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.

Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.

"The design is by my wife, Bianca," Huibers said. "She didn't really want me to do this at all, but she said if you're going to anyway, it should look like this."

A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine -- biblical scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been.

Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005.

On the uncovered top deck -- not quite ready in time for the opening -- will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, and goats. And one camel.

Visitors on the first day were stunned.

"It's past comprehension," said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw the ark looming over the local landscape.

"I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big."

In fact, Noah's Ark as described in the Bible was five times larger than Johan's Ark.

But that still leaves enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater, where kids can watch the segment of the Disney film "Fantasia" that tells the story of Noah.

Another exhibit shows water cascading down on a model of the ark. Exhibits on the third level show ancient tools and old-fashioned barrels, exotic stuffed animals, and a wax model of an exhausted Noah reclining on a bed in the forecastle.

Genesis says Noah kept seven pairs of most domesticated animals and one breeding pair of all other creatures, plus his wife, three sons and three daughters-in-law together on the boat for almost a year while the world was deluged.

Perhaps it was only logical that the replica project would be the brainchild of a Dutchman: Fear of flooding is ingrained in the country's collective consciousness by its water-drenched history.
Lois Poppema, visiting from California, said she thought the Netherlands was exactly the right place for an ark.

"Just a few weeks ago we saw Al Gore on television ... saying that all Holland will be flooded" by rising sea levels, she said.

"I don't think the man who made this ever expected that global warming will become (such an important) issue -- and suddenly having the ark would be meaningful in the middle of Holland."

Under sunny skies Saturday, Huibers said he wasn't worried about another biblical flood, since according to Genesis, the rainbow is the sign of God's promise never to flood the world again. But he does worry that recent events such as the flooding of New Orleans could be seen as a portent of the end of time.

Huibers said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands, where churchgoing has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years. He also plans to visit major cities in Belgium and Germany.

Human Tracking Inches Closer with the Elderly

2007-04-21T10:30:00.000-04:00

Tag elderly people with dementia, minister suggests: Thu Apr 19, 7:29 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - Elderly people with dementia could be electronically tagged to make tracking their movements easier, a minister suggested.

Science Minister Malcolm Wicks said that the move would give sufferers "freedom to roam around their communities" and would have to be done with permission either from them or their family.

"This is about dignity and independence in old age," he told the BBC.

"They could have the safety and security that they would wish for themselves and certainly their families would feel more reassured."

The Department of Health refused to comment on whether the proposal is likely to become government policy.

Wicks's comments received a cautious welcome from one charity which works with old people.
Kate Jopling, of Help The Aged, said tagging might be a way of helping elderly people with dementia to live more independently.

"At first glance, these proposals may smack of the Big Brother state, but we shouldn't dismiss the potential of new technologies to afford dignity and opportunity to vulnerable older people," she said.

"The key issue would, of course, be the involvement and consent of the individual, and their family and carers, to ensure that the technology means better care -- not just care that's cheaper or more convenient."

But Shami Chakrabarti, director of civil rights group Liberty, warned against "gimmicks" which appear to offer "cheap and quick fixes".

There are currently some 700,000 people with dementia in Britain and the figure is likely to increase to 1.7 million by 2050.

The condition costs the country 17 billion pounds (25 billion euros, 34 billion dollars) a year.

Central Banking and its role with Cashless Society and RFID

2007-04-02T23:17:00.000-04:00

http://www.freedomtofascism.com/

See Director Aaron Russo's interview with the Conscious Media Network

click this link and watch the long interview with Aaron Russo. 36 minutes. Worth the time.

Deals with:

Central Banking
RFID
Microchips
Central ID Databanks
Personal Identification and Tracking
Risks of Digital Identity
Issues of Privacy and Choice
Income Tax
Forming of Supernations
Dissolution of Boundaries
Inflation, Debt, and the Federal Reserve
Women's Lib, Additional Tax Revenue
The role of the IRS and its relationship to the Supreme Court
The 16th Amendment and its application
Resisting National ID cards.

Tommy Leaves Verichip

2007-04-02T22:18:00.000-04:00

http://www.spychips.com/blog/verichip/

Tommy Thompson has left Verichip temporarily to run for President.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1347022/000136231007000256/c70266e8vk.htm

He resigned as a Director on a Leave of Absence. It would be interesting to learn whether or not he sold his stock....The incoming replacement director recieved 25,000 shares and a modest quarterly fee of $5k as well as expense reimbursement. According to a 10-k Sec filing:

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1347022/000119312507072146/d10k.htm#fin12558_6

"Tommy G. Thompson, a partner with Akin Gump, was a member of the Company’s board of directors from July 2005 to March 8, 2007, and, as a result of his directorship services, holds fully vested options to purchase 55,556 shares of the Company’s common stock. "

comments or updates welcome.

Tommy Thompson and Verichip

2007-04-02T19:17:00.002-04:00

This is my first Blog post in a while...but I just had to write again.

In Matthew 22 the Pharisees asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. In His response he said this, quoting both Exodus and Deuteronomy 6:4:

Matthew 22 (King James Version)
34But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
35Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38This is the first and great commandment.
39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

In Deuteronomy, God set forth his greatest commandment. Every Jew was to bind the Authority of God on his forehead and on his right arm. This commandment today is still kept by many Jewish Believers around the world.

Deuteronomy 6 (King James Version)
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
10And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
11And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
12Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
13Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
14Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
15(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

So in the Jewish faith, the way that the highest honor associating both the Oneness of God, in a polytheistic world, and the primacy of that One God, was demonstrated by the observance of the wearing of the phylactery or the Tefillin that had the above scriptures written on it. It was also posted on the doorposts of their homes and was recited when going to bed and rising up in the morning to remind them that God was One, and that they not only served the One God, but that for what God had done for the Isrealites in making them His people, they would do this as a demonstration that they Love him with all of their Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength.

Of course, wherever God works, the devil has his counterfeits. Recall Moses standing before Pharaoh, or for those not read up refer to the movie "The Prince of Egypt" when the Sorcerers conjured snakes right after God turned Moses' staff into a serpent. Importantly, when they did this, Moses' snake before turning back into a serpent, killed and ate the snakes conjured by the satan's sorcery in Pharaoh's Courts. Again also, when Elijah challenged the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the grove (1 Kings 18:18-41) and God proved Himself against their wickedness and they were all executed for their deception.

Now, some find it easy to dismiss Biblical accounts as mere allegory. However, all Biblical prophecy becomes fulfilled. All Biblical prophecy is realized. From the forming of the nation of Israel, to the Medo-Persian Empire, to the conquests of Alexander the Great and the four kingdom split, to the birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, to the out pouring of the Holy Ghost, to the growth of the Apostolic Church, to the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, to the fall of Rome, to the times of persecution, to the great falling away, to the blessing of the latter rain, and finally... to the last days.

We are most certainly in the last days. Many, Many prophesies are being fulfilled as the Return of Christ draws near. Not only is there a great awakening through which many are being saved unto the Rapture, there is also a great darkening through which many are and are being...

deceived.

One of the greatest deceptions of the endtime is the power play made by Antichrist, a world leader to control the identities, commerce, and whereabouts of all of the earth's inhabitants. Never before in the history of man has this been possible. Not without these: internet, microchips, satellites, GPS, RFID, cashless economy, nano-technology, laser/optical scanning, and nano-energy sources. This means of control is called by some "the chip". It involves assigning each person a number. An ID through which all commerce can be made, it can track your whereabouts, it can remove crime, it can bring world peace. No more kidnappers, no more hiding terrorists, no more lost medical accidents. In fact the whole world will cry out "Peace, Peace." However, this peace is not real. It is counterfeited by Satan's world system and ultimately destroyed by Christ upon His return.

1 Thessalonians 5
1But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

In fact, the Antichrist will persecute those who refuse to take this mark, he will mock God, the Name of Jesus, the Jewish Temple, and those in Heaven. Then, he will use his global military might, wrought by the global economy, to hunt them down and kill them. We have seen this kind of evil display throughout history: Pharoah, Herod, Imperial Rome, The Catholic Age and the Inquisition, Adolf Hitler, Communist China, North Korea, Radical Islam...

Revelation 13:6-8 (King James Version)
6And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

This is merely a snapshot of what is to come. The question is, how far away is all of this? Do we see these things coming to pass? We do see world leaders and nations clamoring for global control, large nation blocs forming...etc. But for all of these things to come to pass, the means must be there to accomplish them. Alexander, Rome, Kublai Khan, Mohammed, Charlemagne, Rome, Colonial England, Saladin, Napoleon, Marx, Hitler... none could accomplish these things before the means to do so existed.

Never before... until now.

Revelation 13 (King James Version)

11And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Now, much ado has been made about this over the years. Heavy metal bands, Charles Manson, movies like "The Omen" and "The Exorcist" have done much to play with the evil contexts associated with it. But what does this all truly mean? The truth is that the number associated with the name of the "beast" or Antichrist, or the man who will rule the earth in the end time, will be part of this "mark" that people would receive in their forehead or their right hand/arm.

Remember how the Bible commanded the Jew to bind God's highest commandment in the same place? This is satan's counterfeit system. It seems all well and good, at first. But remember, no one who is deceived believes that they are! That is why it is called deception! Only when people can hear and understand truth, are they able to recognize deception and choose correctly. For example, if you had never seen or smoked a cigarette, and I told you that cigarettes were healthful because they calmed your nerves and reduced your appetite, you would likely take up smoking with little fuss. However, when shown the truth about cancer, black lungs, tar, formaldehyde, and its effects on the body from smoking, it is easier to decide what is right. The problem with deception is, once it has a hold on you, like a cigarette, it is very difficult to break free. So too, is it with the deception of the mark. Once taken, it will be nearly impossible to break free. Some will prevail, however (see below) and some will only prevail by being killed (Rev 13:7)

Revelation 15 (King James Version)
1And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
2And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
3And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

Jesus shockingly had this to say about this time that was coming...

Matthew 18:7-9 (King James Version)
7Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
8Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
9And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Of course this would all have to mean that these things were happening now. It would be easy to blow it off. Most Americans are insulated by their wealth, entertainment, and relative ease of life. They are highly inclined to technology. In fact it is here in the U.S. where this mark is being developed. In fact, our own Tommy Thompson has become the poster-boy for the company leading the charge. Applied Digital Solutions is funded by a very elusive group of global investors called the Satellite Strategic Finance Group. It is the main source of funding for the technology being used to implant numbers into people for commerce, indentity, tracking, and location. This is nNOT science fiction. This is NOT a hoax. This is NOT something in the future, this is REAL and it is NOW.

Watch this link first before going on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiLixwNkur8

The company funding Applied Digital has a Stock Warrants Excercise option of 666,666.66 shares of stock.

Their goal is to make this Global. I spoke to a national strategist at GPS and their stated goal is to have every person on this planet personally implanted with a tracking device.

The Verichip product is real. When scanned, it produces a NUMBER. This number is a combination of not only the number of the name of Antichrist, but of your name, and other bits of data about your identity. It is used to link to a file or registry of data which is architected to include your finances, medical history, taxes, national origin, and any other data that can be collected. It is run off of nano-batteries and is read with a scanner.

Most every pet is chipped. "If Fido and my Diabetic Grandfather use it for benigin reasons, then it must be great for me!" Imagine the upsell... no lost kids, easy transactions, no identity theft, no delinquent taxes, no terrorists on airplanes, no sexual predators in your community, no fugitives from justice, no hiding drug dealers, no illegal immigration....

Every one on the earth will accept it except believing Spirit-Filled Christians ...

Ephesians 1 (King James Version)
12That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

and 144,000 of a remnant of the Israelites...

Revelation 7 (King James Version)
2And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
4And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

The question is this:

Will you stand and be counted, for eternity, on the side of Jesus Christ, for Truth?

Or,

Will you decide for Antichrist and his mark for the comfort of your life here on earth?

The Roman governor Pontius Pilate had this to say:

John 18:37-39 (King James Version)
37Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Pilate then asked Jesus, "What is Truth?" John 18:37-39 (King James Version)
But because Pilate could not hear truth, Jesus did not answer him in that moment. In fact he had already given the answer to his followers, his witnesses, specifically the Apostle Thomas also called Didymus and conventionally "doubting Thomas::

John 14:5-7 (King James Version)
5Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

And also to his disciples...

John 16:12-14 (King James Version)
12I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
13Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
14He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

The Spirit of Truth is in the world already, desperate to lead those away from deception who trust in th uncertainty of riches 1 Timothy 6:17 , who are "increased with goods and in want of
of nothing" Revelation 3:16-18, and who are "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God."
2 Timothy 3:3-5

Choosing allegiance with the world system, toward receiving this mark has a consequence.

Those that ally themselves with this world system will be conscripted to fight against and to try an destroy Israel by wiping it off the map. (recall the weekly rhetoric of Iranian Islamo-fascism on CNN's Glen Beck show)... However those who do align with Antichrist and receive his mark have a certain future. It is not a game, and it is certainly no joke. There is no subjective prognostication.

The Bible said there would be a mark in the right hand/arm and forehead
There is a mark for the right hand/arm or forehead
The Bible said that this mark would bear a number which allows access to commerce
The mark is scanned to produce a number which can positively ID someone for commerce
The Bible said it would be global
The mark is a globally marketed, globally funded, and globally strategized product
The Bible said the mark would allow the antichrist to find and make war with the saints
The mark is/can be RFID/GPS equipped for satellite homing and observation.
The Bible said that the coming world system and leader would bring about a false peace.
The solutions offered by the mark are being marketed as a global peace-bringing tool.

Here is what becomes of the antichrist (world leader) and his mark, as well as to those who receive the mark:

Revelation 19 (King James Version)

11And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
18That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Jesus Christ is more than a man who did nice things and went away. He is the King of Kings. He is the Lord of Lords. He is the infinite God clothed in the form of a man, established to reign here on earth and to destroy sin.

There is an explicit promise made by Christ to all who do not receive the mark. Even though it may mean being killed for Christ... there is yet an eternal promise,that they will become judges with Christ over the judgment of the earth and will have eternal life.

Revelation 20 (King James Version)
4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Even today we see Christians and even our own U.S. troops and civilians being beheaded for the name of Christ.

So why do I spend what little time I have on this earth blogging this? Do I know when Christ is returning? No. I do not. Before Jesus Ascended to heaven he told his disciples this:

Acts 1:7-9 (King James Version)
7And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

The disciples (later Apostles) asked Jesus Himself when He was going to come back. He left them with a clear answer:

Matthew 24 (King James Version)
1And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
10And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
11And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25Behold, I have told you before.
26Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
28For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
34Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
36But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
37But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Many conditions will precede the return of Christ (some examples given):

Wars and rumours of wars
False Prophets, False Christs
Nation Rising Against Nation
Kingdoms rising against kingdoms
famines
pestilences
Earthquakes
Persecution of Christians (www.persecution.com)
False Prophets
The Gospel preached to all nations

The increase in these things in the world, especially suddenly, is to mark the beginnings of the sorrows leading up to the return of Christ. They are to be read by knowledgeable believers as a sign to understand that the Lord will not only return soon, but that they will face persecution and even be betrayed by even their own families unto death. I will deal with the signs of the entime more definitively in the next blog post.

Mark 13:11-13 (King James Version)
11But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.
12Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.
13And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

However, there will be a seperation of those opposed to Christ and those who are Saved.
Many people ask me, "Why do I need to be saved? Saved from what?"

Saved from the penalty of sin. And saved into eternal life.

Matthew 13:49-51 (King James Version)
49So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
51Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord

So many who don't read their Bibles simply do not know what the Word has to say about the last days. No one knew in Louisiana or in Southeast Asia that there would be such sudden destruction... They had no real warning.

We, however, do have a warning and it is a clear choice to either believe and accept the Word, or to simply go on living life as usual with no concern for what will happen. God allows people to choose not to follow him.

Luke 12 (King James Version)
54And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.
55And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.
56Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?

So what does the Bible say that God's DESIRE is for us, for EVERY one?

2 Peter 3:8-10 (King James Version)
8But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

God is not judgement. God is Love. God judges Sin. He does not judge Righteousness.

Romans 2:3-5 (King James Version)
1Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
2But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
3And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

God is patient. But there may not be much time left for you and I.

Do not take the mark/chip in your hand or forehead.

Trust in the Lord.

Acts 2 (King James Version)
38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
40And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

Philippians 2 (King James Version)
1If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,
2Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
3Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

AMEN.

Posters welcome riverforum@yahoo.com for personal discussion.

Useful Links:
http://www.spychips.com/

On Oral Tradition and The Formation of the Pentateuch

2006-03-21T20:42:00.000-05:00

During the course of my Liberal Arts studies at the University, I found evident a systematic approach to debunking the Bible. The Agenda was present in all courses: Philosophy, Literature, Politics, English, French, Mass Communications, Zoology. It seems that in the name of "higher thinking" we were being taught that the highest thoughts were the thoughts of men and not the thoughts of an Almighty Omniscient, and yet personal, God.

Although, in the least, the most masterful literary work ever assembled, my comparative literature professor established a firm and vocal agenda to unfound the historicity, the authenticity, and the reliablility of the Bible in favor of other ancient texts of spurious origin. For example, the Epic of Gilgamesh was viewed as the authoritative and original literary record of the Noachic flood and that, because of the differences in the two texts and the earlier date, the Gilgamesh record was more probably accurate. Therefore the Genesis account was simply a forgery or a copy of an oral tradition stemming from this epic legend. From this she built an platform to completely disassemble Biblical Truth and all Judeo-Christian Theology.

Many Bible Scholars, archeologists, and cultural anthropologists alike have found records of flood stories in virtually every stable and permeated ancient culture. Chinese Symbols, Aborignal Myth, Inuit Tradition, Sumerian Legend, the Bible, and indeed modern geology all provide overwhelming evidence of the flood and the rescue of a remnant of people in a boat. The question is, "How did the story get into the book of Genesis?".

Much of human history that we know of was transferred orally* . Nevertheless, many people cite oral history as a poor way to translate information and therefore view the Genesis account as allegorical, and ancient prose rather than an authoritative and inspired account of the beginnings of civilization. Although Archeology repeatedly attests to the authenticity of the Bible's places, names, and times, many so-called scholars still scoff at the Bible as a reliable Historical resource.

This short discourse is really only aimed at revealing one small bit of knowledge I recently obtained in my research regarding the oral traditions of the Bible. I too, felt that if stories were passed down through the generations there could be room for human error and interpolation or omission of key details and facts. In researching the book of Genesis from the aspect of the Origins of Life I have found its record to be scientifically and Historically impenetrable. However, I have been studying Genesis from an Anthropological perspective of late and have made the following interesting discoveries that have settled my questions about Oral Transmission:

In reviewing the records of the ages of the descendants of Adam to Abram (Abraham) I collated the Genological Lifespan Table below (the year 0 is the first year of Humanity in Creation- all dates reckoned forward from creation based on the Genesis Account):

Adam (0-930)
Seth (130-1042)
Enos (235-1140)
Cainan (325-1235)
Mahaleel (395-1290)
Jared (460-1422)
Enoch (622-987)
Methuseleh (687-1656)
Lamech (874-1651)
Noah (1056-2006)
Shem (1556-2158)
Arphaxad (1658-2096)
Salah (1693-2126)
Eber (1723-2187)
Peleg (1757-1996)
Reu (1787-2026)
Serug (1819-2049)
Nahor(1849-1997)
Terah (1878-2083)
Abram (1948-2123)

Notice the following facts:

Adam walked with God in the Garden and knew Him.
Adam was contemporary with Methuselah for 243 years
Adam was contemporary with Noah's Father Lamech
Noah was contemporary with Methusaleh for 600 years
The Flood Occured just after Methusaleh and Lamech died Naturally
Methuselah's Father, Enoch, was raptured as he "walked with God"
In the year 1656 the Flood Covered the Earth, Noah became Patriarch
In the Days of Peleg (1757-1996), the Earth was divided (continental drift)
Abraham was contemporary with Noah for 58 years
Abram left Ur with his Father Terah after Noah's Death, and upon the death of his brother

From an oral history standpoint:

God Spoke to Adam and taught him directly.
Adam easily could have passed his own history and personal account on to 8 subsequent generations unto Lamech's.
Noah was taught by God directly, as well as by Methusaleh (his grandfather ) for 600 years, and Lamech (his father) for 595 years.
No Godly descendant of Adam died in the flood for they had all died naturally by then
Noah was the new and sole carrier of the Creation Story.
Noah lived until the time of Abram and was a source of History and Godly experience
God spoke directly to Abraham

So, the account of the Creation, by the time of Abram has passed merely through four contemporary patriarchs (Adam, Methusaleh, Noah, Abram) with 961 combined overlapping contemporaneous years for the previous patriarch to impart the information to the subsequent generations.

By contrast, I can relate family stories from my own anscestors back to the accounts of my Great Grandparents as I was contemporary with them. My children have learned stories from me of their great-grandparents that are accurately retold as I was contemporary with them for 15 years. If this is simple enough, how much more can we trust the accounts of Genesis as accurate and authoritative records of human pre-history?

It makes sense that many post-diluvian cultures would have records of the flood. Noah lived for 350 years after the flood. Until Nimrod, humanity had one language (that given by God to Adam) and the accounts of the flood existed in one language from one people. When God scattered the tongues of the inhabitants of Babel, they seperated from central Mesopotamia and diasporated througout the globe forming tribes according to their languages. This is why many ancient civilization and surviving stone-age cultures retell ancient legends of a worldwide flood and of 8 souls being saved in a boat. These cultures preserved the information, but without the direct connection to the original source (Noah) and his language (Hebrew).

Noah's name is recorded in the Bible in Hebrew. The descendants of Shem were the anscestors of Abram (Abraham) out of whom came the 12 tribes of Israel. From the priestly tribe of Levi came Moses who is credited with writing the Pentateuch. The books were written in Ancient Hebrew. It seems evident that the culture that historically worshipped the same God of the Creation account, would retain the orginal language, account, and most accurate History of the experiences of Adam, Noah, and Abraham.

Following the descendant lines of Ham, and Japheth lead to other cultures who did not all follow the same God that Noah served and knew. Many became pantheists, and idolaters, creating new myths that were foreign to Noah's teaching. Thereby, these other cultures may have preserved fragments of the ancient stories and records, but they are infused with myth and lore and other histories as they are not specifically retold as eye-witness accounts of Ante-Diluvian history. Noah and his sons and daughters were the only sources of this information. They simply did not retain enough familial, linguistic, or religious ties to the original testimony for their records to be trustworthy and accurate.

Therefore, in reviewing ancient sources, although some writings may have pre-existed the Pentateuch, they are not authoritative as they rely on accounts that were not eye-witnessed, and they have been passed through and filtered by cultures that both abandoned knowledge of their history and began to record in languages different from the original language spoken by man.

For example: Surely, if my sons were to speak to their great-great grandmother in English, there would be very little that could be discussed to any great extent as she spoke Slavic languages almost exclusively. If they tried to extract information about her childhood, without pictures, she would probably have to draw symbols and use gestures to try and be understood. Imagine then, the difficulty in non-semitic (descendents of Shem) cultures trying to retain their history and record. This problem is solved for Bible Scholars as we know that Noah was contemporary with Abram and that Abram is the Father of the Hebrews. Their language stayed the same, they served the same God, they kept the same culture, and they kept the same history.

Plainly, the Pentateuch can be trusted as not only inspired, but historically accurate as it passes certain anthropological tests of oral tradition.

May this information bless your reading of the Bible as you grow in the discipleship of His Word.

Pastor Jay

*endnote: Interestingly, it is unknown what ancient volumes were contained in the ancient library of Alexandretta that was burned during the Catholic Crusadesand countless more sources burned throughout the dark ages.

UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

2006-03-18T15:42:00.000-05:00

UNDERSTANDING THE KINGDOM OF GOD

Daniel's Interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

Much has been written about Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a figure of a man (Dan 2:32-44) with:

A head made of Gold
His Breast and Arms made of Silver
His Belly and thighs made of brass
His legs made of iron
His feet mixed with Iron and Clay

Many interpret these kingdoms as coming in the last days of the endtime. However, through careful and diligent research in the scriptures as well as of history, I have determined that the prophetic vision in Daniel has already come to pass and has been fulfilled. We need not look to the future to understand this vision. This is not to say that I wholistically adopt a preterist position on eschatology and much of Bible prophecy, but there are prophecies in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, which should be interpreted as being fulfilled before the Advent of Christ. For in the Old Testament, Paul reveals in 2 Corinthians 3:13-16, that the Old Testament was read of the Jews as though they were veiled and did not have the full understanding of their doctrine, laws, and prophets, as their core was to reveal Christ.

Inasmuch as these things are now unveiled before the Church, the Holy Spirit reveals all truth in these last days. Most of the Old Testament Prophecies are tied to a dispensation of a covenant that has been fulfilled. Therefore the prophecies that deal with the end of the church age and the second coming of Christ are to be found in the New Testament which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ

That being said, let us examine the image in Daniel's Dream again:

A head made of Gold
His Breast and Arms made of Silver
His Belly and thighs made of brass
His legs made of iron
His feet mixed with Iron and Clay
Then a stone made without hands destroys first the feet and then the rest of the figure and the stone becomes a great mountain which fills the earth

The Bible declares that the interpretation of the vision is thus:

The Head of Gold is the Babylonian Kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar
The Following Lesser Kingdom (Silver) arises after Babylon
The Third Kingdom of Brass will Rule over all the World
The Fourth is Strong as is iron and will break other kingdoms
The Fifth is the Same Iron Kingdom Divided in Two but the kingdom is partly strong and partly broken
The Stone is a Kingdom set up by God that will not pass away, never be destroyed. It will destory the prior kingdoms and it has no end.

History reveals that:

The Babylon was the first kingdom (Gold)
The Medo-Persian Empire was the Second (Silver)
The Greek Empire was the Third (Brass)
The Roman Empire was the Fourth (Iron)
The Roman Empire with Jewish Citizens was the Fifth (Iron mixed with Clay)
The Sixth stone is Christ and His Kingdom which is not of this world.

Most Bible scholars agree on the first 4 items above. Notice that in the prophecy, Iron and Clay do not mix. As a series of world empires, each of these was truly built upon the prior. As one researches these classical civilizations one will find that each subsequent empire carried with it certain principles, values, religions, cultures, economies, industry, art, architecture, etc of the prior one. Greco-Roman Architecture and the the Greek and Roman Pantheons are fine examples of this.

The Clay was the Jewish people allowed to finally occupy a place in Roman Society. We see this illustrated in the context of Caiphas' dealings with Pontius Pilate concerning the administration of the Punishment and eventual Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

What is profound here is that although the Iron Kingdom mixed with Clay, Christ was able to use this influence to actually destroy the kingdom itself. Clay in the bible is symbolic of a god-yielded person or group of people. Idioms like "clay in the hands of the potter" speak to this allusion. When the presence of Clay mixed into the Roman Empire, it ushered in its final demise.

It can be seen throughout history that each of these five kingdoms stood in opposition to the people of God.

Nebuchadnezzar (conquered Jerusalem and led them captive into Babylon
Darius (Issued decrees to Ban worship of God)
Antiochus Epiphanes (destroyed the Jewish Temple and killed many Jews)
Romans persecuted Jews and Occupied Palestine, later persecuting christians
The Roman Jews persecuted Christ, his followers, and later the church

Christ Coming to Jerusalem was the arrival of the Kingdom of God which has not ended nor will end, just as Daniel foretold while in Captivity in Babylon. Jesus declares in John 18:36, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."

The kingdom of Christ (the stone made without hands) is the kingdom of true believers. The New Testament refers to the Kingdom of God 68 times, whereas it does not appear in the Old Testament. It refers to Israel, or Judah, but never as the Kingdom of God. He told the Chief Jewish Priests (Matthew 21:42-45) that he was the "stone" and the kingdom would be taken from them. The wealthy Ruling Jews certainly had alliances with Rome (Herod, Pilate, et al).
What is also very revealing is that Matthew 21:44 reveals that on whomsoever that the "stone" falls on will be ground into powder. Further he declares that when the kingdom of God would be taken from them, it would be given to a new nation. This "nation" is a spiritual nation build on the foundation of the 12 apostles. It is the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven.

Revelation declares that New Jerusalem as a city will have as it's foundation stones the names of the 12 apostles. The kingdom of God is built on their doctrine, ministry, power, life, and mission-which is the mission of Christ Himself. Luke 16:16 declares "The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." This Kingdom of God is told by Christ to be the final kingdom.

Luke 17:19-21 is a very interesting passage because the Jews are coming to Christ and asking him directly about the Kingdom of God. Jesus says that the kingdom is not one that you can see, but is the kingdom that comes to reside INSIDE the believer. The bible says that "Christ dwells in temples not made with men's hands." This provides additional reference back to Nebuchadnezzar's dream as the stone was hewn without hands, meaning not a kingdom established or built by man.

Examining the metaphor more fully reveals that the metals, Iron, Brass, Silver, and Gold are all ores that are refined and processed by man. That is, materials that man makes or modifies for his own use or his own purpose. By contrast, a rock is made by God through the fires and elements of His Creation. What a powerful image!

With the destruction of the Roman Empire that began with the advent of the ministry of Christ, Christ was able to topple the foundations and the legacies of all of the prior world governments and the Gospel spread like wildfire throughout the world. When Christ Died on the Cross, the veil of the Jewish Temple tore in two, manifesting to the priests that the power and presence of God had left them.

The Coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost was the transfer of the power and presence of the risen christ into the believers. Christ removed the presence of God from earthly institutions and established His place as Messiah King over the Kingdom of God. The Outpouring of the Spirit began this kingdom as the seal of entrance into the Kingdom of God. After this happened, the church grew like wildfire.

Although the Authority of the Kingdom of God had been ripped from the Jews, they continued in their practices and power although the High Priest had no intercession with God on behalf of the people. The Jewish leadership began to persecute the church (Ekklesia) so fiercely that it nearly destroyed it. Were it not for the fact that Christ intervened with Saul on the Damascus Road (Acts) the church body and its writings may have been lost to history. The conversion of Paul is probably, therefore, one of the most important events in all of Christendom. So much so that it has caused me to wonder whether, of the twelve names of the Apostles written on the foundations of New Jerusalem, we may find written the name of Matthias (chosen by lot) or of Paul (chosen by Christ). Time will provide the epiphany as we enter in.

Nevertheless,The Lord used the Iron of the Roman Empire to finally destroy the Temple which was the center of Jewish Economy, Religion, Culture, and Identity. In AD 70 Roman Emperor Vespasian totally destroyed and defaced the Jewish Temple. The Roman Historian Tactitus details the event with vivid depiction. The final element that triggered this collapse of the empires was the destruction of the Jewish Temple in AD 70 by Roman Emperor Vespasian. Once this was fully accomplished and the power of the Jews destroyed, the Roman Empire fell into a steady decline as it persecuted all Christians until the time of Constantine. After which only certain nominal trinitarians were counted as christian and the rest held as an anaethma. A terrible doctrine that exists to this day in Roman Catholicism.

In summary, the Kingdom of God is truly at hand. It is not found in earthly institutions, it is not made with men's hands. It is not made of gold, silver, brass, or iron. It is made up of the Spirit of the Risen Christ, Jesus the Son of God, the firstborn of all Creation.

When Christ Rose from the dead, he taught the Apostles for 40 days, proving Himself, and speaking of the Kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3).

Philip went forth to Samaria preaching "The Kingdom of God" (Acts 8) and Water-Baptised Believers into Jesus Christ which remitted their sins. (Acts 2:38, John 20:23) Peter and John (the Apostles) were sent to convey the Baptism of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of Hands (Acts 17).

This is how the church initiated people into the Kingdom of God as declared by Jesus in John 3, where he details that in order to be "born again" we need to be born of water and of the spirit. Further emphasised by Peter again in Acts 2:38 where Peter declares to repentant Jews that in order to "save themselves" from this "untoward generation" they should be Baptised (Immersed into water) into the Name of Jesus Christ and then they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Mark 1:15
...The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Pastor Jay

Will Antichrist come from Islamic Ranks?

2006-01-16T13:10:00.000-05:00

This article was paraphrased by Irvin J Baxter's Endtime Newsletter. After Googling the text, I came upon the original article on worldnetdaily.com

See Below: My comments in Bold

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN
Iran leader's messianic end-times mission
Ahmadinejad raises concerns with mystical visions
January 06,2006

Editor's note: This story is adapted from the latest issue of Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the weekly, online, premium intelligence newsletter published by the founder of WND. Annual subscriptions to G2 Bulletin have been cut in half to just $99, which includes a copy of Farah's new paperback edition of "Taking America Back." In addition, monthly trial subscriptions are available for just $9.95.

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

Iranian President Mahmoud's Ahmadinejad's mystical pre-occupation with the coming of a Shiite Islamic messiah figure – the Mahdi – is raising concerns that a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic could trigger the kind of global conflagration he envisions will set the stage for the end of the world.

While Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been making headlines lately by questioning whether the Holocaust actually happened, by suggesting Israel should be moved to Europe and by demanding the Jewish state be wiped off the face of the earth, his apocalyptic religious zealotry has received less attention.

In a videotaped meeting with Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli in Tehran, Ahmadinejad discussed candidly a strange, paranormal experience he had while addressing the United Nations in New York last September.

He recounts how he found himself bathed in light throughout the speech. But this wasn't the light directed at the podium by the U.N. and television cameras. It was, he said, a light from heaven.

{Satan as Lucifer was a bearer of light, this is where we get the name for the luminescent chemical Luciferase found in fireflies and anglerfish.}

According to a transcript of his comments, obtained and translated by Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, Ahmadinejad wasn't the only one who noticed the unearthly light. One of his aides brought it to his attention.

The Iranian president recalled being told about it by one of his delegation: "When you began with the words ‘in the name of Allah,' I saw a light coming, surrounding you and protecting you to the end."

Ahmadinejad agreed that he sensed the same thing.

"On the last day when I was speaking, one of our group told me that when I started to say 'Bismillah Muhammad,' he saw a green light come from around me, and I was placed inside this aura," he says. "I felt it myself. I felt that the atmosphere suddenly changed, and for those 27 or 28 minutes, all the leaders of the world did not blink. When I say they didn't move an eyelid, I'm not exaggerating. They were looking as if a hand was holding them there, and had just opened their eyes – Alhamdulillah!" {Sounds like a trance, posession. Very much like the control that Antichrist is said to posess over the world leaders in the coming world government. It may be by this spiritual influence that he gains control over this powerful world body, rather than by might, force, or economy exclusively} Any one who denies that Jesus has come in the flesh as Father incarnate is Anti-Christ

Ahmadinejad's "vision" at the U.N. is strangely reminiscent and alarmingly similar to statements he has made about his personal role in ushering in the return of the Shiite Muslim messiah. {this is the first mention I have seen of an Islamic Messiah. Although i do find interesting the parallels between the connection with Iranian Political Leaders and their Imams as similar to the Antichrist and the False Prophet... do these leaders view Osama Bin Laden as their Prophet and Ahmadinejad as their AntiChrist world leader.

He sees his main mission, as he recounted in a Nov. 16 speech in Tehran, as to "pave the path for the glorious reappearance of Imam Mahdi, may Allah hasten his reappearance."

According to Shiites, the 12th imam disappeared as a child in the year 941. When he returns, they believe, he will reign on earth for seven years, before bringing about a final judgment and the end of the world. {seven years is a chilling parallel between the endtime covenant that Revelation declares that Anti-Christ will make with Israel for 7 years, but in the middle the Antichrist will declare himself to be the Lord in the Temple.

Ahmadinejad is urging Iranians to prepare for the coming of the Mahdi by turning the country into a mighty and advanced Islamic society and by avoiding the corruption and excesses of the West.

All Iran is buzzing about the Mahdi, the 12th imam and the role Iran and Ahmadinejad are playing in his anticipated return. There's a new messiah hotline. There are news agencies especially devoted to the latest developments. {this is the sort of fanaticism that accompanied Hitler's rise to power just as he announced his final solution. In the endtime, people will be crying peace, peace. Is this because Jihad is over and that Islam means "Peace"?

"People are anxious to know when and how will He rise; what they must do to receive this worldwide salvation," says Ali Lari, a cleric at the Bright Future Institute in Iran's religious center of Qom. "The timing is not clear, but the conditions are more specific," he adds. "There is a saying: 'When the students are ready, the teacher will come.'" {This startling theology denies that God sovereignly acts upon His own will and counsel. It shows a humanistic underpinning that implies that they are paving the ideological ground for the imposition of a leader and teacher, rather than the reverse example provided by Christ, where He came of His own counsel unto His own. "He came unto His own, but His own recieved Him not." They rejected Him. The message was given and people were expected to change, repent, and follow. Not that people were prepared, groomed, brainwashed, and propagandized into allegiance to a Messiah. The Bible declares that many False Christs will arise. And that if any declares that he is here, or there to reject them.

For his part, Ahmadinejad is living up to at least part of his call to the faithful. According to reports, he lives so modestly that declared assets include only a 30-year-old car, an even older house and an empty bank account.

Ahmadinejad and others in Iran are deadly serious about the imminent return of the 12th imam, who will prompt a global battle between good and evil (with striking parallels to biblical accounts of "Armageddon"). {If the Iranians declare this Imam, we should look for an attempted assasination that the Bible Declares he will miraculously recover from. Then the False Prophet will declare this as a miracle and the world will accept His message that are not written in the Lamb's book of life. The one unusual thing about this is that if the sworn enemy of Islam is the USA, then why are most of the technologies for the mark being developed here? This should be researched. Perhaps Islam is the diversion.}
An institute set up in 2004 for the study and dissemination of information about the Mahdi now has a staff of 160 and influence in the schools and children's magazines.

In Iran, theologians say endtimes beliefs appeal to one-fifth of the population. And the Jamkaran mosque east of Qom, 60 miles south of Tehran, is where the link between devotees and the Mahdi is closest. {if 20% accepts this theology and then if AC arises there, then Iran is well positioned to lead the other adjacent Muslim Nations in a league. Perhaps the confederacy of Nations we are looking for are not european nations, but of Isalamic Asian Nations like Egypt, Sudan, Iran, Etc...}

Ahmadinejad's cabinet has given $17 million to Jamkaran.

Shiite writings describe events surrounding the return of the Mahdi in apocalyptic terms. In one scenario, the forces of evil would come from Syria and Iraq and clash with forces of good from Iran. The battle would commence at Kufa – the Iraqi town near the holy city of Najaf.

Even more controversial is Ahmadinejad's repeated invocation of Imam Mahdi, known as "the Savior of Times." According to Shiite tradition, Imam Mahdi will appear on Judgment Day to herald a truly just government.

Missed by some observers in Ahmadinejad's speech at the U.N. was his call to the "mighty Lord" to hasten the emergence of "the promised one," the one who "will fill this world with justice and peace."

Who stands in the Mahdi's way?

A top priority of Ahmadinejad is "to challenge America, which is trying to impose itself as the final salvation of the human being, and insert its unjust state [in the region]," says Hamidreza Taraghi, head of the conservative Islamic Coalition Society.

Taraghi says the U.S. is "trying to place itself as the new Mahdi." This may mean no peace with Iran, he adds, "unless America changes its hegemonic ... thinking, doesn't use nuclear weapons, [or] impose its will on other nations."

On the Abomination of Desolation

2005-11-10T21:48:00.000-05:00

Here is a post of an article I found in my late night Bible Study research.
This time I was focusing on the prophesies concerning the "abomination of
Desolation" foretold by Daniel, and yet again by John in Revelation.

This weblink i just found tonight really balances the preterist and futurist perspectives and I feel is the most accurate exposition on these prophecies, which have in part been largely fulfilled. A careful study of Greek and Roman history shows these things to be true. This is not to preclude the endtime persecutions and the son of perdition that will be revealed, I believe, in our lifetime. Anyway, here is the link I thought you might be interested in it. http://www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn24/abomination.htm

For those who are interested in the prophetic, I just thought I'd share some of my study with you. I am also preparing a small booklet on Ephesus and its role in the Bible and Christian History. It should be ready in the next 6 months.

I have never before heard of this website (above), but this specific exegesis seems solid. Many prophecy teachers out there are fear mongers. This perspective does bring some balance back into the equation.

In any event, we must all be keeping our lamps trimmed with oil, awaiting the trump and the call of the might archangel, when Jesus Christ will harvest the earth of His own. Are you ready?

RF

Old Testament Prophesies Fulfilled in Christ

2005-11-10T21:47:00.000-05:00

Taken from an e-publication called "The Good News-A Magazine of UnderstandingJesus Christ in Prophecy
The introduction to the Jewish New Testament lists 52 prophecies fulfilled in Christ's birth, life and death as stated in 81 passages in the Old Testament (pp. xxv-xxix). Although some prophecies were clear, many of the prophecies could not be understood at the time they were written, even by the prophets themselves (see Daniel 12:8-9). They came to be understood only in hindsight by the apostles and writers of the Gospels through the inspiration of God's Spirit.

Among other things, the Old Testament prophets predicted:

• He would come from the line of King David (Isaiah 11:1-5; Matthew 1:1, 6).

• He would be preceded by one who would announce His coming (Isaiah 40:3, 5; Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:1-3).

• He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-20).

• His birth would occur in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1).

• He would be rejected by His own people (Isaiah 53:3; John 1:11).

• He would be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9; John 13:18-30).

• The price for His betrayal would be 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12; Matthew 26:15).

• A potter's field would be purchased with His betrayal money (Zechariah 11:13; Matthew 27:3-10).

• He would be slain as the silent Passover Lamb of God (Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 27:12; John 19:14-16).

• He would be condemned and executed like a criminal (Isaiah 53:12; Luke 22:36-37; Matthew 27:28).

• His hands and feet would be pierced (Psalm 22:16; Luke 23:33; 24:38-40).

• No bone in His body would be broken (Psalm 34:20; John 19:33-36).

• Exactly what His dying words on the cross would be (Psalm 22:1; Mark 15:34).

• His garments would be claimed by others by the casting of lots (Psalm 22:18; John 19:23-24).

• He would be buried with the wealthy (Isaiah 53:9; Matthew 27:57-60).

Jesus Himself could not have controlled how all of these prophecies were fulfilled. No one can control the circumstances of His own birth, who his ancestors are and where he is born. Nor could He control the actions of others in betraying Him, putting Him to death and laying His body in the unused tomb of a wealthy man.

Yet these remarkable details were given through a variety of prophets from several hundred years up to a thousand years in advance. Even details of Christ's death by crucifixion were predicted by King David many hundreds of years before the practice of crucifixion became common as a method of execution.

Why this precise accuracy in foretelling Christ's birth, life and death? God was providing irrefutable evidence for all who would carefully read and consider these facts that His prophecies can be trusted.

Therefore we have every reason to conclude that, just as the details of Christ's birth, life and death came to pass exactly as predicted, so will the prophecies related to His second coming. We should expect them to be fulfilled precisely as they are revealed in God's Word.
"

Free Endtime Video Teaching Samples

2005-10-21T15:38:00.000-04:00

Here is an interesting link to a Prophecy website: www.endtime.com

Click the link to see some video samples of teaching about the endtimes and
how Bible prophecy is currently unfolding.

Enjoy!

RF

From onemilliondads.com

2005-10-01T23:41:00.000-04:00

The networks and sponsors don't care what their programming is doing to our children. The only thing they care about is making money. Here is what Michael Eisner, CEO of Disney (which owns ABC), had to say about respecting children: "We have no obligation to make history. We have no obligation to make art. We have no obligation to make a statement. To make money is our only obligation."

A recent Booklet on Verichip

2005-09-21T21:38:00.000-04:00

http://www.theverichip.com/Verichipebook2.pdf

This link provides a free e-book detailing the particulars of the
Verichip technology and its place in Biblical Prophecy.

It mostly deals with the business and strategic aims of
Applied Digital Solutions.

RF

Apostle's Doctrine

2005-09-17T22:07:00.000-04:00

The Bible
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, giving a true history of the creation

of heaven, earth, and humanity and containing a correct prophecy of the

ages to come regarding heaven, earth, and the destiny of humanity.

Moreover, there is no salvation outside of what is taught in its pages.

God

There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4).

He is the creator of heaven and earth, and of all living beings.

He has revealed Himself to humanity as the Father (Creator),

in the son (Savior), and as the Holy Ghost (indwelling Spirit).

Father

God is a Spirit (John 4:24).

He is the Eternal One, the Creator of all things, and the Father

of all humanity by creation. He is the First and the Last, and

beside Him there is no God (Isaiah 44:6).There was no God formed before Him;

neither shall be there any after Him (Isaiah 43:10).

Son

Jesus is the Son of God according to the flesh (Romans 1:3)
and the very God Himself according to the Spirit (Matthew 1:23).
Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:16);
the creator of all things (Colossians 1:16-17);
God with us (Matthew 1:23);
God made flesh (John 1:1-14);
God manifested in the flesh (I Timothy 3:16);
He which was, which is, and which is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8);
the mighty God, everlasting Father, and Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6).

Jesus Himself testified of His identity as God when He said,

"He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:7-11)

and "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30).

It took shedding of blood for the remission of the sins of the world (Hebrews 9:22),

but God the Father was a Spirit and had no blood to shed. Thus He prepared a

body of flesh and blood (Hebrews 10:5) and came to earth as a man in order

to save us, for in Isaiah 43:11 He said, "Beside me there is no Saviour."

When He came in flesh the angels sang,

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).

Holy Ghost/Holy Spirit

The Holy Ghost is not a third person in the Godhead, but rather the

Spirit of God (the Creator), the Spirit of the resurrected Christ.

The Holy Ghost comes to dwell in the hearts and lives of everyone

who believes and obeys the gospel, as the comforter, Sustainer, and keeper

(John 14:16-26; Romans 8:9-11).

Sin

Sin is the transgression of the law, or commandments of God (I John 3:4).

The guilt of sin has fallen upon all humanity from Adam until now (Romans 3:23).

The wages of sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:14)

to all those who refuse to accept salvation as set forth in the Word of God.

Salvation

Salvation consists of deliverance from all sin and unrighteousness through

the blood of Jesus Christ. The New Testament experience of salvation consists of

repentance from sin,

water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,

and the baptism of the Holy Ghost,

after which the Christian is to live a godly life (Acts 2:36-41).

Water Baptism

Water baptism is an essential part of New Testament salvation and not merely

a symbolic ritual. It is part of entering into the kingdom of God

(God's church, the bride of Christ), and therefore, it is not merely a part of local

church membership. (See John 3:5; Galatians 3:27).

Mode of Baptism

Water baptism is to be administered only by immersion. Paul said,

"We are buried with him [Jesus Christ] by baptism (Romans 6:4; see Colossians 2:12),

Jesus came up "out of the water" (Mark 1:10), and Philip and the eunuch went down

"into the water" and came up "out of the water" (Acts 8:38-39).

Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection are applied to our lives when we experience

New Testament salvation:

"Repent [death to sin], and be baptized [burial] every one of you in the name of

Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the

Holy Ghost [resurrection]." (See Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-7; 8:2).

Sprinkling, pouring, or infant baptism of any kind cannot be substantiated by

the Word of God, but are only human traditions.

Formula for Baptism

The name in which baptism is administered is vitally important, and this name is Jesus.

Jesus' last command to His disciples was, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"

(Matthew 28:19).

We should notice that He said name (singular) not names.

As previously explained, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not names of separate persons,

but titles of positions held by God.

An angelic announcement revealed God's saving name in the New Testament:

"She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:

for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).

The apostles understood that Jesus was the name to use at baptism,

and from the day that the church of God was established (the Day of Pentecost)

until the end of their ministry, they baptized all nations (Jews--Acts 8:16; Gentiles--Acts 19:5)

in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.In fact, Jesus is the only name given for our salvation.

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given

among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

Baptism of the Holy Ghost

The baptism of the Holy Ghost is the birth of the Spirit (John 3:5).

This spiritual baptism is necessary to put someone into the kingdom of God

(God's church, the bride of Christ) and is evidenced by speaking in other tongues

(other languages) as the Spirit of God give utterance.

It was prophesied by Joel (Joel 2:28-29) and Isaiah (Isaiah 28:11),
foretold by John the Baptist (Matthew 3:11),
purchased by the blood of Jesus, and promised by Him to His disciples (John 14:26; 15:16).
The Holy Ghost was first poured out on the Day of Pentecost upon the Jews (Acts 2:1-4),
then upon the Samaritans (Acts 8:17),
and later upon the Gentiles (Acts 10:44-46; 19:6).
"The promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many
as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:39).

Tongues

Speaking in other tongues as the Spirit of God gives utterance is the manifestation

God has given as the definite, indisputable, supernatural witness or sign of the

baptism of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:4; 10:46; 19:6).

It was prophesied by the prophet Isaiah as the rest and the refreshing (Isaiah 28:11-12),

foretold by Jesus as a sign that would follow believers of the gospel (Mark 16:17),

and experienced by Jews and Gentiles alike.

The gift of "divers kinds of tongues," mentioned by Paul in I Corinthians 12:1-12 and

concerning which he gave regulations in I Corinthians 14:1-40,

is given by both for self-edification (I Corinthians 14:4)

and for the edification of the church (I Corinthians 14:27-28).

In church meetings the gift of tongues is used to give a public message, and it is to be interpreted.

Since this gift can be misused in public, it needs proper regulation (I Corinthians 14:23-28).

Not all believers exercise the gift of tongues, which is different in function from

tongues given by God as the initial witness of the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

Paul said, "Forbid not to speak with tongues" (I Corinthians 14:39)

and "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all" (I Corinthians 14:8).

Who dares to teach or preach to the contrary?

Speaking in tongues means speaking miraculously in a language unknown to the speaker,

as the Spirit gives utterance.

Tongues can be classified in two ways, according to function:

(1)speaking in other tongues as the initial evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost and

(2)the gift of tongues as mentioned in I Corinthians.

Holiness

After we are saved from sin, we are commanded, "Go, and sin no more" (John 8:11).

We are commanded to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world (Titus 2:12)
and warned that without holiness no one shall see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).
We must present ourselves as holy unto God (Romans 12:1),
cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit (II Corinthians 7:1),
and separate ourselves from all worldliness (James 4:4).
If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear
(I Peter 4:18).
"Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you" (Acts 1:8).

No one can live a holy life by his own power, but only through the Holy Spirit.

Divine Healing

God has made Himself known through the ages by miraculous healings and has made

special provisions in the age of grace to heal all who will come to Him in faith and obedience.

Divine healing was purchased for us by the blood of Jesus Christ,

especially by His stripes (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:16-17; I Peter 2:24).

Jesus went everywhere healing those who were sick (Matthew 4:23-24),

and He commanded His disciples to do the same (Matthew 10:8).

He said concerning those who believe the gospel,

"They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:18).

Mighty healings and miracles followed the disciples wherever the gospel was preached.

There is no sickness or disease too hard for God. Any of us, our children, or our

friends can be healed by the power of God."Is any sick among you? let him call for

the elders of the church; and let them pray over him , anointing him with oil in the name

of the Lord shall raise him up: and if he have committed sins they shall be forgiven him.

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed"

(James 5:14-16).

Second Coming of Christ

Jesus Christ is coming back to earth in bodily form, just as He went away (Acts 1:11).

He will catch away a holy people (His bride, His church) who have accepted redemption

through His blood, by birth of water and of the Spirit, and who are found faithful when

He comes.

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the

archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we

which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to

meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I Thessalonians 4:16-17).

"One shall be taken and the other left" (Luke 17:36). Will we be ready?

The signs of His coming are everywhere.

The days of peril are here indeed, with forms of godliness void of the power of God;

society and politics corrupted; and people's hearts filled with pride, blasphemies,

unholiness, love of evil, and love of pleasures (II Timothy 3:1-13).

These things, together with multitudes running to and fro, the increase of knowledge

(Daniel 12:4),

the persecution of the Jews and their return to Palestine (Luke 21:24),

and scores of other things are starting signs that Jesus' coming is drawing near.

Wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, storms, floods, distress of nations, perplexity,

and people's hearts failing them for fear are sounding the solemn alarm that Jesus' coming

is at hand (Matthew 24:6; Luke 21:25-28)."Prepare to meet thy God" (Amos 4:12).

Resurrection
There will be a resurrection of all the dead, both just and unjust.

"Marvel not this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in graves shall

hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection

of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28-29).

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God . . . and the sea gave up the dead

which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them"
(Revelation 20:12-13)

(See also Daniel 12:2; I Corinthians 15:13-23.)

Judgment
"It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).

For this reason there will be a resurrection for everyone.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive

the things done in his body, according to that he hath done,

whether it be good or bad" (II Corinthians 5:10).

The eternal destiny of every soul shall be determined by a just God who knows the secrets

of everyone's heart. "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate

them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he

shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King

say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom

prepared for you from the foundation of the world. . . .Then shall he also say unto them

on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil

and his angels. . . . And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous

into life eternal" (Matthew 25:32-34, 41, 46).

* * *
The law-the Word of GodThe judge-the righteous GodTo be judged-our souls

What will the sentence be?
* * *
Life's opportunities past!Reaping day at last!

Two verdicts pend:Life or death!

The following references show plainly that speaking in tongues as the evidence of

the Holy Ghost has been given by God to earnest, God-fearing people down through the years.

Scaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. 3, page 2369,

"Tongues, Gift of": "A phenomenon of the Apostolic age, technically known as the

'glossolalia.' In later time analogies have been found for it in the 'speaking in tongues'

of the Camisards, Prophets of the Cevennes, Early Quakers and Methodists,

'Lasare' in Sweden (1841-1843), converts in the Irish revival of 1859, and particularly

in the Catholic Apostolic (Irvingite) Church."

Scaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. 2, page 1119,

"Irving, Edward": "In 1830 the news was spread abroad of the strange speaking with

tongues which occurred in widely separated parts of Scotland. In 1831 prophecy and

tongues appeared in Irving's church and Irving fell in with the movement, heartily

convinced of its spiritual basis and divine authority."

Scaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. 1, page 422,

"Catholic Apostolic Church": "Pious Presbyterian men and women believed that

their organs of speech were used by the Holy Spirit for the utterance of His

thoughts and attentions."

Encyclopaedia Britannica, New Werner Edition, vol. 4, page 749,

"Camisards": "Speaking in tongues, accompanied by all kinds of miracles, was

common among the Camisards and Cevennes of Southern France in the 18th

century. Children, under the influence of supernatural power, spoke and prophesied

in languages unknown to them."

Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, edited by James Hastings,

vol. 7, page 424:

"In 1831 the gift of tongues and prophecy appeared, it was believed in answer to

fervent prayer, among the members of Irving's congregation."

Butler, Christian Denominations of the World, "Edward Irving (1792-1834)":

"He proclaimed his conviction that the gifts of the Holy Ghost, such as tongues,

healing, etc., were withheld only because of the want of faith, and ere long there

were several persons in his church who claimed the gift of tongues."

Abingdon Bible Commentary, page 1190:

"Scottish peasants spoke in tongues."

Webster's New International Dictionary, 2nd edition, page 1056, "Gift of Tongues":

"A phenomenon experienced by some of the Christian of New Testament times,

the nature of which seems to have been a kind of ecstatic utterance usually

unintelligible to the hearers and even to the speakers, therefore requiring interpretation;

glossolalia. Similar phenomena have in modern times been experienced by some of the

early Friends, Jansenists, Methodists, etc."

*Taken from the Word Aflame Press Tract "The Apostles' Doctrine" #6103

Temple Mount faithful

2005-09-16T18:11:00.000-04:00

http://www.templemountfaithful.org

this group is dedicated to seeing the Third Temple Rebuilt in Jerusalem. An interesting site to watch as time goes on.

RF

UN moving to Jerusalem?

2005-09-16T17:55:00.000-04:00

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-un-summit-venezuela,0,1710185.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

This article suggests that Hugo Chavez has motioned for the UN to be moved to Jerusalem.
This brings home the Abomination of Desolation when Anti-christ is to go into the Temple. Anti Christ will be at the head of this world government at that time.

The story came across the AP on 09/15/2005

"Chavez Says U.N. to Move to Jerusalem"

By KIM GAMEL
Associated Press WriterSeptember 15, 2005, 11:05 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez denounced the U.S.-led war in Iraq on Thursday and told world leaders they should consider moving the U.N. headquarters out of the United States because of it. The leftist leader said the fact that the war was fought without U.N. authorization showed that Washington has no respect for the world body. "There were never weapons of mass destruction but Iraq was bombed, and over U.N. objections, (it was) occupied and continues being occupied," said Chavez, who appeared to step up his frequent criticism of U.S. policies in his speech to the General Assembly at a U.N. summit.

"That's why we propose to this assembly that the United Nations leave this country, which is not respectful of the very resolutions of this assembly," he said.

Allegations that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction were one of the main justifications by President Bush's administration for the war, but none have been found since the Iraqi dictator's ouster.

World leaders had been asked to speak for five minutes, and when Chavez kept talking, the presiding diplomat passed him a note that his time was up. The Venezuelan leader threw the note on the floor and said if Bush could speak for 20 minutes at Wednesday's opening session, so could he.

At the end, Chavez's remarks got what observers said was the loudest applause of the summit. Relations between Chavez and Washington have become increasingly strained, though the United States remains the top buyer of Venezuelan oil. Chavez, a close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, repeatedly has accused the U.S. government of backing plots against him, and recently alleged Washington was preparing an invasion of his country.

U.S. officials strongly deny his claims but have expressed concerns about the health of Venezuelan democracy under Chavez, who was first elected in 1998 pledging a social "revolution" for the country's poor majority. Bush criticized Venezuela's government earlier in the day, saying in a statement that the South American nation had "failed demonstrably" to make a concerted effort to block shipments of illicit narcotics to the United States and Europe last year.

Venezuela could have been subjected to a cutoff of U.S. assistance, but Bush decided to waive the provision because of national security interests. A White House "statement of explanation" about Venezuela said 165 tons of cocaine moved through the country last year along with increasing quantities of heroin. "Despite an increase in drug seizures during the past four years, it is our assessment that the government of Venezuela has not addressed the increasing use of Venezuelan territory to transport drugs to the United States," the statement said.

In early August, Chavez accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of using its agents in Venezuela for espionage, and said Venezuela was suspending cooperation with the agency. The Bush administration denied the espionage charge. Bush's designation on Thursday adds to the growing list of issues between the United States and Venezuela. In his speech, Chavez, whose country is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, also warned that the world is facing "an energy crisis without precedent."

In a form of oil diplomacy, Chavez has extended a preferential oil trade deal called PetroCaribe to 13 Caribbean countries in what he says is part of a plan to challenge U.S. economic domination of the region. Under the plan, Venezuela will soon sell up to 190,000 barrels of fuel a day to countries from Jamaica to St. Lucia, offering favorable financing while shipping fuel directly to reduce costs. It is expected to help those countries save millions of dollars. Chavez said U.N. headquarters should be moved from New York to international city "outside the sovereignty of any state," and noted that some have suggested Jerusalem.

"The new U.N. headquarters has to be in the South," which is home to most developing countries, he added. On the eve of the summit, negotiations from the 191 U.N. member states agreed on a watered-down document for world leaders to adopt that takes some initial steps to meet U.N. development goals and reform the United Nations. Venezuela and Cuba were the only two countries to reserve judgment on the 35-page document, which is expected to be adopted on Friday when the three-day summit ends. Chavez said the document is "illegal" because it was delivered to Venezuelan delegates only five minutes before the summit started and only in English. *

__ Associated Press writer Ian James in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2005 Newsday Inc.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050915/ap_on_re_us/un_world_summit

Leaders Say U.N. Must Direct Terror Fight

By NICK WADHAMS, Associated Press Writer Thu Sep 15, 7:13 PM ET

UNITED NATIONS - Russia and China called Thursday for the
United Nations to take the lead in the global fight against terrorism, speaking on the second day of a U.N. summit where a new Arab-Israeli meeting and European nuclear talks with
Iran'

The demands for a bigger U.N. role underlined how central terrorism has become around the world since the Sept. 11 attacks. U.S. They also highlighted that, while Washington and others want serious reform before the U.N. tackles new challenges, some nations want to give it more responsibility now.
"There is a need to adjust this organization to the new historical reality," Russian President
Vladimir Putin said. "Who else will take the role of coordinating and organizing this work but the United Nations?"

He was echoed by Chinese President Hu Jintao, who called for a new global security concept that puts the United Nations at "the core" of efforts to fight terrorism and settle disputes and conflicts. While those views may help determine the future of the United Nations, events on the summit's sidelines and fiery bombast from some of the world's most colorful and controversial leaders pulled attention away from the meeting's central concerns.

Among the biggest headlines, Iran's president said his country was willing to provide nuclear technology to other Muslim states.

The foreign ministers of Israel and Qatar met, in a sign that Israel's relations with the Arab world may be improving since its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

Also, a U.N. treaty to fight global corruption got its 30th ratification, triggering its entry into force in 90 days. The convention empowers countries to prosecute officials accused of stealing public funds. "This dream has become a reality," said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime.

Between news conferences by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin and various nongovernmental organizations, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez scolded evangelist Pat Robertson for calling for his assassination and also criticized the U.S. government.

He suggested the United Nations headquarters be moved to Jerusalem.

"The proposal has the merit of providing a response to the conflict experienced by Palestine, but it may be difficult to bring about," Chavez said in a speech that earned him the heartiest applause of the 55 leaders to speak so far.

This summit was called for two main reasons — to review progress toward achieving eight goals meant to improve the plight of the world's poor and to consider a raft of proposals to overhaul the U.N. itself.

Most of the speeches focused on those efforts.

Leaders generally expressed their support for the draft document that was expected to be adopted on the summit's last day Friday, though they said they were disappointed some elements were left out, including Security Council reform and nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.

A near constant refrain was that the United Nations should play a larger role in world affairs.
The president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, went further than most when she suggested the United Nations take the lead in easing the effects of high oil prices. She said it should study oil rationing and conservation, as well as consider initiatives to fuel engines with coconut oil and convert cane sugar to ethanol.

While several leaders made oblique references to the United States by saying no nation should act alone and outside the United Nations, nations spoke far more sympathetically than they had shortly after the Iraq war. Chavez was one of few to criticize the United States directly. Belarus President Alexander Lukasheno, accused of widespread human rights abuses in his country, also criticized the Americans for the war in Iraq.
"
Saddam Hussein was abandoned to the winners' mercy, like in barbarian times," Lukashenko said. "There is nobody to defend their rights except the U.N."

Purity Test: Church or Cult?

2005-09-15T18:34:00.000-04:00

Author unknown...once I find it I will post it and cite the author.

Remember those "purity tests" in grade school that were passed around in notes? I feel that the following is a great purity test for how healthy a church is and how biblically it is operating.

TAKE THE TEST!

COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF HOW THE CULTS OPERATE

For abusive cults, the key word is CONTROL CONTROL CONTROL by Submitting to the Leadership - leaders tend to be the absolute end, looked to as prophets of God, as specially anointed apostles. Or they can be a strong, controlling, manipulative personality who demands submission even if he changes his views or conflicts occur in doctrine or behavior. sometimes they can be looked on as God Himself. Often to obey a leader and their teaching is equal to obeying God.

It can take time for them to gain power over the new convert, but it will eventually be there. Control is usually overwhelming and can cover most aspects of the followers' lives: Dress codes, activities, finances, time, possessions and relationships. They can dictate to the member who to see, what to do, what is the right thing to say, and how to say it. Various degrees of control can be experienced, from subtle manipulation to blatant ordering. They will expect Rigid obedience of the members time and activities - involving their followers in physically and emotionally draining activities leaving little time for privacy and reflection, or questioning their authority.

Expecting one to show up when everyone else does, and everything is usually done in groups.
The methods of control which are used is usually FEAR of displeasing God the leader or both. Fear of rejection, punishment, losing ones salvation, missing the rapture, going to hell. Guilt, Fear, intimidation are Weapons used to maintain their loyalty and devotion to the group.
Intimidation and accusation are the most often used. For example, any questioning of authority is treated as rebellion, and not trusting. They suppress questions and conform to the groups behavior.

They Discourage Critical or Rational Thought and Questions they will reply with comments like, "Satan is the cause of all doubt; he is keeping you from the Truth," or it will take time to understand the deep things of God. Critical thinking is discouraged being called prideful or sinful or rebellious. No independent thinking is encouraged.

They over simplify answers to life's questions, making everything for all situations as simple as black or white.

COMMAND OVER THE GROUP IN INTIMATE MATTERS:

Telling one who to date or who to marry. Decisions are made by the leader as to who, and when your ready (Moonies International churches of Christ).
Extremes can be no seeing the opposite sex to promiscuity in sexual relations, (Children of God), group sex (New Age Therapy groups, Some Eastern religious gurus)
child sex, adultery, and polygamy (Branch Davidian's, certain Mormon sects, children of God) sex is used as an initiation into the cult (as well as occult and Satanic groups).
Sexual impurity especially among the leaders, can be common and promoted.

Doctrinal deception is more than often displayed by moral deception. (Polygamy, spiritual wives, adultery, fornication and sexual sin is acceptable). The leader believes that he is above everyone or is an exception to God's laws so he may not follow his own rules.

GROUP TRUST: Confession Sessions are used to build relationships . Full disclosure of all secret sins, thoughts, temptations, desires are expressed with those you know and may not know to build up your trusting them with your life . These can become a powerful tools to emotionally bond you to the leader or group. They later can be used to manipulate, or blackmail some one if and when they decide to leave.

A DOUBLE STANDARD: There is one standard for the followers and another for the leaders can do almost anything wrong while others will be rebuked and made examples of if they do the same things.

Christ teaches that leaders should be servants of those they lead. Cult leaders exalt themselves, requiring the followers to serve them or the church's program. Jesus said, "The greatest among you will be your servant" Matthew 23:11. He said of Himself, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" Matthew 20:28. This is a sure way to see what your involved , since what cults practice is backwards.

TAKES LICENSE WITH GOD'S WORD:. The Scripture is not rightly divided. Private revelations and interpretations are added to the Word, and sometimes substitute it. Passages contradictory to the orthodox beliefs are being twisted and taken out of their context. Strong emphasis is placed upon certain passages making them their thrust in ministry. While other pertinent scriptures on essentials and practice are completely ignored. Bible scholars who give a different interpretation from the cultists' are ignored or ridiculed.

MISPLACED LOYALTY Someone involved in an abusive system finds their of loyalty is nurtured and even demanded. Loyalty for Christ is replaced by an organization, church or leader. Because authority is usually from an individual or a group one is asked if they will be loyal to God confusing the member that to be loyal to a person or group means the same. With the Jehovah's Witnesses with their blind loyalty to whatever the Watchtower says.

ISOLATION: Information control is practiced where members of the group are not allowed or discouraged to have contact with outside family members, other ministries or Christians that could influence them. This is done to prevent information that may expose what is going on internally. They cut off or denigrating outside sources of information, especially if it is critical of the group. One is not allowed to read or converse with those who say these things or was once part of the group and left for whatever circumstances.

Ties are severed with former friends and family and the circle becomes tighter as the only people you are exposed are them. one reads only their books and are discouraged or forbidden to read other books especially if one opposes their views. If evidence is presented that they have had false prophecies or they are used to make money. The focus is shifted members are taught to question the motives or character of the person and ignore the evidence. So the focus is on the others character and not the proof that they have. They will be called emissaries of Satan so that they can't be trusted with anything they have.

AN "US AGAINST THEM" ATTITUDE AND PHILOSOPHY: Anyone who challenges the cult's doctrine is automatically branded as an enemy which is usually anyone who disagrees. The cultists feel that they are being persecuted unfairly. On the other hand, true Christians accept persecution, knowing that it tests the genuineness of their faith.

New members are told Satan will cause friends and family to say bad things about their group and that they should only trust their new family. We should expect to be persecute for the truth we have. It becomes an 'us against them' mentality. clichis are given, such as "Who is more important, God or school?' or "Don't you love God with all your heart, don't you trust us, do you know of anyone who cares about you more?" "We are the only ones who have the truth," "don't you want to be found faithful."

FOCUS ON AN IMAGINED ENEMY: The enemy is seen to be the government, the IRS, the Illuminati new world order UFO's (or other conspirators) the Jews, Blacks (other ethnic groups if they are politically oriented) certain church denominations are considered the enemy. The focus shifts from inside and instead of God's truth and purpose, keeps the adherents busy towards something outside, It also stops them from looking in and really thinking things through.

END-TIME REVELATION: Special insights into the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus Christ are claimed. The book of revelation is mostly used ,among other immediate prophecies. Koresh claimed an exclusive understanding of the "seven seals" in Revelation, and believed that he was the one ordained to open them. Elizabeth C. Prophet of the church universal has prophecies from ascended masters telling about the end times.

MOTIVATIONAL TEACHING: Techniques designed to stimulate emotions, usually employing loud speaking or music with group participation, group dynamics are used to influence responses. Your overwhelmed with smiling faces and handshakes and hugs with unconditional friendship. Those who were newly invited will be asked how they liked it and told how much fun they have and what they have to offer. They will immediately become your best friend and want to know when your coming back.

RULES OF SILENCE: Their are rules which govern churches which are often not stated or written down. Beware if they say the only statement we have is the Bible. Since the rules are not spoken verbally, you don't find out that the rule (s) exist until you've broken one. It is taken for granted that you should know them. Or you taught them after you have joined.

The unspoken rule may come across like this: Do not disagree with the church authorities -- especially the pastor or your spirituality and loyalty will be questioned. Silence becomes a fortress wall of protection, many will shield the pastor's position of power from any scrutiny or challenge. If one questions what is said or the rules they are seen as being against them and God or divisive.

The can't talk to others rule is probably the most consistent one used. If you speak about the problem to others, YOU JUST BECOME THE PROBLEM. You must become silent and just ignore it or will be asked to leave. Neither can you discuss things with others who left while you are still in the group or it will be considered betrayal.

CONVERSION TECHNIQUES: Conversion into a cult is done by dynamic interactions. They look for those who are new to the town or school. The easiest to involve someone is when they are weak and vulnerable they instantly become a potential recruit. This vulnerability can be enhanced by transitional situations in life such as divorce, depression, abuse, handicapped, a job or career change, moving away from home or leaving college, few friends, an illness, or death of a loved one, new to an area, loneliness, loss of job, or someone backsliding.

Those whom have had numerous bad experiences with love in their lives, feel rejected by people and insecure are attracted to cults. These groups make them instantly feel accepted and superior giving them friendship and acceptance. Many people who become discontent and disappointed in their prior church experiences are open to something new, even something radically different.

The tactics used to convert, indoctrinate the members. Some groups attempt a radical and quick conversion with an intensive weekend retreat or week long seminar such as The Forum or Scientology. Others have a more subtle approach which may take weeks or months such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and International churches of Christ. Although all push for something for quicker decisions to join.

REVELATION KNOWLEDGE: Emotions, intuitions, revelations and mystical insights are promoted over the objective word. They become more important than objective conclusions and what has already been revealed in scripture Critical Thinking is discouraged , independent thought can be looked at as selfish, and rational use of intellect as evil.

MYSTICAL ALTERED STATES: The flesh is considered evil the Sprit is good (Gnosticism). Subjective experiences are accepted more quickly than constructive teaching New age uses Repetition of words, Techniques which include relaxation, chanting, hypnosis, meditation, trance states, guided imagery or visualization, deep breathing exercises - all of these bring a person into an altered state, a highly suggestible state. These techniques can cause psychological imbalance. What is relaxation becomes the opposite promoting anxiety.Many cannot handle stilling the mind or visualizing. The affects are not immediately noticed and usually catch up later

LEADERS HAVE A PRIDEFUL UNTEACHABLE SPIRIT: The attitude that "no one can Judge me or tell me what to do" is fostered by pride the leader is in deception and promotes deception to the followers. The leader becomes untouchable by anyone. He is accountable to God only and everyone must obey what he says like it is Gods words. Included in this is the attitude that 'we are always right" from the leadership.

When Hobart Freeman began Faith Assembly, loyalty to him and his teachings were to be accepted without question. To question Freeman, a self-acknowledged "prophet of God" was to risk the charge of blasphemy. Many people died including himself from his teaching on healing. This continues today by the word/faith movement and believing for your healing. All false doctrine has pride as its catalyst and arrogance as its practice.

A good example of this is the phrase don't touch the Lords anointed According to John Avanzini and Paul crouch, Dr. Walter Martin (a cult apologist) died because he spoke out against the Word-Faith teachers and their messages. (John Avanzini with Paul Crouch, Spring 1990 Praise-a-thon, Trinity Broadcast Network.)

PRIDE OF THE GROUP: We are the only ones who are right. If you are not one of us, then you are destined for hell. Correct doctrine is used by them alone to the exclusion of any others, they alone have the truth so one must join them to be saved. they have an us against them attitude which can be very dangerous.

They appoint new "inside" meanings to ordinary words or the use of an exclusive vocabulary subtly moving a person to want to become a member. A appearance of false Spirituality is given from the language. What was formerly known by a certain phrase or word now has a new meaning behind it.

BRAINWASHING: New inductees are brainwashed increment by increment, until the convert identifies with the Church and its leaders and ties with family society are broken. Many claim no one can be brainwashed if they don't want to be. But who ever wanted to be unless they were convinced first it is a good thing. So it is disguised as what is right and true. While there are some subtle differences between mind control and brainwashing the results are the same, obedience.

A systematic teaching indoctrinates members into the beliefs of the cult. This is a methodical process of seducing and deceiving. A lie is told over and over until it is accepted and believed. A reprogramming of the conscience is done by other members and systematic teachings . Certain techniques used for what is called thought reform and mind conditioning. Members are kept under physical, mental and emotional pressure they can become too fatigued to resist or think for themselves, or they become to busy as they can comply with all the groups activities.

DEVOTION TO CONVERT OTHERS TO THEIR GROUP AND ITS BELIEF SYSTEM: Cults demand a strong commitment from their members. They promise rewards for being faithful to their leaders and organization. EX: one can be kept out of the tribulation if found doing God's work (JW).

Service to the church is understood as service to God. Meetings are mandatory. In the I.C.C., one's meetings will keep them so busy they will no longer have time for their friends and family, job or hobbies. They are replaced with a new family and friends and a new view of life.
The priority, rather than bringing others into a saving relationship with Christ is to have them gain membership.

Flattery is used, they can be very are crafty and everything is done with an objective. Instead of plainness, openness and honesty. They hide their real motives and teachings until they know one is ready. When they are convinced that you will do anything for God and their group, it is then that they will disclose the full extent of their teachings and mission.

DISTORTED TITHING OR EXCESSIVE GIVING: Certain members Keep track of your commitment of what you to give. they may have you write down what you can give and keep you to the obligation. More and more money is needed to attain higher degrees of spirituality (word faith, International churches of Christ), or complete submission to God requires one to give up everything to the group or leader for the cause. Give to get back from God, the more you give the more God will give back.

We must be ready to "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1), and to "beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's (Christian) clothing" (Matthew 7:15). The key to discernment is awareness (Hosea 4:6), for how can one beware unless one is first aware. We become aware by first by familiarizing one self with the truth, but also become aware how the enemy distorts the truth to attract and snare us.

ATTEMPTING TO BRING IN THE KINGDOM NOW: It is up to us to change society and government. Force may even be promoted. Distrust and paranoia may empower the Cult as they could feel that they are threatened and subject to attack. This causes them to stockpile food and weapons and take extreme measures to insure protection from their imagined enemies. In Christianity some want to take over the world and Christianize the government and the people so that after it is done Christ will come back.

TOTAL COMMITMENT: is expected of the followers to the leader[s]. Their commitment requires that property and money be given in the hands of the leader[s]. Ones time, talent, and money are all at the disposal of the church or leaders. It is all focused on their mission which is interpreted as Gods. While many do use the great commission as a basic concept they change it to mean something than it actually does.

INDIVIDUALITY IS SACRIFICED FOR THE GROUP: The group's concerns supersede an individual's goals, needs, aspirations, Conformity is the key. The end Justifies the Means - Any action or behavior is justifiable as long as it furthers the group's goals. To lie to others outside the group is ok since they are serving Satan.

INCONSISTENT DISCIPLINED LIFE: very strict rules in some areas and completely loose in others. Will make up extra rules to either forbid things normally done (legalism such as movies male or female swimming) or will allow total freedom to the extreme such as in the family and sex for Jesus. There is no balance but only extremes.

MARTYRDOM COMPLEX: Cultists may be willing to die for what they believe to he true, out of loyalty to the man or God they follow. Even to the point of mass suicide as we have seen with Jim Jones Koresh, Heavens Gate etc. Others such as the Christian Science and Jehovah witnesses convince individuals of suicide by denying medical treatment or blood for their life
CURSES and THREATS: Are put on those who leave the group or oppose them afterwards.

They are told their is no where else to go. Threats are made subtly or to their face. Once one is in their is no easy way out. the hardest part is when friends and family are involved. One will often have to give up their friendships and fight for their family.

Third Jewish Temple

2005-09-15T18:24:00.000-04:00

The Book of Revelation Predicts that Antichrist will sit in the Jewish Temple 3.5 years into the peace covenant and commit the abomination of desolation. How can this be if there is no Temple? Preterists argue that this was fulfilled in AD 70 with the destruction of the 2nd Temple by the Romans. But the word declares that these would happen in the end of days and mark the return of Christ. To date the Muslims have built the Dome of the Rock on the site of the original Temple. This news snippet below was gleaned from my webmail from www.endtime.com

It seems as though the stage is truly being set.

IsraelLeaves Gaza; Arabs Rush to Burn Synagogues

Speaking at the withdrawal ceremony held this week, Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz, said "We are leaving Gaza with our heads raised." During the midnight hours, Arab They mobs poured into N'vei Dekalim, Morag, Kfar Darom and Netzarim, setting out for the synagogues and trying to burn them down. A former Gush Katif spokesman warned that the PA's enabling of the burning of the synagogues gives an "appearance of legitimacy for any Jew to strike out against Moslem holy sites, including the [mosques on the] Temple Mount."

If Palestine is granted statehood, it is conceivable that the Jews will deport the Muslims, rebuild their Temple. Then due to international outcry about the deportation into Palestine the world will take up arms against Israel leading to the Abomination of Desolation and the Battle of Armeggeddon. Syria to the North is a likely point of invasion that would land a military force into the plains of Meggido. The armies from the North could easily come in as well if the Euphrates were stopped. This is also prophesied in Revelation and was fulfilled by the building of the Ataturk Dam. Never before could the might Euphrates been stopped.

JLA

07/09/04 Saved By Grace Through FAITH

2005-09-14T14:49:00.000-04:00

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT:

James 2
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: thedevils also believe, and tremble.

Acts 8
13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, hecontinued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles andsigns which were done.....
20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, becausethou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart isnot right in the sight of God.
22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, ifperhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and inthe bond of iniquity.================================

Though a man may belive in one God, though he may believe that He isJesus..what is there to distinguish ourselves from a devil whobelieves, and a worker of iniquity like Simon the sorcerer who notonly believed and yet was baptised...

=====================================
MAIN QUESTION THEN...IS IT ENOUGH TO MERELY JUST BELIEVE?=====================================

Here is our equation:Faith + Obedience = Salvation

Obedience? Most certainly.Consider these Scriptures that exhort us to be DOERS of the Word andnot HEARERS only...

James 1
22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceivingyour own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is likeunto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightwayforgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, andcontinueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer ofthe work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

John 14:21He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that lovethme: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I willlove him, and will manifest myself to him.

Luke 11
27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain womanof the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed isthe womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word ofGod, and keep it.

=======================================

Wait now... does this mean we are saved by what we DO? That is to say, by works?

Ephesians 2:
8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:it is the gift of God
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

And was it not to that SAME Ephesian Church that Paul wrote thispreceding passage:

Ephesians 1:
13In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, thegospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, yewere sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

And then later again in chapter 4:
Ephesians 4:
30And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed untothe day of redemption.

====================================
So the Ephesians trusted after thhat they heard the word of God andthey were sealed...lets read on about their experience in Fullcontext, understanding then that these same Ephesians that Paul waswriting to were the ones we read of in the book of Acts, for it isthere that the Ephesian Church was birthed....read on
====================================
Acts 19
1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paulhaving passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and findingcertain disciples,
==================================
NOTE: Disciples were followers of Jesus Christ,(literally "students")that already believed...remember the "great commission" to makedisciples and baptise?=================================
2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since yebelieved? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heardwhether there be any Holy Ghost.
==================================
NOTE: They already believed...many today would say that these weresaved and needed no fuller experience of salvation
==================================
3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And theysaid, Unto John's baptism.
4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism ofrepentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on himwhich should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the LordJesus.
===================================
They were baptised imperfectly so they brought their baptism under submission of the gospel message and were rebaptised correctly.Why? Not because their faith was insufficient, but because theirobedience needed to be reconciled with accuracy...(...consider in John 7 when Jesus says "he that believeth on me, asthe scriptures hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Holy Ghost whom they were later to receive as of yet he was fallen upon none of them as Jesuswas not yet glorified...")

We have
1) belief,
2) a mandate for scriptural obedience,
3) baptismof the Holy Ghost.

Read on...
===================================
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost cameon them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
7 And all the men were about twelve.
8 And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the spaceof three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning thekingdom of God.
====================================
So here we have the Ephesian church born at the hands of Paul. Whenever you hear Ephesians 1:13, remember that it is referring backto this experience which aligns with the very first message ofSalvation preached under the New Covenant or New Testament by Peter in Acts 2:37-39
=======================================
ACTS 2
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, andsaid unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren,what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one ofyou in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and yeshall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to allthat are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
=======================================
So we have an element of repentance and belief...and then theyask "What shall we do?".

Those who cry "Works, Works" cannot alter the word of God.

Peter did NOT correct them and say, "Receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour and begin a personal relationship with him and you will be born again!"

Jesus himself said it in John 35 Jesuswhen he answered Nicodemus :
5 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man beborn of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom ofGod.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is bornof the Spirit is spirit.

There is a water element and a spirit element to the new birthexperience...Baptism in Jesus Name is essential to salvation. Read on...
=======================================
Acts 4
12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is noneother name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Mark 16
15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach thegospel to every creature.
16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he thatbelieveth not shall be damned.
17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my nameshall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

1 Peter 3
18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for theunjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in theflesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering ofGod waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing,wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us(not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of agood conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
========================================
Now it was John who began baptising by repentance pointing toward Jesus, who being made a man under the law was himself baptised of John. Then, after ascending, the first message preached by Peter was to:

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of JesusChrist for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift ofthe Holy Ghost."

Baptism is to be performed in Jesus' Name, and it saves us by our answer of our clear conscience toward God, MADE SO by our repentanceand belief in His Name.

When we are baptised for the remission ofsins. Remission means "payment of a debt for". The atonement forour sins is APPLIED to us in baptism... by our FAITH!!!!

NOT, asPeter says by the putting off of the filth of the flesh. This meansthat it is not the physical washing of the body or the immersion that does it, but it is the work being wrought in the heart!
======================================

Colossians 2
11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision madewithout hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh bythe circumcision of Christ:
12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with himthrough the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him fromthe dead.
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of yourflesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
=====================================
Paul instructs us that Baptism is a new covenant which, by itsoperation PUTS OFF THE SINS OF THE FLESH!

Baptism is not a work. It saves only by faith in His Name. And we do not receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost by effort, it is a gift.

DO WE TEACH THIS? not usually
HAVE WE BEEN TAUGHT THIS? not likely
DID THE APOSTLES TEACH THIS? most certainly.
DID THE EARLY CHURCH PRACTICE AND RECEIVE THIS AS THE DOCTRINE OFSALVATION? yes.

In fact, all recorded Christian baptism in theBible is done in the name of Jesus Christ...NOT Father, Son, andHoly Ghost.

THEN WHY ARE WE NOT TAUGHT THIS?

This will be dealt with forthcoming as we explore the falling away of the 3rd century churchunder the influence of Pagan Rome.
=====================================
Peter stood up on the Day of Pentecost and explained it all in one statement...Acts 2:38

The Bible says we are not born again of human DECISION, but by thegrace of God. That is to say, that I do not decide when I am goingto be saved.

God saves me according to His timeframe according to HIS covenants. If I will align myself with the covenant, i willreceive the blessing of salvation.

So, in closing...is it enough to just believe?
NO.

We must be born again of WATER and of SPIRIT
1. Repent
2. Be Baptised in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins
3. Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost
4. The promise is for whom? Even as many as the Lord our God shall call!!! ACTS 2:39
=========================================

Read and believe what Paul spoke to the Church in Phillipi:
Philippians 2:
12Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
===========================================

RE: Moonies and Unification

2005-09-14T14:43:00.000-04:00

Mark 13
5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any mandeceive you:
6 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shalldeceive many.
7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye nottroubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not beyet.

Matthew 24
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no mandeceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shalldeceive many.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye benot troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end isnot yet.

Luke 21
7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these thingsbe? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?
8 And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shallcome in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: goye not therefore after them.
9 But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified:for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by andby.

John 5
42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.
43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: ifanother shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
44 How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, andseek not the honour that cometh from God only?

Matthew 24

23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, orthere; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, andshall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it werepossible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.

Mark 13
21 And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or,lo, he is there; believe him not:
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shewsigns and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

Bill: here is a snippet that really caught my attention......

Over the years, Moon and his various agencies and front groupshave enriched the campaign coffers of innumerable congressmen andsenators – and in 1973 bailed out Jerry Falwell's debt-ridden Liberty University to the tune of $2.5 million.

In the '60s,Falwell preached from his pulpit that desegregation was evil and theCivil Rights Movement was a communist plot.

My wife and I recently found some startling errors in the Studynotes in our Thomas Nelson Study Bible. The Bible version actuallycontained more study text than Bible. Much of the doctrinal teaching was far from accurate, speculative, and highly spurious.

As we investigated the credentials of these so-called experts wefound that they were a band of middle-age cronies who presented each other with high degrees through Falwell's Liberty University. I have found that this "college" is no more than a yes-factory for Falwellites.

Remember that Falwell is the one who blamed 9/11 onhomosexuals, not poor intelligence and Clinton's failed attempts to supress Al Qaeda. He then retracted his statement, apologized, andwent on a PR campaign to save his image. Falwell is a reed in the wind, puffed up, and spewing lies.

It is no mystery that he finds fellowship with and receives money fromMoon to further his own "personality cult". Moon and Falwell sharemany similar personality traits and leadership stratagems. A man that will draw others to himself as a personal following likeJerry Falwell, Robert Schuller, Moon, Koresh, Jim Jones, Benny Hinn,Jim Baker, Swaggart have in them selves the sin of Simon the Sorcerer who said...

ACTS 8
18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles'hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I layhands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, becausethou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart isnot right in the sight of God.
22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, ifperhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and inthe bond of iniquity.

HERE IS THE FULL PASSAGE ABOUT SIMON THE SORCERER:

5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preachedChrist unto them.
6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things whichPhilip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of manythat were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and thatwere lame, were healed.
8 And there was great joy in that city.
9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime inthe same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria,giving out that himself was some great one:
10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest,saying, This man is the great power of God.
11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he hadbewitched them with sorceries.
12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerningthe kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they werebaptized, both men and women.
13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, hecontinued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles andsigns which were done.
14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard thatSamaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter andJohn:
15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they mightreceive the Holy Ghost:
16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they werebaptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)
17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the HolyGhost.
18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles'hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money,
19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I layhands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, becausethou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart isnot right in the sight of God.
22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, ifperhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and inthe bond of iniquity.
24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the LORD for me, thatnone of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.
25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of theLord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in manyvillages of the Samaritans.

Notice that Simon believed and was baptised but Peter condemned himas a perishing man. Simon had not received the Holy Spirit when hebelieved and was still operating in the flesh and had wickedness inhis heart. There are many teachers today who even profess faith inJesus Christ, but have not tasted of His spirit and are teachingseducing doctrines of devils.How can this be?

V23 says...."For I perceive that thou art in thegall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity" Simple belief thatJesus is Lord is not sufficient for salvation without the baptism ofthe Holy Ghost sealing a believer to Salvation.

Consider Ephesians 1:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth,the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed,ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption ofthe purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.Now lets go back to the foundation of the Ephesian church when theyfirst "heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation"

...Acts 19
1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paulhaving passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and findingcertain disciples,
2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since yebelieved? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heardwhether there be any Holy Ghost.
3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And theysaid, Unto John's baptism.
4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism ofrepentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on himwhich should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the LordJesus.
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost cameon them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
7 And all the men were about twelve.

=================================
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT:

James 2
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: thedevils also believe, and tremble.

Though a man may belive in one God, though he may believe that He isJesus..what is there to distinguish ourselves from a devil who believes, and a worker of iniquity like Simon the sorcer who notonly believed and yet was baptised?

...MORE ON THIS NEXT POSTINGJLA

07/04/2004 A call to prayer for our Nation

2005-09-14T14:41:00.000-04:00

Regarding the last 2 posts on police inquiries and e-mailmonitoring..

.=== in the sixties this would have been lamented as a gross abuse ofpower.

Why now do we sit idly by and allow radicals to pervert thefreedoms others bled and died for? We are allowing a police state.we have been lulled by our prosperity. If our constitution isundermined then we are following the Marxist transition from a Democracy to a Socialist Republic. These attempts to controlcitizens are simply Marxist and are an asault to the freedoms ourfounding fathers ensured this country that we would have.

If it takes the US only 200 years to degrade to this point, what ofthe next 200? Napoleon rode the coat-tails of the French Revolutionwhich cried out "Liberte, Fraternite, Egalite." (Liberty,Brotherhood, Equality). His philosophy, and one of the earlyfounding tenets of his empire, was to "suspend liberty in the nameof liberty, so that liberty itself might be preserved".One of his contemporaries, however had a different view. He hadthis to say, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain alittle temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." This man was Benjamin Franklin.

Unfortunately neither presidential candidate seems to offer muchhope for domestic personal liberties. GWB would seem to have theedge as a Republican, but one must consider his appointment of JohnAshcroft whose championing of the Patriot Act (falsley so-called)isjust one of many legal precedents to allow for microchip ids.We as Christians can pray intercessory prayer as God's servantsfirst and then Loyalists to our countries founding principles whichare based on the Bible itself.

We are the only nation in the worldto be founded on such principles. Because of these, the Great CivilWar was fought and slavery was abolished. The World Wars werefought and one by the United States who sent its young men to diefor others who had suffered the loss of their sovereignty and theirindividual freedoms.What irony lays before the American people when we will die toliberate Iraq and Kuwait, but we will willingly allow our ourliberties to be trampled by Maverick Judges.

Consider that when Nixon went to China we knew that they had beenkilling hundreds of thousands of children born as girls or above thefamily quota and we here at home decried that abominable civil andhuman rights atrocities. Now that we have transferred our labor andmoney to their government, we have become partakers in their sin.They have become the "Most Favored Nation" in their trade statuswith the US. It has affected the US Spiritually. Now WE kill ourbabies in the hundreds of thousands every year, but not because thestate mandates it, but because we CHOOSE it because the state ALLOWS it.

Stand for liberty in your personal choices. Stand for God's Word.Stand for our constitution. And above all, pray for our nation onthis day that celebrates our Independance and our freedom fromtyranny. The yoke of Jesus Christ is easy and His burden is light!!!

Ye shall know the TRUTH, and the Truth shall set you free.He whom God has set free is free indeed!

Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty I'm free at last. ----MLK Jr.

Jay Antonic

Thoughts on Modern Liberty. Give your name or be arrested?

2005-09-14T14:38:00.000-04:00

...Watch this video of Dudley's Arrest http://www.papersplease.org/hiibel/video.html
...and read the details of his profound case http://www.papersplease.org/hiibel/index2.html
...then read the article in the Daily Herald BelowHERALD POLL

Hiibel wasn't doing anything wrong and refused11 requests from the police officer to identify himself. He actuallyinvited the police to arrest him if he was breaking any law.Ironically, Hiibel was charged with resisting arrest. The localcourt fined him $250.Hiibel and his attorneys said forcing people to identify themselvesto police is a violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition onunreasonable searches and the Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

But Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the court, said givingyour name, even if you are not under arrest, is not a violation ofconstitutional rights."One's identity is, by definition, unique; yet it is, in anothersense, a universal characteristic," Kennedy wrote. "Answering arequest to disclose a name is likely to be so insignificant in thescheme of things as to be incriminating only in unusualcircumstances."On the surface, that seems a reasonable position.

We have to showidentification to get on commercial airliners or cash a check. Butin those cases, the individual is seeking a service and voluntarilydiscloses information in order to receive the service. That's a bitdifferent from police questioning, which is intended to extractinformation regardless of whether the person being questioned wantsto give it.Using databases, police may use a name to rapidly profile a person --perhaps resulting in criminal identification and perhaps not.

A name can provide a window to a host of private information. Policecan use a name to determine whether someone has outstanding arrestwarrant or whether he is a fugitive. But they can also link a personto credit reports, marital status, business records, child custodyrecords and much more.But giving your name, Justice Kennedy wrote, is not an admission ofguilt for some crime. After giving your name, you can tell theofficer that the conversation is over or that you will only answeradditional questions with your attorney present.

Even U.S. soldiers are told that their name, along with rank and serial number, is the only information they should give to enemy interrogators. Why should civilians be different when questioned bypolice? Perhaps they shouldn't.But there are reasons for concern over the court's ruling.First, a police officer's request for a name is not the same asproviding identification in a commercial transaction. In the case ofthe airliner, for example, you provide your name in exchange forbeing able to fly to your destination.

The airline ticket agent'smission is not to accuse you of a crime, only to take your money.With a police officer, the potential threat of accusation comes withthe badge.The Constitution deliberately puts police and prosecutors on a shortleash because of the chance for abuse of power looms large. That iswhy police need probable cause and a search warrant to go throughour houses and effects, and why they need more than just idlecuriosity to frisk us.Hiibel, the subject of the Supreme Court case, was merely standingon the side of the road talking to his daughter when police pulledup and demanded that he produce information.

In the police video,which is on the Internet at www.papersplease.org, the officer nevertells Hiibel he is a suspect. Many people won't give out informationunless they know how it's going to be used. It's a common-senseprecaution in an age of identity theft.Giving out your name doesn't merely identify you. Marc Rotenberg,president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center points outthat your name is key to a "vast, cross-referenced system of publicand private databases, which lay bare the most intimate features ofan individual's life."

This is especially frightening in light of at least two governmentplans to create data-mining systems to track Americans. Do we reallyneed to give the police the tools they need to snoop into all kindsof records about us? A mistake in entering information, on eitherend of the process, can throw an innocent person into a nightmareworld that may be difficult to escape.The court's decision has far-reaching effects. It could inhibitpeople from exercising their First Amendment right to peaceablyassemble.

Fewer people, for example, may be willing to protest anunpopular war or tax if the police are empowered to take names ofthose who are merely exercising their constitutional rights.The idea of being compelled to give identification is something youmight expect in places like Nazi Germany, the former Soviet Union,Saddam Hussein's Iraq or Cuba.It is now up to police officers to use their newly affirmed powerresponsibly, though clearly the door has opened for abuse. Roguecops (and, yes, there are some) now have another means to harass.

If people find the Supreme Court's position unacceptable, as four ofthe nine justices did, the proper recourse is to state legislatures,which have the power to enact laws protecting the right to remain anonymous.

==JLA

06/29/2004 What is your Take on Dr Sun Myung Moon

2005-09-14T14:36:00.000-04:00

Jay,

I've been reading more about the Moonies recently... ex-UnificationChurch... and a recent address by Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon scares thepants off me.

Here's the link:http://www.unification.net/2004/20040127_1.html

Here's the short of it: Moon has renamed the Unification Church andrecast himself and his wife as the "True Parents" in order to triggerthe end times (my take on it..) He says the "position of TrueParent carries with it the vertical missions of Savior, Messiah, andreturning Lord, responsibilities that have never been realized beforein history..."

He's even calling for churches to remove crossesfrom steeples in their honor.Now, if this was just some knucklehead ranting, I wouldn't care. Butthis guy has some influence in Congress... OUR Congress:http://www.bet.com/articles/0,,c1gb9958-10983,00.html

Not to mention this tidbit:"President Bush has, in the past, accepted substantial fees forspeaking engagements from Moon's controversial Unification Churchthat range in estimates from $1 million to $10 million."What is your take on this vis a vis Revelation?

Thanks for your fascinating work in this area...bill

06/26/2004 Two Babylons?

2005-09-14T14:34:00.000-04:00

There is a position that Revelation refers to two Babylons. Oneactual Babylon in Iraq and one Spiritual Babylon in Rome. Just asThere was an actual Egypt and a Spiritual Egypt (Jerusalem).

These two will be intertwined in the last days. Saddam has spentmillions rebuilding Ancient Babylon, the palace of Nebuchadnezzarand the Tower of Babel. However, I believe that this pomp is adistraction from what is going on in Europe.

In Daniel's vision thefinal world kingdom that Christ will destroy is that of feet mixedwith Iron and Clay. Clay is a type of the church, Iron is the RomanEmpire which was the preceeding kingdom in the statue. The ten toeshave been likened to the ten kingdom confederacy in the last days.

The description of the beast that the woman sits on is a ten nationconfederacy that will give the woman her power, eventually thesenations will overpower the woman (Catholic Church) and try todestroy it in the conquest for power.

A house divided against itself cannot stand.Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel for 7 years and 3.5years into that agreement he will enter the temple and proclaimhimself to be God, committing what the Bible refers to as theabomination of desolation.Several things must happen before this takes place:

1) Israel must be a Nation

2) Arab powers must be suppressed in the Palestine Region

3) The Third Temple must be built.

There is speculation in Israel as to whether or not it must be built on the old temple site wherenow the Dome of the Rock Mosque is to be found. If it must, thenthis must be destroyed. To destroy this would invite worldwide Muslim outrage and jihad against Israel. Therefore this present US and later UN control of the Arab regions in the area are vital to Israel's plans to rebuild the temple.

A powerful Jewish groupcalled "The Temple Mount Faithful" have been working at this foryears.Although many of my postings are prophecy related, most of my focus lately has been in Evangelism and through study in the book of James. I will hopefully be posting a commentary on James in the future.

JLA

06/26/2004 RE: Commentary on Revelation

2005-09-14T14:33:00.000-04:00

Jay,

This is chilling... I have to leap back into refuge with Jesus to see me through this sort of thing, because it is way beyond my ability to deal with.

It's fascinating to me that if you are off in the right direction with this... the folks that are making it happen (verichip) are most likely total unaware of what they are doing from a theological perspective. Within their plan, it's just good business.

Another thing... I figured Babylon meant Babylon... and it makes sense too. I never ever thought Americans would remotely consider something like a verichip. Certainly, my parent's generation would have dismissed it out of hand, not necessarily on religious grounds, just because it is such an intrusion on personal liberty. I'm mindful of the phrase in "The Hunt for Red October" - where Ryan muses... "what could make them want to get off a submarine... what could make them want to get off a nuclear submarine...?"

What indeed could make Americans willing to give up two centuries of hard-fought freedom and submit to RFID tagging?

The answer is clearly forming. There is a threat to our mainland, the first ever threat that we have no defense for, and that is terrorism... specifically, the terrorist threat of perverted Islam that is so vehemently directed against Israel/United States. We are just on the cusp of this war, a war that has already been declared by Bin Laden to transpire over decades, if not centuries. We are lulled by the fact that it's been years since 9/11... but that is a function of Bin Laden's timetable, not our defensive capabilities. The war is raging, and the symbolic battleground is precisely: Babylon. That is exactly where Bush has drawn the line (better there than here) and where this long engagement will be focused, even as battles flare up in many other parts of the world.

What could make Americans willing to implant RFIDs in their body?
Look to Babylon. It's on tonight's news.

Just a thought...

C YA - bill