Bible Prophecy - The Tie that Binds!(Or - 'Hooked on Prophecy')
Over the years I have often wondered why the Christian church is losing young people. I have seen it over and over. A child is brought up to love God and keep the commandments. They are in church consistently; their parents live what appears to be a Christian life. Yet the child reaches the upper teens, quits church, and as an adult never commits to follow the teachings of Jesus.
WHY??? What happens?
The same thing happens with new believers of any age. They start out loving their new life in Christ. But they gradually drift away; their lives are not really changed permanently. The end result in both cases is the church shrinks instead of grows, and people live without hope instead of in the light of God's love and companionship.
There is not a single answer as to why this happens. But I do believe that a lack of the knowledge of Bible prophecy is a key factor.
There are several major benefits in having a working or at least elementary knowledge of Bible prophecy. These benefits are extended to people of all ages - from the very young to the very old, and from the beginning student of the Bible to the greatest Bible scholar.
These benefits are:
First - Bible prophecy provides security in the fearsome world in which we now live. Those who study prophecy know that God has been faithful to fulfill many prophecies already; that His word is good. He will do what He has promised. So when the nightly news is screaming, 'wars; rumors of wars; global warming; next ice age; rain forest destruction; terror alert high; earthquakes, volcanoes; major meteor showers; and all manner of gloom and doom;' the student of Bible prophecy can take comfort in knowing that the earth will not be destroyed until God says it will be destroyed. And even that final destruction will be good instead of bad because students of prophecy know that God will have prepared a new heaven and new earth before this earth passes away.
Second - a knowledge of Bible prophecy gives focus to the life of every Christian. The nation of Israel provides an example of this. If anyone has even the most basic knowledge of Bible prophecy, they know that Israel is prophesied to be the center of world attention in the last days. You cannot get through one day without hearing something about Israel in the news. So every time a prophecy student hears something of the nation of Israel, they will be reminded of the prophecies concerning that tiny nation. The lessons learned in Sunday school will be relevant to current events. That goes for those who were taught the Bible prophecies concerning Israel in Sunday School, or Church service, or at home. They may be skipping church, but every time they hear the word "Israel" they will be reminded that on the word of God - Israel has a specific destiny that has not yet been fulfilled. They will think of the other events predicted in the Bible.
And, isn't it good to live with the knowledge that one generation will not die - but be changed in the twinkling of an eye? As believers grow older, they begin to think about the approaching moment they will see Jesus face to face. But to the young - that day is far far away. But if a believer of any age is consistently looking for the appearing of Jesus, he or she is much more likely to pay attention to how this life is lived right now. It is easier to put emphasis on the eternal instead of the material things of this world when eternity could happen any second.
Do not think that the study of prophecy lends itself to preparing a useless or ineffective generation of believers. Quite the opposite is true. Prophecy keeps one focused on the teachings and words of Jesus Christ. The danger of converting to a mere social gospel is greatly lessened by studying prophecy.
Today, there are churches spotlighting social reform and accepting 'whatever works' as a valid means to increasing church attendance. They tend to ignore Bible prophecy as 'pie in the sky' theology, and teach it has no value in the modern church.
But Jesus Christ Himself took time to teach prophecy. He answered questions asked by his earthly companions regarding the end of the age. Then the New Testament was filled with additional information about the end of the church age, the rapture, the return of Jesus, the tribulation, the Millennium Kingdom, the short season, the judgment seats (White throne and Bema), and eternity in the new heaven and new earth. If Jesus Himself taught prophecy, what mortal has authority to ignore it? The gospel is to be accepted as a whole, and that includes a great deal of prophecy.
Bible prophecy is a way of validating the authority of the Bible. Events prophesied generations before the actual fulfillment of the event clearly show the author knew the future. That is a major stepping stone for a new Christian. One can reason, "If God said 'this, this, and this WILL happen, then they DID happen', then the FUTURE events God has prophesied will also happen."
Prophecy is a great tool for the evangelist. The power of God is in all the Bible scriptures. That is what converts people. That is what changes people. But getting people to read the Bible is not always easy. A Bible study on any subject is good, but prophecy seems to get people's attention. Everyone is just a little nosey. We all want to be the first to know what is happening before it happens.
Prophecy is a great way for Christians who have grown complacent in their Christian walk to rekindle the joy they experienced as new believers. Christians living now get to be in the middle of the greatest adventure every written. And we get to live our lives knowing the end of the story - we win - we have peace and safety forevermore - we obtain joy and gladness - and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. It doesn't get any better than that!
Bible prophecy is a wonderful way to connect with Christians of all ages. Very young children are able to grasp the wonderful news that Jesus gave us a glimpse of the future through Bible prophecy. New Christians need a basic knowledge of prophecy taught along with the ABC's of Christian growth. It grounds them in the faith. And amazing to me, there are Christians who have been in main line churches their entire lives who know nothing about prophecy. Sometimes it is because they don't want to know about it. Other times it is because they have never had the opportunity to learn what the Bible teaches about future events.
Someone I know was telling me about a very nice lady who worked with him. She was approaching retirement. One day she came to work glowing. She had been to a weekend church meeting and the subject was Bible Prophecy. She was elated, delighted, and plain overjoyed. She had never heard of Bible prophecy before, but she was hooked. And her life was changed for the better. She was watching for the return of the King!
I remember as a child that my dad was always having people over, talking about what the Bible said about the future, and then drawing a time chart for them on a long sheet of white butcher paper. They would roll up the paper and take it home like they had some ancient scroll found by the Dead Sea or something equally valuable. I would have been a real dunce if I couldn't have drawn the chart myself by the time I was seven. My kids grew up hearing about future events, looking for the rapture, watching Israel, waiting for the temple to be built, and just generally watching to see how current events were fitting into Bible Prophecy. Now my two grandsons are learning the basics as well. The good thing about prophecy is that you are never too young or too old to get 'hooked on prophecy'.
The song for this article is "Christ Returneth". I love the line that says "Oh Lord Jesus, how long - how long - ere we shout that glad song - Christ returneth - Christ returneth - hallelujah - amen!"
God bless you.
Barbara Henderson.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------Christ Returneth--------------
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/h/christre.htm
It may be at morn, when the day is awaking,
When sunlight through darkness and shadow is breaking
That Jesus will come in the fullness of glory
To receive from the world “His own.”
Refrain
O Lord Jesus, how long, how long
Ere we shout the glad song,
Christ returneth! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah! Amen.
It may be at midday, it may be at twilight,
It may be, perchance, that the blackness of midnight
Will burst into light in the blaze of His glory,
When Jesus receives “His own.”
Refrain
While its hosts cry Hosanna, from heaven descending,
With glorified saints and the angels attending,
With grace on His brow, like a halo of glory,
Will Jesus receive “His own.”
Refrain
Oh, joy! oh, delight! should we go without dying,
No sickness, no sadness, no dread and no crying.
Caught up through the clouds with our Lord into glory,
When Jesus receives “His own.”
Refrain
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Taxed into Involuntary Servitude!
Taxed into Involuntary Servitude!
Is Civil War Looming on the Horizon?
by Barbara Henderson
When the Declaration of Independence was written, the people knew that it meant that war was coming to the soil of America. They knew their own families would be involved. The effectively put the entire population of the colonies in a war zone.
Why did they do that? What was so important that the writers and the people of the colonies would risk everything? They were certain that their freedoms were being taken away; AND – that the English government was taking away their money as well. In effect, the lives of the people existed to serve the greed of the government. They were spending their own lives in toil for goods which they themselves were not allowed to enjoy. Is this not ‘involuntary servitude’ (also known as slavery)?
How did such tyranny come about you might be asking yourself. In the Thirteen Colonies there existed a wealth of raw goods and materials. That was just what England needed to supply their factories. England passed laws and enforced tariffs that made it illegal for the Colonies to sell their raw materials to anyone but England. If raw materials were sold to any other country, high export taxes were charged. Anyway the people looked at it, they were working as slaves for the British. Then, to make matters worse, England sold the finished products back to the Colonies at a great price. The Colonies had more money going out than they had coming in. They were going bankrupt. The people of the Colonies were tired of working from sun up to sun down and still not being able to prosper. They were getting farther and farther behind. They wanted to enjoy what their own work had produced. Instead, some fat cat in England was enjoying prosperity. The colonists themselves were just going deeper into poverty. The government should have listened to them before the situation got so bad. The people were taxed into involuntary servitude and they rebelled.
When the Southern states began to cede from the United States they knew war might come. Why were they willing to put their own families in a war zone? Why were they willing to risk everything? Keep in mind that the more than 80% of the Southerners had no slaves, yet they fought the war. They were outnumbered. They were poor. The South actually began the war bankrupt.
And why was that you might ask. It was for the same reason the Thirteen Colonies were bankrupt when the Revolutionary War broke out. The North had the upper hand in the halls of government. The North had the factories just like England had the factories preceding the Revolutionary War. The North passed laws and taxed just like England had done as well. Raw goods from the South had to be sold to the North at low prices. To sell outside the United States required high export taxes to be paid. In short, more money was going out of the South than was coming in. Sure, a few people may have been enjoying prosperity, but the vast majority of the people were taxed beyond what they were willing to endure. They were tired of working from sun up to sun down without rest, and yet getting farther and farther behind. Sure, some fat cats were probably prospering and getting ahead. But, the vast majority of people were just getting farther and farther behind. They had been taxed into involuntary servitude and they rebelled. The government should have listened to the people before things went so far.
When the Tea Party movement began, why prompted people to spend their time going to protests and carrying signs instead of watching the news and griping about how the government was being run? Why are people so angry about the health care that was rammed through against the will of the people? People are very well aware that the health care will not provide better coverage, but that it will cost more money. Currently, the best bragging Democrats can come up with is to say that parents can keep children on their insurance until 26, and that pre-existent conditions won’t be cause to be dropped by insurers. BIG DEAL! To bring about those two items certainly did not require that the government put itself in charge of an additional 15% of the entire pre-tax economy of the United States.
The truth is that the Tea Party understands full well, that what the Democrats want is not better health care for anyone except themselves. What they DO want is more control over the lives of every citizen. The more of the economy they control, the more control they have over the individual.
This Democrat controlled government is doing the same thing that was going on before the Revolutionary War, and before the Civil War.
They are not listening to the people whom they govern. Their arrogance and greed allow them to treat the rest of the population as though they were slaves to the government.
The people of the United States see more money going out of their own pocket than is coming in, no matter how hard they work. It amounts to involuntary servitude. Working people are denied the fruits of their own labor. It is instead taken from them for the supposed good of the population. Yet, they see that while the Democrat/Socialists have continually increased ‘social spending’ over the last century, poverty has increased instead of decreased.
Now with unemployment at ten percent, some people not only are going broke, they have no work available that would allow them to hang on to their homes just a few more days. They cannot hope for better while living on unemployment. They find themselves sitting at home, if they still have a home, and trying to figure out ‘What happened?’ Eventually, most of them will come to the conclusion, ‘The Democrat controlled government is what happened! They lie with a straight face, telling the people one thing, and then doing something else behind our backs.
What will be the outcome of this situation? The people of this country have a 300 year history of rebelling against excessive taxation. Often, as with the regime of Jimmy Carter, the people simply voted the lying traitor out of office. They failed to clean house and get his henchmen out of congress. But, is there time to do that now? The devil’s brigade in Washington now are certainly the most arrogant and evil group that has ever walked the halls of US Government. I don’t know. I pray to the God of the Bible that there is time. I pray there is hope. The best way to bring about rebellion is for the government to continue in their current course of action. In their arrogance, this is definitely what they will do, unless forces can be brought to bear that will force them to stop their destruction of America.
By the way, socialism is just the kindergarten for communism. The government will not stop or change its current course unless it is forced to do so. I pray and hope they can be stopped by peaceful means. I do not advocate any violence. Let me repeat that. I do not advocate violence. But, ask yourself this; ‘What does history tell us happens when the government becomes a tyrant?’ There is no such thing as bloodless revolution. And, make no mistake about it. We are in the midst of a revolution. Freedom is being exchanged for government control. What is the point of safety and health insurance when citizens have become slaves of the state, forced to work to pay for things they do not want? Involuntary servitude is just another word for slavery. It amounts to slavery when the people are required to work more than half of the year to provide for the government before they have one cent of money to provide for their own family.
Where is all this going? How will the people of this nation resist the tyranny of today? How far will it go?
History proves beyond any reasonable doubt that socialism/communism does not work for the good of anyone. In such regimes, all the people are counted as expendable, and dealt with accordingly. If they cannot ‘contribute’ they will be dealt with accordingly, whether through lack of health care or forced labor.
If America surrenders to this generation of snakes in congress and the oval office, the outcome will be more surrender to even more hideous demands in the future. At some point, the government will gain the high hand all together. Then, the United States will be like any nation in history under the control of tyranny. Those who protest or speak out will simply ‘disappear’.
That is where we are today. I see the greatest danger as the short attention span of the people. Today people are outraged. But, how will they feel tomorrow? Or next week? Or by the time we get to vote again? Will the yellow dog Democrats put party loyalty above the best interests of their own family and country?
Most of you have heard the generation that fought World War II referred to as ‘the greatest generation’. The people of that era found themselves stuck in the middle of a shooting war. I suspect they were weary with the war about one month after it began. By the time the troops fought their way across North Africa, they were probably so tired they could only put one foot in front of the other foot. Those at home were equally weary. The women probably thought, ‘Just send my loved one home. Nothing could be worse than this fighting and the separation it brings.’ But despite their weariness, they kept going. Their choice was to either keep fighting or submit to being treated as a non-human slave labor force. They knew it, but they had no concrete evidence. When the war was over, what they knew in their hearts was proven true. The inhuman treatment of the prisoners and dissidents by the Japanese and Germans is still being talked about today.
Today, we have strong evidence that socialism/communism does not work. It has been tried all over the globe. All the people controlled under such a tyrannical regime have not ushered in a utopia, or heaven on earth, or anything even close. Instead, poverty, hardship, oppression, and lack of medical treatment has been the norm. (Remember – the current regime in Washington has no real thought for the health of anyone, except to keep them alive to serve the state. Their goal is just to stay in power.)
Is that what you want for America?
Do you have a different vision of America that sort of looks like the America of long ago?
How far are you willing to go to see that it is your vision of American life that prevails instead of the hideous socialist vision that Washington is touting as the way to go?
How far will the Democrat/Socialists go to push their agenda through? We have a hint of how far they will go based on what they did to ram health care through. (Remember – it is not about health care – it is about power.)
How far will they go to ram the next plank in their evil ideology through?
Will they resort to violence against dissenters?
Why would you think they wouldn’t?
Haven’t they already resorted to everything including intimidation except violence?
Forcing people into involuntary servitude just to support the government does not sit well with people in general. It certainly not with a people who have a history of rebelling against excessive taxation and government micro-management of individual lives.
Again, I do not recommend violence or rebellion. I am just pointing out that if the current administration does not stop crushing the people it is supposed to represent, that violence is inevitable. Add to that mix the constant threat of Islamic terrorism, and you have a people who find their emotions constantly on high alert.
The government has not provided for the safety of its citizens.
The government itself has assaulted the financial security of its citizens with a tax burden beyond what any society can bear.
They believe the ends justify the means. That makes them very dangerous to everyone who will not get on board their government power trip.
Anyone who puts their faith in big government is delusional.
The possibilities for the future are:
1. Submission to the government and the hardships and persecutions that will come with it. (There is ample evidence that this is what WILL happen if the current trend in government continues.) This is what will happen if thinking people do nothing. The liberal’s appetite for power and control will allow them to surrender gracefully, nor to even accept an obvious defeat. OR
2. Unrelenting protests and activism by those who understand what is at stake here. This must go on until freedoms are restored, the power of the government is severely restricted, and taxation is cut to the bare minimum. There can be no ‘cease fire’ until the goals are accomplished. Their evil agenda must be exposed for what it is; and people must be educated to the true evils of all collectivist ideologies. Moderation on the part of conservatives is not a virtue when it comes to defeating the liberals.
OR
3. Open rebellion and civil war.
I choose option # 2. I hope that is enough. I hope people will not become complacent and accept option #1 as inevitable. If #1 is accepted, then #3 is not far behind. Option #2 is the only option that has a chance of avoiding violence.
Is Civil War Looming on the Horizon?
by Barbara Henderson
When the Declaration of Independence was written, the people knew that it meant that war was coming to the soil of America. They knew their own families would be involved. The effectively put the entire population of the colonies in a war zone.
Why did they do that? What was so important that the writers and the people of the colonies would risk everything? They were certain that their freedoms were being taken away; AND – that the English government was taking away their money as well. In effect, the lives of the people existed to serve the greed of the government. They were spending their own lives in toil for goods which they themselves were not allowed to enjoy. Is this not ‘involuntary servitude’ (also known as slavery)?
How did such tyranny come about you might be asking yourself. In the Thirteen Colonies there existed a wealth of raw goods and materials. That was just what England needed to supply their factories. England passed laws and enforced tariffs that made it illegal for the Colonies to sell their raw materials to anyone but England. If raw materials were sold to any other country, high export taxes were charged. Anyway the people looked at it, they were working as slaves for the British. Then, to make matters worse, England sold the finished products back to the Colonies at a great price. The Colonies had more money going out than they had coming in. They were going bankrupt. The people of the Colonies were tired of working from sun up to sun down and still not being able to prosper. They were getting farther and farther behind. They wanted to enjoy what their own work had produced. Instead, some fat cat in England was enjoying prosperity. The colonists themselves were just going deeper into poverty. The government should have listened to them before the situation got so bad. The people were taxed into involuntary servitude and they rebelled.
When the Southern states began to cede from the United States they knew war might come. Why were they willing to put their own families in a war zone? Why were they willing to risk everything? Keep in mind that the more than 80% of the Southerners had no slaves, yet they fought the war. They were outnumbered. They were poor. The South actually began the war bankrupt.
And why was that you might ask. It was for the same reason the Thirteen Colonies were bankrupt when the Revolutionary War broke out. The North had the upper hand in the halls of government. The North had the factories just like England had the factories preceding the Revolutionary War. The North passed laws and taxed just like England had done as well. Raw goods from the South had to be sold to the North at low prices. To sell outside the United States required high export taxes to be paid. In short, more money was going out of the South than was coming in. Sure, a few people may have been enjoying prosperity, but the vast majority of the people were taxed beyond what they were willing to endure. They were tired of working from sun up to sun down without rest, and yet getting farther and farther behind. Sure, some fat cats were probably prospering and getting ahead. But, the vast majority of people were just getting farther and farther behind. They had been taxed into involuntary servitude and they rebelled. The government should have listened to the people before things went so far.
When the Tea Party movement began, why prompted people to spend their time going to protests and carrying signs instead of watching the news and griping about how the government was being run? Why are people so angry about the health care that was rammed through against the will of the people? People are very well aware that the health care will not provide better coverage, but that it will cost more money. Currently, the best bragging Democrats can come up with is to say that parents can keep children on their insurance until 26, and that pre-existent conditions won’t be cause to be dropped by insurers. BIG DEAL! To bring about those two items certainly did not require that the government put itself in charge of an additional 15% of the entire pre-tax economy of the United States.
The truth is that the Tea Party understands full well, that what the Democrats want is not better health care for anyone except themselves. What they DO want is more control over the lives of every citizen. The more of the economy they control, the more control they have over the individual.
This Democrat controlled government is doing the same thing that was going on before the Revolutionary War, and before the Civil War.
They are not listening to the people whom they govern. Their arrogance and greed allow them to treat the rest of the population as though they were slaves to the government.
The people of the United States see more money going out of their own pocket than is coming in, no matter how hard they work. It amounts to involuntary servitude. Working people are denied the fruits of their own labor. It is instead taken from them for the supposed good of the population. Yet, they see that while the Democrat/Socialists have continually increased ‘social spending’ over the last century, poverty has increased instead of decreased.
Now with unemployment at ten percent, some people not only are going broke, they have no work available that would allow them to hang on to their homes just a few more days. They cannot hope for better while living on unemployment. They find themselves sitting at home, if they still have a home, and trying to figure out ‘What happened?’ Eventually, most of them will come to the conclusion, ‘The Democrat controlled government is what happened! They lie with a straight face, telling the people one thing, and then doing something else behind our backs.
What will be the outcome of this situation? The people of this country have a 300 year history of rebelling against excessive taxation. Often, as with the regime of Jimmy Carter, the people simply voted the lying traitor out of office. They failed to clean house and get his henchmen out of congress. But, is there time to do that now? The devil’s brigade in Washington now are certainly the most arrogant and evil group that has ever walked the halls of US Government. I don’t know. I pray to the God of the Bible that there is time. I pray there is hope. The best way to bring about rebellion is for the government to continue in their current course of action. In their arrogance, this is definitely what they will do, unless forces can be brought to bear that will force them to stop their destruction of America.
By the way, socialism is just the kindergarten for communism. The government will not stop or change its current course unless it is forced to do so. I pray and hope they can be stopped by peaceful means. I do not advocate any violence. Let me repeat that. I do not advocate violence. But, ask yourself this; ‘What does history tell us happens when the government becomes a tyrant?’ There is no such thing as bloodless revolution. And, make no mistake about it. We are in the midst of a revolution. Freedom is being exchanged for government control. What is the point of safety and health insurance when citizens have become slaves of the state, forced to work to pay for things they do not want? Involuntary servitude is just another word for slavery. It amounts to slavery when the people are required to work more than half of the year to provide for the government before they have one cent of money to provide for their own family.
Where is all this going? How will the people of this nation resist the tyranny of today? How far will it go?
History proves beyond any reasonable doubt that socialism/communism does not work for the good of anyone. In such regimes, all the people are counted as expendable, and dealt with accordingly. If they cannot ‘contribute’ they will be dealt with accordingly, whether through lack of health care or forced labor.
If America surrenders to this generation of snakes in congress and the oval office, the outcome will be more surrender to even more hideous demands in the future. At some point, the government will gain the high hand all together. Then, the United States will be like any nation in history under the control of tyranny. Those who protest or speak out will simply ‘disappear’.
That is where we are today. I see the greatest danger as the short attention span of the people. Today people are outraged. But, how will they feel tomorrow? Or next week? Or by the time we get to vote again? Will the yellow dog Democrats put party loyalty above the best interests of their own family and country?
Most of you have heard the generation that fought World War II referred to as ‘the greatest generation’. The people of that era found themselves stuck in the middle of a shooting war. I suspect they were weary with the war about one month after it began. By the time the troops fought their way across North Africa, they were probably so tired they could only put one foot in front of the other foot. Those at home were equally weary. The women probably thought, ‘Just send my loved one home. Nothing could be worse than this fighting and the separation it brings.’ But despite their weariness, they kept going. Their choice was to either keep fighting or submit to being treated as a non-human slave labor force. They knew it, but they had no concrete evidence. When the war was over, what they knew in their hearts was proven true. The inhuman treatment of the prisoners and dissidents by the Japanese and Germans is still being talked about today.
Today, we have strong evidence that socialism/communism does not work. It has been tried all over the globe. All the people controlled under such a tyrannical regime have not ushered in a utopia, or heaven on earth, or anything even close. Instead, poverty, hardship, oppression, and lack of medical treatment has been the norm. (Remember – the current regime in Washington has no real thought for the health of anyone, except to keep them alive to serve the state. Their goal is just to stay in power.)
Is that what you want for America?
Do you have a different vision of America that sort of looks like the America of long ago?
How far are you willing to go to see that it is your vision of American life that prevails instead of the hideous socialist vision that Washington is touting as the way to go?
How far will the Democrat/Socialists go to push their agenda through? We have a hint of how far they will go based on what they did to ram health care through. (Remember – it is not about health care – it is about power.)
How far will they go to ram the next plank in their evil ideology through?
Will they resort to violence against dissenters?
Why would you think they wouldn’t?
Haven’t they already resorted to everything including intimidation except violence?
Forcing people into involuntary servitude just to support the government does not sit well with people in general. It certainly not with a people who have a history of rebelling against excessive taxation and government micro-management of individual lives.
Again, I do not recommend violence or rebellion. I am just pointing out that if the current administration does not stop crushing the people it is supposed to represent, that violence is inevitable. Add to that mix the constant threat of Islamic terrorism, and you have a people who find their emotions constantly on high alert.
The government has not provided for the safety of its citizens.
The government itself has assaulted the financial security of its citizens with a tax burden beyond what any society can bear.
They believe the ends justify the means. That makes them very dangerous to everyone who will not get on board their government power trip.
Anyone who puts their faith in big government is delusional.
The possibilities for the future are:
1. Submission to the government and the hardships and persecutions that will come with it. (There is ample evidence that this is what WILL happen if the current trend in government continues.) This is what will happen if thinking people do nothing. The liberal’s appetite for power and control will allow them to surrender gracefully, nor to even accept an obvious defeat. OR
2. Unrelenting protests and activism by those who understand what is at stake here. This must go on until freedoms are restored, the power of the government is severely restricted, and taxation is cut to the bare minimum. There can be no ‘cease fire’ until the goals are accomplished. Their evil agenda must be exposed for what it is; and people must be educated to the true evils of all collectivist ideologies. Moderation on the part of conservatives is not a virtue when it comes to defeating the liberals.
OR
3. Open rebellion and civil war.
I choose option # 2. I hope that is enough. I hope people will not become complacent and accept option #1 as inevitable. If #1 is accepted, then #3 is not far behind. Option #2 is the only option that has a chance of avoiding violence.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Gnosticism Versus Truth
Gnosticism
Blending of mystical teachings with scripture (pollutes)
Wrapped up in Christian terminology (deceives)
Present from the early church age (inescapable until the final defeat of Satan)
Even present before the church – as in the garden of eden – promising Eve godhood through works (just eat the fruit – that’s all it takes)
‘Shape shifting’ – it is without real form or substance – continually changing to match current situations
It’s only continuum is to blast scripture and undermine it at every turn – but often wrapped up in twisted Biblical terminology – if it attacks scripture, then Gnosticism is in there somewhere
Is a philosophy – a viewpoint that tries to mesh the God of the Bible with human ideas and values
Neo-Gnosticism infiltrating the church today
Mysticism
Emotionalism
Revelation beyond scripture – or revelation that ‘clarifies’ scripture
Attempts to reconcile what seems right or how things should be according to mankind to what Is right according to God and how things really are.
From Gnosticism comes apostasy
A Gnostic might be confused and believe that the truths of God can be mingled with the philosophy of this world and still be accepted by God
But in apostasy – people actually understand that there is no way to mix the things of God with the things of the world – and still have anything to do with God. I suppose Cain would be an apostate. First, he knew the truth of God, but obviously did not accept it. Second, he tried to mix his own ideology or philosophy with the things of God. Well, that didn’t work. God refused Cain’s offering. So Cain, instead of repenting of his own Gnostic philosophy, became an apostate. He knew the truth – and he rejected it. He chose his own way over the way of God.
The best way to stymie or thwart Gnosticism is to know sound doctrine. Then when you hear Gnostic ideas speak up and say you cannot mix the things of God with the things of the world.
Gnostic and apostate theology is taught in seminaries, Sunday schools, and straight from the pulpit. So, stay alert.
Blending of mystical teachings with scripture (pollutes)
Wrapped up in Christian terminology (deceives)
Present from the early church age (inescapable until the final defeat of Satan)
Even present before the church – as in the garden of eden – promising Eve godhood through works (just eat the fruit – that’s all it takes)
‘Shape shifting’ – it is without real form or substance – continually changing to match current situations
It’s only continuum is to blast scripture and undermine it at every turn – but often wrapped up in twisted Biblical terminology – if it attacks scripture, then Gnosticism is in there somewhere
Is a philosophy – a viewpoint that tries to mesh the God of the Bible with human ideas and values
Neo-Gnosticism infiltrating the church today
Mysticism
Emotionalism
Revelation beyond scripture – or revelation that ‘clarifies’ scripture
Attempts to reconcile what seems right or how things should be according to mankind to what Is right according to God and how things really are.
From Gnosticism comes apostasy
A Gnostic might be confused and believe that the truths of God can be mingled with the philosophy of this world and still be accepted by God
But in apostasy – people actually understand that there is no way to mix the things of God with the things of the world – and still have anything to do with God. I suppose Cain would be an apostate. First, he knew the truth of God, but obviously did not accept it. Second, he tried to mix his own ideology or philosophy with the things of God. Well, that didn’t work. God refused Cain’s offering. So Cain, instead of repenting of his own Gnostic philosophy, became an apostate. He knew the truth – and he rejected it. He chose his own way over the way of God.
The best way to stymie or thwart Gnosticism is to know sound doctrine. Then when you hear Gnostic ideas speak up and say you cannot mix the things of God with the things of the world.
Gnostic and apostate theology is taught in seminaries, Sunday schools, and straight from the pulpit. So, stay alert.
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