reformed or re-packaged?

Why anyone attempts to be an apologist for "Reformed Theology" is beyond me.

Instead of reformed theology, it should be called "Anti-Semetic Re-Packaged Catholic Theology".

Any "theology" that has its basis in anything that came after the syncretism of gnosticism and paganism that was the foundation of the doctrines of Augustine and Roman Catholicism is sorely corrupt.

True, many of the "fathers of the reformation" did get it right in criticizing popery in the areas of soteriology. However, they failed to reject the rest of the pagan practices and gnostic doctrines that continue to this day in many "reformed" churches.

Personally, I'm more interested in what scripture actually says, rather than what a bunch of "reformed" catholic priests have to say any day.  Their major accomplishment in their criticism of Catholicism was to convieniently not get burned at the stake they way that true Christians (who totally rejected popery) had been murdered for hundreds of years both prior to and during the reformation.

Some things to keep in mind as the days get darker...

- The darker it gets, the brighter even the smallest light shines.

- The majority of people who call themselves "christian", are not.  Most people who call themselves christian are false converts to a godless religion of works or they think is christian spirituality is really new age mysticism repackaged as spirituality.

- Persecution will first come from fellow "christians" because we are not tolerant, we are too dogmatic about the Bible, and we don't accept just anything as "christian".

- Teaching from the Bible is already considered "Hate Speech" because it allegedly causes "Hate Crimes", and eventually even "Hate Thoughts" will be a crime.

- We need to be very strongly grounded in truth, or we too can fall for the lie.

- We need to be proclaiming the gospel as loud as we can for as long as we can.

myth of inevitability

One thing that the enemy would like you to believe is that his agenda is inevitable and "you might as well give in to it".

It is true, if we do nothing, then it really is inevitable.

However, we can fight back, we can slow it down, we can stop it and even reverse it.

To do that, it is important to get informed and get involved.

In the process, let us not forget our reason for standing against the tide.

We lobby for liberty not so that we can do whatever we want, we lobby for the liberty to exercise our commission to preach the Gospel.

The enemy's ultimate goal is to silence the Gospel and replace it with his own false gospel.

While we are here and actively resisting, the enemy's plan is restrained from coming to full fruition.

We need to keep our lamps full, remain vigilant, and sound the shofar any time the enemy approaches the gates.

slaves in our own land

What is the big deal about the Federal Reserve being "private", international bankers, and all that jazz?

What does they have to do with anything?

The issue is not every corporation or every bank.

The Federal Reserve is "backed" by international banks and international investors.  Every dollar printed in the United States is "backed" by a loan from the Federal Reserve.  Every dollar the government spends increases this debt.  The collateral for the loans are taxes collected from the American citizens.  Your taxes do not go to pay for government services, taxes collected by the IRS go to pay interest on these loans to foreign financiers.  When the people cannot pay their taxes, their labor and property is forfeit to pay these debts.

This is how the globalists end up owning and controlling American citizens. 

We become slaves in our own land to a foreign power.

This is not without precedent.  We have ample warning of this from scripture.

While nothing has "replaced" Israel (no, not America, the church, or any other entity), there are still lessons to be learned concerning how God meets out judgement against nations.

There are some insightful passages from Nehemiah on the subjects.  The thing to keep in mind, even while in the process of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, they were still subjects to the Persian emperor, King Artaxerxes.

Nehemiah 5:4-5 NAS
"We have borrowed money for the [foreign] king’s taxes against our fields and vineyards ... we are bringing our sons and daughters into bondage as slaves. Some of our daughters have gone into slavery already, and it’s beyond our power to do anything about it, because other men have our fields and vineyards.”

Further passages reveal that this is part of the judgement against Israel for the people turning their back on God and worshipping foreign gods.  The people had become slaves in the very land that was to be their inheritance.  The fruit of their labors went to foreign kings.  They were being sold into bondage to pay thier taxes.

Nehemiah 9:33-37 NAS
For You have dealt faithfully, but we have acted wickedly.

For our kings, our leaders, our priests and our fathers have not kept Your law
   Or paid attention to Your commandments and Your admonitions with which You have admonished them.

But they, in their own kingdom,
   With Your great goodness which You gave them,
   With the broad and rich land which You set before them,
   Did not serve You or turn from their evil deeds.

Behold, we are slaves today,
   And as to the land which You gave to our fathers to eat of its fruit and its bounty,
   Behold, we are slaves in it.
Its abundant produce is for the [foreign] kings
   Whom You have set over us because of our sins;
They also rule over our bodies
   And over our cattle as they please,

So we are in great distress.

501c

Next time you get a chance, ask your pastor if they are prepared for a time when they will need to give up their 501c non-profit status...

God declares the end from the beginning...

Isaiah 46:9b-10
... I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure'

I've recently heard this misquoted twice recently and had to look it up to make sure I was remembering the verse correctly.

man's fallable government

Looking to government to solve your problems is making government a "god".

Government seeks to eliminate all "gods" before it.  Otherwise, you can believe what you want, as long as government is the ultimate authority.

when you care enough to tell the truth

Giving people a helping hand is great. 

However, how helpful is it to provide temporal assistance to someone without sharing the Gospel of turning away from sin (repentance) and turning toward salvation found only in Jesus the Messiah?

So often, when we help someone it is just so that we can feel better about ourselves.

Most of us are helping others to alleviate our own sense of guilt.  That is not love.

Once the guilt is assuaged, we then pat ourselves on the back and smugly reflect on how "good" we are.

Assistance without the Gospel is is akin to giving someone icewater on thier way to hell.

Heaven forbid that we should share the truth with someone.  Telling someone the truth is more likely to alienate you and make you the target of ridicule.

The truth does not make us any friends.  If we tell someone the truth, well, it might offend them and they may not like us. 

So, for selfish reasons we hold back the truth and try to selfishly assuage our guilt by throwing money at the problem. 

Always maintain an eternal perspective.  Ask yourself, how much will this temporary circumstance really matter 10,000 years from now?

If you truly love and care about someone, then you should be VERY CONCERNED about where they will be spending ETERNITY before you concern yourself with where they will spend the night or get their next meal.

Providing food, clothing, and shelter to those in need is a great draw for getting people's attention.

But, the assistance should not be a goal in and of itself.

It should be an avenue to the goal of sharing the Gospel.  That should always be the drive and focus.

my criteria for charitable giving

1.  Must be used toward a biblical purpose (ie: taking care of widows and orphans, feed and cloth the destitute and hungry)

2.  Sharing the Gospel of turning from sin and turning to the salvation found only in Jesus the Messiah must be the central purpose, the food and other items are just the draw.

3. Over 95% of the funds collected must verifiably go toward #1 and #2 and not to "administrative  costs" (someone's pocket)

The Harbinger

I just completed listening to the Harbinger on audiobook.

Some have criticized Cahn's book, but their criticism makes it clear they have not thoroughly read the book or listened to the author's explanation of it.  I have yet to find a solid criticism, and instead have only seen circumstantial and knee jerk attacks by those who are trying to hock their wares.

I strive to be someone who is very picky about what I read and quick to point out the rampant apostasy, false prophets, and misinformation that clouds the truth.  I did not get the least impression that this book was trying convince anyone of replacement theology.

Cahn, himself a Jew and Messianic Rabbi, has stressed several times both in the book and in interviews that he does not believe in replacement theology (that America, the church, or anything else has replaced Israel) or that the Isaiah 9:10 is a prophecy written just for America or anything of the sort.

What he is uncovering is that there was a pattern in Israel's judgement that seems to be repeating itself in actual recorded events surrounding 9/11 (and yes, they are all verifiable in news stories, pictures, and video of actual events).

While I agree that the fictional backdrop might cause confusion for some, the point was to arouse people to investigate further for themselves, repent, and turn to God -- not make a "thus says the Lord" declaration.

(NOTE: I don't receive anything for my comments on this book)

freedom and liberty

Is there a difference between freedom and liberty?

Often the words freedom and liberty are used interchangably.  From time to time, they may carry with them different connotations or distictive definitions based on an author's intent.

Typically, if a distinction is drawn, freedom is typically tied to a person's belief or feeling about their circumstances.

In contrast, liberty is typically tied to a person's ability to perform certain actions.

Some progressives might say that "We want to protect freedom to worship".

This may sound good, but a freedom to believe something or worship is something is quite different than the liberty to act on those beliefs.

For example, you may have the freedom to believe that "Jesus is the only way".

However, as currently exists in many countries, you do not have the liberty to share that belief with others.

essentials

I have heard it said: "Let us unite on the essentials and have grace on the non-essentials"

I agree with that. But, then the discussion turns to the question of "What are the essentials that we are supposed to unite on?"

The Bible may not tell us everything there is to know, but it does tell us everything we NEED to know.

My observation thus far has been that there are many things in the Bible that are crystal clear.

There are also some things that require time, study, and spiritual discernment to understand. These things best understood by "getting to know" God and His nature.

Additionally, there are some things that are prophetic and "sealed" (their meaning is not clear) right now, but will become clearer as we approach the in the time for which they were written.

The more essential it is, the clearer it is stated and the easier it is to understand. Since we are to recieve the kingdom of God as a little child (Luke 18:17, Mark 10:15), then the essentials should be simple enough for a child to understand.

If you have to really do some hard core gymnastics to stretch it beyond its obvious meaning, your doing it wrong. We get into trouble when we put our own pet theories, traditions of men, and doctrines of demons ahead of the simplicity of God's Word.

We must unite around the truth, even if the truth is sometimes hard to take.  The key is for us to submit ourselves to the truth as reavealed in the Bible.

Why the Government Fears Veterans

It has been a recurring theme in history that a government uses the youth of a generation as tools to further its own agendas and protect the wealth of the elite. Once the veteran is no longer useful, the government is quick to break its promises of pensions, health care, and benefits to those who have given so much.

http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/revwar-77.htm

March 15, 1783 - General Washington gathers his officers and talks them out of a rebellion against the authority of Congress, and in effect preserves the American democracy.

June 24, 1783 - To avoid protests from angry and unpaid war veterans, Congress leaves Philadelphia and relocates to Princeton, New Jersey.


1894 - Coxey's Army was a protest march that included disgruntled Civil War veterans who marched on Washington to claim benefits. It was the second year of a four-year economic depression that was the worst in United States history to that time. It was the first significant popular protest march on Washington and the expression "Enough food to feed Coxey's Army" originates from this march. Named after Jacob Coxey, a Civil War veteran.


1922 - Mussolini, a former socialist coalesced the Fascist party around a cadre of disgruntled war veterans and nationalists, organized into paramilitary gangs, known as squadri fascisti, who fought in the streets with communists and socialists and protested against the peace treaties and the weakness of the parliamentary government.

German Workers Party (DAP) was made up primarily of disgruntled World War I veterans. The DAP would later evolve into the National Workers Socialist Party (Nazi) and would recruit former World War I soldiers, to whom Hitler as a decorated frontline veteran could particularly appeal.

1932 March of the Bonus Army - a group of disgruntled World War I veterans marched on Washington, D.C., to demand a "bonus" promised to them for their military service, few could have foreseen the turbulence that lay ahead. Determined to ensure that the military would make good in delivering the funds promised, the 45,000 war veterans set up camp and refused to budge. When two tense months had passed and Congress refused to immediately pay the bonus, general Douglas MacArthur and officers Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton Jr. led the U.S. Army in driving the veterans from Washington with tear gas, tanks, and saber-wielding cavalrymen before burning the protestors' camp to the ground. Though the bonus would be paid off four years later to the benefit of some four million veterans, the historical march on Washington, D.C., laid the groundwork that would eventually influence the WWII GI Bill, cement the rights of citizens to assemble, and petition the government, and serve as one of the first occurrences of large-scale integration in a time where racial relations were an extremely sensitive issue.

Isaiah 9:7-21

The Lord sent a word against Jacob,
And it has fallen on Israel.
All the people will know—
Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria—
Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:

“The bricks have fallen down,
But WE will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down,
But WE will replace them with cedars.”

Therefore the Lord shall set up
The adversaries of Rezin against him,
And spur his enemies on,
The Syrians before and the Philistines behind;
And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth.

For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.

For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them,
Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts.
Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush in one day.
The elder and honorable, he is the head;
The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.
For the leaders of this people cause them to err,
And those who are led by them are destroyed.
Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men,
Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows;
For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer,
And every mouth speaks folly.

For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still.


For wickedness burns as the fire;
It shall devour the briers and thorns,
And kindle in the thickets of the forest;
They shall mount up like rising smoke.

Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts
The land is burned up,
And the people shall be as fuel for the fire;
No man shall spare his brother.
And he shall snatch on the right hand
And be hungry;
He shall devour on the left hand
And not be satisfied;
Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm.

Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh;
Together they shall be against Judah.

For all this His anger is not turned away,
But His hand is stretched out still