Facebook Opinions

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

When I make posts on facebook, I sometimes get back-chat from "friends" who don't
"like" my politics.  When I make posts on facebook, it's certainly . . . thanks be to God . . .
always clear what I like, and what I hate.

It doesn't matter if people disagree with me.  Not because people's "right" to hold and
speak whatever "opinion" they wish is a real thing, but because people's opinions don't
ultimately matter.  One take-away of John 1:3  ("All things came into being through Him,
and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being") is that God
Alone created reality as He wished. Contrary the central doctrine of "democracy," no
other "opinion" has any bearing on what reality is, or how it works.

What's left to us is to acknowledge God's sovereignty in the matter, and  live in synch
with God's reality, and His ways and purposes in it . . . or not.

I think it's clear in all my facebook posts that I "like" people who tell the truth. Every-
one else is a deceiver.

Clear too that I "like" people who do good to others. Everyone else is, in Jesus' terms,
ia murderer (Matthew 5:21-2).

Those are the political principles I'm coming from: same as the principles of my life
and my religion.

People are welcome to take issue with my politics all they want.

But anyone who "likes" principles of life, religion, and politics contrary to the ones
I'm coming from is a damned fool . . . in this world and the next.

Not just my opinion.


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

A Worthwhile (!!) facebook Post

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

I spend as little time as possible on facebook: there's seldom anything there that's
really worth reading, or pondering.

But a few days ago my daughter posted a tweet (which I don't do at all) on facebook
that seemed worth re-posting to my friends, and worth mentioning here.

It's from someone named Mark Sandlin, whom I think is a pastor:

"After close study, I have concluded that Jesus believed there are two kinds of people:
your neighbors, whom you are supposed to love; and your enemies, whom you are
supposed to love."

AMEN !!


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Communist Christians

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

"And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and
not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all
things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were
giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was
upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were
owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 
and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any
had need."

                                                                                                          --  Acts 4:32-35

Many Christians have accepted a political worldview that "conservative" is somehow
the equivalent of good.  That was indeed the purpose of the political "Christian
conservative" movement of the late 1970s: to convince Christians that identifying
with that human politico/socio/religio philosophy was kinda the same as believing in
Jesus.

Politicians (and their "Christian leader" allies), whose self-promotion was served by
thus deceiving Christians, also taught their followers that "liberals" and "socialists"
are evil.

Let's face it, most people are rather sketchy on "politico/socio/religio philosophy,"
even their own: and It's nearly impossible to get any large group of people to agree 
on what they all believe.  Much easier to gather a faction around what they're all
against.

And the most successful factions, around who they're against.  Jesus Himself said
it's always easy to see what's wrong about other people (Matthew 7:3).  Leaders of
human factions don't understand His words as warning...it's their playbook.

If you disregard that stuff the Bible says about our enemies not being flesh and
blood (II Corinthians 10:3 and Ephesians 6:12), and discountenance its teaching
that "factions" are contrary to the working of the Spirit (Galatians 5:20)...you've got
the makings of a dandy little faction.  One that could even draw in Christians who
are rather sketchy on what the Bible teaches: and that's millions of votes...sorry,
I mean, "Christians."

It was easy.  When Christians bought into the unBiblical, manifestly human-political,
teaching that "conservatism" is equivalent to Christianity, they swallowed the "conser-
vative" faction's moral worldview: "conservative, good...liberal BAD !!"

The problem is that it's not a moral worldview at all, but a political one...which self-
serving politicians (seconded by their "Christian leader" allies) claim is a moral one.
Claim blasphemously, for who but God defines what is "good," and what is "evil" ?

The question for Christians buying into the false political "moral" view would be simply,
"where does the Bible teach that ?"  But those who fail to practice the Bible's command
of self-examination don't seem to ever come to that question.  And it's a certainty that
people who don't honestly measure their beliefs against the Bible's teachings...which
includes, unfortunately, very many Christians...will default to man's "natural" thinking:
including the "factionalist" worldview, "us vs. them," that the Bible warns us against.

So it's not surprising that the "moral" worldview of many Christians today comes down
to the politicians' simplistic, wrong, formulation: "conservative, good...liberal BAD !!"

For many of my generation, there's also the groundwork for moral-political confusion
that was laid by our Cold War childhood indoctrination: that "we" (people of democracy
and "freedom") are good...and communists are "evil" incarnate.  Peopleof my generation
are especially susceptible to the current deceivers' manipulation that "socialists" are, on
the political spectrum, "almost-communists," and "liberals," nearly socialists.

So it's always clear to all "Christian conservatives"...whose factionalist worldview makes
them slaves of politicians, rather than Christ...who the real "enemy" is to hate and fear.

But I've always wondered what "Christian conservatives" make of Acts 4:32-35 ?

If they read it at all, that scripture should raise some uncomfortable thoughts, if any at all.

As soon as the Church was born, believers began practicing "communism."  There's no
other way for politically-minded "Christians" to understand those verses.

Of course, the first Christians' political beliefs had nothing whatever to do with it.  And
the term "communist" for what they were doing wasn't even coined until some eighteen
centuries later.

The early Christians that passage talks about would of course have understood what
they were doing in spiritual terms: that they were acting in the power of the Holy Spirit,
and obeying Jesus' teachings to love each other, and die to self.

I think their interpretation of their experience was exactly right: and I think that should be
the understanding that every Christian who reads that passage with spiritual eyes gets
from it.  Probably even political "Christians" would have to agree that was the first Church'
understanding of their experience; and that the much-later political interpretation of it was
questionable.

So I have to wonder what my "Christian conservative" friends make of it, that when God
fills people with the Holy Spirit, and they begin radically living out Jesus' teachings...it's
exactly what their political-"religious" faction calls "communism" ?

Perhaps they should re-think their faction's politicized perception of Christianity ?


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Death and Evil: Anniversary

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Today is the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II: the day in 1939 when Hitler's armies faked
a "border incident" to justify their invasion of Poland.  Within days, England and France, allies of Poland,
also declared war on Germany, and all the nations of the earth were plunged into the most destructive
war mankind has yet seen.

The best official estimates are that, in all the world's nations; from military actions, war-crimes, and
war-related famine and disease; between 70- and 85-million people died.

We won a great victory over evil...as we think.

But the evil motives for which that war was fought, and every war is fought...

and the evil ideas by which men always tell themselves it's God's work to kill each other...

are still alive.


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Christians in Government ?

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

That is the fraught question, i'n't ?  Can a Christian serve, and BE a Christian, in a secular government  ?
 After pondering that question for almost 50 years, I'm still not to a "yes" or "no" answer yet.

In our current governments, there are heavy considerations against the affirmative: the most weighty
is probably that "demos kratia" ("people rule"), by its very name, positions itself fundamentally counter
to "the kingdom of God."

On the other hand, the belligerent anti-government doctrine of current American "conservatism" is clearly
ungodly: a blazing manifestation of satan's original sin, rebellion/lawlessness; and entirely counter to God's
characterization of human governments as HIS ministers for good, and against evil-doers (Romans 13:1-7).
The take-away has to be that human government is not constitutionally unfit for Christian participation: and
is indeed a sphere that especially REQUIRES Christians' discernment of good and evil, to fulfill its mandate
from God.

The problem is that Christians must enter into that ministry with the knowledge that "governments of men"
are never "the Kingdom of God," and cannot be made so.  The problem is also that Christians in that ministry
are charged with handling power (itself a corruptive agent), in a system which operationally affirms that the
kingdom, the power, and the glory belong to man.

The way to BE an unwavering Christian in those circumstances is doubtless especially difficult.  Looking on
as outsiders, we'd probably have to say that few there are who find it.

Maybe there's a clue in Acts 22.  After one sermon, Paul cited his Roman citizenship to be delivered from the
fury of the mob, and from the punishment of Roman law.  In that instance, his citizenship in the world's empire
could be said to have aided his preaching the gospel.

But Paul began his sermon there by strongly emphasizing his identity as a Jew.  It may be a useful distinction
between the incidental of our worldly citizenship, and our essential "true identity."

The evils that current "Christian" politics, and governments, and nations perpetrate are good evidence their
"true identity" is NOT Christian whatever.  Their desire is instead for worldly power, obtained by the world's
means and used in the world's ways...for man's glory.

It's probably harder in this present time than any other, except Nazi Germany, for a Christian to participate in
our worldly government...except for those who may have God's direct call to that ministry.  But for most of
us, especially in these last days, I have to think God's call is "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not
participate in her sins and receive of her plagues" (Revelation 18:4).

Probably ordinary employees of the world's power-structures are safe from becoming part of their evil, as
long as they are hyper-vigilant that their work not contribute to its evil deeds.  But evil advances by inches.

A clerk is no doubt blameless filing a government office' correspondence: but don't they become part of the
evil if they prepare or send a letter telling facilities to keep detainees in cages, according to the agency's policy ?
Such a policy might not be the clerk's personal desire: he might even believe it an evil policy: but is anyone who
facilitates, transmits, or otherwise helps make evil effectual blameless ?

Probably the greatest danger is not to government employees, but to those who are notionally the masters of
government.  As little as it works so in political reality, we humble anonymous citizens are ultimately responsible
before God, for the deeds of this "government by the people."  More than any employees who implement the
policies of government, we street-level ordinary citizens determine what those policies, and the direction of
that government, will be...by what we "approve" (Romans 14:22).

We, more than anyone else, must be hyper-vigilant against that government doing evil.

We have not been, and are not being, vigilant when we "approve"evil-doers making policy and directing our
government.

We need to repent.  Amen.

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Derek Prince: The Spirit of Truth

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Derek Prince by "coincidence" happened to be speaking in my city the same week God spoke
repentance to me.  My friend who'd witnessed to me urged me to go hear him.  He taught like
the apostle Paul, she said: straight from the Bible, nothing left out, and nothing added in.

Nearly 50 years later I still listen to Derek Prince' teachings, and still consider her description was
exactly on the mark.  And in this time when Truth is under daily attack, His teaching on what the
Bible says about Truth has never been more relevant.  AMEN !

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In this Teaching Legacy series, Who Is the Holy Spirit?, our goal has been to grasp the mystery of the Holy Spirit.  Our study of God’s Word so far has allowed us to see the presence of the Holy Spirit in creation; His unique role in the Trinity; His eternal existence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Our most recent segment focused on His holiness—reminding us of this aspect of His character: He is the Holy Spirit.

     As I have emphasized all along, our touchstone for interaction with the Holy Spirit is the Scriptures, which show us how we can actually come to know Him. Jesus speaks to His disciples about this sense of knowing in John 14:16-17:

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

     When Jesus promised to ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit, He gave this Helper a special name: “the Spirit of truth.” Along with Jesus’ promise came the warning that the world would not be able to receive this Helper.

The World Cannot Know

     In this day and age, when the very idea of “truth” is under attack, it should not surprise us that the world is not willing to receive “the Spirit of truth”—the Holy Spirit. Why is this so?  The Scriptures supply two reasons.

     First, from the first day men and women turned away from God in rebellion, they have been unwilling to accept the truth. Why? Because the truth exposes their unrighteous deeds. Therefore, as Romans 1:18 says, they are determined to “suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”

     Second, rebellion against God has exposed humanity to the domination of the god of this age: “Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). Deception is the primary weapon through which Satan keeps humanity under his tight control. Why is the enemy so relentless in his efforts to deceive us? He knows that once his deception is stripped away, the world will see the truth—that Satan has nothing to offer anyone except a place with him in the lake of eternal fire!

What is Truth?

     For many centuries, human philosophy has struggled to produce a satisfactory definition of “truth.” Our world is asking the same question Pontius Pilate asked in his encounter with Jesus over 2000 years ago: “What is truth?” (John 18:38).

    The Bible provides a threefold answer to Pilate’s question. First, Jesus said, “I am the truth” (John 14:6). Second, in praying to God the Father, He said, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). Third, John tells us, “The [Holy] Spirit is truth” (1 John 5:6).

     In the spiritual realm, therefore, there are three coordinates of truth: Jesus; the Scripture; and the Holy Spirit. When these components line up, we arrive at truth—absolute truth. It is important to check all of these coordinates in coming to a conclusion. In this regard, there are three questions we must ask concerning any spiritual issue:

  1)  Does it represent Jesus as He truly is?
  2)  Is it in harmony with Scripture?
  3)  Does the Holy Spirit bear His witness?

     Historically, the Church could have been spared many errors and deceptions if it had consistently referred to these coordinates of truth in its presentation of teaching and revelation. Before we accept what is presented to us as truth, all three coordinates must be in place: Jesus, the Scripture, and the Holy Spirit.

Bearing Witness

     How does the Holy Spirit function as one of the major components in this truth process? The distinctive function of the Holy Spirit is to bear witness, as stated in 1 John 5:6: “It is the Spirit who bears witness.”

     The Spirit bears witness to Jesus as the eternal Son of God, who shed His blood on the cross as the all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. In the words of Charles Wesley’s classic hymn, “Arise My Soul, Arise”: The Spirit answers to the blood, and tells me I am born of God.

     The Holy Spirit also bears witness to the truth and authority of Scripture, as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: 

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance. 1 Thessalonians 1:5

Ananias and Sapphira

     As we saw in John 14, Jesus called the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of truth.” It follows then that there can be no compromise between the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth, and Satan, “for he is a liar and the father of it” (John 8:44). This was dramatically demonstrated in the early church—when Ananias and Sapphira lied about the money they had offered to the church. They claimed that their offering was the full price of the property they had sold. In fact, they had kept back part of these proceeds for themselves.

     Clearly, the Spirit of truth in Peter was not deceived. He charged Ananias with lying—not merely to men, but also to the Spirit of truth Himself:

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. Acts 5:3-5

     Three hours later, Sapphira came in and repeated the same lie. Like her husband, she paid for that lie with her life.

     If asked what their sin was, you might say it was lying. Actually, the sin which Ananias and Sapphira were guilty of was hypocrisy—religious pretense. They were pretending to be more generous and more committed to the Lord than they really were.

     Jesus reserved His strongest words of condemnation for this sin when He found it in the religious leaders of His day. Seven times in Matthew 23 He said to the Pharisees: “Woe to you...hypocrites!”

What Is Hypocrisy?

    Our English words “hypocrite” and “hypocrisy” are derived from the Greek word hupokrites, which means “actor.”  This is the essence of hypocrisy: putting on a religious act. Probably no sin is more common among religious people than hypocrisy. (In fact, some forms of religion almost demand it.)

     Have you ever noticed how the manner and behavior of some people change when they enter a religious setting? They are no longer natural, free, and open. Gripped by some kind of invisible “cramp,” they feel required to put on a religious mask. Different branches of religion may require masks of a different kind. But few of them allow people to be their real selves.

 

Job’s Example

     The God of the Bible has no tolerance for hypocrites. This comes out very clearly in the story of Job. Job’s three friends poured forth a torrent of religious platitudes. They said, in effect, “God always blesses the righteous; they never suffer unjustly.” They also claimed, “God always judges the wicked; they never prosper.” Yet the facts of history demonstrate that this is not true. It is just religious talk!

     Job, on the other hand, was completely frank. He said, in effect, “God is not treating me fairly. I have done nothing to deserve all this. But even if He kills me, I will still trust Him.”

     In Job 42:7, the Lord revealed His estimate of the conduct of Job and his friends.

“The Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.’”

     We need to ask ourselves: How does the hypocritical religious behavior among us differ from the sin of Ananias and Sapphira, which cost them their lives?

The Moment of Truth

     At a certain point in his career, King David was guilty of two terrible sins. First, he committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of his neighbor Uriah. Then to cover up his sin, he procured the murder of Uriah.

     Apparently, David got away with all this—until God’s messenger, the prophet Nathan, confronted him with his sin. At that moment, David’s eternal destiny hung in the balance. By God’s grace, David made the right response. He offered no excuses, nor did he make any attempt to cover up. He simply acknowledged, “I have sinned” (2 Samuel 12:13).

     Later on, in Psalm 51, David offered up a prayer of confession and then a cry for mercy. Verses 5 and 6 each begin with the word, “Behold,” expressing a sudden revelation of a vital truth.

     Verse 5 says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” David had come face to face with something that only the Spirit of truth can reveal. It was not just the sinful acts he had committed, but also the awful evil power of inherited sinfulness which indwells every descendant of Adam.

     Verse 6 reveals the only basis on which God offers deliverance from the power of indwelling sin: "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts.” Even after his sin, David had continued to go through all the outward forms of behavior appropriate to his role as king. But now there was a vast gap between his outward behavior and the inward condition of his heart. He had become a hypocrite—an actor playing a part which no longer corresponded to what was in his heart. For this hypocrisy, there was only one remedy: honest confession and wholehearted repentance. It is the same remedy for you and me if there is any hypocrisy in us.

A Barrier to Revival

     Many Christians today are speaking and praying about “revival.” But they often overlook the fact that there is one barrier to revival that can never be bypassed. What is that barrier? It is sin. Until sin is dealt with, true revival can never come. And there is only one way to deal with sin: “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

     Frankly, many sections of the contemporary church are full of “covered sin.” Here are some sins Christians often seek to cover:

1.  Abuse of a child—physical, emotional, sexual—or a combination.
2.  Broken marriage vows.
3.  Unethical dealings with money.
4.  Addiction to pornography. (It would shock you to discover how common this is among church leaders.)
5.  Gluttony and overindulgence of our physical appetites.

     God’s remedy—in conjunction with the Spirit of truth—is twofold: first, confess; then, forsake. It is seldom easy to confess our sins. Yet there is no other remedy. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God has never committed Himself to forgive sins we are not willing to confess.

     But it is not enough merely to confess. We must also “forsake.” We must make a resolute determination not to continue to commit the sin we have confessed. We must follow the succinct advice Daniel gave to King Nebuchadnezzar: “Break off your sins by being righteous” (Daniel 4:27).

What About You?

     If this letter has brought to mind some areas of sin or disobedience in your life, this is a good time to open up to the Spirit of truth! He is ready and willing to come to your aid. Let’s ask for that help now.

     Dear Heavenly Father, I open my heart now to the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of truth. I already know there are areas of sin and disobedience in me. I confess them to You, and I commit myself to forsake them as I move forward in Your grace. Thank You for making the power of Your Spirit available to us. May the Spirit of truth be at work in me from this day forward in every aspect of my life and ministry. Amen.

https://www.derekprince.org/Publisher/Article.aspx?ID=1000154728


                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

False Prophets, Balaam and Today

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

The first thing I have to do, when God brings some new thing into my consciousness,
is see what He's said about it before.

So this morning I've been reading and pondering about Balaam (Numbers 22-25, 31):
probably the prototypical "false prophet"...who paradoxically prophesied truly by
speaking God's blessing over Israel, even though he was promised a large payment
by Balak, the king of Midian, to curse Israel.

He obeyed God at first, when God said not the take the job.  Later God let him go
with Balak's emisarries. "But God was angry with him because he was going..."
(Numbers 22:22), and set an armed angel to kill him.  When Balaam finally saw
the danger (after his donkey famously spoke to him), God permitted him to go on,
but only speak what God told him: blessing on Israel.

And Balaam obeyed.  But Numbers 31:16 and Revelation 2:14 seem to indicate
that, still eager to serve Balak, Balaam then suggested that if Midianite women
seduced Jewish men, and persuaded them to worship Midian's Baal, God Himself
would strike Israel: a plan that Balak implemented.

I don't understand half of what scriptute tells us about Balaam: except that he
is held up, in the Old Testament and the New, as the most horrible example of
a man who truly knew God, heard God, and spoke God's word...yet worked to
thwart God's will.

A couple New Testament scriptures say that Balaam was motivated by the large
sum Balak promised him: that Balaam "...loved the wages of unrighteousness"
(II Peter 2:15), and that false teachers "...run eagerly in the way of Balaam
for profit" (Jude 11).

I don't know enough about today's superstar "Christian leader" false teachers
to say monetary gain is the primary motive for all of them: clearly it is a big part
of Joel Osteen's motivation: but probably much less so Franklin Graham's.

But there is "profit" greater than monetary: political power is one (which may
be why the current president was not satisfied with being...at least in his own
mind...a billionaire, and wanted to enter politics).  Every "king" is surrounded by
sycophants with that motivation, who battle among themselves for whatever
"Great Man's" ear, and personal influence over the highest political power.

Wise "kings" know better than to listen to the flattery of their sycophants.  Our
current president, of course, absolutely craves it.  And the "Christian leader"
false prophets of our time are eager to give it.

Eager to barter their name and reputation as God's spokesmen, for political
influence.  Eager to flatter the current president that he is, as he himself says,
God's "chosen one."

Their sell-out could almost be understandable if they were bowing to anti-Christ
himself.  Scripture indicates that man will be absolutely brilliant, attractive, and
charming; the most humanly perfect being that could ever be.  And scripture says
almost every person on earth will be deceived by him, and in complete awe of him.

I'll let each reader judge for himself how far short of The anti-Christ our current
president falls: but we'd probably all agree it is a great deal short. What's amazing
is that the false prophets of our time are willing to barter everything God has given
them to gain the ear of one of the minor, and quite shoddy, anti-Christs.

I don't know how much the current false prophets are actually deceived that the
current president is God's chosen man: they can't possibly all be that stupid, or
spiritually blind.  Possibly many of them believe that a huge effort of willfull self-
delusion, believing what's manifestly untrue, somehow evidences their strong faith.

By whatever means they are deluded, our current false prophets also show them-
selves able, and willing, to proclaim a false Messiah.  So I'm sure they will be entirely
fooled when The anti-Christ himself comes on the scene.

Jesus says that man will be so slick that he would deceive the elect themselves, if it
were possible (Matthew 24:24, Mark 13:22).  I doubt false prophets will be among
the elect who aren't fooled by him; so our current bunch will undoubtedly fall truly
head-over-heels for him, and enthusiastically lead their followers to adore him . . .
and follow him to destruction.

Note to self (and all who have an ear to hear): don't follow any of the current false
prophets.  When the time comes, they'll guide you straight into the arms of The anti-
Christ, and try to convince you...as they'll be convinced themselves...that The anti-
Christ is the ultimate and real deal...Christ Himself.

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Matthew 24: False Prophets

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Matthew 24 is Jesus' extended teaching about the end-times, in response to His disciples'
asking Him "...when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming,
and of the end of the age ?” (v. 3)

Derek Prince taught on that chapter several times, and always pointed out that Jesus
repeatedly warns there that His disciples must guard against being deceived.  Those are
indeed the first words of His reponse:

"And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you" (v. 4).
 
The primary "one"s He warns against as agents of deception are "...false Christs and
false prophets..." (v. 24).

Of "false Christs" He says that "...many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’
and will mislead many" (v. 5).  Again, Jesus says, "...if anyone says to you, ‘Behold,
here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him" (v. 23).

In these days when we've seen a particularly-vile politician claim (with a dramatic glance
at the sky) "I am the chosen one," we have some idea what a "false Christ" may look like.

 (Which is not to say that particular politician is THE anti-Christ; though claiming to be the
Messiah will be THE anti-Christ's signature deception .  Scripture's primary teaching about
anti-Christ, and the origin of that name, is in I John 2, where we are told that there are
"many anti-Christs" (v. 18, my emphasis).  In Jesus' words above we are likewise told that
there are multiple "false Christs," and that "many" will come forward claiming to be Christ.
The current deceiver claiming to be "the chosen one" is only one of many deceivers.)

 But what do we know of the "false prophets" Jesus warns us against in v. 11 and v. 24 ?

We know that "prophets" are pre-eminently religious personages.  We know that the
prophet's primary "job" is to speak God's words: not his own words, and not the words
his listeners want to hear.  Scripture is full of God's furious condemnation of those who
have the name and reputation of being prophets...His "spokesmen"...but falsify His word
in the latter ways.

There's also a hint in Jesus' warning jointly against "...false Christs and false prophets..."
Undoubtedly Jesus foresees the two of them working together.  (And certainly that's the
case with THE "false prophet" of Revelation 16, who serves "the beast" and "the dragon"
in deceiving the people of earth; and shares their fate in Revelation 19 and 20.)

If Jesus believes "false Christs" and "false prophets" work together, so should we.  And if
we take Jesus' hint, the events of this time may also give us some idea of what a "false
prophet" looks like.

The main way a "false prophet" deceives people is by backing up a "false Christ" that he...
not Jesus...is the Messiah.  The false prophet's reputation of speaking God's word puts a
deceptive glow of truth and holiness on the lies and unholiness of the "false Christ."

I'd certainly say that the current false "chosen one" has a gang of "false prophets" working
with him to deceive people.  The "Christian leaders" who've supported him all through his
sorry career have left no scripture untwisted in trying to convince Christians the current
president is the man God chose to rule us.

In their stretch for Biblical examples of pagan kings whom God used to bless Israel, some
"Christian leaders" compare the current president to Cyrus, others to Nebuchadnezzar.
Either way, both camps regularly cite Romans 13:1, that "...there is no authority except
from God, and those which exist are established by God:" that the current president is
the man God has chosen to rule us, so good Christians will support whatever he does.

I could say a lot more about their teachings, and a very great deal about that scripture.
I could say even more about the raw hypocrisy of these same "Christian leaders," whose
"Biblical" teaching was that Christians should hate, fear, despise, and disparage the
 previous president, whom they and their political allies hated.

But for now, I'll just say that whatever president we (think we) choose, God gives us who
He chooses...and that God does NOT always choose to bless His people.  My guess would
be that that assumption...which any Christian should know is simply bad theology...may
be from the "dominionist" heresy that seems to be prevalent in "Christian conservatism."

When God's people forsake His ways, we know He chastises them; in hopes they will re-
examine their ways and repent; by letting them fall into the hands of evil men,foreign
or domestic.  The current president's prophet-cheerleaders (perhaps willfully) seem to
have overlooked many such examples in Israel's history while searching the Old Testament 
for examples of ungodly rulers (for even his cheerleaders can't pretend this president is a
godly man)  through whom God blessed Israel.

Romans 13 leaves no doubt God placed the current president in the office he he doesn't
fill or merit.  The honest question is whether God did so to chastise us, or bless us ?  The
answer is vividly clear.

Also clear is what the "false prophets" who back up the claims of this false "chosen one"
look like.  They look like the biggest-name "Christian leaders" in America and the world,
prostituting their name and reputation as God's spokesmen to persuade Christians that
the current president is indeed God's chosen ruler.

My one hope in this time is that God will not let this "false Christ" and his "false prophets"
continue deceiving His people.

It's a certain hope.  In His every word, His every act, in all times, God promises on His
Own Being that evil will NEVER stand, and will never triumph.

May today's false prophets repent, and proclaim God's hope is His greatest blessing.

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Ragnarok's Valley

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

In a literature class one time, we were assigned to read selections of Norse myth.
The most vivid for me was the account of Ragnarok (which Richard Wagner translated
into German for the title of his opera Gotterdammerung, "The Twilight of the Gods").

Ragnarok was the great final battle that was the end of the world.  I can't remember
all the participants and their strange names, or the exact sequence of events: but the
entire world was inundated in water, and then burned with fire, the sun and the moon
disappeared, all living things died, and then all the gods and monsters fought to their
mutual deaths.

The next line of the story I remember as something like "After all the gods and the entire
earth had been destroyed, a man and a woman crept out of the valley where they had
been hiding."

Wait . . . WHAT !?!?...  We're expected to suspend our disbelief when we read mythology:
but should we also suspend logic, and commonsense ?  All living things, even the gods,
have been wiped out: the whole earth, and the heavens, were destroyed:.  Fortunate
man and woman, to have hidden in a valley where none of these events effected them
in the least !

I've gotten some replies to the e-mail I sent friends last week, about the question satan's
forced on the world whether Jesus is actually the Messiah, that I've had to react to with
the same incredulousness.  Replies about "spiritual struggles going on in my life right now,"
or that "I'm always trying to grow closer to the Lord:" even one that "I don't vote."

Wait . . . WHAT !?!?...the ultimate spiritual question of all time, for all the earth, is being
fought out, and the battle-lines of earth's final war are being drawn.  But all that has
nothing to do with my friends' personal spiritual struggles, or personal holiness...or voting ?!?

Fortunate friends !  to have found a personal "valley" where the approach of Armageddon
doesn't effect them in the least !