Wednesday, September 30, 2020

THE BEAST REVEALED

 

KEY VERSE: I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a Beast rise up out of the Sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. (Rev 13:1)

  Protestants have accused the Roman church head, the Pope, to be the Antichrist. This “Beast” is the Antichrist, but any against Christ are antichrists, as is written, “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son” (1 John 2:22). With that, deniers of God, as Father, and Son are “antichrists” (with little “a”). Islam seems to deny only the Son, but is that reality? Allah is not Yahweh God. “Allah” derives from the Hebrew Elohim, but is their “god” truly that God, or is he El?

  El is “god” in the singular and Elohim, the plural. Both El and Elohim are used to describe the true God and that makes sense in that Yahweh is three substances in one Existence, or the “Holy Trinity.” “El” is used in scripture many times, but most significantly when Abraham had “communion” with Melchizedek (Gen 14:18). And from the Book of Hebrews, Melchizedek was said to be King of Righteousness and King of Peace (Heb 7:2) and “expressed” (Greek; aphomoioo) as the Son of God. In other words, El refers to God when he is manifested. Melchizedek was one manifestation in the flesh, and Jesus another. Therefore, Jesus is “El” and the Holy Trinity, God in Three Substances, is Elohim.

  Allah is a derivative of Elohim (plural of El), but Allah is One and Islam monotheistic. Allah is a false god of one substance and is not Elohim, God in three substances. The three “substances” of the One True God in homeostasis is Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Islam calls God “Allah” from the plural Elohim, but yet Islam’s “god” is one substance. Jesus is El in the three substances. Pagans had images of their “El” called idols. Jesus is the image of the Father (John 14:7).

  Nobody has ever seen Allah because that false God has no spirit nor any image. Muslims even forbid images of Allah, and the spirit of Allah, if he has one, is the spirit of evil. I believe that Allah has a “spirit” called Isa (Jesus in their perspective). Isa will manifest himself in the last days, according to the Qu’ran. The spirit of Isa will return as an image. Right now, that spirit is spirit, but in the end, Isa shall manifest himself, I believe as God (Elohim). Islam claims to have one God of one substance, but it seems that Allah consists of father, son, and spirit as well — the unholy father, the unholy son, and the unholy spirit, namely Allah, Isa, and the Antichrist; in this case, THE Antichrist.

Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. (1 John 2:18)

  THE Antichrist is the “Beast” from the key verse, “(I) saw a Beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads.” The “sea” in the Bible always refers to the Mediterranean Sea. Of course, Rome lies on that Sea, but that Sea is the locus of Islam. Both Rome and Jerusalem lie on the Sea, but Jerusalem appears to be the “harlot Babylon” from the Book of Revelation in that scripture indicates that Jerusalem has become evil, to wit: “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem… How is the faithful city become an harlot!”  (Isa 1:1,21).

  Jerusalem is the “harlot” not Rome. Harlotry there continues to this day because modern Jerusalem is the epicenter of Islam. Those “seven heads” are not the seven hills of Rome, but the “seven pillars of Isma'ilism,” the Shi’a sect of Islam. (Islam claims Ishmael as their ancestor).

  With that background, Islam is likely the end-of-time (Apocalyptic) religion, and of course, Sharia Law the government of that religion. The Antichrist will be both a religious leader (Isa) and a one world government leader from the Sea. Certainly, Isa and Islam fit the description of the “Beast.” With that said, the “Beast” in scripture has two identities in one: the masses of Islam (Elohim) and the leader of that false religion (El).

 God promised this: “I will rid evil beasts out of the land” (Lev 26:6). That has more meaning than first appears. It refers to the three Beasts of Revelation — the unholy trinity.

  Sinners are “beasts,” as is written, “So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee” (Psalm 73:22).

  The religion of the Beast consists of a globe full of feral beasts. Often the world sees feral beasts roaming the Sea terrifying the nations. Islam is not a religion of peace as they claim, but a conglomeration of beasts. The “prophet” of those beasts, or antichrists, is THE Antichrist himself, Isa.

  The “Beast” is then both a person and persons. They are many. The “Beast” will have Satan in him just as the “Beast,” the Serpent, and the “Beast,” Judas Iscariot.

  “Iscariot” means “man of Kerioth” and “Kerioth” has the same root noun as “Qu’ran” (Koran) (Abarim Publications Online). In other words, Judas was the Beast and so are people of the book, the Koran. I have written before, as have many, including Muslims, that “666” is a holy number in the Qu’ran, but an unholy number in the Bible. It is the mark of the Beast, and in the case of Islam, the mark of Islamic adherents.

  Not only is “666” the mark of THE Beast but all the “beasts” of Islam. Muslims are antichrists and their religion and Isa are the Beast, as both the Bible and the Qu’ran seem to indicate. “Beasts” in scripture as well as sacred literature are those who deny Christ.

  Islam denies Christ, and since they do, they do not know the Father as suggested in John 1:15. Muslims do not know Father God because they do not know Jesus. Hence, according to the Bible, they are antichrists. That is validated by their means of proselytization. Christians use the Sword of the Word (Jesus) and Islam the sword of Isa who they say, will return with a vengeance. To do what? “I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God (Jesus), and which had not worshipped the Beast (Isa)” (Rev 20:4; quotes mine).

  Yahweh is truly Elohim and Allah would correspond to El. El is more often used in reference to Baals (Els) in the Bible, all who together are Baalim; those the heretic Hebrews served and were pagan false gods.

  Here “Baalim” is the plural of “Baal” and describe Allah quite well. Allah, as was demonstrated, exists in three Beasts, and the three together are the Unholy Trinity as one monotheistic “god.” Islam is therefore faux Christianity and copies it in many respects and disrespects. As such, Islam is “blasphemous,” according to the key verse.

(picture credit: Message for Muslims; "Isa in Islamic Thinking")




Tuesday, September 29, 2020

MINISTERS OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS

 

  If not a minister of righteousness, then preachers are ministers of unrighteousness, and they preach not the gospel of Christ, but the gospel of Lucifer. Not that they realize they are, but their minds are deluded by the cunning of the Devil just as Adam and Eve had been. The greatest worry today is not socialism nor the Deep State but ministers of unrighteousness. Apparently, the Corinthian Church in apostolic times had that same problem:

13 Such (those who glory in themselves) are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. (2 Cor 11:13-15)

  How would ministers of unrighteousness know they are ministering to Lucifer? They would probably not because, “As the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor 11:3). They have been beguiled to misunderstand what is right and what is wrong, or they fail to recognize the evil from the good from the Tree of Knowledge.

  In other words, they do not know the Body of Christ but the body of knowledge. From my experience, seminary trained ministers have a great body of knowledge but know little about the Body of Christ. Too much knowledge confuses, and the person who dwells on knowledge rather than the Spirit of God may be in danger of confusion.

  As I have studied intensely for twelve years daily, sometimes I wonder if I miss the point, the simplicity of scripture, by knowing too much. I pray that the knowledge that I gain will be the simplicity of Christ. Although I know and understand much, Christianity remains simple. Paul taught to the all-knowing two things: (1) the gospel of Christ and (2) the resurrection of the dead, to wit: “He preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection” (Act 17:18). What was it that Paul taught about Jesus? That Jesus IS God, that Jesus died for the sins of everyone, and that only by Him can anyone be saved. What is salvation? Resurrection from death.

  The gospel is that simple, but theologians make it complicated. Nowadays, “salvation” is walking to the altar in most churches, if even that, and once that short work is over, “liberty” gives them the freedom to live as they please.

  For others, “salvation” amounts to getting entirely wet in a baptismal as they short-change the need for repentance, as they trust more in the water than the blood.

  Then it gets worse! For some churches, the Way of Jesus was nothing more than the way of a good man, and not a virtuous Man who IS God, and still is. For them, scripture is a good way of living in this world, and not a prescription for eternal life.

  Mainstream denominations have neglected the Way of Christ for the ways of the world. The Great Commission was to go unto the world and convert, but nowadays the church has brought the world into the sanctuary of God, and God’s temple is again, a den of thieves. Many churches no longer are on Holy Ground, but a circus for fun. Worship of Jesus should not be fun but joyous, and there is a difference. “Fun” is an emotional response to outside stimuli, and “joy” is inner peace because of the hope of salvation.

  How can anyone discern between ministers of righteousness and those of unrighteousness? By knowing the Word. They test everything according to the Words of Jesus: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (1 Thes 5:21). “Proving” is by testing to a rigid standard. That is to the truth of God by Holy Scripture. “Hold fast” is to remain stedfast in the faith. “Good” is only the knowledge of God from the Tree of Life whose fruits were entirely good.

  The Body of Knowledge of both good and evil is overwhelming, and knowing evil is the cunning of the Serpent. To know “good” only requires knowing God. Knowing evil is experiencing the law of sin. The best way to shun evil is to never know evil.

  What is wrong with the modern Church. Like Corinth, its people know evil. Every type of sin exists within the “saints” of the Church because of antinomialism — that Christians are freed from the Law because of grace. Technically, they are freed from the Law of Moses, but there are other “Laws” that are still binding. Calvinists fail to recognize the perpetuity of what confused Christians call the “Ten Commandments.”

  Theologians perceived the Ten Sayings of God as “Commandments” because they seemed to be declarations of law. Rather than “Ten Commandments” a better description is the “Decalogue” (Greek; deca logoi — 10 Words). Theologians surely were inspired by the Jews; how they considered the Ten Words — that they were Commandments rather than a list of God’s Wills for His heirs.

  Rather than Mosaic Law, the Decalogue is the appendix to the Abrahamic Covenant. It is how God expects His heirs to be righteous. They are ways to revere Him. It is a list of ten righteous behaviors, and to be righteous requires God’s Will be done according to the bequest of Jesus.

  Antinomialism has allowed sin to run rampant in the Church. Calvinistic churches, like the Jews before them, see them as strict Commandments. The Jews thought they must be done, and the Calvinists that there is no need for them to be done. What are they for? Righteous people are willing to do God’s list from His Will as, “Faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness” (Rom 4:9).

  God desired that Abraham sacrifice his son like He would someday. He did not “Command” anything. God merely “said” what He wanted for Abraham to do (Gen 22:2). Abraham never took that saying as a command, but God’s Will for Him to do. Abraham was willing because He trusted God. He said, “God will provide himself a lamb” (Gen 22:8). The “lamb” was not the “ram” that God provided, but Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. Rams are grown sheep. Lambs are innocent young animals.

  Isaac may have seen the ram and believed it was his scapegoat, but Abraham knew that Jesus would be the Lamb. All the patriarchs knew the Lamb of God, but it was too complicated for the Jews. They only saw the ram as the sacrifice and misunderstood both the ram and the conditions of the Abrahamic Covenant. Moses saw circumcision of the foreskin as the seal of the Covenant. All along, Abraham’s willingness sealed the deal with God, and the Decalogue are ways to circumcise the heart of evil doings.

  I call the Decalogue the “Ten Prescriptions for Eternal Life.” Those who desire a long life honor their Father (RX #5. For what? “That thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” (Exod 20:12). And they thought it was “land,” but the Promises Land is Paradise. The Jews misunderstood that too and still do!

  What I am implying is that unrighteous people may not know they are unrighteous. They just, “Know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), according to Jesus. At the end of days, few will know not what they are doing, and they will commit all kinds of sins as in the days of Noah — predominantly sexual sins, the most numerous of the fruits of the Tree of Knowledge (Gal 5).

  The Corinthian Church was much like the modern Church. They allowed about anything to go on. Paul was chastising them by God’s Ten Prescriptions, and so am I. Not that I am perfect and virtuous, but that I understand God’s meaning of righteousness. The Decalogue consists of the “Ten Words” that Jesus said (Exod 20:1) and they were written by His Finger (Deut 9:10).

  Of all the unrighteous teaching is that the Decalogue is no longer the Will of God, and that Jesus came to break those stones a second time. Out of anger, Moses broke them all, but then God emblazed them on stone again to endure forever.

  The Decalogue is all about different types of “fornication.” The obvious one is “adultery” but others are less obvious. For instance, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Rx #1) could be rewritten, Thou shalt not fornicate with other gods. That was the sin of choice for the Hebrews. The second Rx is not to fornicate with anything in the entire universe, including and mainly ourselves, which we are taught to esteem highly by confused preachers. In other words, the Decalogue are “Ten Ways of Fornicating Against God” and fornication, as Paul wrote, is sinning against ourselves. Why is that? Because fornicators condemn themselves (1 Cor 6:18).

  How can we know? Know that the Decalogue is not Ten Commands but Ten Prescribed and Transcribed Ways to be right with God for eternal life. Why are churches so imbued with sin? Because they fail to understand that Jesus is the Good Doctor who came to fulfill those Prescriptions, as is written: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Mat 5:17). Jesus did not do away with the Law but fulfilled all His Rx’s written by His own Finger!

  Above all things — his calamities and persecutions — what did Paul care most about? Not himself but the churches! “Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches” (2 Cor 11:28). Why would I chastise the modern churches? Because like Paul, I care for all the churches. My seed depends on us Christians. We must never accept an unrighteous church where anything goes; where church service is for fun or profit — a den of thieves — who steal from God His Glory. Paul was worried that the Church would come to what it is today, and I share Paul’s concern.

(picture credit: Pinterst; "Moses Breaking the Ten Commandments)



ON SILENCE

 

ON SILENCE – THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY 

  I present this commentary with humble fear not to offend. That is not the intent, but I must speak boldly.

  In the past few weeks, I have seen on Facebook and in person where Christians and even preachers have spoken against Christian political activism. This response is not personal, but it must be said, If the nation’s forefathers had not been political activists, God would not have created a Christian nation! Likewise, if the Reformers had not protested the politics of the Roman Catholic Church, we would all still hold allegiance to the Pope!  “The Big Lie” in America is that there is a wall between separation of Church and State. Even that Big Lie, although derived to “protect” God from the State, in effect shunned God from the government. It turned out to be a one-way “wall” where Christians must stay out of politics, but the government can fornicate against the Church with impunity.

  Recently, Kentucky had a Christian governor, but Kentuckians sought to protect their retirement from him. He was not even the nemesis; the former governor (Beshear) had squandered the state pension fund as well as his Democrat predecessors. Not to be confused with the facts, well-meaning Christians voted against the pro-life, pro-family, good steward of money, Gov. Bevin, and for “abortion Andy.” Their vote was emotional and irrational because Bevin had saved their retirement fund and they were like angry little children.

  The point with that background is that Christians were apathetic to abortion Democrat Beshear all those years, but screamed mercilessly about a great Christian governor, Bevin. That irrationalism made me angry, and as a Christian, I do not enjoy being angry. The Christians “hung” an innocent man much like the KKK mob has done so many times!

  Christians have remained silent, now with “gags,” as Christianity has floundered in the United States. They have stayed silent as the “united” nation has been torn asunder. Not that capitalism is the victim, but some essential doctrines of socialism are: (1) destroy the Church or remold it to fit Marxist doctrine, (2) trivialize gender roles, (3) diminish the family, and (4) create a government wherein the masses are no longer dependent on God but the government.

  As such “Comrade Sam” becomes the chairman of the socialist party, and Marx becomes their main god, along with such demigods as Obama, Clinton, Biden, and even AOC. Turning a blind eye toward Satan does not diminish Satan and is very socialistic in the manner socialists turn a blind eye toward Christianity. Ignoring Satan will not defeat Satan! His army is out to end Christianity, and preachers who preach blinding oneself to socialism as the Christian thing to do, naively invite Satan in for easy pickings!

  There are two wars in progress: (1) political and (2) spiritual. The apocalyptic ruler will be both a “Caesar” and the Antichrist in one package. He will laugh at and taunt Christians for believing in that fantastical wall between separation of Church and State.

  As the crucifixion demonstrated so well, silent Christians were “human shields” for the tyranny of the mob and stood by silently as political and religious leaders had their way with Jesus! Yes, nearly every group in the mob had some connection to political power whether they were Herodians for King Herod, zealots for the Hasmonean Dynasty, Pharisees for personal power, or Sadducees for the line of Zadok to be chief priests. And then we had the Levitical chief priests who wanted the power! You see, “politicians” crucified Jesus, and they were able to do that because of silent Christians!

  I am so emphatic about remaining vocal in the U.S. because I do not want God diminished in our nation. So emphatic, that I wrote nearly five-hundred pages about the politicians who attempted to kill God by killing His Flesh. [1] However, it was God’s Will and the very purpose of Jesus that He was killed, and God knew that He could depend on Christians to remain silent just as the Jews had often done when confronted by the prophets to defend the Temple just by being righteous.

  Therein is the issue; in the war against Satan, do Christians depend on the President or do they depend on God? They test God by remaining silent; will He come through? Of course, He will for the surviving remnant just as He did in Judah’s wars against the harlot Babylon, but the after-effects is to this day, Jerusalem is the “harlot Babylon” (Rev 17:5). And do Christians want Washington to be one of the harlots like Jerusalem?

  Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the other prophets spoke against two things: (1) the fallen “Church” and (2) the defiant government… defiant against God with the rulers allowing in any and all pagan gods along with Yahweh. They became tolerant of sin and encouraged by their kings to be tolerant and even to worship other gods. They could have all those things if they only remained silent! The answer on whom to depend is always on God.

  It is alright to be vocal if it is speaking for God. It was God’s Will that both Obama and Trump to be president; one to make Christians contrite for their straying, and the other to Make God Great Again to Americans. That in effect is the MAGA slogan! Why should Christians not be joyous about making God Great again in the eyes of a Christian nation? Why should we not scream out in defense of anyone who would encourage its peoples to see God in the Greatness that IS Him?

  Paul warned Christians who were soft of the war at hand, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephes 6:12). Paul admonished that Christians put on the whole armor of God and named the spiritual pieces of armor. Finally, he told Christians what he had done in his armor: “For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephes 6:20). With that said, Paul told us elsewhere to do what he was doing because he was doing God’s Will. Is it God’s Will that America be destroyed — His last refuge? His will is that all be saved, but his reluctance is that they be punished if they are not His followers and defenders.

  Using social media, I speak boldly against the New Age Church and its rotten government — the Deep State that operates in the shadow of the legitimate President and government. It is not really against Trump but is Satan’s plan to have the Church that belongs to God.

  Trump is in the way, and cunning demons know to diminish Trump is their way of diminishing God. Satan depends on Christians to remain silent. Silent to “the rulers of darkness in the world” (the Deep State) but in “high places” meaning false religions such as Islam. Why have conservative Muslims allied themselves with liberal socialists? Because like Pilate and Herod, they shared a common enemy, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the saying goes.

  In that war, what is the main weapon? “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephes 6:17). Is that weapon effective if preached only in the Church? No, it is not. The Great Commission is taking the Word of God to the world, and how better to speak the Word than through social media? Paul also said how, to peacefully “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness” (Ephes 6:14). God’s warriors were not to put on all the armor and carry the “Sword” to hide in Church. It was for the war in the world, and if not there, it will come to the Church, and slowly but silently has — to the extent that even some preachers encourage Christians to remain silent!

  Jesus found two discouraged fishermen who had pulled up their nets. The lack of fish had discouraged them and along came the Great Fisher for men — Jesus — who demonstrated how to catch many fish. And inevitably it was to depend on and trust in His methods. After regaining their confidence, they were ready for many “fish,” as Jesus said, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mat 4:19). With that, Simon Peter and Andrew followed Jesus to catch many “fish.”

  Did Jesus tell them never to fish for fish again? No! He encouraged them to fish for different fish. Were they to forget who thy were? No! They remained fishermen. They surely ate. Jesus did not always work miracles of the feeding the multitude with fish. They somehow ate and surely Peter and Andrew continued to catch fish to eat, of course, using God’s techniques.

  Most assuredly, Jesus never intended that they were not to fish again, but add to their catch, men. It was still okay to fish for fish or He would have told them not to do that any longer. They must, however, as disciples following Him, follow Him to the catch, and that is still His intent today.

  As for myself, I still enjoy history. The past reveals the future. I know what and how Judah and Israel were destroyed, and although I follow Christ, and trust him to save the nation, I am one of His “useful tools” who speaks boldly about Jesus and the fate of America if they turn to godless socialism, or better said, America whose “gods” are anyone but Jesus!  

  As such, I remain silent in the Church (most of the time) but speak boldly as Paul did to the world. Like it or not, our new “world” is social media and I use Google® Blogger and Facebook to tell the world about Jesus and warn them about the government of the Antichrist. It is the answer to my own Great Commission. Is there evil therein? Certainly, but Christians must follow Jesus wherever evil exists. Paul followed the Holy Ghost of Jesus to pagan nations, even political Rome, and what happened there? Rome turned to God, at least for a while, until they quit following God and followed the Pope; also to whom Christians remained silent except for Martin Luther.

  Luther protested against the political intrigues of the Pope as well as His irreverence of the Word. Because Luther protested to the world at the door to Wittenberg Church, things changed; the Pope finally lost his religious authority as well as his political power. In like manner, I protest the shadow government and the heretical Church. Jesus did that Himself!

15 They (Jesus and the disciples) come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. (Mark 11:15-16)

  Jesus spoke boldly and was even angry at what the “Church” allowed in; so much so that He went inside the “den of thieves.” Many Christians bring socialist economic doctrine into the Church, and the liberal preachers (not mine) allow social justice to be the pre-eminent doctrine in the Church. In those churches, God is diminished.

  How would the true Church know if there is a war within the Church unless they are somehow persuaded. Preachers must preach boldly as both Jesus and Paul did. The War is spiritual and political! The wise recognize that. It must be fought on both turfs, because as the Romans go, so goes the world. The Roman Church is going the way of the world because genuine Christians in their denomination fight well like David overcoming Goliath, but most Catholics, as most Christians, remain silent.

  Like Peter and Andrew who likely did not give up fishing because they fished from different “waters,” Christians do not diminish God for fishing in dangerous waters. That is fishing in the world; the world Jesus took them to, to fish. He did not take them to the synagogue to fish for men, but to the evil places! Ironically, the most turbulent waters were in the Temple, and Jesus took them there to fish for men who would relish what He offered, and He discarded the slimey “fish” who thought it was the “economy, stupid” as Bill Clinton had to say.

  Who better to set the world straight on crime and punishment, and rightness and salvation, than Christians? Where better to present the “Sword of the Word” than Facebook and other social media?

  What makes the difference? Whether their “word” is fought by the Word or not, rather than “turning over tables,” so to speak. Not only do I present the word, but since we are not Jesus, when speaking the Word, oftentimes out of righteous anger, we too “turn over tables” and disrupt the media.  

  Many as myself, use social media to warn the nation much as the Books of Lamentations, Jeremiah, and Isaiah warned the nations about the bricks falling down in Israel and Judah.

  Did he save them? God could have if the people had turned back to Him, and Jeremiah tried hard to prevent the fall. It is okay to be a Jeremiah! We have an obligation to warn Americans that we too can fall, and at the moment, the nation is falling fast and with great dissension. Only God can save the nation from falling, and we Christians are His “useful tools” for warning the nation of impending disaster! Remaining silent in the world is the Silence that killed the Lamb of God. That must not be repeated time and time again.



[1] Trump and Triumph available at Amazon Books. Another one of mine is Killing God, there as well.

(picture credit: www.aliexpress.com)



Friday, September 25, 2020

TAKING CRUCIFIXION VAINLY

 KEY VERSES: 1 As workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain… 2 Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Cor 6:1-2; NKJV)

  “As workers” means those who fulfill the Great Commission by telling the nations about Jesus. What is that commission? “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you… (Mat 26:19).

  “Go” to the world and persuade them to follow Jesus. For those who have endeavored to change the mind of resistant people, you know that persuasion is hard work. Just look at denominationalism and politics; people are so ingrained in their beliefs that they resist truth.

  Books have been written about persuasion. The entire field of philosophy is about persuasion, and likewise to have a “healthy” mind, psychologist try to persuade the irrational to be rational. Persuasion is hard work, and “almost persuaded,” as we saw with Herod Agrippa is not sufficient to become born again and a disciple of Jesus. Persuasion requires a change in mind and a turning from what one once believed. It is rejecting oneself, in essence; one’s own flesh and acceptance of the sacrfice of the Flesh of God.

  “To make disciples of all nations” then is the work “workers” must do to demonstrate their love to God. Not only is persuasion a turning away but also going in a different direction. Perhaps in today’s world, that would mean turning off the television and secular music and going out and telling others about Jesus! Why do I sit here and write about Jesus rather than watch the news as I am prone to want? That is my own “Great Commission” and it is hard work as most people will not even read, let alone be persuaded.

  The workers, then, after they are persuaded to be disciples, must persuade others, then, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” God does part of that work. He baptizes with the Holy Ghost just as when Peter was telling them about Jesus, “the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word” (Act 10:44).  Peter spoke, God persuaded, and when the people were persuaded, then God put the protection of the Holy Ghost upon them.

  What remains of the Great Commission… your commission? The baptism by you in the manner of John, but not walking off, but “teaching them to observe all things that that I (Jesus) have commanded you”. What are those “things?” The Greatest Commandment and the one like unto it (i.e., to love God and others as you love yourself). No one esteems themselves lightly. No one hates their own flesh. Everyone loves themselves and that is the intensity that disciples must love Jesus and their fellow man. With all their heart, mind, soul, and strength (Mark 12:30). Love is hard work, and why it is commanded (John 14:15).

  I am not yet to the key verse, but so far, I have provided the background for it. Let me continue: Why baptize with water in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Because sinners have already baptized the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost in blood! The washing with water is perhaps the way that Christians clean up the mess they made with the crucifixion of Jesus. Water, throughout the Bible, is for the cleansing away of sin. You explore that because it serves no other purpose. Jesus shed hos blood for all the sins of mankind ever, and when it flowed unto death, it was finished. Baptism with water is the way disciples revere Jesus for washing away their sins.

  What was the Purpose of Jesus? He overcame the world, not by water alone, but by blood and water (1 John 5:5-6). What happened on the Holy Cross? Jesus shed blood and water. Blood alone was insufficient and so was water.

  Pilate washed his hands of the whole matter, as a means of declaring his innocence (Mat 27:24). Was he innocent? No! He “baptized” himself (hands only and not sufficiently) with water alone, but then he did the “bloody deed” as Zipporah said when she “crucified” by circumcision their first-born son (Exod 4:25-26). Neither did that save the child. It took water and blood, and that necessitated Jesus doing both. Moses was the “water” as that is what his name means. He should have done the dirty deed, but Zipporah’s doing it made it meaningless. As such water baptism as saving is vanity, as circumcision of the foreskin is also vanity. The heart must be circumcised for the flesh to be saved (Rom 2:29).

  I am finally getting to the key verse… “not to receive the grace of God in vain.” Jesus is the grace of God. The merciful Father sent His only begotten Son as the final and only sacrifice. Jesus redeemed all mankind by dying on the Cross and propitiating Hs own blood for the sins of mankind, even for past sins, to wit: “(Jesus) Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past” (Rom 3:25; KJV). Faith in His blood, not our washing was what makes sinners righteous. Jesus crucifixion remitted (took away) all the sins ever. His shed blood was the gift of faith because it was His blood, the very blood of Yahweh, that saves!

  Who died on the Cross? God’s Flesh. Who lived through the ordeal but still suffered? The Father and the Holy Spirit of Jesus — the very Holy Ghost of Jesus (John 7:39; KJV). God’s Name, “Jesus,” was who died. The key verse, “not to receive the grace of God in vain,” speaks of that — the sacrificial death of His Name.

  Where has vanity been deemed important, so important that it was a warning written on stone for perpetuity, by the Word, Jesus, Himself? “Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Exod 20:7a; KJV). Not “say” or “speak” but not “take.” It has to do with an attitude not a spoken word. I capitalized “name” to make it plainer; “Thou shalt not take Jesus in vain.” What is it about Jesus? His Purpose to be the sacrifice to redeem us.

  Thinking of water baptism as efficacious is vanity. Not believing in the blood is vanity. Not believing that Jesus saves is vanity. Not believing that God Himself died on the Cross is vanity. What happens to those who take Jesus’s sacrfice of Himself in vain? The first part of the verse was the sin, and the last part the wage of sin; “for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” (Exod 20:7b; KJV).

  The guilty shall be damned. To be saved requires that a sinner must cease taking the life and death of Jesus without purpose. They must quit thinking that only a good man or a phantasm died for them, but God Himself; the Creator died for the creature, and not the creature for himself!

  The last part of the key verses is, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” What was meant by “behold?” Examine the truth. “Now is the time.” For what? For salvation; to be persuaded not to take the sacrifice of Jesus in vain. That shoots down the doctrine of purgatory, does it not? It is now! Under threat of damnation forever, what would any thinking man do? Look at the gamble. Behold Jesus; I am fully persuaded that Jesus is Lord and that He died in my place.

  Never being persuaded is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost of Jesus (Mark 12:31). The Commandment was to not blaspheme against Yahweh. Just as Jesus is the Name of God, the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of God and the Ghost of Jesus. The Holy Ghost did not die but experienced death on the Cross, in that God’s Spirit is the Essence of the Soul of Jesus.

  By blaspheming the Holy Ghost, by rejecting the death of Jesus as redeeming, is blasphemy. What happened when God’s Flesh died? Gd gave up His Holy Ghost, and it was finished (John 19:30). The Holy Ghost remaining is the evidence that Jesus died. By denying the Ghost of Jesus, as the Purpose complete, that is violation of the Third Commandment.

  What did Jesus have in Mind when He wrote the Ten Commandments? They were all “prescriptions” for eternal health. Jesus wrote them?  “The Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God (Jesus, “God With Us” as in Emanuel). Jesus wrote with that Command with His own Hand, and it remains “His Will be done.” The Ten Commandments are not only Ten Prescriptions but the Terms of the Father’s Will.  He wanted His Heir’s Name, called “Jesus,” to be revered just as His Existence, “Yahweh” was expected to be!

And now you know the connection between the Third Commandment and Paul’s plead to the Corinthians.

(picture credit: Goodsalt on Pinterest "Pilate Washing His Hands")



TRANSFORMATION

KEY VERSE: Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor 5:17)

  Let me reword this a bit: Therefore (putting away the flesh; verse 16), if any of Adamkind be in Christ, that “Adam” is a new creature: old things are passed away; but now look at yourself: everything about you are become new.

  That passage should worry everyone if it was not for two things: “old things” are in the past, but all things are becoming new. That has significance because the sentence is awkward for those reasons. “Born again” (John 3:16) is willingly abandoning the past. The past is full of sin because all Adamkind has sinned. “Man” is exactly like Adam and “woman” is exactly like Eve after they sinned.

  Adam and Eve committed the original sin but theretofore they had been original perfect creatures as generated by God. Theologists, especially Calvinists, have defined “born again” as “regenerated.” However, regeneration may be a long process, not as in the Campbellite and Stonite doctrines, but according to scripture.

  Abandoning the past is being in Christ; who did what on Adamkind’s behalf? Jesus paid the price for “all things,” as is written:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. (Rom 3:23-26)

  Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of Adamkind, including Adam and Eve themselves.

  Immediately, the Word (Jesus) killed an innocent lamb and made Adam (man) and Eve (woman) protection from the world outside the glory inside the Garden of Eden. “Glory” is perfection in “all things” and in the Presence of God (aka, “Jesus”).

  Just as Paul wrote to the Romans, that coat of skin was the propitiation of Adam and Eve’s sins which were past. In the world, they would be tried time after time as we know by the book of The Conflict of Adam and Eve With Satan. Their rebirth was tested for the duration of their long lives. They did, according to that ancient writings, endured to the end (of their mortal lives; Mat 10:22). What did they endure? Their conflicts in the world, but they were aided (Comforted, or Protected) by the Holy Spirit on them.

  For the duration of their lives, the Flesh provided by the Lamb of God was their flesh. By killing the living animal, the propitiation of blood redeemed them from all sins, but only “past sins” were “remitted,” or cleansed from their flesh. They feared entering moving waters, as their Conflicts indicate. The cleansing continued on a daily basis as they sinned and repented of their sins as they were further deceived.

  Seth, from Conflicts, was a righteous son of Adam. He remained pure but his righteous children became unrighteous by following Cain whose “father” was the Devil. Past sins are cleansed; therefore, to be “in Christ” must be a continual cleansing process by conviction and repentance for further cleansing.

  In other words, the baptism of John is not once and for all time, but on the other hand, the Holy Ghost of Jesus excises the hearts of the Christian continually. Scripture refers to that safe condition as “circumcision of the heart” (Rom 2:29).

  Circumcision of the heart is much like the coat of skin from a living animal that gave its life for Adam and Eve. The coat circumcised their hearts on a continual basis, and sin was cut off each time. That cutting away of the heart is sacrificing the Christian’s flesh in lieu of the person’s own corruptible flesh.

  With that background, the first step in regeneration is belief (Rom 3:26 above). “Belief” is from the Greek word, pistis (Strong’s Dictionary), meaning “persuaded” to have confidence that Jesus is God and his blood is the only way to be saved. That, according to Strong’s, “springs from faith” which is a gift of God (Ephes 2:8). Once faith draws one to trust by persuasion, the sinner is born again. Jesus pointed to the example of trust in Himself with the brazen serpent dead on its pole (John 3:14).

  With that trust, a new creature begins the regeneration process. Satan endeavors to interfere by continual conflicts, but the Christian who sins is not alone. The reborn Christian puts on a coat of Comfort (safety) as the Holy Ghost comes on him or her (Act 10:43-44). That “Ghost” is the Spirit of the crucified Jesus. Just like the “ghost” (memory) of the lamb protected Adam and Eve as a coat, the Lamb of God protects Christians from the world with His Holy Ghost.

  Thus far, the Christian, when reborn, is saved from “past sins” and begins to change into a “new creature” according to the key verse. A “babe in Christ” is the “caterpillar” stage until the glorious “butterfly” emerges.

  If the “caterpillar” endures to the end, then death is the gain with one proviso, that the person remains in Christ (Phil 1:21). If the caterpillars die, they return to the dust and never fully morph. In the world, husbandmen spray to kill the larvae. In scripture, the Husbandman (God) protects the larvae with a shell (the "caterpillar;"John 15:1) who are secure attached to the Vine (Jesus). “To die is gain” because the “caterpillars” move to the next stage. They shed their protective skin, leaving what is inside. That is what happens when a Christian dies — the dead skin required to live in the world is shed, and only the soul and its contents remain.

  (The larvae is a metaphor for the "living soul" and the caterpillar for the living soul with flesh.)

  When does the “living soul” become a glorious “butterfly?” When Jesus comes to take those “dead in Christ” who shall rise from the dust.

  Just as in the beginning, God creates, or better said, “recreates” incorruptible flesh from the same dust, and puts that flesh on the still alive soul, and voila, regeneration is nearly complete; the new creature in the image of God returns and is allowed into Paradise as Jesus snatches them away. That is the Way to the Tree of Life and the only Way to see God!

  The new creature is complete when they are snatched up but are not yet glorious as Adam was until they are in the new Paradise, the City of God, which was once only a Garden. The entire process went from an incongruous sinner in the image of Satan to a glorious new creature back to the image of God, as the old creature gradually changes.

  With that said, “all things are become new” (key verse), implying the transformation, not instantaneously, but continuously from rebirth to glorification.

  What is lacking with Christians is their spiritual growths are stunted in the larvae stage as they remain “babes in Christ.” A new creature never emerges. True, they are safe, but they also are vulnerable. What must they do? Grow their faith as a shield against the world. They cannot grow it alone, but if they remain with the Vine (Jesus), then they shall be saved. The Holy Ghost on them protects them from the vile husbandman spraying the disease of sin, and unless Satan “shears” them from the Vine, they shall be saved at the harvest of Christians in the end.

(picture credit: YouTube)



Wednesday, September 23, 2020

THE VEIL LIFTED

 

  Veils are used to conceal appearances. The curtain in the Tabernacle and Temple were to conceal the Existence of God as his Glory was magnificent. So remarkable that Moses wore a veil when he reappeared from the Presence of God. Moses was later instructed as follows:

  And you shall hang the veil from the clasps and bring the Ark of the Testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy. (Exod 26:33)

  That was God’s instructions to Moses on how to design the veil to the Holy of Holies wherein God “sat” on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant. Although God sat on the Mercy Seat, the Testimony to Him was inside. There were three things: (1) The Ten Commandments written by the Finger of God (Jesus; Deut 9:10) and were the “Words” of Jesus (Exod 20:1), (2) Aaron’s rod, and (3) manna from Heaven which would never spoil unlike manna that preserved them in the wilderness.

  Aaron’s rod represents “love in the Spirit of gentleness” (1 Cor 4:21), it would seem, and since Aaron’s staff overcame all the perils given to Pharaoh, that staff surely represents overcoming the world with love!

  The veil concealed Jesus, the Power of the Holy Spirit, and Preservation, or salvation. By whom were they saved? By the Father above through Jesus below. The Mercy Seat was God’s “throne” and inside the Ark of God was Jesus on the the “footstool.” (And the Cross is a symbol of that.)

  The Ark was the “House” that they built for God and it would later be replaced by a throne for God with a footstool for Him (2 Chron 9:18). That is written in scripture:

Thus, says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the Earth is my footstool; what is the House that you would build for Me, and what is the place of My rest? (Isa 66:1)

  Isaiah was writing of the tomb of Jesus as God’s Place of Rest. The tomb replaced the Ark of the Covenant, the place God rested. The tomb was God’s footstool and Heaven was His throne. As God, He directed all that happened on the Earth from Paradise in heaven. With that said, the Ark of the Covenant represented Jesus in the tomb, signifying by the prescriptions  for eternal health (“The Ten Prescriptions”), His victory over death and evil (Aaron’s Rod), and salvation (manna from heaven — the Bread of Life.) The veil concealed all that!

  When was the curtain, or veil, torn away?

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his Spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. (Mat 27:50-52)

  When Jesus gave up the Ghost, it was finished, and the curtain of the Temple was torn (Mark 15:37-38). Those dead in Christ would arise at the Resurrection. The Covenant (represented by the Ark as the Testimony) did not actually change; it was revealed with Jesus coming to fulfill the Law (Luke 22:44).

  The curtain was the “veil” that had concealed God’s Plan all along; salvation was always by the grace from God on His Mercy Seat, it was always through Jesus for everyone, and that victory is His, not our own works, and lastly that Jesus saves and there is no other. Paul called that revelation, “The Mystery of God” (aka “The Mystery of Christ”): 

24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began. (Rom 16:24-25)

  Where am I heading with this? Like most people, I thought there were two Testimonies of God and two Covenants. Rather, the old Covenant was misunderstood; it was never about obedience to the Law, but a willingness to please God! That was validated by Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only remaining and second son, just as Yahweh would do a millennium and a half years later! That willingness was accounted to Abraham as righteousness; not that he fulfilled the Command but was willing to do so!

  The veil was lifted from my spiritually blind eyes as I traveled from Indianapolis to Detroit one day. Suddenly, I understood that the Abrahamic Covenant was not one of obedience to the Law, but a willingness to please God. That willingness is a show of love, but obedience only of fear. With the veil lifted, I see Jesus in all the Books of the “Old Testament” which is better called, a “Trailer for the Gospel Story.”

  The key verses actually follow, and what was written as background validates what was written thousands of years ago:

3 Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart… 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away… 12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: 13 And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. 15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. (2 Cor 3:3,7,12-16)

  The sacrificial death of Jesus tore down all veils from “Old Testament” scripture. It tore down the fig tree from over Adam’s and Eve’s faces, the veil from Moses face, the veil concealing the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple’s “veil.” It even removed the blindness from Bartimaeus and Saul! The former, blind since birth, as his eyes were opened, saw Jesus as the Tree of Life and the others, “men as trees, walking (Mark 8:24).

  Finally, I saw the Garden of Eden as a Paradise of Living Souls that Adam was assigned to serve and preserve, but he didn’t do that; the Second Son did! Salvation was by the grace of Jesus all along, and Abraham saw that when He encountered Melchizedek — pre-incarnate Jesus unveiled (Heb 7).

  Finally, the Groom lifted the veil of His Bride the Church. He was the Betrothed all the time. Only after he revealed Himself to the world did some understand.

(picture credit: Unsplash)



 

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

IT IS NOT THE ECONOMY, STUPID

 INTRODUCTION:

People delude themselves when they think they are voting their "pocketbook." People vote for liberal candidates, who they believe will be liberal with the money of others. On the other hand, God blesses those who glorify Him. Voting for candidates who do evil in the sight of God is irreverence, and eventually He will take His blessings away, money and all. Socialism provides no money. Capital comes from God, not Marx. In this commentary, God provided the silver but the silversmiths credited "the goddess of the lower class" who had no silver to provide.

COMMENTARY:

  A “labor union” is when people within the same or similar field of manufacturing come together to resist those who undermine their livelihood, especially the fruits of their labor. Currency has changed over time, but union activity has not. Oftentimes, dissension occurs and mobs form to resolve the policies perceived against them and eliminate those who provoke.

  Unions all focus on one thing — what is in their own best interests, and they gather together those with the same interests. They have learned that there is strength in unity. The mob that killed Jesus would have been nothing if it had been the chief priests by themselves. People with like interests gathered for their “common good.”

  Good Christian men and women will vote for union candidates, even when those candidates espouse non-Christian beliefs. For them it is all about the economy, and with that, they have a false picture if what makes a good economy.  It is not their strikes but God's blessings!

  Ironically, the crucifixion of Jesus was not for the common good but the “good” of self-interested Jewish officials; it was actually for the “common evil.” They lived like kings, and Jesus was interfering with their lavish lifestyle, prestige, authority, and ambition. In the time of Jesus, all the groups desired to advance their causes, and each group had the ones they wanted to be their “king.” [1]

  “Socialism” is basically a union of self-interested people who feel oppressed. They are angry at those who have and form unions of those who have less. Now think on this: What if socialists put as much effort into self-sufficiency as they do in angry dissidence; they would be the wealthy! Socialists are unions of envious people.

  What is their envy? Foremost it is the capital (property) of others. They are a union of angry people whose cause is said to be for the “common good” but excludes the welfare of those who have earned it. Like little children who do not get their treat, common people have tantrums and endeavor to hurt others who worked for their treat. Socialism is one giant mob of childish Narcissists who look in the mirror and want to be those who have. They merely look into the mirror and see themselves, then turn their backs to their beautiful selves, and hunt down the ugly people who are the cause of the ugliness they know is inside. That “ugliness” is unworthy “self-worth,” vindictiveness, jealousy, impatience, and hostility.

  Like it or not, but unionism is socialism in practice. Those leaders such as Walter Ruther of the UAW went to Communist Russia to learn their tactics. Rather than using the term, “communalists” (communist), because of their cruelty and inhumanity, they call themselves “unions,” “federations,” and “trade organizations.” The violent unions of the 1930’s should not be confused with the civil unions of today. Unions have lost their violent energy and settle things by peaceful means. My own father was in the UAW and my “privileged” lifestyle is not due to my whiteness but to the unity of unions. My first and one of two Christmas presents ever was from the UAW union hall.

  On the other hand, unions pushed their hand too far. The pay of union workers soon exceeded, by vast amounts, the wages of independent workers. Thus, the unionized laborers became part of the elite and those who did not organize, became the oppressed. Socialism has grown despite it destroys itself.

   I warned members of the UAW in Bowling Green that their lavish pay compared to the community would come to an end because they demanded having not what the community has but more. That came to fruition with the 2008 financial collapse and the end of overly generous General Motors Corporation. That capitalistic “union” no longer exists and now the workers work for the less generous General Motors Company. That “incorporation” has become humbled.

  The background to this point has not really been about socialism, unionism, and corporations but people with common interests unionizing for power. Never is it really about power but the love of money which provides power, prestige, and things beyond sustenance. Sustenance is what God provides, and willing workers can obtain more if it is God for whom they lust and not the pecuniary. Ironically, coins have the imprint, “In God We Trust,” but in invisible print it is “In Money We Trust.”

  If anyone Googles ® “Union Violence in the United States” a list comes up with the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. Unionization seemed to have got violent in the 1900s. However, the American Revolution was a small group of people with a special interest who formed a Union for their grievance, to wit: taxation without representation.” They were taxed, not on their labor but what they pleasured — their tea. The revolution was not for spiritual justice but economic benefit… less taxation in that there was not too much concern for representation. The American Revolution was all about money. The adage to “follow the money trail” rings true. Scripture says, “The love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Tim 6:10).

  While in Ephesus, Paul encountered the love of money:

24 A certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; 25 Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. 26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: 27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. 28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. (Act 19:24-28)

  The silversmith tradesman formed a guild. Perhaps a good name would be the United Brethren of Ephesus (UBE) and the brethren would pay tribute to the Diana, the goddess of fertility, often related to the Greek goddess Artemis. She was noted as the protectress of the lower classes. (Encyclopedia Britannica). If anyone knows anything about Marxists, The Communist Manifesto values several things recognizable in this situation: (1) Marxism values money while devaluing God, (2) they encourage sexual independence, (2) they value guildsmen, (3) and they claim to value the downtrodden. We find out from Paul’s experience, that Demetrius, the leader of the mob, made great gain from selling silver idols of Diana.

  Profit is not sinful. It is gain in exchange for work. What was the problem then? Paul did not preach material gain but eternal contentment through charity, love, and benevolence.

  Demetrius, in those days, would have been a crony capitalist. As a believer in Diana, Demetrius should have feigned concern for the lower classes, but it turns out that the worship of Diana means wealth for the silversmiths. They were not truly worried about their goddess but themselves! That is the essence of socialism; the wealthy feign concern for the downtrodden all the while worrying about their own wealth! The leaders of socialism are financed by crony capitalists for a reason, and that is power!

  What problem did they have with Paul” Their new union list of grievances was one: Throughout Asia and especially Ephesus, Paul had persuaded and turned many people away from gods made with hands. That is almost funny. “Gods,” by definition, do the creating but they alleged that they created gods! That is remarkable because even today people are told to believe in “God as they understand Him.” God is not God as we understand Him, but a mysterious God who people cannot stand nor understand!

  Bill Clinton’s campaign slogan was, “It’s the economy, stupid!” He was not far off. As Demetrius and the “UBE” demonstrated. “It’s the economy, stupid, not Diana or Jesus.”

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Heb 13:5 ESV) “Therefore,” I tell you, “do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Mat 6:25 ESV) My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19 ESV) 

  Demetrius was worried about his wealth. It was the economy, stupid Paul! Jesus who died for Demetrius was worried about his economic health and disregarded his spiritual. He may have abandoned Diana if it had not been for his own benefit to stick with her. He understood that Paul was persuasive, and perhaps he was persuaded himself, but wealth was more important than eternal life. He traded his soul for silver!

  Now for the meaning of modern-day Christians. Just what stands between you and Jesus? The obvious right now is the mob. They hate those who have and Christ they love. They want to tear down the blessings that God provided and rebuild with socialism. They think they it is an improvement, as Biden’s slogan indicates — “Build Back Better.” Biden is like Demetrius and the mob like the silversmiths who joined him. Many had been persuaded but they formed a union against better things. Under the guise of supporting the common people, they wanted to keep Diana for the benefit of the oppressors. What liars they were. They were as bad as the Serpent with their deception. They cared only about their own wealth and used the fools who were lovers of Diana for her concern.

  How about later when Demetrius is old? Will he not need a 401k? How about social security? “Even to your old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isa 46:4).  Yahweh will serve and preserve His people, yet even Christians fail to trust God. Demetrius was more worried about his own economy than eternal life, and he was shrewd; he called others like him to protect, not their economy, but his. He bundled all the silversmiths together (fascimo in Italian) for prosperity and denied the economy of God. Which is? “He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor” (1 Sam 2:8).

   The people of Ephesus depended on Diana to lift them up as the goddess of the lower classes. Diana would not help the silversmiths because they were guildsmen and could take care of themselves quite well. Perhaps they thought that without dependence on Diana, no one would buy their handiwork, and they would become the lower class as well! They were not even worried about their false goddess, but themselves. Just who, then, was their god? The silversmiths were a union of gods; each one serving themselves for the appearance of helping others. Rather than serve and preserve the lower class, they wanted the wealth of themselves. That, in a nutshell, is socialism.

  Nowadays, even Christians depend on the government for many things. Their charter was originally for commerce and military protection. That are the sole rights provided to the federal government; all other rights were delegated to the states. The Civil War was not about slavery at all; it was a war about the Constitution. Who would have the power? It was a War Between the States of the Union and the States of the Confederacy. After that war, the union won, and states’ rights would become secondary.

  Demetrius was not concerned about the status of everyone in their “union” but his own state. Each of the other silversmiths were worried about their own statuses. Their union was each for themselves. They were not there for Diana but Narcissus because each one was a lover of himself.

  Why are Americans turning to Marx? He is the modern-day “Diana.” Why did people vote for Mrs. Clinton? She was the “fertility goddess” herself and claimed to care for the lower classes, but like Demetrius, it was herself who she was concerned with all the time!

  Why do Christians vote for Democrats? Bill Clinton sort of hit the nail on the head. He said, “It’s the economy, stupid.” It would have been better said, “It’s is the free stuff, my stupid American voters.” Diana offered usury. Jesus did not. Paul and the apostles never ever preached about material gain, and neither did Jesus. The Abrahamic Covenant was essentially, I will prosper you if I AM your God, but the flip-side was, If I AM (Yahweh) not your God, you will not prosper. Demetrius looked to Diana and his own hands for prosperity, the Jews looked to the promised land for prosperity, but the Christians looked to Jesus for true prosperity; that is a room in a mansion built by God!

  Demetrius wanted things his way right now and so did the other silversmiths. Christians are called to be patient. If things were perfect on earth, there would be no need for Paradise! Death is gain for Christians (Phil 1:21) because the meek shall inherit the Earth (Mat 5:5). Just how is that? The Paradise in heaven will replace the promised land, and Christians are fellow heirs of God:

  This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel (Eph 3:6 ESV)

  Demetrius was at Ephesus speaking to the union of silversmiths. They needed not to form a union of self-serving smiths, but a “body of fellow heirs” to the Promise of God. Rather than depend on Diana right then for prosperity, when the time comes, they will have what their Father in Heaven provides. And what did God promise all along? Certainly not a Garden Paradise for just two people, but a City of God (New Jerusalem) for many people.

  A good argument for the union of silversmiths would be:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:1-3)

  Right now, if you are depending on Diana, your union, socialism, or the work of your own hands; you are looking in the wrong place. If you are looking for Democrats to provide prosperity, you are looking the wrong place.

  Where to look? Of course, neither can we look to Republicans for prosperity, because just as Israel, the prosperity of America is in God’s hands. We must be His nation and He will take care of us! The question is which party wants to MAKE GOD GREAT AGAIN in America? Only you in conference with God can answer that question.

(picture credit: Alamy Stock Photo)''





[1] For more on that, read the author’s book, Trump and Triumph.

Saturday, September 19, 2020

ON THE RESURRECTION

 

  Apparently, some in the Church at Corinth did not believe in the Resurrection. The human soul is immortal. Like it or not, the destiny of the soul is either one of two alternatives: (1) Eternally living or (2) eternally dying. John 3:16 expresses God’s desire for everyone; that none should perish. No one should perish, but many shall perish. Different versions of the Bible express it differently, but “should” is better in context. Neither “should” nor “shall” is in the original Greek but is placed there by translators.

  There is no reason whatever that anyone should perish. Why, then, would anyone choose to perish? Inevitably they value temporal pleasure over eternal joy. “Joy” is the demeanor or attitude of the new person who is born again (Acts 13:62). However, “born again” is not truly “filled” with the Holy Ghost of Jesus but entwined with, or the Spirit of God is permeated within the natural body of the Christian.

  Only Jesus received the Holy Spirit at His baptism because he had never sinned and had no reason to repent for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). When Jesus was baptized by John, look what happened: “The Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a Voice came from heaven, which said, ‘Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.’” (Luke 3:22).

  The motion of the Holy Ghost was like a dove, but the appearance of Jesus’s Holy Ghost had the form of a body… His Ghost fit His body perfectly. The Spirit that entered Jesus at His baptism looked like Jesus and had shape and virtue because was without sin. Where have we heard that before? “He (Nebuchadnezzar) answered and said, ‘Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God’” (Dan 3:25).

  Luke saw what Nebuchadnezzar saw! Both saw the Holy Ghost of Jesus — the Spirit that resembled Jesus in appearance and virtue. Only the King James Version got the context right. The Holy Ghost is the bodily-shaped Spirit of Jesus. The Holy Ghost of Jesus lived through the fiery furnace to persuade Nebuchadnezzar, but His Holy Ghost experiencing death persuaded few. Abraham in Paradise even commented to the rich man in Hell about that, to wit: “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead” (Luke 16:31). Some of the Corinthians had not been!

  So, here we have it in Corinth. Some had not been persuaded that because Jesus was raised from the dead that they too could be resurrected. Perhaps, Simon Magus had penetrated the Church as the founder of Gnosticism because they believed that only a phantasm (ghost) died on the Cross. In other words, Jesus was not Resurrected in body but only the His Ghost.

  It is found in scripture that the Holy Ghost of Jesus experienced crucifixion with Jesus, but never died. Jesus, as he died, “gave up the Ghost” (Mark 15:37). Perhaps, just as people saw Jesus receive the Holy Ghost, they also saw Jesus give up the Ghost. Surely Luke saw the former and Mark the latter. Perhaps others saw what they saw as well.

  Perhaps Simon saw the Ghost leaving Jesus and Gnosticism was born out of misunderstanding. Ironically, evil Nebuchadnezzar understood, and seems to have been persuaded, but some in the Corinthian Church had not been. Paul saw the Holy Ghost of Jesus as well… with eyes blinded (Acts 13:11)! Paul knew that Jesus had been resurrected because he heard His Voice and saw Him as a Ghost. The “Voice” as is the “Word” is God manifesting Himself as Jesus. Paul recognized the Living God as Jesus and Him Resurrected. Now all he had to do was convince the others of what he saw:

44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.(1 Cor 15:44-46)

  Paul described the two bodies of Jesus: the natural of flesh, and the spiritual in bodily shape. Jesus’s Flesh had His own Spirit peculiar to Him, and likewise any natural man also has a body-shaped Spirit that looks like them, remembering that mankind was made in the image of God (Gen 1:27) the same as Jesus is the Image of God. What “Images” did Jesus have? The Image of a Man and the Image of His Ghost, and with that said, He also had a non-image — the Mind of God. Likewise, Adamkind was made in the same Image as Jesus (Gen 1:26) — mind, body, and ghost, but only in an image of Jesus, not the real Person of God.

  Paul went on to say that Adam was made a “living soul.” The soul of Adam was an Adam-shaped “cup” much the same as Jesus (Mat 26:42). I believe that the “Cup” of Jesus was the Holy Grail, not the chalice from which the apostles drank for that was not His “Cup” as they could not drink of the same cup (Mat 10:23). God formed Adam from the clay and imbued him with an Adam-shaped “Spiritual ghost.” Like Jesus, all the patriarchs throughout scripture gave up their ghost — the Spirit from God peculiar to them.

  Adam was imbued with the same Spirit that Jesus was. Surely, God breathed unto Adam, like a dove, his own bodily-shaped Spirit just as with Jesus. On the other hand, when Jesus arose, His Ghost came back unto Him and ascended to Paradise as One Shape. For Adam, things were somewhat different. Sin separated the spiritual Adam from the natural Adam. They remain separate until the Edenic Covenant (Promise) comes. Paul wrote about that at the same time:

51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Cor 15:51-52)

  The body is corruptible. Adam’s turned back to the dust from which he was generated. “Generation” was God breathing His Spirit unto Adam and therein gave His Spirit a place. Adam obtained his own Holy Ghost. By grace, God covered Adam’s sin (and Eve’s; Gen 3:21) until Adam had his Ghost return. But when he died, his Ghost was saved for another experience. When Jesus returns in the sky, Adam’s dust will be remolded only with incorruptible flesh as before sin and his body will be saved. His soul was saved upon his death.

  Adam, and all mankind, will experience three salvations: (1) From sin and the Devil, (2) his soul, and (3) his flesh. That is the resurrection. Jesus did it, Adam will experience it, and so will all other faithful Christians. Saved from sin is the safety Christians have — their coats of Jesus’s Flesh, until the end of their natural days when the soul is saved, just awaiting the salvation of the body.

  Christians shall be changed in that day. For those who have died in Christ, Christ is in them and their souls are incorruptible. Resurrection is the final stage to glorification; when Christians are fully regenerated back to the image in which they were generated — glorious like God… just like Jesus.