I was reflecting today on yesterday’s news story about the couple that nearly starved their six-year-old child to death. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the longer I live, and the more I see, the truer the Bible becomes. It is indeed a prophetic book. God told us these things would happen. I don’t have to ask myself why things are so bad, neither do I have to furrow my brow and wonder if things will ever get better, because I know they won’t. Things will only get worse. The Bible says so. Listen to what the apostle Paul wrote about the times we are now in.
“Know also, that in the last times, perilous time shall come.
“For men shall be lovers of their own selves: covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
“Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those who are good,
“Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).
Because Americans today are more ungodly than we have ever been in any other time in our history, most people will not be able to see that this is a very good description of our culture. A look at some of the terms will bear this out.
Lovers of Their Own Selves. Every time I hear that song by Whitney Houston, “The Greatest Love of All,” I think about this verse. The Bible says “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). This is the greatest Love of all. But, the world says that the greatest love is the love that one has for oneself. That is a selfish love. That is the reason people are so selfish, and actually it is the love of oneself that is responsible for all the other problems that are listed here. The apostle Paul knew what he was doing when he listed it first.
Covetous. This means you want something that belongs to someone else. Each and every one of us, whether we know it or not, whether we choose to accept it or not, has an enemy. Some of us are fortunate in that we know who some of our enemies are. But did you know that there are people who believe that everyone likes them? I know at least one person like that. It’s true. And they do everything in their power to make sure that everyone likes them.
But for all their “going along to get along,” they still have enemies. Satan always makes sure of that. Even if you never do anything to anger anyone, Satan will make sure that there will always be someone, in or out of your life, who will hate you just because you have. Maybe you have an attractive wife. Maybe you have a nice car. Maybe you have a successful marriage. Maybe you have a job. Maybe you cut your grass. Maybe you don’t curse. There are literally a gazillion reasons they could hate you, but usually it’s because of something you have that they don’t. They’re covetous.
Proud. Americans are known the world over for being proud. The “Ugly American” is actually a proud American. One who thinks that Americans are the standard by which all others should be measured.
Blasphemous. This means to speak evil of God. Americans are especially guilty of this one. Just look at our language. The Bible says that we should not take the Lord’s name in vain. Yet, “Oh, my God!” is so commonplace, that the abbreviation for it (omg), is probably part of the lexicon. The name of the Lord Jesus Christ is one of America’s best-loved curse words. I once bought a four-DVD entertainment pack which included the movies, “Twister” and “Outbreak.” I had not seen these movies since I became a Christian almost six years ago, so I was shocked to hear how often the name of Jesus was used as a swear word in both these movies.
We even shorten it to make it look OK. Did you ever stop to think that the word “Gee” (like the Beaver used to say) sounds amazingly close to Jesus? It could very well be that the Beaver, by saying “gee” all the time, was actually training America’s kids to take the Lord’s name in vain. Those kids are now grown, and we know what they are saying now, and it’s not “gee.”
Disobedient to Parents. Kids these days are so disrespectful to their parents, that it has become commonplace. The weird kid is actually the one who obeys his parents. We are so disrespectful, that there is even a saying that when something is really good, it’s “so good, it makes you wanna slap yo’ mama.” Now, who would come up with something like that? But when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If we disrespect our Father, how could we ever expect our children to respect us?
And there lies the crux of the matter. Children these days, no matter what else they may be, are very intelligent. They know how hypocritical it sounds for them to have to obey us, but we don’t have to obey anyone. If we took our marching orders from the Lord Jesus, and made this clear to our kids, they would understand that we are not just making this stuff up as we go along. They would know that just as they have their orders, we have our orders too, from above. Just as they are held accountable, so are we. But as it is, we tell them that who pays the bills makes the rules. This may be true to an extent, but it should not be the sole basis of our authority. We are in charge because God said so. And we should let our children know that to disobey us is to disobey God; and that has consequences.
Unthankful. We are a thankless generation. Most of our parents made incredible sacrifices to provide a decent life for us. And how do we repay them? When they get old, we ship them off to an old folk’s home to die. When they’re old, and when we have achieved a modicum of success and independence, this is a perfect time to repay them for all that they did for us when we were young. But we don’t.
Unholy. SEE Blasphemous.
Without Natural Affection. This is something that we see a lot of these days. Natural affection is the affection that normally exists between family members, and especially that which should exist between a mother and her children. But this type of affection is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Never in history have there been so many instances of parents harming their own children, or visa versa. When was the last time you saw a parent and a child hug each other out of genuine affection for one another? It is becoming extremely rare. Many parents only do what they legally have to for their children. They do the bare minimum. Everything else is left up to someone else. This puts tremendous pressure on teachers, caregivers, and yes, even spouses, because they are left to deal with the inevitable emotional baggage of a child or adult who has been neglected.
Trucebreakers. How many people keep their promises these days? I remember a time when a person’s word was his bond. A person knew that if he betrayed his word to just one person, the word would get around until pretty soon, that person had a reputation for being untrustworthy, and then no one would trust that person anymore. This is no longer the case. Oftentimes, it is almost a given that if a person promises to do something, they likely will not. People no longer place a premium on honesty. A truth and a lie have equal value in the minds of many. We can thank “situation ethics” for that.
False accusers. We will begin to see more and more of this. This is not just bearing false witness, or lying. This means someone lies for the express purpose of getting someone else in trouble, often for something they themselves did. During the Inquisition, in Nazi Germany and in Stalinist Russia, you could not trust anyone. People routinely lied on their neighbors just to see them disappear. And it will happen here too, you can believe that.
Incontinent. This is a lack of self-control. The contemporary meaning of the word is the inability to control one’s bodily functions. The Bible, however, uses it in the classical sense of an inability to keep one’s passions in check. An example would be someone who is easily angered, is sexually promiscuous, or even has a problem with substance abuse. The general idea is that one is not in control, but one’s passions are. Could there be any doubt that this is the case today?
Despisers of Those Who Are Good. Let’s face it. People nowadays hate people who are decent. Do you doubt this? Well, walk into a doctor’s office and just say a general “Good morning” to everyone in the room. I have done this. This will visibly disturb some people. I have heard someone called fake, just because that person always smiled and had a kind word to say. But, someone who wears a perpetual scowl on his face, and is quick to blow up will get fear and respect, even admiration.
Traitors. Did you know that many Americans say and believe things that would have been considered treasonous seventy years ago? We embrace ideologies that run counter to everything America stood for. Socialism is considered the answer to America’s problems. If this is true, then many a mother’s son has died in vain to protect the American way of life, just so we could become that which we fought against. How hypocritical! Some of America’s worst enemies are her own citizens.
Lovers of Pleasure More Than Lovers of God. Ultimately, this is what is really wrong with America. We have become a pleasure-seeking society and not a God-seeking society. And we’re proud of it.
The Bible foretold of this over two thousand years ago. And it is spot on. Now, if it was right about this, and so many other prophecies, is it such a stretch to believe that the predictions the Bible makes about the Antichrist, the coming New World Order, and the return of Jesus Christ and the coming Judgment will also prove correct? I think not.
Brothers and sisters, if the Bible is right about what’s coming, it will far surpass even the most horrible times in world history. It behooves each of us to make his peace with the Lord Jesus. Now. Before it’s too late. All the signs are there for us to see.
If you would like to make your peace with the Lord,click here.
Nothing can stop what is coming, but we can delay it for a little while, if we would humble ourselves, turn from our evil ways, and seek God’s face. There’s still time.
It just amazes me how fickle Americans are. We will look for any excuse to sing Kumbaya. Osama Bin Laden is dead, and America is having a feel good moment. “Justice has been done,” said President Barak Obama, who announced that he gave the go-ahead for the elite SEAL Team 6 to go in and kill Osama Bin Laden. And America couldn’t wait to celebrate.
Yesterday, people were partying in the streets, waving flags, wearing flags, kissing and hugging. One guy said that it was a great time to be an American. One woman said that we always come through in the end, and no matter what, Americans always come together (which America is she talking about?). One woman, however, took the grand prize for the Most Uber-Optimistic and Over Exaggerated Comment In The World. This lady said that tonight she doesn’t have to sleep in fear; tonight she can sleep in peace. Say what?
Maybe it’s just me, but the last time I looked, nobody in my neighborhood had to worry about getting jacked by Osama Bin Laden. Last time I looked Osama Bin Laden wasn’t selling crack or meth in my neighborhood. Last time I looked Osama Bin Laden wasn’t lurking around some elementary school in my neighborhood waiting to molest some little girl or boy. Last time I looked Osama Bin Laden wasn’t teaching my children that they are descended from a monkey. And when my car alarm goes off in the middle of the night, I’ve never expected to go out there and have to confront Osama Bin Laden.
Don’t get me wrong. For the people who are survivors of 9/11 or who lost loved ones in the Twin Towers, I understand that this must give them some much-needed closure. But to say that this man’s purported death just eliminated all fear and worry from your life is maybe going a little bit too far.
Let me help you put this in perspective. Today, a Virginia couple has been charged with the murder of one of their children, whose body police found buried underneath their home. But that’s not all. They found the body after police interrogated the couple subsequent to finding their six-year-old daughter, who the couple had been keeping in a makeshift cage since last summer. The girl was so malnourished, that she was EATING HER OWN SKIN to stay alive. That’s right. Eating her own skin. She was also lying in her own feces and was covered with bedsores. The couple said they treated the child this way because she had Down’s Syndrome and other problems. Now you tell me. What did Osama Bin Laden’s death do for that little girl? Yet everybody’s acting like the world just became a happy place.
It reminds me of the story of the man who leaped from a very high building. As he was passing the twentieth floor, someone asked him how things were going. “Fine, so far,” he said. Put away your party hats, folks. We are only just passing the twentieth floor, and the ground’s coming up pretty fast.
Grace and peace to the brethren in the Lord, and greetings to the unsaved.
Today, I was considering the revelation that Catherine Zeta-Jones, by her own admission, has been diagnosed as having Bipolar Disorder. This term has grown in popularity in the last decade. I had never heard of it until 1998, when a friend told me that her child had been diagnosed with it.
Since that time, another acquaintance of mine has expressed concern that she too, may be bipolar. I’ve always wondered what bipolar disorder was and why there seems to be an increase of it in the last ten years or so. But, before today, my curiosity was never enough that I took the time to research it.
Today, however, I went to the encyclopedia to look for a definition for bipolar disorder. First, I looked in the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1985 edition, and could not find it. Then I looked in the Collier’s Encyclopedia, 1991 edition, and could not find it either. Lastly, I went to the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, which gave the following definition:
“Bipolar disordern. (1980): Any of several psychological disorders of mood characterized usu. by alternating episodes of depression and mania – called also manic depression, manic-depressive illness.”
In other words, serious mood swings. Webster’s also gave this definition for bipolar:
“bipolar adj. (1810) 1: having or marked by two mutuallyrepellent forces or diametrically opposed natures or views.”
This definition is highly enlightening and suggestive of the real cause of bipolar disorder. The excessive mood swings that characterize this disorder are caused by two mutually repellent forces in one person. I could stop writing now, because it is obvious where I am going with this. But I won’t.
Because I had heard somewhere that bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are the same, I decided to test this contention by looking up the definition for schizophrenia in the encyclopedia to see if it matched the dictionary’s definition for bipolar disorder. I was not disappointed.
Encyclopedia Britannica says that schizophrenia literally means, “splitting of the mind.” Do you see the similarities? If you split something, like a mind, the result will be two halves or two minds, yet, in one person. Bi-polar literally means “two poles,” yet, in one person. They are the same thing.
Now, two poles are not necessarily bad. A car battery has a positive and a negative pole, but it doesn’t explode when you turn the key. The earth has two poles: the north and the south, yet here we are. That the two forces are mutually repellent and diametrically opposed is what makes bipolar disorder problematic. That means they don’t get along. They are contrary to one another.
A car battery functions because the two poles are separate. The earth has not exploded, because its two poles are separate. Perfectly normally people are often either happy or sad. But when the two poles, or in this case, minds, are mutually repellent and are trying to come together in one person, that is a recipe for disaster. It’s like trying to touch the same poles of two magnets together. You can’t do it. They will fight each other.
I think the reason I could not find bipolar in the encyclopedia is because it is the same as schizophrenia. It has just been given a kinder, gentler name, a politically correct name. All reference to the mind have been taken out so as not to offend anyone. After all, we don’t want to offend a schizophrenic by telling him he is a schizophrenic, because he would know that he had a problem. And If he knew that he had a problem, then he might seek help. And we don’t want that, now do we?
That’s the whole idea behind political correctness. Being careful not to call something what it is. If we don’t know that something is broken, we won’t try to fix it.
We do the same thing with sin. We don’t like to call sin what it is: sin. Because if people believed in sin and the consequences of sin, they might seek help so that they could stop sinning, and we don’t want them to do that, now do we?
So, we come up with the name bipolar, because it sounds less harsh. It’s like calling a drunk an alcoholic. It makes us feel better. I could probably easily find bipolar in a modern encyclopedia because I would bet they are all politically correct. They would probably even have the term, politically correct, which, by the way, I was not able to find in my encyclopedias.
The contention that modern dictionaries and encyclopedias are politically correct is supported by the following example. Webster’s dictionary usually lists the origins and meanings for words made of foreign roots, so you will know the origin for such words. If you look up the word, schadenfreude, for example, Webster’s will tell you that it is made up of two German words: schaden meaning “damage” and freude meaning “joy.” The word literally means “to have joy at someone else’s troubles.”
Though Webster’s lists the origins and meanings of many words made up of foreign roots, it doesn’t do this with the word schizophrenia. If you look up the word schizophrenia, Webster’s will not list the root words and their meanings, but will merely give you the definition for the word. If you look up the root schizo-, however, Webster’s will tell you that it is a Greek word meaning “to split,” and if you look up the root –phrenia, Webster’s will tell you that it is a Greek word meaning “mind.” The word schizophrenia literally means “split mind.”
Webster’s Dictionary Eleventh Edition is also politically correct with the word entertain. If you look up the word entertain, Webster’s will tell you that it is derived from the French word entretenir, which Webster’s says is formed from the words entre + tenir. Interestingly, Webster’s says that tenir means “to hold,” but it doesn’t tell us what entre means. But if you go to Webster’s Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language, International Edition, Vol. 1, (p. 291 “Entertain”) you will learn that the word tenir means “to hold or maintain.” To entertain literally means “to hold between or suspend.” Clickherefor the spiritual significance of this word.
Why doesn’t Webster’s list the meanings of the two roots that make up the word schizophrenia? Could it be because the politically correct powers-that-be do not want you to know that schizophrenia literally means, “split mind?” You bet your boots it is. Because if you knew that schizophrenia meant “split mind,” then you would know that you had a problem. And if you knew that you had a problem, then you might seek help. And we wouldn’t want that, now would we?
Think about it. If someone went up to a Bible-believing Christian and said that they had been told that they have a split mind, then the Bible-believing Christian might remember that the Bible says,
“adouble-mindedman is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).
Then the Christian might tell the person that
“God has not given us the Spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of asound mind(READwholemind)” (2 Timothy 1:7).
Then the person would realize that his problem was spiritual, not mental. Then, with his eyes wide open, the person might ask the Christian, “What Sir, shall I do?” Then the Christian might say, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” And then the person might get down on his knees then and there and accept the Lord Jesus as his Saviour, and he would then be delivered from the DEMONIC ACTIVITY that is causing his problems.
Then the person, set free and wanting to let somebody know about it, might go and tell someone else he knows that is suffering from the same thing, and then that person might accept Jesus and be set free. And then that person goes and tells somebody else, who tells somebody else, who tells somebody else, until there are no more bipolars or schizophrenics. How would the psychologists and psychiatrists make a living? They might starve to death! And we wouldn’t want that to happen, now would we?
So they come up with a kindler, gentler name for it, and say, “Take this pill and call me in the morning…and the morning after that…and the morning after that…And so we follow the politically correct spin-doctors who make us feel better about ourselves instead of telling us that something is broken so that we can get it fixed. And we let them do it. For shame!
Did you know that doctors don’t have a clue what causes bipolar disorder? Did you know that according to doctors, bipolar disorder (schizophrenia) is not a disease, but a syndrome? Why, then, don’t they call it bipolar syndrome? Why, because you might look in the dictionary and find out that a syndrome means,
“a group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality or condition” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition).
That means that a syndrome is not a problem, but a sign that there is a problem. So, they call it a disorder, meaning that something is “not in order,” or out of whack. You already know that!
They’re being politically correct again. They don’t want you to know that something is broken, and they can’t tell you why, because if you knew that something were broken, and that they couldn’t tell you why, then you might seek help elsewhere, perhaps even from Jesus.
And if you sought help from Jesus, then you would find it. And when you found it, then you would get better. And when you got better, then you might tell somebody. And we surely wouldn’t want that, now would we?
Schizophrenia. Bipolar. Six of one, half-dozen of the next. Both mean that something is broken that needs fixing. Both mean that a person does not have a whole mind. Jesus says he can make you whole. If you, like Catherine Zeta-Jones, have been told or suspect that you are bipolar or schizophrenic, or know someone who is, know that Jesus Christ can make you whole, if you would only ask Him. Why don’t you give him a try?
We have produced a companion audio podcast of this teaching which is available for free at the iTunes Store. You can get it by clicking here. For your convenience, it is also available below.
Prince William and his new wife, Kate, exit Westminster Abbey after the nuptials
When I came home last night, I went to check my email and check the news headlines to see if anything major in the world had happened while I was out. Of course, the major headline was the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. I was not in the least bit interested in this wedding, which will have absolutely no impact whatsoever on matters of any real importance. The poor will still be poor. The sick will still be sick. People are still dying senselessly on the streets of every major city in America. Yet, the media (who are always trying to get us to look right when we should be looking left) are having a feast covering this wedding.
Well, out of curiosity, I clicked on the link on the Yahoo website to the video of the coverage of the wedding live from Westminster Abbey. And I am so glad that I did. What was most interesting to me was not all the pomp of the wedding. It was not seeing what celebrities were there, though there were a couple luminaries in the crowd whom I recognized. It was not seeing Catherine Middleton’s dress that the media said was just to die for. It was the spiritual significance of the wedding that interested me. The planners did their very best to make the wedding a very spiritual affair. It may very well have been spiritual, but it was definitely not Christian.
First of all, it was a beautiful affair. Westminster Abbey is a spectacular edifice, rich, and steeped in history. The whole time I was watching the wedding, I kept wondering what it must be like to know your family’s history going back hundreds even thousands of years. That is a privilege that has been denied many of us. In that respect, Prince William is very fortunate indeed. What I enjoyed most of all, though, was the all-male choir that performed. They gave one of the best performances I have ever heard in my entire life. They were outstanding.
But, there were two things that happened that were of major spiritual significance for me, and that really made an impression on me. The first occurred after the royal couple said their marriage vows, when Kate Middleton’s brother read from the Bible a passage from Romans 12. To begin, his reading was so dry and emotionless that there could not have been any doubt that the Holy Spirit was nowhere in the room. But what was even more notable was that the young man was not reading from the Authorized Version, the King James Bible, but from another translation.
This may not seem very significant to most people, but it is very significant when you consider that England gave us the King James Version. And when a translation other than the King James is used in the marriage of the likely future king of England–a marriage, the religious significance of which, the organizers went to great lengths to underscore–it sends a clear message to the world. Not only is it basically a denial of the King James as the Authorized Version, but it is, in fact, tantamount to endorsing whatever version of the Bible was used.
Think about it. Designers’ careers are made when someone of note wears one of their creations on nationwide TV. The same can be said of jewelers, shoe makers, handbag makers, cake makers, eyeglass makers, and on and on. Everything that is to be seen, worn, consumed, or in any way associated with a celebrity is carefully scrutinized and considered, because the celebrity’s handlers know that the use of an item at such a media event is essentially an endorsement of that item. Doubtless, this did not escape the attention of the organizers of the royal wedding. They knew, especially considering the importance of religion, and the current war that the liberal bible versions are waging with the King James, that this would be of major importance. They were sending a message; and I read it loud and clear.
The second event of note occurred during the reading of the address by the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres. The theme of his address was basically that for a young couple to have a successful marriage, they should each allow the other to be an individual and not try to change or “reform” the other partner. About three-quarters of the way through the bishop’s address, Kate Middleton did something very significant. I will pick up the address already in progress:
“We’re all incomplete. We all need to have the love that is secure, rather than oppressive. We need mutual forgiveness in order to thrive. But as we move towards our partner in love, following the example of Jesus Christ…”
At this point in the address, the camera had shifted away from the bishop to the royal couple. At the mention of the name Jesus Christ, Kate Middleton’s lip tightened, and she looked to her right and to the floor, held that position for a moment, then looked back up again, managing a wan smile as though she realized the cameras were on her. She seemed visibly disturbed at the mention of the Lord Jesus. This is what I saw.
I am so grateful that I was watching a video of the wedding rather than seeing it live. I was so caught off guard by this, that I rewound the video about six or seven times to make sure that I really saw what I thought I saw. Not only did I see what I thought I saw, but I noticed that Prince William reacted rather curiously himself, though his reaction was very slight. Princess Kate’s reaction, however, could not be mistaken. Check out the video of the wedding. Pay close attention beginning at about 4:58 and see if you see what I saw. Pray for discernment.
Make no doubt about it. The royal wedding, though very beautiful, did not have a Christian feel to it. Even though there were many references to Jesus Christ, I don’t think the Holy Spirit was in attendance.
Below is a scripturally sound analysis of the royal wedding from the perspective of a Christian wife and homemaker.
Disclaimer: I am not able to thoroughly investigate every site, so please exercise discernment and consult Scripture, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things. Disclaimer on translations other than the King James Bible and possibly some content.
7/21/11: YouTube removed the original video on “copyright grounds.” You be the judge. I managed to find this one today. Let’s see how long it lasts. I’ve noticed that someone from Australia visits my website fairly often and only goes to this webpage. What are the odds that this has something to do with the videos disappearing. Watch and pray.
4/24/14: Someone access this site and altered the URL link to the Royal Wedding so that the video would not appear. I have now linked to the video on my YouTube Channel. Let’s see how long this one lasts.
Be encouraged and look up; your redemption draweth nigh.
This afternoon, I checked a local radio station’s website to see if they stream their program live, so I could listen to a particular show while working on my computer. It turned out that the host of this show had posted a personal video where he commented on the power of prayer. He explained how one day he was praying to God to let his deceased father rest in peace. He said that he knows his father “is in a better place,” but he just wanted to know if his father were OK, so he asked God to give him a sign.
Well, the next day, it seems that a cousin of his called him to tell him that she found a picture of his mother and father. The radio host took this as confirmation that his father was OK, and that it was the sign from God that he had asked for. He then went on to extol the efficacy of prayer.
It is touching that this gentleman still worries about his dad, who has already departed this world and is now gone to his reward. This kind of love is commendable in a world where television headlines daily show human beings displaying a lamentable want of natural affection. I can relate, as ironically, last night, I dreamed about my own father, who passed away almost twenty years ago. Unlike the radio host, however, I never worry if my father is alright or not. And I’ll tell you why.
My father was a good man as good men go. He was hardworking, kept a job, and was a responsible citizen. Like many of us, however, he used to do what he wanted when he wanted, and some of the things he wanted to do I’m certain would not have met with God’s approval. But, thankfully, like me, he found Jesus late in life, and made Him the Lord of his life. Praise God. Later, he became a minister and associate pastor of a small church. He had a small shop where he used to sell citizen band radios on the south side of the city, and he divided the shop in half and used the extra space to sell Christian literature, including Gospel tracts. In fact, it was in his shop that I first encounteredChick tracts.
Years later, my father passed away peacefully in the hospital after a bout with cancer. My mother said that the night he died, she was visiting with him, sitting next to his bed. At one point, he had his eyes closed and it seemed that he was talking to her, but she could not hear him well, so she leaned closer to him, and discovered that he was talking to Jesus. She said that it was as though he were holding a regular conversation, only barely discernable. She heard him say repeatedly, “Yes, Lord, I’m ready to go,” or words to that effect. That night he passed quietly away.
When I got saved, I wondered if my father had ever witnessed to me of Jesus Christ, because I couldn’t remember him ever doing that. Because of this, at one point I wondered if he really knew the Lord, because surely if he knew Him, he certainly would have told me about Him. But I stopped worrying about that, because there were many times when my father tried to speak words of wisdom to me, and I just would not listen. It is possible that he tried to witness to me, but my ears were just closed. Though I was not hostile to the Gospel, I just didn’t want to hear it.
One thing is for sure: the fact that he was sellingChick tractsin his shop shows that he was not ashamed of the Gospel. But it is still something I used to wonder about. I stopped wondering when I understood that one day I will know for sure whether my father really knew the Lord, when and if I meet him in Heaven. Only the Lord knows the truth.
I said all that to say this: there is only one way to be sure if a person is OK after he has passed from this life, and that is if you know that that person has a relationship with Jesus Christ. If a person has found the Lord Jesus, that person has been granted eternal life. He may have passed away from this life, but he has life eternal with the Lord Jesus. He or she has merely changed addresses.
It is hard when a loved one dies. I know that. I am in no way trying to trivialize death, nor its effect on the surviving loved ones. But, if you have a relationship with the Lord Jesus, and your loved one also knew the Lord, take comfort that he or she has passed on into a new life with Jesus, and shall never again know heartache, sorrow, pain, suffering, or want. The race is over. They are indeed in a better place than we, and at some point we have to take comfort in that so that we can move on.
But if they didn’t know the Lord, I have a couple questions for you. First, do you know the Lord? If the answer is yes, then did you witness to that person about the Lord Jesus when they were still in this life? If you did, then you fulfilled your responsibility to that person, and their blood will not be on your head (Ezekiel 3:19). But, if you knew the Lord and did not witness to that person, then you failed in your obligation. The person is in Hell, and you had a chance to warn them and didn’t. Their blood is on your hands (Ezekiel 3:18).
If, however, you don’t know the Lord, then, like the radio host, there is a good reason why you worry about whether your deceased loved one is alright. How could you have any assurance of the disposition of someone who has passed, if you have no assurance that you yourself are alright?
At any rate, that person that has passed on has gone to his or her reward, be it good or bad. And your worrying about that person is a sign of uncertainty, which could actually be a good thing, because you are still here, and you still have an opportunity to turn that uncertainty into certainty. I will tell you what I told the radio host (via a comment I left on his web site): if you are worried about your loved one’s soul, it is a sign that you both were lacking something spiritually. What you were lacking is certainty about where your soul is going when you leave here.
Think about it. If you know that a person is going to Heaven, why worry if they are “OK?” You must have your doubts, and if you do, why? Another thing: make no mistake, if you have children, and they have not been given assurance (because you don’t have it), whenever you pass on they may have the same uncertainties. And as with you, it will be a sign that something is spiritually wrong with them. Why would you put your loved ones through that?
You could end the uncertainty right now. You could KNOW whether you are going to be “alright” when you die. You could tell your loved ones not to worry and why, and they would understand, because they would have the same assurance about themselves. Now that’s the best gift that you could ever leave a loved one. Eternal assurance.
The radio host deleted my comment. That’s a shame, because it may have helped someone else. I doubt that he is the only one that has these concerns. I have fulfilled my responsibility though. I didn’t want to write a comment at first, but something (or Someone) within me urged me to do it; and I’m glad I did.
Now you have the same opportunity. Will you too pass it up? Will you too bequeath fear and uncertainty to your loved ones? Or will you do something about it right now? If you are ready to end the uncertainty and have peace, security, and assurance, click here right now.
Be encouraged and look up; your redemption draweth nigh.
Last night, in one of my writing classes, we discussed a book wherein the author dealt primarily with the subject of restlessness. It was said that this author has addressed this subject in some of his other books, and we therefore concluded that perhaps he had unresolved issues stemming from his childhood. Towards the end of the discussion, the professor asked each student in turn if he had ever experienced restlessness.
When it was my turn, he asked me if I were a sedentary person or a restless person. I told him that I used to think that I was a restless person because, having spent the better part of my life in military service, I had grown accustomed to being constantly on the move and had gotten quite used to it. In fact, I was better at traveling than I was at staying in any one place. Because of this, I had come to think that I was born to travel. But, as I explained, when I found the Lord Jesus, all of that changed.
I knew in my heart that there would be some in the class who would not appreciate this small bit of my testimony. It is class policy for each student to distribute a copy of a story he has written to every member of the class, which we in turn are to critique and suggest any improvements. We then collectively discuss the story at our next meeting. About a month ago, a young lady had written a short story about a mission trip she took to a South American country. At the conclusion of the story, she included a passage from the Bible that she said gave her courage and strength in difficult times.
I was very surprised by the reaction of some of the class members to the inclusion of the Bible passage, as some were offended that she expressed her religious sentiments. A couple students said that they would have preferred if she had merely hinted at her religious beliefs, rather than “hit them in the face with them.” What was curious is that the lady never, for one minute, talked about her religion. She never said she was a Christian. She never mentioned Jesus. There was no preaching or moral lesson. There was a scene that involved someone giving thanks before eating breakfast, but the prayer didn’t end with “In Jesus’ name,” so it was, in essence, a secular prayer. One could say that the Bible verse was a reference to Christianity, but the version of the Bible she used was one of the liberal modern translations, and in fact, sounded so unlike the version found in the Authorized Version, the King James, that it could have come from any secular publication. In short, there was nothing overtly religious about the story; and yet, people were offended.
What is even more amazing to me, and which speaks directly to the present antagonism of Americans towards the Christian religion, especially in our schools and on college campuses, is that, without exception, the author of every book that we have examined in this class, about ten total, has included to some extent his worldview or a religious belief: be it evolution, Buddhism, Hinduism, or any other. Yet, no one in the class ever expressed being offended by this material. As a matter of fact, at least one person said that one of the books caused her to think about her own life. Of course, this was the reason that book was included as one of our textbooks in the first place.
So, when the professor asked me about restlessness, I determined within myself to address this subject from a spiritual perspective and make my plug for Jesus, because I perceived in my heart that someone in that class needed to hear that. It seems that even the most avowedly open-minded person can accept just about any worldview except the Christian worldview. And that’s the one that they need to hear!
You see, what each of us instinctively knows, but doesn’t want to accept, is that a major cause of our restlessness is, in fact, a lack of a relationship with the Lord Jesus. Scripture says that we were made for worship. There is a hole in each and every individual which can only be filled by the Holy Spirit, and that can only happen through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Without a relationship with the Lord Jesus, we are restless, because we have no peace. And we can have no peace, because only Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, can give us peace.
Did you know, dear reader, that until we make our peace with God, we can have no peace? The Bible says, “there is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22). He says it again at Isaiah 57:21. Whenever Jesus says something twice, you had better listen. If you are not at peace, you are at war. It’s just that simple. Did you know that until you accept Jesus as your Saviour, you are at war with God? Listen to what the Bible says:
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Romans 5:1
That means that until we have made our peace with God, we are His enemy. Now, that doesn’t mean God is going to mash us with His thumb at any minute, but it does mean that there are some blessings that He may not bestow on us just yet. Peace is one of those blessings.
I was in war, and I can tell you that you go to bed at night with one eye open. I don’t remember having one dream when I was in Iraq. That was because my body only let me sleep deep enough to run it’s self-maintenance routine, so that I could function the next day. I rarely, if at all, slept deep enough to dream. Did you know that many people who do not have peace with God can not get a really good night’s sleep? I was witnessing to someone a few months ago and she made a startling admission. She told me that she has never had one dream in her entire life. I was surprised. I told her surely she has had at least one dream. She assured me that she had not. It’s important for me to mention that this lady also told me that she manifests a lot of psychic phenomena like spirits communicating with her that she believes are deceased family members. God, in Deuteronomy Chapter 18, expressly forbids communicating with spirits. That is because there is no such thing as ghosts. These spirits are demons. And it is forbidden to talk with them.
With respect to her inability to dream, in order for a person to dream, the person has to enter into the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep. This is the deepest stage of sleep and is the point where a person dreams. What I didn’t tell this lady is that the inability to dream is often a complaint of people who have demonic activity in their lives. Show me a witch, and I’ll show you a person that hardly gets any sleep. People who have been delivered out of occult activity have testified that they rarely got a good night’s sleep and were always in a constant state of fear. Remember, “There is no peace…unto the wicked.”
Until we repent of our sins we are living in a state of wickedness. The Bible says, “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest” (Isaiah 57:20). That means that we are constantly tossing and turning, like a ship in a storm that cannot find its port where it can dock. We are restless. This restlessness can take the form of an inability to get a restful night sleep, an inability to dream, or a feeling that we have to be constantly on the move. I know someone like that.
Some people are constantly in search of a new high, a new place to hang out, new friends, or a new pastime. Others have to move every two or three years. These people constantly have to be re-energized by a new experience. It becomes addicting like a drug. If they don’t get their fix, they get depressed. There are people who are constantly in search of the travel destination that will help them to put their lives into perspective. That is why exotic destinations like Tibet are all the rage, and why Eastern philosophy and yoga are in vogue. That is why the travel industry, even in a depression, is still making a profit. We are restless. We have no peace. We are trying to find ourselves.
I told the class that when I got saved, I found out who I am, why I am here, what my mission in life is, and where I am going when I die. For the first time in my life I had direction and purpose, and I came to realize that God had made me the way I am for a particular purpose that is perfectly suited to the work that He has called me to do. I no longer had to “fit in.” I no longer had to find out what my life’s calling was. I only had to find out how the Lord wanted me to fulfill it. I didn’t feel different for the reasons I used to feel different. I was now different because I am part of God’s family, and the world has no use for God. The Bible says that we are “sojourners and pilgrims” in this world. I’m just passing through.
I stopped searching. I stopped looking. I stopped seeking. I had found myself. I was home. I was in Germany at the time, and the year was September 2005. Two and a half years later I came home. The travel bug that I used to have has died and gone to travel bug heaven. I didn’t even bother to give him a funeral. I may travel in the future, but for entirely different reasons. It’s interesting to note that a young lady in my class, who travels quite often, told me that she never thought she traveled because she was looking for herself. She sort of laughed it off, but you could tell that she was thinking about this. A young man in the class, who had written a story about a trip he had taken specifically for the purpose of “finding himself” (he admitted to doing this every two or three years), was looking at me rather intently, but he said nothing.
Think about it. There is a hole in each and every one of us that can only be filled with Jesus Christ. Stop running. Slow down. Stop. Stop looking for something to fill that void in your life that will be empty again tomorrow. Give Jesus a try. He’ll fill you up. He’ll satisfy you. He’ll tell you who you are. He’ll tell you why you are here. He’ll tell you what your mission in life is. And he will never, never leave you nor forsake you.
If you are tired of moving and would like to start a wonderful relationship with the Lord Jesus,click here.
Then, be encouraged and look up; your redemption draweth nigh.
Today is the day Christians celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Historically, believers go to church and fellowship with other believers, rejoicing in that our Lord and Savior is Risen, and because He is Risen, we also are risen with Him to a lively hope in the future resurrection of our bodies. Praise God!
However, today is also a day of sadness for many people who were affected by the F-4 tornado that tore through St. Louis, Friday, causing millions of dollars worth of damage and displacing hundreds. Thousands are without power, and as of yesterday evening, it is not anticipated that power will be restored until Tuesday at the earliest.
Many of the families involved were entertaining relatives who had arrived to celebrate the Easter holiday, and are now either being temporarily housed in shelters, living with relatives or neighbors, or making do in their houses without electricity.
The overwhelming response to this disaster has been one of complete surprise. Many are saying that they never thought that they would ever be involved in a natural disaster. Indeed, the same can be said for many of us, who are used to watching the guy on TV holding back tears as he picks up a photo of his grandchildren amid the remains of his demolished house as his wife and children pick through the rubble in search of mementos, valuables, and heirlooms.
For someone who has gone through something like this, consolation could be very difficult. Rare is the person who is overjoyed simply to have survived a disaster in one piece. But, I cannot find fault in someone who cannot appreciate this blessing immediately following a catastrophe. Just because someone is heartbroken over having lost everything but one’s life, does not mean that a person does not appreciate having survived.
I can imagine that all kinds of emotions can surface in the aftermath of a disaster. One lady I talked to was heartbroken because she did not receive the help from her family that she thought she should have. Another person was disappointed because he found himself at the mercy of family members who have never liked him. One lady was not looking forward to the next few days in her home alone without television, radio, or Facebook, and stuck with a husband she has been married to for almost forty years, and with whom meaningful communication has long been a thing of the past. One person was worried sick about the prospect of becoming a burden on a parent who herself was going through a difficult time. These are all valid concerns, and most of us could identify with at least one of these scenarios.
Only one person with whom I spoke was actually upbeat about the whole situation. She was elated just to have survived. The amazing thing about this woman was that, rather than being concerned about her own situation, she was more concerned about those people who do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ. She expressed deep regret that the majority of Americans have turned their backs on God and thought that the timing of this event was very significant. She gave me her own testimony about having been saved out of a life of drugs by a caring church of only a handful of members, and having been sustained by their fellowship and love through some very difficult times. For her this was a warning to not take the goodness and blessings of God for granted, and to be glad to have been given another opportunity to turn our lives over to him. This dear lady even made me feel better about not having been touched by this disaster. She said that my voice was calm and soothing and was actually helping to calm her down. She added that this would not have been possible had I been in the same situation as she. There is truth to this statement. It is remarkable that such insight and perspective could come from someone who had gone through such an ordeal. This dear lady ended up ministering to me when I was supposed to be the one doing the ministering!
I guess I said all of that to say this. If you are reading this, you have survived something whether you know about it or not. For whatever reason, you have been spared a traumatic event –be it a robbery, a rape attempt, a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster like a flood or tornado. Reflect on what your life would be like at this very moment had something like that happened to you. Appreciate how blessed you are to be reading this from the comfort of your living room, den, office, or bedroom, all snuggly-wuggly wrapped up in your robe with the smiley-face pin on the lapel, with your hot cup of whatever you like to drink, all snug in your jammies with your slippers on and the room set at a comfortable temperature.
Now imagine, a woman with her three children crammed in a small space at a shelter. Imagine them sitting bewildered, shivering slightly, partially from cold and partially from shock, in utter disbelief, sitting on a cot wrapped up in blankets, in the company of people whom they don’t know—some good, some bad—the mother trying desperately to hold on to her few valuables, praying that nothing happens to her meager belongings or to one of her children when she goes over to the line to get them a cup of soup. Imagine that only twenty-four hours earlier, this lady was probably doing the same thing you are doing now, warm and cozy in familiar surroundings with her children safe and sound, tucked into bed or in front of the television.
It could all change in an instant.
If it did, what. would. you. do? And IF—God forbid—you didn’t survive it, would you be ready to meet the Lord Jesus? You will one day, you know. Even though many of you don’t believe that. Did you know that more people are willing to believe in aliens and Reptilians than God? Do you know that more of us believe in Santa Claus then the Lord Jesus? (Even though we saw the toys “hidden” in the closet the week before Christmas!). There is more evidence of an All-Powerful God than there is of ET, and yet…
You will one day meet the Lord Jesus. And you want to do that with confidence, knowing that you have accepted His grace and have been forgiven your sins. And you know you have them. We all do.
It can all happen in the blink of an eye.
Think about it.
If you would like to have confidence and assurance of the future, click here.
For those of you who believe and are waiting for the Lord Jesus, Rejoice!
Be encouraged and look up; your redemption draweth nigh.
I read a story today that shows how far down the road America has traveled in its journey away from God. Jessica, 16, a sophomore at a Seattle private high school, was doing volunteer work with a third grade class at a public school as part of a week-long pre-Spring Break community service project. She came up with the idea of filling plastic Easter eggs with candy and approached the teacher to get her permission. She was told that she could do it as long as she called the treats “Spring Spheres” instead of Easter eggs. The Seattle elementary school is apparently not the only government organization taking action to make Easter a more politically correct holiday. The city’s parks department also removed Easter from all its advertised egg hunts.
This news does not upset me for the reason it upsets a great many Christians, because I know that Easter is a pagan fertility holiday (as Easter eggs clearly demonstrate) that is often confused with the day Jesus Christ was resurrected as well as the Passover. The fact is, it is neither. I was going to post something explaining this using Scripture, but a tornado prevented me from getting it out before Easter Sunday. The fact that I know Easter is not Christian does not get me bent out of shape, because just as Paul said that some preach Jesus from the heart and others preach Jesus for personal gain, but at least “Christ is preached,” I appreciate the fact that a day has been set aside that Christians can observe the Resurrection of our Lord even though I know that Easter and Resurrection Day are not the same.
This story out of Seattle represents the latest of many attempts to completely secularize America. A few years ago, the U.S. government “accidentally” minted several hundred thousand quarters without the motto “In God We Trust.” I believe this was “accidentally” done in order to see what America’s reaction would be, and to gauge the effectiveness of the anti-God propaganda that the media and public education system has been feeding Americans for decades. I’m sure they concluded that the propaganda campaign has been hugely successful.
Americans have turned their backs on God. This was the richest, most prosperous, and most blessed country on the face of the earth, because America was the only country in the history of the world that set man free. And God honored that. America was the envy of every other nation because she proved that a country that honored God and granted true freedom to each and every individual regardless of race, color, creed, and previous condition of servitude could not only succeed, but excel. America was foremost in virtually every arena, and we did it by giving every person the right to reach his or her full potential—Freedom with responsibility.
But that is no longer true. Patriotism is a dirty word. Christianity is an even dirtier word. America has become a reproach in the eyes of the world, and her greatest enemies are her own citizens. Want to become the most unpopular person at a party? Say that you love God. Say that you love America. As a matter of fact, say that there is such a thing as moral absolutes (right and wrong). You will get taken off everyone’s Christmas list in a hurry. Something is terribly wrong.
Barack Obama was right; America is no longer a Christian nation. America embraces every religion but Christianity, yet Christianity was the basis for the freedoms we enjoy and used to covet. I fear the worst because of America’s disowning of God. If it were not for the fact that God is in charge—and I know that—I would be inconsolably depressed. America you are getting ready to go for a ride. But you asked for it, so God is going to give you what you asked for. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Heard this today on a local talk radio station and here it is again on the net. This is not news to me. When will people realize that privacy is a thing of the past? Believe me when I tell you that your iPhone is not the thing to be most concerned about. You have been watched for quite some time, especially if you’re a Christian.
Your neighbors are watching you. And their neighbors are watching them. And on and on and on. The 21st century will be characterized by the most complete and all-pervasive surveillance network in the history of the world. There is no place to hide. No place to run. That is frightening. But it is true.
If you are a Christian, however, you saw this coming, or at least you should have. They are watching us, but God is watching them. And that should give us comfort. The New World Order will happen, because God is making it happen. The bad guys are part of God’s agenda. They don’t know that though, because they don’t read the Bible.
For more on the U.S. government’s surveillance of American citizens and the new definition of domestic terrorism under the USA PATRIOT Act, see my post,“In God We Trust, All Others We Monitor.”It will open your eyes.
Stay encouraged, and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.
I woke up this morning (thank God) with health and strength and with a sound mind, and turned on the radio and listened to the Steve Harvey Morning Show. I have been doing this for about a month. It seems Mr. Harvey has become somewhat of an Ann Landers in the black community due to the success of his two relationship books. So, while flipping through stations one morning I came across his show, and have been listening to it every morning during my workout, hoping to get a glimpse of what has made Mr. Harvey such a celebrity.
You see, my only previous experience with Mr. Harvey was when he was the host of the “Kings of Comedy” series, where he acted as a “master of ceremonies” of sorts introducing three popular comedians (one of whom died a few years ago). His job was to get the audience pumped up and ready for the other comics, which he would do by telling a few jokes, playing popular R&B music, making fun of people in the audience, and speaking on different topics. He then gave them a fantastic introduction. I guess you could compare him with a talk show host minus the interview (and I have no doubt he is working towards this).
He was a great showman. He was also very vulgar. In fact, the use of profanity was as integral a part of his show as were his jokes. So, I wondered how good his show would be under the restrictions imposed by the FCC, though these restrictions are eroding daily.
Well, I wasn’t very surprised to discover that Mr. Harvey’s radio show is almost exactly like his Kings of Comedy show. He plays a combination of classic and contemporary R&B, which is generally not too bad. His co-host is a lady named Shirley Strawberry, who also hosts a segment called “Strawberry Letters,” a play on the title of a popular song by the R&B duo, The Brothers Johnson, called “Strawberry Letter 22.” This segment features Mrs. Strawberry reading on-air letters sent in by people seeking advice on relationship issues, to which Mrs. Strawberry offers her advice, often deferring to Mr. Harvey’s “wisdom.” Mrs. Strawberry also just published a book called “Strawberry Letters,” which I gather deals with the same subject matter.
To be sure, I would not consider the relationship advice given by either party to be Christian advice. Yesterday, for instance, a young lady called wanting to know what to do about her boyfriend who apparently had left the relationship, leaving her with a small child. “God has a plan for the child,” Harvey said, “You and the man is [sic] just the vessel.” Doubtless, God does have a plan for the child, but Harvey made it sound as though it were God’s plan for the young lady and the man to have sex and create a child out of wedlock, which was certainly not the case.
As a matter of fact, the Morning Show crew seems to hold untraditional views on just about every matter of importance. One morning, for example, an individual called in to ask what the show’s hosts had against traditional marriage. There was a guest on this particular day (a young black male), who I believe was an entertainer. This guest lambasted traditional marriage and vehemently protested against the notion that marriage should be a monogamous relationship, adding that marriage partners should be able to have extramarital affairs without censure. Mr. Harvey and company agreed with the gentleman. For her part, Mrs. Strawberry asserted that she was in a monogamous marriage, though she only weakly contended the guest’s opinions and even laughed at his remarks.
Sexual innuendo is also a major part of the Steve Harvey Morning Show. Mr. Harvey and a third host, whose name escapes me, make frequent and overt references to sexual intercourse using Black slang. Since Black slang is no longer Black slang thanks to the Hip-Hop movement, Harvey’s remarks would be intelligible to all but the very young, the very old, and aliens.But what is most upsetting about the show is a segment wherein Mr. Harvey plays a character called “The Pastor.” This segment features him portraying the classic caricature of the Southern black preacher replete with superfluous “A-mans!” (Amen!), sexual innuendo, and allusions to misappropriation of church funds.
Yesterday, “The Pastor,” among his other ramblings and Sambo-esque buffoonery, said, “Praise me. Lift me up.” Another member of the cast, named Eugene, who gives birthday shout-outs, played his sidekick and said that he was “saving people through horoscopes.” How blasphemous!This is upsetting because the Christian church has come under attack for years in the media: from gun-toting, Scripture quoting psycho-killers, to hypocritical, woman-chasing preachers. This is merely Satan doing what he does best; that is, “accusing the brethren.” But, it is especially distressing to see a black celebrity of high visibility making a mockery of the Christian church, which was always on the vanguard in the struggle for black civil rights, as well as the abolition of slavery. Harvey is the first black I’ve seen caricaturing black preachers since Arsenio Hall did it years ago in “Coming To America.” (There are probably others, but I rarely watch television or go to the movies).
Mr. Harvey loves religion. He loves it so much that he is currently touring with “Gospel” singer Kirk Franklin in what Harvey described as a “comedy and Gospel show.” This is probably the ultimate oxymoron, and speaks volumes about Franklin, whose music has always tiptoed on the line between The Gospel and The World (he himself has essentially acknowledged this), but in recent years has seemingly fallen headlong onto the worldly side. What does the Gospel have to do with comedy? What fellowship hath light with darkness?
No true Gospel singer would affiliate himself professionally with a man as vulgar as Steve Harvey, who even admitted that someone attending the Harvey/Franklin show might hear him using profanity from time to time (which I took as a guarantee that he would be using profanity). Click here for reviews of the show. It seems his “Christian” comedy is just as vulgar as the “Kings of Comedy.”
A few years ago, someone sent me a video clip of Mr. Harvey during a show telling the audience what he would say if he were opening for “Christ.” Using some of the names of Jesus such as the Rose of Sharon, Harvey proceeded to whip the audience (many of whom had their hands in the air looking towards heaven) into a frenzy as though he were opening for Chris Rock.
UPDATE 7/27/11. YouTube has since removed the video of Steve Harvey introducing “Christ” on [ahem] “copyright grounds.” Uh-huh.
UPDATE 6/6/2012. I found this video today on YouTube. Let’s see how long it lasts.
Say what? Does Mr. Harvey realize just Whom it is that he is “opening” for? In that whole self-aggrandizing diatribe, Harvey only got one thing right: Jesus needs no introduction. Folks, this is blasphemy of the highest order. Jesus is no rock star. He’s not even a celebrity. He is The Creator of the Universe and Sovereign Lord of All. And Steve Harvey just tried to reduce Him to the level of a fake, egomaniacal, narcissistic, publicity-seeking celebrity. What’s worse, is thaton the longer version of this clip, Mr. Harvey prefaces his introduction of “Christ” with a laundry list of his own accomplishments. So much for Christian humility.
UPDATE 7/7/12: This video has also been removed from YouTube.
Mr. Harvey loves to appear Christian. A couple weeks ago he was bragging about how televangelist Joel Olsteen (who has some curious beliefs himself) texted him to congratulate him for doing a great job at an awards show where Harvey spoke. Dropping Olsteen’s name was a clever ploy to garner the acceptance of those with Christian leanings who are aware of Harvey’s decidedly non-Christian character. But, any Christian with even a spoonful of discernment would doubt that Mr. Harvey worships the God of the Bible.
Who then, is the God that Harvey serves? Well, yesterday, Harvey was speaking on the “Law of Attraction,” which he explained as a fundamental law of nature wherein a person’s thoughts, words, and actions “attract” similar realities to that person. In other words, what a person thinks, what a person says, and what a person does determines his or her outcome in life. He said that this “law” is neutral, and does not recognize “positive or negative,” but only acts on what a person puts out. According to Harvey, If you think “positive” thoughts, positive things will happen to you. If you think “negative” thoughts, negative things will happen to you. Harvey says that it does not matter if you believe in this law or not. If you just think or speak these things, you will think or speak them into existence.
This teaching is not Christian. It is the first of several “cosmic laws” which the New Age calls The Law of Causality. In his New Age book, Jan Van Helsing (a pseudonym) describes this law thus:
“You have a certain idea, and the more you think about this idea, the stronger it gets. Thus you establish a cause. The effect thereof is that whatever that idea was, it will enter your life sooner of later.To clarify: You are afraid that some time you might be raped…The energy created by this thought is a command to the subconsciousand the cosmos, and it will be complied with 100%.” [Boldface mine.]
Secret Societies and Their Power in the Twentieth Century, p. 341
What? I thought God was in charge? This is totally inconsistent with the Bible; yet Harvey, who claims to be a Christian, espouses this belief. And many people, including Christians, are buying into it.
Unfortunately, this teaching does not square with reality. Try explaining this law to a five-year-old girl who has been raped by some pedophile predator. What could a little girl possibly have been thinking to have brought this upon herself? Try explaining this law to the poor of India, who because of the caste system, can never hope to overcome their situation and attain to a better life. Try telling these people that their circumstances are the result of “negative” thinking.
This is a New Age belief and comes from the pit of Hell. It is actually witchcraft. You see, witches don’t believe in a personal God or a personal Devil. They believe in “The Force.” (Now where have we heard that before? Star Wars perhaps?) This impersonal entity, like Harvey’s “law” is neither “positive nor negative.” It just is. That was the message of Star Wars, where both the “good” Jedi Knights and the “evil” Darth Vader utilized the force. So-called white magic is supposed to be the benevolent use of the force, while black magic is the malevolent use of the force. This is what witches teach their unwary initiates.
One lady, in a book devoted to witchcraft, echoes this teaching:
“Many people think that all witchcraft is black magic. It’s not. Black magic is worked for an evil purpose…The magic in this book is white. Generally, this means that it’s worked for a good end.” [Boldface mine.]
Everyday Witchcraft, p. 3
But Anton LaVey, the late founder of the Church of Satan, wrote in The Satanic Bible:
“There is no such thing as a ‘white witch.’ White witchcraft is pure mythology. All witches are drawing upon occultic [sic] power to do their bidding, and that power does not originate with God.” [Boldface mine.]
If a top Satanist says there is no such thing as “white witchcraft,” I think we can take him at his word. All witchcraft is evil and comes from the devil. So, the doctrine that Harvey is proposing, which is a witchcraft doctrine, actually comes from Satan.This shouldn’t surprise you. Our culture has been inundated with witchcraft. Witchcraft concepts and terminology have pervaded our language and culture for years without our knowledge. For instance, the phrase “more power (force) to you” is an old greeting among witches (Everyday Witchcraft, p. 2).Betcha didn’t know that.
Further proof that Harvey’s God is not the God of the Bible can be found in the manner in which he describes how he prays. Speaking of himself in regard to the “Law” of Attraction, Harvey said that when he prays to his God and asks Him for a financial blessing, “it” will give it to him. Harvey didn’t say that He (as in God) would give it to him. He said that “it” would give it to him. What is “it?”:
“The LAW OF CAUSALITY—which some call God.”[CAPS in original, Boldface mine.]
Secret Societies and Their Power in the Twentieth Century, p. 366
Harvey is a New Ager. And, like all witches, New Agers always disguise their true beliefs with Christian terminology.
Recall also that Harvey did not say The Force was neither good nor bad, but that The Force was neither “positive nor negative.” This is because witches don’t believe in good and bad:
“The terms good or bad, valuable or worthless are not justified and at best are expressions of our own subjectivity.” [Boldface mine.]
Secret Societies and Their Power in the Twentieth Century, p. 340
You see, if witches believed in good and bad, then they would have to admit that there is a God and a Devil—the personifications of good and bad. Witches believe in neither, so they use the terms positive and negative. Incidentally, Oprah also believes and has stated that God is not a person, but a force. It should also be noted that the Bible calls Satan “The Prince of the Power of the Air” (Ephesians 2:2) and “The God of Forces” (Daniel 11:38). I’ll let you ponder that for a moment.
I must add that I do not have anything personal against Steve Harvey. I do not know him personally. He may be a very nice person. But he claims to be a Christian, and, because of his immense popularity, he has a bully pulpit. Scripture says that we should test everything. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45). Based on this and what I have heard from Steve Harvey’s mouth, I have my suspicions about the nature of Steve Harvey’s heart.
The United States as well as the world, is in the final birth pains before the New World Order finally creates the ultimate police state. It should be clear to any thinking person that something is terribly wrong. The engineers of this revolution (or violent paradigm shift) are endeavoring to bring in the Antichrist; and to do so, they have to re-educate (READ Mind Control) the mass of humanity into the Luciferian mindset. People in education, entertainment, the arts, and ALL media, including radio, have been contracted to facilitate this re-education. Make no mistake, Mr. Harvey is a part of this agenda. If you are a Christian and you enjoy listening to Steve Harvey and others like him, know that you are being subtly wooed into Satan’s camp.
Comedy is a major part of the plan to re-educate America. Comedians have been used for years to Satan’s advantage. People are usually too busy laughing to pay attention to what the comedian is actually saying. If you think about it, the subjects comedians most like to talk about are politics, religion, race, and sex, all of which just happen to be the most divisive of issues. This is no accident.
Everyone has heard of the phrase “divide and conquer.” If someone wants to destroy an organization, a corporation, or even a family, the most effective method is to get the organization to destroy itself from within. Conquering it is elementary from that point. There is a plan afoot to destroy the United States of America by destroying herfrom within. This is being done by transforming the United States from a nation of people united by a common interest—FREEDOM—into a nation of quarreling, fighting,hateful factions divided by self interest. Can there be any doubt that this has happened?
Now, while this fact is fresh in your mind, think about how comedians are always talking about race. While both black and white comedians are guilty of this, my experience is mostly with black comedians, who are especially guilty. Think about how black comedians are always talking about whites as though they’re stupid, naive idiots, who can’t dance and talk funny.
This, in a country where the racial hate on blogs and internet forums is red-hot. This, in a country where only a short time ago, blacks swung from trees like apples. This in a country where black slaves were bought and sold like cattle a mere 150 years ago and where blacks were granted civil rights less than fifty short years ago. This in a country where 13 years ago, in Texas, James Byrd, a black man, was chained by the ankles to a pickup truck by three white men and dragged for miles until his head was torn off. This in a country where the same crime was repeated in 2009, when two white men similarly dragged Brandon McClelland to his death not 250 miles from the town where Byrd was executed.
Racism is no laughing matter. A major war was fought in this country over slavery, and if you think people have gotten over it, then you are not playing with a full deck. Racism is a major issue. Yet, race is a major tool in the black comedian’s arsenal. Look how upset blacks get when a white celebrity uses the “N” word or makes some other racial comment, yet black comedians joke about whites on national TV. Is this why President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation (for which he was murdered)? To give blacks the freedom to taunt and belittle their former slave masters in public forums? Have you ever noticed how almost every black comedian after a few years appears in movies and has a television show? That is his and her reward for selling out their people. Steve Harvey is a case study in this phenomenon.Black comedians as well as white are being used to foment hate and animosity in the black and white communities and further divide this country, making it ripe for takeover. And the time is almost here.
Something is terribly wrong. Two weeks ago I attended a writer’s conference. One of the speakers, who was speaking on the importance of blogs for authors, mentioned that one of her favorite blogs was entitled, “The Crazy Things That White People Do,” or words to that effect. Ironically, the speaker was white. How long can this go on before something serious happens? Folks, I guarantee you. We are on the brink.
Comedians also constantly make light of drugs, premarital sex, adultery, and all kinds of social ills. Their excuse is that their making light of these issues takes our minds off of the problems of life. There is certainly a grain of truth to this, but only a grain. These are real problems; but comedians make us laugh at these problems, rather than admonish us to cry about them and pray over them.
Religion has always been a major target of comedians. The late George Carlin used to say that “Religion is bull*@!.” Ben Stiller once said that Christmas should be turned into a secular holiday (which it basically has been). Jamie Foxx was once asked during an interview who God was to him. He got visibly upset at this question and asked the interviewer who God was to her. She answered that God was everything to her, to which Foxx replied, “Then why are you asking me?”
I believe that Steve Harvey, like most comedians, is a change agent, who is being used to turn blacks away from God and indoctrinate them into the New Age religion of Antichrist. He often criticizes Christians as being judgmental in condemning his sinful ways. If he were not a Christian and tried to do this, he would be immediately rejected and seen for what he is. So, he tries a subtler approach, masquerading as a Christian, who is merely pointing out the many problems of the Church, using his position and influence to gain a wider following. Harvey is also making people comfortable in their sins, as he emphasizes a Christian being “a work in progress” rather than stressing holiness. He curses almost as much on his show as he did on the Kings of Comedy, and when his co-hosts mention this, he just laughs it off, seeming to glory in his sinfulness.
I seriously believe that the purpose of all of the “sudden” fame Harvey is enjoying is to help him to garner a large following based on his personality and charisma. Then Harvey will announce that he is going into the ministry and will ultimately start his own mega church. I believe this is the purpose for Harvey aligning himself with mega church pastors like Joel Osteen and TD Jakes, and the reason for his partnering with Kirk Franklin. He is establishing his credibility in the “Christian” community.
Harvey is going into the religion business. This is not a stretch, as a mega church is essentially a cult of personality. Many of Harvey’s followers will later be filling his pews, or in this case, auditorium seats, and Harvey will lead them down the side of a steep hill into a sea of perdition. If you are a Christian, you should know that Steve Harvey is not your friend. Steve Harvey hates Christianity and all true Christians. He is part of the problem and not the solution. Do not be deceived by this Trojan Horse. Remember, a good tree is known by his fruit.
Steve Harvey’s Third Eye
Prior to introducing “Jesus,” Steve Harvey makes mention of his “third eye,” while pointing to his forehead. The Third Eye refers to spiritual “enlightenment” that can be gained a number of ways including mind-altering drugs, Yoga, and even sexual intercourse. The Bible doesn’t say anything about a third eye. That, my friends, is because the Third Eye is not Christian, but comes from the ancient Babylonian Mysteries. It can be found in Hinduism, Yoga, and even Wicca: that’s right—witchcraft.
The Third Eye is also a symbol for godhood, as the eye on our one-dollar bill is often called the Eye of God or the Eye of Providence. It is also called the Eye of Horus, the pagan Egyptian Sun God. As you may recall, God struck directly at the Egyptian Sun God with the plague of darkness: a darkness so thick, it could be felt (Exodus 10:21-22).
The Eye in the Pyramid has been linked with the so-called Illuminati, an occult organization originating from the ancient Mystery Religions of the east, whom the Bible calls “Mystery Babylon.” The Illuminati is actually linked to the Roman Catholic church, as the eye in the pyramid atop this Roman Catholic church in Munich, Germany proves.
Harvey’s reference to the Third Eye marks him as an initiate of the Mysteries. He is also saying that he is a god, as the New Age teaches that man can be a god, if he would recognize this and perfect his nature through alchemical transmutation. Need more proof? OK. Remember that in Exodus 3:14, God told Moses that His name was “I Am.” The Lord Jesus Christ, who is also God Almighty, claimed to be the I Am (John 8:58). Well, Steve Harvey makes the same claim.
In case you are still skeptical, notice that the center portion of the “W” is a pyramid with a capstone. The pyramid is pregnant with meaning, but what concerns us is the Freemasonic significance of the pyramid:
“DELTA. The name of the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. In form it is a triangle, and was considered by the ancient Egyptians a symbol of fire, and also of God.” [Boldface mine.]
A Dictionary of Freemasonry, p. 118
Notice he is also forming a triangle, or pyramid, with his hands. He thinks he is a god. But notice something else: Harvey says, “I Am Power.” Remember, the Bible calls Satan “The Prince of the Power of the Air” (Ephesians 2:2), and the eye in the pyramid is also called The All-Seeing Eye of Lucifer—Satan. Now we know the true identity of the “power” to whom Harvey prays.
Also note that Harvey is dressed in all black with a black and blue background. Black, as we know, is always associated with spiritual darkness. But the reader may be interested to know that blue is associated, among other things, with the first three degrees of Freemasonry, called the “Blue Degrees.”
It is also interesting that one side (the viewer’s left, or the West side) of Harvey’s face is in darkness, while the other side (the viewer’s right, or the East side) is “illuminated.” Interesting. Freemasons claim to be traveling from darkness to light, and Freemasonry purports to “illuminate” or enlighten its devotees by initiating them into the ancient mystery religions “by degrees.” Freemasons also claim to be traveling toward the East, which, as you have just learned, is the symbolic and geographical seat of the Babylonian Mystery Religions.
So, not only does the East have literal importance, as it is the place where the sun rises, but it also has the spiritual distinction of being the birthplace of all idolatry. This has biblical significance:
“And He (God) brought me (Ezekiel) into the inner court of the Lord’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.”
Ezekiel 8:16
I don’t know if Steve Harvey is a Freemason, but he is certainly a New Age light worker. This is the real meaning of Harvey’s tie, which is decorated with many whites dots; or, as they are known in the New Age “points of light.”
There is one more thing. The “W” actually forms three “V”s, two on the side, and one on top upside down. The numerical value of “V” in Greek is 6. I don’t have to tell you the significance of “666.”Harvey is an antichrist. NotThe Antichrist,but certainly an antichrist. Right now, you should be making some serious connections.
This should silence any remaining skeptics who believe that Steve Harvey is truly a Christian. Beware of this Trojan Horse.Watch and pray, saints.
“Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits.”
Matthew 7:15-16
A podcast of this article is available for free at the iTunes Store. You can download it for use with your favorite audio device. Subscribe to our free podcast today. For your convenience, it is also provided below.
Stay encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.
The Still Man
Sources:
Secret Societies and Their Power in the Twentieth Century, by Jan Van Helsing, Ewertverlag S.L., 1995.
Everyday Witchcraft: Love magic, charms and spells, fortune telling: everything you need know to enjoy occult power!, by Delphine C. Lyons, Dell Publishing Company, 1972.
The Satanic Bible, by Anton Szandor LaVey, Avon, 1969.
A Dictionary of Freemasonry, by Robert Macoy, Random House Publishing, 1989.
Today I was studying the prophetic Word in the Book of Daniel and in the Book of the Revelation. A couple of months ago I had purposed to study prophecy more to get a better grasp of End Times events, but I had gotten away from it. But God, knowing my heart, found a way to get me back into it.
I recently completed a poetry class assignment which required me to do an anaysis/exposition of a poem by one of America’s most revered poets. I was not very excited about this project. It is a sad fact that many of America’s most admired and best-loved poets had actually no reverence for God whatsoever, and in many cases were some of the most debauched and profane people on the planet.
For this reason, I often cringe when I read their works, and I feel a great sense of sorrow for the downward moral spiral wherein America finds itself. I’ve come to realize that the so-called academics: the poets, the writers, the thinkers were and are on the vanguard of America’s rebellion against God. One such person was W.B. Yeats.
Yeats, like many poets, often couches his anti-Christian rhetoric in twilight language, using a mixture of Christian and mystical terminology, which, to the undiscerning ear sounds spiritual and even beautiful. That is because Yeats and others came from Christian backgrounds and thus, had some knowledge of Scripture, and often made use of biblical language and concepts in their poetry.
Oftentimes, the poems sound Christian on the surface, but upon closer examination, one can discern subtle, yet unmistakable messages reflecting themes of doubt about the existence or benevolence of God, the nature of truth, the divine inspiration of Scripture, pantheism, Eastern Philosophy, and other ungodly beliefs.
I chose to analyze Yeats’ poem entitled The Second Coming. As I said, many of these writers were schooled in Christian doctrine at some point in their lives, and so they are familiar with concepts such as the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. When I read this poem for the first time over a year ago, I was offended because it seemed to me that the poet’s reference to a “rough beast” was a derogatory inference to the Lord Jesus Christ. This time, however, the Spirit revealed to me that Yeats was referring to the Antichrist and that he was looking forward to his coming with great anticipation.
Because this poem makes extensive reference to the Book of Daniel and the Book of the Revelation, I had to refer a great deal to these books to analyze the poem. This turned out to be a God send. For in the course of unveiling the hidden meanings in Yeats’ poem, the Spirit revealed several things to me that I didn’t understand before. The result of this inquiry was a rekindling of the fire within me to know and understand the prophetic books. In light of recent events, this is more important now than ever.
Another one of these rebels was Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose poem, Nature is chocked full of ideas one finds in The New Age, Eastern Mysticism, Hinduism, and even Wicca.
What troubles me the most is that every day in universities all over America children are being fed a liberal dose of these ideas, totally oblivious of the effect these poisonous doctrines are having on them both morally and spiritually. People are puzzled about why violent crime is on the rise all over the world, and do not realize that it is due to the philosophies they are learning from godless, pagan teachers and professors in godless schools and universities throughout the United States and the world.
Our children trust these people implicitly and blindly follow them. In many cases the children even regard them as wise surrogate parents. These godless people are using their influence on these children to fill their heads with doubt and cause them to hate the very Lord Jesus who ransomed their souls with His own blood.
Not only are academia and the literati to blame for the undermining of America’s youth, but so too are all the media, the motion picture industry in particular, for peddling among other things witchcraft, prostitution, pornography, homosexuality, atheism, alcoholism, and drug use. But it doesn’t stop there. America is not only guilty of destroying its own youth, but it is guilty of exporting its sinful, moral-less lifestyle around the globe. God must one day judge this sinful nation. Which brings me to what I really wanted to talk about today.
Revelation 17 and 18 speak about spiritual and economic Babylon, which most agree is the Roman Catholic “church,” who Scripture identifies as a harlot “arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with precious stone and pearls, and having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.” It is also depicted as a beast with seven heads and ten crowns. Scripture identifies the seven heads as seven hills and the woman sitting on the beast as “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth” (17:18).
Rome sits on seven hills, and the Vatican is the headquarters of the Holy Roman Empire, what remains of the Roman Empire, which literally reigned over the entire world. For this reason many feel that the Roman Catholic church is the spiritual Babylon of Revelation 17 and that the pope is the Antichrist. But opinions are mixed as to the identity of the economic Babylon of Revelation 18. Some say it is America, rather than Rome. Until today, I didn’t agree with this. But now I do.
First of all, the entire beast does not represent seven hills, only the seven heads do. The beast represents first a king as 17:11 tells us, “the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth.” The beast also represents a kingdom as we read in Daniel 7:23, “The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth.” Revelation 13:1 also describes this same beast as being, “like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion.” This fourth kingdom is a composite of the previous three kingdoms, the three beasts described in Daniel 7:3-7.
So, if the beast of Revelation 17 also represents a kingdom, and this kingdom is worldwide, it is possible that it could have both an ecclesiastical and an economic headquarters, and that the two are not necessarily co-located.
A woman is often used in the Bible to represent a people or a church. A woman is used to represent the Jewish people both in the Old and New Testaments. The Church of Jesus Christ is spoken of as the bride of Christ. A whorish woman represents idolatry and spiritual depravity. I believe, therefore, that the economic Babylon mentioned in Chapter 18 is the United States of America. Let me explain why.
First, lets look at verse 3.
“For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.”
The sentence says that “all nations” and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her. Is there any nation on earth that has the influence that the United States has? Through its economic policies and military might, the U.S. has wielded incredible influence over the governments of the world.
Verse 5 says, “Her sins have reached unto heaven.” Is there any country that has had more of a moral influence on the world than the U.S.? America, through the Hollywood motion picture and music industries, is the biggest exporter of culture in the world. Its films can be found in virtually every city in every country on every continent. But what kind of culture is represented in Hollywood? Violence, drugs, premarital sex and sexual promiscuity, pornography, witchcraft, homosexuality, witchcraft: the list goes on and on. Hollywood is the biggest promoter of immorality in the world. And it is an American institution.
Indeed, America’s sins have reached unto heaven.
Verse 7 almost represents what has become known the world over as the typical “ugly American” attitude.
“She has glorified herself, and lived deliciously…for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.”
Arguably, no nation in modern memory has enjoyed the economic success that the U.S. has. There hasn’t been a war on American soil in over 125 years. For many years, Americans enjoyed the highest standard of living of any people on the globe. This has created a proud, haughty, and pampered people who feel they have it made and will never see hardship. World opinion of America is at an all time low, and if one were to peruse internet blogs and forums, one would hear the world’s glee at America’s economic woes as they look forward to her eminent fall from prominence with great anticipation.
Verse 8 tells us that because of its iniquities, the Lord Jesus will destroy economic Babylon. A closer look at the reactions of those who had gotten rich doing business with her will reveal some things.
“And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore.”
“Their” in this sentence refers to the merchants. The passage implies that these merchants did more than just profit by doing business with this country. They were literally sustained by doing business with this country; for the passage says that after this country is destroyed, “no man buyeth their merchandise anymore.” It would take a huge economy to have such a tremendous effect. The United States is the largest economy in the world, and the largest importer of goods in the world.
Think about it: there are entire economies that depend upon the United States for their livelihood. The Arab oil emirates would be the very first to feel the loss of the United States. Moreover, because most of the United States’ industrial base has relocated overseas, many third-world countries’ economies have benefited from the United States.
Many have predicted a global depression, but few, if any, have intimated that the cause of it could be the elimination of the United States economy from the global marketplace. The U.S. economy is so huge and vital, that to eliminate it would cause a global economic meltdown. I believe for this reason, that the United States is the country spoken of in Revelation 18.
Look at what the merchants do:
“And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness: for in one hour is she made desolate” (v. 19).
That is some reaction. Notice that “all that had ships in the sea” were made rich doing business with her “by reason of her costliness.” This is another sign that this is a major economy that is being spoken of here.
There are yet two proofs that the United States is economic Babylon. Notice that chapter 17, verse 15 says, “The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” It may seem that this verse merely means to say that the whore rules the whole world. But, verse 18 tells us that the great city “reigneth over the kings of the earth.”
To rule over the kings of the earth is to rule over all the people of the earth; for the kings rule the people. But verse 15 specifically mentions “multitudes, nations, and tongues.”
Consider that virtually every people, nation, and language in the world is represented in the United States. Some nations have almost as many, if not more, of their citizens living in the U.S. than in their own countries. Cape Verde, Africa, is an excellent example. I believe this passage could be speaking of the “melting pot” which is the United States,
There is yet one more piece of evidence to consider. Chapter 17, verse 4, speaking of Babylon says,
“And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with precious stone and pearls…”
For years I have wondered what the colors of the U.S. flag stand for. When I was in the military, we were told that red stands for blood, blue stands for water (for the Atlantic and Pacific oceans), and that white stands for bravery.
Understand that in the world of symbolism, symbols can also masquerade as other things to hide their meaning from the wary. Likewise a color can masquerade as another color. So symbolically, red could easily stand for scarlet, blue for purple, and white for pearls.
Consider also that another well-known symbol for America is a woman. Though more famously known as Liberty, America (as she is really called), the goddess of our country, is always clad in red, white, and blue, just like the whore of Babylon, and as the Whore of Babylon has a golden cup in her hand, so does America hold a golden torch in hers. Remember, in the world of symbolism one thing almost always means something else.
The very last proof that the United States is economic Babylon and is targeted for destruction by the Lord Jesus, is the fact that as prominently as the United States figures in world affairs, she is not mentioned anywhere else in the book of the Revelation. Outside of Chapter 18, there is no mention of any country that bears any likeness to the United States. That’s because after Chapter 18, the United States no longer exists.
With all the things that are going on in the world from Africa to Japan to Afghanistan and the Middle East, it behooves each person reading this to seriously consider where he stands with the Lord Jesus. His return is sooner than any of us thinks. The United States has been targeted for elimination by the Lord Jesus, and for good reason. She is responsible for much pain, misery, and suffering. Listen to how complete her destruction will be:
“Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall beutterly burnt with fire:for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her” (Revelation 18:8).
Want to know how complete is compete? Listen:
“Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down,and shall be found no more at all”(Revelation 18:21).
The U.S. will be wiped off the map. Where will you be?
If you don’t know the Lord Jesus, and have decided after reading this that you want to get to know Him,click here.
Stay encouraged, and look up, your redemption draweth nigh.
Today, I was thinking about the catastrophe in Japan, and I realized that besides material and financial support, these dear people are going to need emotional and spiritual support. Many people have lost loved ones, and in a most horrific manner. Today, for instance, I read that a Japanese man was found floating ten miles out to sea on the remains of his roof. He said that after the earthquake, he and his wife had returned to their home to get some things when the tsunami hit. His wife was immediately swept away, and he was washed out to sea, clinging to the remains of the roof of his house. He drifted for two days, trying fruitlessly to get the attention of planes and helicopters flying overhead. Finally a fishing vessel noticed him waving a red flag and rescued him.
What a horrible way to lose a loved one! I cannot even imagine what that must have been like for him. Imagine your loved one being swept away from you by a wall of seawater and within seconds you too are swept away riding a sea of destruction as cars, houses, boats, and trees, pass by you. Imagine what it must have sounded like. The unthinkable has happened. Without a doubt this man will need emotional and psychiatric help to deal with his grief, as will the other survivors. They had very little if any warning. Their lives were suddenly, horribly, and permanently changed.
Doubtless in a situation like this, one begins to take a cold, hard look at oneself and begins to re-evaluate oneself and reorder and re-prioritize one’s life. I read that one Japanese man lamented that before now he had “a good life,” but now he doesn’t even have water and electricity. After the shock wears off and the final death toll is in, he will likely realize how fortunate he was to have survived. But he may then ask himself why he was spared, when so many others perished. There is very little in the way of comfort that one can give to someone who has lost so much and in a manner so horrible.
The survivors are devastated. They will be uncertain about their futures. They will be searching for answers. They will be looking for hope. This may be as good a time as any to tell them about Jesus. A person’s only comfort in a time like this may be to know that they have been granted a second chance to hear about Jesus’s Love for them. It is too late for those who have perished. But it’s not to late for the survivors.
Doubtless, this has already occurred to the many false prophets, who will be descending on this shocked, demoralized, and bewildered people like a flock of ravenous vultures. Doubtless many are already on the ground, taking advantage of this opportunity to give these people a false hope. Missionaries are sorely needed. Unfortunately, many of us are not able to be a missionary to Japan. But there is something else that we can do. We can support those Christian missionaries who are already on the ground in Japan and those who are planning to go.
Thousands, possibly even millions of caring individuals from all over the world are likely sending money and material support to help with the Japanese relief effort. But, how many people are sending over the Gospel? Dear ones, this is an excellent opportunity for us to help minister to their souls and fulfill the Great Commission. It would be a great idea if we would find a Christian missionary in Japan and do whatever we can to support him. It doesn’t take much if enough of us pitch in. The false prophets have plenty of money and plenty of willing people to help them spread their poisonous doctrines. Why don’t we do what we can to send them the antidote?
Please, dear ones. The fields are white to harvest.
Today Japan is reeling from an 8.9 magnitude earthquake that hit the island country earlier this morning. As if that weren’t enough, the earthquake was followed by a huge tsunami that sent a wall of water smashing into its coast, creating a wave of water and mud that swept cars, boats, and buildings far inland. As of this writing, over 200 bodies have been found, but that count is sure to rise as the waters recede.
The tsunami also created a huge ocean whirlpool just off the coast of a small Japanese province. Videos of the whirlpool show a small boat whirling perilously near its vortex.
Official Japanese sources say that this is the seventh most powerful tsunami in the country’s history. But for the victims of such a catastrophic event, it may as well be the worst
The comments on Yahoo’s website reflect mixed attitudes as to the cause of the event. Many say that this is the finger of God. Others say it is the devil. Still others blame man’s abuse of the environment for the disaster, and say that “Mother Nature” is fighting back. Many are angered at any notion that God may be responsible, arguing that it is cruel to suggest that God would needlessly destroy the lives of innocent children. A small minority believes that governments of the world have harnessed the power of the elements and are waging a “weather war” against one another.
No one can say with 100% certainty why this happened. Yet, one cannot help but notice that the Bible speaks of just such events happening before the return of Jesus Christ. Listen to what Jesus says:
“Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places. These are the beginning of sorrows.
“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another and shall hate one another” (Matthew 24:6-7).
“Ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars.”
There are wars going on all over the world at this very moment, many not even publicized. There are numerous “proxy wars” being fought over ideological, political, or religious differences. The United States has been at war for nine years, yet many of us, who don’t have family members or friends that are involved in the war effort, forget that there is a war going on. And there seems to be no end in sight.
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”
Look at the unprecedented political uprisings happening in Africa and other places. It should be evident to any thinking person that something is very wrong.
“And there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places.”
Japan’s earthquake and tsunami are just the latest in a series that have been happening all over the world for decades. Scientists cannot explain why this is happening, though they scramble to come up with a plausible scientific explanation.
“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another and shall hate one another.”
Look at how people are turning on one another. Many crimes these days are committed not by “criminals,” but by everyday folks. There has been a huge increase in parents killing their own children and children murdering their parents. People are distrustful of their neighbors and incidents of “feuds” between neighbors are increasing. One need only visit the many Internet chat rooms, forums, and blogs and read the comments to understand the white-hot hatred that people have toward one another.
Americans are divided along every conceivable issue, and many see those who don’t share their point of view as the enemy. Everyone seems to think that the world would be a better place if it were only rid of the people they don’t like. Tiny do they realize that someone somewhere feels exactly the same way about them. The Bible says, “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked…” (Not the black heart, or the white heart, or the gay heart, or the Republican heart, or the vegetarian heart, but THE heart.)
Notice that Jesus says that these things “must come to pass.” It is divinely decreed that the world should pass through these difficult and troubling times. This is because the Holy Spirit is slowly withdrawing from the world, as 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 tells us. It is through His presence that we have any peace at all, and as He withdraws, peace shall wain more and more until it becomes a thing of the past, even as people’s obsession with it grows. That is because we have turned our backs on the “Prince of Peace” and as a consequence He shows us His back, though he will not turn it completely.
I have more to say on this subject and may do so tomorrow or at some point. In the meantime, I admonish everyone to earnestly consider the events in Japan and make your peace with the Lord Jesus TODAY. Remember, He said, “These are the beginning of sorrows.” There is more to come. Even so, come Lord Jesus.
Stay encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” –2 Timothy 2:15
Grace and peace to you.
I am having a tough time with time management lately. I am earning both an English degree and Bible degree, and, with the demands of school, plus all the other things that one must do to live, let alone thrive, it can be very tough. But, I only have a few credits left to complete both degrees, so I just have to hang in there.
The thing that bothers me the most is that with all the studying I have to do, it’s sometimes hard for me to remember chapter and verse numbers. I don’t have problems remembering the verses, because I am an audio learner, so I recite the verses in my head and they stick. But, sometimes remembering exactly where they are can be a challenge. (I’m sure advancing years has something to do with it.) It’s time to go back to flash cards for Bible verses. I used to do that all that time, but I’ve gotten away from it in the last year or so. It’s time to go back.
The Lord showed me something in the Bible concerning blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which Jesus called an unpardonable sin. God really cleared this matter up for me. Before last night, I was having great difficulty understanding what He meant by this. But, last night God pulled the scales from my eyes, and I was amazed by how clear Jesus’ teaching really was on this subject. I won’t share it with you today, because it is somewhat involved, and I’ve got a lot of school work to do tonight. But, I will hopefully post something within a week or two.
Sometimes it can be a challenge to stay in the Word the way I should. It is at those times that I have to remember my priorities. School is important, especially in this economy. A university degree can mean better job security, or it can determine which candidate gets the job when all other things are equal.
But a university degree will not help where it concerns spiritual matters; only the Word can do that. The Word is food for our soul, as it is the Living Bread sent to us by our Father and Lord. That means that I must center my priorities around Bible study and Christian growth. Jesus said that if we pursue the kingdom of heaven first, then all other things will be added onto us. This doesn’t stop being true after we get saved.
So, if you are an adult who has gone back to school to pursue or finish a degree, do not give up. It is worth it. The same applies if you are a young adult high school or college student struggling to stay afloat. Perhaps you are not in school, but are still struggling to stay in the Word. You may be a working mom or dad who has to come home and still take care of the family, or a single parent who has to hold down a job (or two) and still take care of the kids. Perhaps you work so many hours that you feel you are too tired to study the Word, or you feel you just don’t have the time.
I understand, because I have been in most of these situations myself, so I understand the challenges. But let us never forget that the things of this world are passing away; we must make provision for the things of the spirit, which are eternal. We both know that we will make the time for those things that we really want to do or those things that we absolutely have to do. The solution then, is to make Bible study something that we really want to do, or, better yet, something we feel we have to do.
We can always squeeze in fifteen minutes of Bible study somewhere. Maybe while we are on the train or bus on the way to work. Maybe we could finish lunch a few minutes early, so we can give five or ten minutes to the Word. Or maybe we could purchase an audio bible and listen to it while we are driving to work. And, if we cut back on (or cut out altogether) watching the family altar, or television, we would definitely have enough time to dedicate to the Word. The key is to want to do it, and to then ask God to show us how to do it.
The Lord speaks to us through His Word. To not read His Word is like living in the same house with your father, but never listening to him. Whenever you want something from him you ask for it, and he gives it to you, but when he wants to say something to you, you ignore him. That would be cruel.
Well, it’s the same with God and the Word. We go to God, our Father, in prayer with our requests, and most of them He grants. He even gives us things we don’t ask Him for. But do we ever listen to what He has to say to us? God has said and done many things over thousands of years. If it were not for His Word, He would have to repeat everything He has ever said and tell every new Christian about everything He has ever done. That’s a lot of talking. He could do it, but I understand why He probably would not want to.
Not everything that you and I have to say is important. So, if someone misses something we say today, if we feel it is important, we can fill them in tomorrow–or not. But everything God has to say is important, and we ought not to miss the things that He has already said; they are important to our understanding and to our well-being. And, because “there is nothing new under the sun,” His Word is also how He speaks to us about things in the present and most importantly, the future.
In the book, 1984, George Orwell wrote, “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” Do you believe that God controls the past, present, and future? It’s not difficult to digest this if you understand that He invented time. The wise man learns from the past, and we would do well to examine the past from a biblical perspective, because it would help us to understand the present.
We can learn a lot from the past, especially if it’s the Lord Jesus telling us about it. There are a lot of things going on in the world, much of it very unsettling, so we had better find out what God has to say about the future, as much of it concerns us.
A great many people died to pass God’s Word on to us. Will we let their deaths be in vain? Let’s read it, and hear what the Lord has to say.
Stay encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.
I don’t normally take part in the Creation vs. Evolution debate, simply because I feel that I need to focus more on reading and growing in the Word, to be better equipped to witness. That’s not to say that this debate is not important. On the contrary, it’s very important. But I think that we as Christians need to be careful that we don’t get so caught up in this debate that we lose sight of those people around us who truly need witnessing to.
The same can be said of the subject of apologetics in general. Many apologists use 1 Peter 3:15 as the basis for vigorously defending the gospel against every known attack of the enemy. But the apostle Peter doesn’t admonish us to give an answer to every question that is asked of us. He admonishes us to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you.”
Why, is this so important? Because, it is the basis of the Gospel. The hope that is in us is the Blessed Hope that the apostle Paul speaks of in Titus 2:13:
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
The Blessed Hope is the First Resurrection (the resurrection of the dead in Christ) or Rapture as it is commonly called, reference to which can be found in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17:
“For the Lord Himself shall descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
It can also be found in Romans 8:23 and 1 Corinthians 15:51, as well as in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The Resurrection is a perfect segue to the Gospel. That is why we definitely want to be ready to answer any question about this Blessed Hope. Without this Hope, we would be wasting our time witnessing, and our faith would be useless, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19:
“Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
“But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen.
“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching in vain, and your faith is in vain.
“And if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain; ye are yet in your sins.
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”
Man, do I love that part. “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are all of all men most miserable.” But since we have hope in this life as well as the next, then we are of all men most joyous!
So, we are admonished to answer any question regarding our hope in the Resurrection because it is tied directly to Christ’s resurrection, and while we are on the subject of His resurrection we can give them the gospel. That is not to say that we don’t answer questions on other matters of faith, but we must be careful that we don’t get into arguments that in the end distract us from the gospel message.
It is no secret that a frequent tactic that Satan uses is to get us arguing with someone who has already determined in their mind not to believe the gospel. They only want to distract us, waste our time, and hopefully frustrate and discourage us. For this reason Paul admonishes us to “avoid profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science falsely so-called” (1 Timothy 6:20). Can there be a more profane babbling than the so-called science of evolution?
Now, there is a place for creation ministries, as I was led to the Lord in part by theCreation Science Evangelismministry. But, these are people who are dedicated to this type of ministry, and are very good at what they do. That is not to say that the average Christian should not be ready to defend creation, but we should know with whom we are dealing and make sure that we have enough ammunition to fight with before we decide to tackle these arguments or we risk losing the very people we hope to save.
If you don’t have enough information, stick to the gospel. But if you feel that it is important enough for you to invest the time and energy to get smart on the arguments of evolutionists to better defend the gospel, by all means do it. Towards that end, let me share with you something that I found that literally blew me out of my socks.
Let’s go to the Book of Genesis. As we know, Genesis 1:3 says, “And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.” Did you ever ask yourself why God’s first act of creation was to create light? Did God need light? Psalm 139:12 says, “Yea…the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.”
So God can see in the dark (which helps since the wicked often do their evil deeds in the dark), so He didn’t need light. Adam and Eve certainly didn’t need light yet, because they weren’t created until Day 5, and besides, God had created the sun, the moon, and the stars on Day 4 “to give light upon the earth” (v. 17). Why, then, did God command there to be light so early in the creation when it wasn’t yet needed? Why, He did it for you and for me, to show us that we can believe in His word.
You see God is nothing if not orderly. Everything has its time and place. He could easily have created the sun, moon, and stars on Day 1 in anticipation of creating Adam and Eve. After all, He knew he was going to create them from the beginning. But, had He done that, we would have been left without a very great piece of evidence of His omniscience and His omnipotence. Let me explain.
Because God knows all things, including those things that are not yet, He knew that the false scientists identified in Romans Chapter 1 would invent evolution to deny the Creation, and that the theological evolutionists would use evolution to deny a literal six-day creation. Let us look at what God says about the false scientists of our day, because it is extremely revealing:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
Because that which may be known of God ismanifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world areclearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so thatthey are without excuse.”(Romans 1:18-20).
Wow! That is powerful stuff.
God is extremely upset at ungodly evolution-pitching scientists, because He has shown them the truth of Himself through science. But the scientists keep it from us. The purpose of science is supposed to be to bring us to the knowledge of God. Bet you never thought of it that way, did you? But it’s true. You see, science was not intended to answer all questions, because all questions cannot be answered by science. Probably the best evidence of this is light.
Did you know that scientists don’t have a clue what light is? They know what it does, how it acts, and how to manipulate it, but they have no clue what it is. But Christians know what light is because Scripture tells us “God is Light” (1 John 1:5). Jesus is the Light (John 9:5). The Holy Spirit is Light (Daniel 5:14). “And these three are one” (1 John 5:7). Light may be the best evidence of a Creator-God. And science cannot explain it.
When scientists reach a point where they cannot give a “scientific” explanation; that is, one that can be observed, tested, and demonstrated, they are supposed to say, “This is the finger of God.” Even Pharaoh’s pagan magicians had sense enough to do that (Exodus 8:19). But nooooo. The Godless scientists of our day would rather make up some foolishness like evolution rather than point to God. They would rather invent a false history than point to God.
Why do they do this? Because they don’t want to admit that there is a God, and that He created the world, and therefore, has the right to judge his creation. You see, God, like any good parent, has rules, and He expects them to be obeyed. If you take a hard look at anyone, and I mean anyone, who will not admit that there is a God, you will probably see that there is some sin in their life that they do not want to give up.
Be it chasing women, chasing men, homosexuality, drunkenness, witchcraft, you name it, if we like doing it, we don’t like the idea of someone telling us that we can’t. I have heard that one evolutionist scientist admitted that he knows evolution is untenable, but he would rather believe in evolution rather than admit that there is a God, because he doesn’t want anyone telling him who he can and cannot sleep with.
So the ungodly make up the fairy tale of evolution, so that they can continue to live in sin. It’s fine if they want to believe that they are descended from monkeys. That’s their prerogative. The problem is that they are teaching our children that they too are descended from monkeys. For me that is a problem, because it could destroy their faith in the Word of God. But God saw this coming and showed us in His Word.
That’s why He created light in lieu of the sun to “divide the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:4). He then created Day and Night (verse 5), providing the means by which we could mark the passing of time. He then said, “And the evening and the morning were the first day” (verse 5). With Day 1 established, He created the atmosphere (Day 2), the oceans and all plant life (Day 3), The sun, moon, stars, and all the planets (Day 4), all fish and birds (Day 5), and lastly, the animals and His crowning achievement, you and me (Day 6). And on Day 7 He rested. He had a busy week. And it all started with light.
God broke us off a little piece of Himself when he gave us light. He broke off an even bigger piece of Himself when he gave us The Light. Light itself is evidence of a Creator-God, and the light at the beginning of the Creation is the best evidence of a literal six-day creation. And as for the scientists who deny this, well, God says that they are “without excuse” (Romans 1:20). May their end be in accordance with their works.
If in reading this you are beginning to see that true science points directly to an Almighty God, and you realize that it behoves you to get right with Him right now, click here.
Brothers and sisters, you might want to add this to your evolution-fighting arsenal.
Be encouraged, my little children, and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.
Grace and peace unto the Body of Christ, and greetings to those still in the world.
With evil growing exponentially, and the world growing increasingly hostile toward the Christian Church, Christians need to rely more than ever on the eternal Word of God for encouragement. What encourages us is that we believe the Word of God is true forever, so when our Lord Jesus says, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,” we can rest assured he was speaking the truth.
We believe this, because we believe that God is Omniscient: He knows everything, including the future. In times of trouble, we need to know that we can rely on Him to do what he says He will do. It is vitally important for Christians to become intimately familiar with the promises of God that we can hold them to our hearts in times of trouble. But we should also seize on passages where God declares His omniscience, for they will help us to understand that what He has written concerning the future of the Christian Church is reliable, and this is a comfort.
Isaiah 42:9 says that God declares “the former things…before they spring forth” and Isaiah 46:10 says that God declares “the end from the beginning.” These are the most oft-quoted verses proving God’s omniscience. But there is an oft-overlooked passage in the New Testament that demonstrates God’s omniscience even more poignantly than these.
In John 12:20-30, the Bible describes how the Greeks approached the Apostle Philip, desiring to see Jesus. Upon hearing this, Jesus was troubled, seeing it as a sign of His coming death on the cross and the fact that He would suffer and die not only for the sins of the Jewish people, but also for the Gentiles. Verses 26 and 27 are what we want to examine. Jesus speaks:
\
“Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
“Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven saying,
“I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” (John 12:27,28)
The power in this passage is in its simplicity. Let us look at it again.
“Ihave bothglorifiedit, andwill glorify itagain.”
The English student will be quick to notice that I [God] is the subject, and glorify is the verb. “Have glorified” means that the action was completed in the past, while “will glorify” means that the action occurs in the future. This is where it gets interesting, because the inclusion of the word both means that both the past and future actions have already been completed! God is essentially saying, “I have already done it, and I have already will do it.”
Now we have two choices in this matter. We can decide that a grammatical error was made in translation, and that what the author meant to say was “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again” (in fact, this is exactly how the passage is rendered in the New International Version), or—or, we can see it for what it is: that is, proof that God is Omniscient, and can, therefore, declare that which has not yet happened as though it already has.
We who believe know that the King James Version of the Bible was as inspired as the original manuscripts from which that Bible was translated. So, the first option is really not an option at all. We must, therefore, come to the obvious conclusion that the translation is correct, and that the Apostle John really did mean to write what he wrote. God is Omniscient. He really does declare the end from the beginning.
Brothers and sisters, if this doesn’t give you hope; if this doesn’t give you confidence; if this doesn’t make you excited, then you need to take your pulse and see if you are still alive. If you don’t believe God’s Word, then all this will be meaningless. But if you do believe, then this should give you goose bumps, as it gave me.
In these very difficult times, we will need to rely more and more on Jesus Christ for hope, strength, and assurance. Scriptures like this show us that we can believe in Him. For He is who He says He is. He will not only do it; He has already done it.
If you would like to get to know the Lord Jesus now, click here.
Stay encouraged and look up, for your redemption draweth nigh.
Grace and peace brothers and sisters, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
This blog will discuss things related to the Bible, Christianity, and the End Times. It’s purpose is to edify, educate, and empower the Body of Christ as well as to encourage the lost to seek a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. Stay tuned!
