So much has happened recently in Bible prophecy. I'm blown away by all the political upheaval, the pc police, etc. I visit Drudgereport Daily for my dose of both domestic and international news. Go there and you will see the hand of God.
My Lord my Lord, please forgive us for our transgressions!!!
Coming Soon to a Planet Near You
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Revelation Bible Study
I am teaching a Bible Study on the Book of Revelation. I think I'm going to post my notes on here for my two followers to see... :-)
Much information is quoted from KJV of the Holy Bible and from Tim LaHaye's book, Revelation Unveiled.
“Almost one hundred years ago the author of the Scofield Reference Bible said in his notes on Revelation, “Doubtless, much which is designedly obscure to us will be clear to those for whom it was written as the time approaches.””
Reasons to study Revelation:
A special blessing to those who read it 1:3 (only book in Scripture that says this) and repeats blessing at the end for those who keep it. 22:7
Reveals the plan for our future
Gives clearer detail concerning Bible prophecy than any other book.
It completes the circle of Bible truths, the Scriptures predictably reveal superb planning and organization
Suggestions for Studying the Book:
1. Follow golden rule of interpretation: when the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the fact of the immediate text, clearly indicate otherwise.
2. Locate the scene of the activity (i.e. Heaven or earth). The action should also be followed closely for sometimes a scene in heaven results in action on earth. Example, chapters 4 and 5 take place in heaven while chapter 6 on earth.
3. With exception to chapters 12 and 17 most of Revelation unfolds chronologically. This is important as the Tribulation plays out. We’ll see that Seal Judgments of chapter 6 takes up 1st quarter of Tribulation while Trumpet Judgments of chapters 8 & 9 complete 2nd quarter of Tribulation. The Bowl Judgments of chapter 16 take up the last half of the Tribulation, known as the Great Tribulation.
4 Major Types of Interpretations:
Futurist Interpretation: This was interpretation of early church through the 4th Century where events of Ch 4 and on were yet to be fulfilled. This is the view held by most premillennial Bible teachers.
Historical Interpretation: This view suggests that John was describing major events that would take place during the history of the Church. It suggests that we would see these events as we look back in history. This tends to distort the plain and literal meaning.
Spiritualizing Interpretation: The figurative and metaphorical way to view things: John was talking more about a spiritual struggle than a physical one. This view is held by amillennialists and postmillennialists.
Preterist Interpretation: This view holds that John wrote the book prior to the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 and was referring to events of his own day.
John outlived all the other apostles in fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy John 21:20-24. John was banished to Patmos as an enemy of the State during the reign of Domitian (AD 91-96). The traditionally accepted date is AD 95, near the very end of John’s life.
Rev 1:7- This is a reference to His coming at the end of the Tribulation Period to set up the Millennial Kingdom. Christ said this in Matthew 24:30-31
Rev 1:8 Trinity: “…who is, and who was, and who is to come.” A reference to the Trinity or triune of God. Whenever the word God appears in Scripture, the context should be examined closely to figure out whether it is referring to God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit. It does not always refer to the Father but rather the triune God. The expression, “…who is, and who was, and who is to come” is an expression that connotes the eternity of God. The triune nature of God is revealed in Rev 1:8.
Rev 1:10- The Lord’s Day is not a reference to the Sabbath. The Lord’s Day is the first day of the week which is why we worship on Sunday. The idea is that Christ rose bodily on the first day of the week and that is why we go to the Lord’s House on that day as a testimony to our beliefs. The church was freed from the Old Testament day of worship. In fact, 9 commandments are repeated in the New Testament EXCEPT for the command to worship on Sabbath.
7 Basic Divisions of Church History:
Ephesus-Apostolic Church (AD 30-100)
Smyrna- Persecuted Church (AD 100-313)
Pergamos- State Church (AD 313-590)
Thyatira- Papal Church (AD 590-1517)
Sardis- Reformed Church (AD 1517-1790)
Philadelphia- Missionary Church (AD 1790-1900)
Laodicea-Apostate Church (AD 1900-)
Characteristics of Christ:
“…someone “like a son of man” – human in appearance and not a supernatural creature. ref Dan 7:13
“…dressed in a robe reaching down…” - typical of long robes of the high priests
“…with a golden sash…”-a symbol of strength and authority common in ancient world.
“…His head and hairs were white…”-ref Dan 7:9-13, where Christ is called Ancient of Days. Whiteness refers to righteousness of God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.
“…eyes were like blazing fire…” indicates Christ was indignant over something.
“…his feet were like bronze…” bronze speaks of judgment. Reminds us of brazen altar of tabernacle, where sin was judged
“…voice like sound …” attitude of the Son of God as He comes on the Day of the Lord in judgment
“…in His right…”- interpreted in vs 20
“…out of His mouth…” –ref Eph 6. God’s Word.
“…His face was like…”- ref Matt 17
***FIRST 3 CHURCHES ENDED WITH THE START OF THE NEXT CHURCH. LAST 4 ARE HERE TODAY.***
Pergamum: Indulged Church: City was given over to worship of many Greek idols
Local Roman rulers demanded cooperation of all religious groups
Constantine: Emperor of Rome- claimed to be Christian, edict of tolerance of Christianity
Many pagan temples were taken over by Christians and practices were adopted
The word Pergamum means marriage or elevation. Until these things started to happen around AD 312
all churches were locally operated and worked together with others for common causes but dominated by a central authority.
AD 300: Prayers 4 dead
AD 375: Make sign of the cross
AD 394: Mass was first introduced
AD 431: worship of Mary begins
AD 500: Priests dressed differently than lay people
AD 526: Extreme Unction
AD 593: Doctrine of Purgatory introduced
AD 600: Worship conducted in Latin
AD 600: prayers directed at Mary
The church was doctrinally sound (Christ for salvation) but sinned by adopting ceremonies of paganism which ultimately corrupted the church.
Condemnation: Doctrine of Balaam: Numbers 22-31> whenever Balaam cursed Israel the exact opposite occurred and a blessing was the result. So, Balaam talked Balak (King of Moabites) into having his people intermarry with Israel and defile themselves.
The problem with Pergamum is that although they had the doctrine right they didn’t separate themselves from paganism.
Nicolaitans: doctrine of strong ecclesiastical hierarchy ruling over the laity. This isn’t conducive to a strong spiritual condition of the Church. Laypeople were not given a voice in Church affairs, but were required to obey blindly. The clergy eventually drifted away into an “ivory tower” type existence and separated themselves more from the membership. Faithful ministers should “search the Scriptures” but they must also “do the work of an evangelist.”
Thyatira: city founded by Alexander the Great 300 yrs before Christ. Lydia was Paul’s first convert in Philippi (Acts 16:14). This church age produced the Dark Ages. “Dark” indicated that the program of merging Paganism with Christianity, begun under Pergamum, continued and increased the demonic influence.
CHANGES ADOPTED BY THE CHURCH:
AD 607: Boniface III made first POPE
AD 709: Kissing Pope’s foot
AD 786: worshipping images and relics
AD 850: use of “Holy Water” started
AD 995: Canonization of dead saints
AD 998: fasting on Fridays and during Lent
AD 1079: Celibacy of Priesthood
AD 1090: Prayer beads
AD 1229: Bible forbidden for laypeople
AD 1870: infallibility of Pope declared
AD 1965: Mary proclaimed Mother of the Church
“Thyatira” comes from two words meaning “sacrifice” and “continual”. The church denies the finished work of Christ and believes in a continuing sacrifice that produces sacraments, and praying for dead, burning candles, and so on.
Heresy falls into two categories: a false concept of the personal deity of Christ or mixing works with faith. Church of Rome declares deity of Christ but mixes in salvation through works.
CONDEMNATION: SON OF GOD, NOT SON OF MARY!!!
Jezebel: name of the woman who brought Baalism into Israel and perverted the nation. It’s a point of comparison for those bringing paganism into the church.
Her teaching took two forms: “…misleads my servant into sexual immorality” is a symbol of idolatry and the second “..eating of food sacrificed to idols” is a reference to the union of the church with the world. During this period Rome sought to bring the Kingdom of the world under dominion of the POPE in Rome. (Jezebel ref I Kings 19)
Church of Sardis: the Reformation (AD 1517-1790): Means “escaping ones” or those who “come out.”
The twofold condemnation of the church: 1: Became a State Church, the Lutheran Church became the state church of Germany, as did others throughout Europe. With the church as the head of the state the need for a personal relationship with Jesus is diminished and REPLACED. 2: Reformed churches didn’t change customs of Church of Rome (still had infant baptism, sprinkling, and ritualism). Ritual and formality are forms of pagan worship where the Scriptures teach us to worship God is SPIRIT AND TRUTH. Ritual from paganism does not come from the Holy Spirit. Main purpose of the church is the proclamation of gospel of Christ. If people leave a church with ritual “worship” and haven’t been brought face to face with Jesus then they’ve been worshipping in a DEAD CHURCH.
Christ’s commendation: “I know they works that thou has a name that thou livest” refers to the early period when Martin Luther and others chose to defy Rome and obey the Bible’s teaching on salvation by faith and that their reputation was a church faithful to Christ.
CONDEMNATION: “But you are dead.” Reformation leaders began well, they didn’t proceed to complete the works of reforming the church, but stopped short.
Christ’s counsel: 1. Wake up
2. Strengthen what remains: strengthen the good doctrinal teachings of the early days
3. Remember, therefore what you have…: return to days of blessing by searching the Bible
4. Obey it: adhere to the doctrines taught in Scripture
5. “… and repent”: repenting involves not only an act of turning to God but a submissive heart
Christ’s warning: they will be unaware when the Lord comes back. Currently they are leaders in the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical program. They want to unite the world’s religions. If they read and obeyed Scripture they would know that they are aiding the Antichrist’s program for that will be his church during first half of Tribulation.
Church of Philadelphia: Missionary church (AD 1790-1900): a throwback to churches of Ephesus and Smyrna:
Name means “brotherly love.” Came out of church of Sardis just like Sardis came out of Thyatira. This produced the modern missionary movement. Biggest factor led to this movement had to be printing of Bible to different languages. William Carey read our Lord’s command to “go into all the world and preach the gospel” so he did!!! The second biggest factor for this movement was the doctrine of the Second Coming. Those who look for Christ’s coming are more inclined to preach the gospel and stick to the Scriptures due to imminency.
Commendation: 1. I know your deeds… an open door no one can shut…: Oppty to preach the gospel
2. “you have little strength”: refers to minority status of believers in this church. Except for America, this church is characterized by small congregations, which are not strong by human standards.
3. “you have kept my word..”: They not only believed the Word but obeyed it. The reformed church believes but does not obey by comparison.
4. “and have not denied my name..”: greatest increase in false Christ’s and false religions began during this age.
Promise: 1.Vindication: those false religionists and heretics will realize that in persecuting the saints they turned their back on Christ. 2. Preservation: Obvious reference to the Tribulation period and a strong argument to pre-trib rapture.
Church of Laodicea: (AD 1900-Tribulation): wealthy inland city 40 miles from Ephesus.
Has distinction of not having a commendation.
“Lukewarm”: not on fire or lifeless, instead it is indifferent. These churches are characterized by social action than gospel action. This church doesn’t see transformation of soul from darkness to light.
I am grateful to men like Tim LaHaye and his ministry. I have learned a great deal from him and the Lord has blessed me with an understanding of Bible Prophecy. Maranatha!!!
Much information is quoted from KJV of the Holy Bible and from Tim LaHaye's book, Revelation Unveiled.
“Almost one hundred years ago the author of the Scofield Reference Bible said in his notes on Revelation, “Doubtless, much which is designedly obscure to us will be clear to those for whom it was written as the time approaches.””
Reasons to study Revelation:
A special blessing to those who read it 1:3 (only book in Scripture that says this) and repeats blessing at the end for those who keep it. 22:7
Reveals the plan for our future
Gives clearer detail concerning Bible prophecy than any other book.
It completes the circle of Bible truths, the Scriptures predictably reveal superb planning and organization
Suggestions for Studying the Book:
1. Follow golden rule of interpretation: when the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the fact of the immediate text, clearly indicate otherwise.
2. Locate the scene of the activity (i.e. Heaven or earth). The action should also be followed closely for sometimes a scene in heaven results in action on earth. Example, chapters 4 and 5 take place in heaven while chapter 6 on earth.
3. With exception to chapters 12 and 17 most of Revelation unfolds chronologically. This is important as the Tribulation plays out. We’ll see that Seal Judgments of chapter 6 takes up 1st quarter of Tribulation while Trumpet Judgments of chapters 8 & 9 complete 2nd quarter of Tribulation. The Bowl Judgments of chapter 16 take up the last half of the Tribulation, known as the Great Tribulation.
4 Major Types of Interpretations:
Futurist Interpretation: This was interpretation of early church through the 4th Century where events of Ch 4 and on were yet to be fulfilled. This is the view held by most premillennial Bible teachers.
Historical Interpretation: This view suggests that John was describing major events that would take place during the history of the Church. It suggests that we would see these events as we look back in history. This tends to distort the plain and literal meaning.
Spiritualizing Interpretation: The figurative and metaphorical way to view things: John was talking more about a spiritual struggle than a physical one. This view is held by amillennialists and postmillennialists.
Preterist Interpretation: This view holds that John wrote the book prior to the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 and was referring to events of his own day.
John outlived all the other apostles in fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy John 21:20-24. John was banished to Patmos as an enemy of the State during the reign of Domitian (AD 91-96). The traditionally accepted date is AD 95, near the very end of John’s life.
Rev 1:7- This is a reference to His coming at the end of the Tribulation Period to set up the Millennial Kingdom. Christ said this in Matthew 24:30-31
Rev 1:8 Trinity: “…who is, and who was, and who is to come.” A reference to the Trinity or triune of God. Whenever the word God appears in Scripture, the context should be examined closely to figure out whether it is referring to God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit. It does not always refer to the Father but rather the triune God. The expression, “…who is, and who was, and who is to come” is an expression that connotes the eternity of God. The triune nature of God is revealed in Rev 1:8.
Rev 1:10- The Lord’s Day is not a reference to the Sabbath. The Lord’s Day is the first day of the week which is why we worship on Sunday. The idea is that Christ rose bodily on the first day of the week and that is why we go to the Lord’s House on that day as a testimony to our beliefs. The church was freed from the Old Testament day of worship. In fact, 9 commandments are repeated in the New Testament EXCEPT for the command to worship on Sabbath.
7 Basic Divisions of Church History:
Ephesus-Apostolic Church (AD 30-100)
Smyrna- Persecuted Church (AD 100-313)
Pergamos- State Church (AD 313-590)
Thyatira- Papal Church (AD 590-1517)
Sardis- Reformed Church (AD 1517-1790)
Philadelphia- Missionary Church (AD 1790-1900)
Laodicea-Apostate Church (AD 1900-)
Characteristics of Christ:
“…someone “like a son of man” – human in appearance and not a supernatural creature. ref Dan 7:13
“…dressed in a robe reaching down…” - typical of long robes of the high priests
“…with a golden sash…”-a symbol of strength and authority common in ancient world.
“…His head and hairs were white…”-ref Dan 7:9-13, where Christ is called Ancient of Days. Whiteness refers to righteousness of God, who is from everlasting to everlasting.
“…eyes were like blazing fire…” indicates Christ was indignant over something.
“…his feet were like bronze…” bronze speaks of judgment. Reminds us of brazen altar of tabernacle, where sin was judged
“…voice like sound …” attitude of the Son of God as He comes on the Day of the Lord in judgment
“…in His right…”- interpreted in vs 20
“…out of His mouth…” –ref Eph 6. God’s Word.
“…His face was like…”- ref Matt 17
***FIRST 3 CHURCHES ENDED WITH THE START OF THE NEXT CHURCH. LAST 4 ARE HERE TODAY.***
Pergamum: Indulged Church: City was given over to worship of many Greek idols
Local Roman rulers demanded cooperation of all religious groups
Constantine: Emperor of Rome- claimed to be Christian, edict of tolerance of Christianity
Many pagan temples were taken over by Christians and practices were adopted
The word Pergamum means marriage or elevation. Until these things started to happen around AD 312
all churches were locally operated and worked together with others for common causes but dominated by a central authority.
AD 300: Prayers 4 dead
AD 375: Make sign of the cross
AD 394: Mass was first introduced
AD 431: worship of Mary begins
AD 500: Priests dressed differently than lay people
AD 526: Extreme Unction
AD 593: Doctrine of Purgatory introduced
AD 600: Worship conducted in Latin
AD 600: prayers directed at Mary
The church was doctrinally sound (Christ for salvation) but sinned by adopting ceremonies of paganism which ultimately corrupted the church.
Condemnation: Doctrine of Balaam: Numbers 22-31> whenever Balaam cursed Israel the exact opposite occurred and a blessing was the result. So, Balaam talked Balak (King of Moabites) into having his people intermarry with Israel and defile themselves.
The problem with Pergamum is that although they had the doctrine right they didn’t separate themselves from paganism.
Nicolaitans: doctrine of strong ecclesiastical hierarchy ruling over the laity. This isn’t conducive to a strong spiritual condition of the Church. Laypeople were not given a voice in Church affairs, but were required to obey blindly. The clergy eventually drifted away into an “ivory tower” type existence and separated themselves more from the membership. Faithful ministers should “search the Scriptures” but they must also “do the work of an evangelist.”
Thyatira: city founded by Alexander the Great 300 yrs before Christ. Lydia was Paul’s first convert in Philippi (Acts 16:14). This church age produced the Dark Ages. “Dark” indicated that the program of merging Paganism with Christianity, begun under Pergamum, continued and increased the demonic influence.
CHANGES ADOPTED BY THE CHURCH:
AD 607: Boniface III made first POPE
AD 709: Kissing Pope’s foot
AD 786: worshipping images and relics
AD 850: use of “Holy Water” started
AD 995: Canonization of dead saints
AD 998: fasting on Fridays and during Lent
AD 1079: Celibacy of Priesthood
AD 1090: Prayer beads
AD 1229: Bible forbidden for laypeople
AD 1870: infallibility of Pope declared
AD 1965: Mary proclaimed Mother of the Church
“Thyatira” comes from two words meaning “sacrifice” and “continual”. The church denies the finished work of Christ and believes in a continuing sacrifice that produces sacraments, and praying for dead, burning candles, and so on.
Heresy falls into two categories: a false concept of the personal deity of Christ or mixing works with faith. Church of Rome declares deity of Christ but mixes in salvation through works.
CONDEMNATION: SON OF GOD, NOT SON OF MARY!!!
Jezebel: name of the woman who brought Baalism into Israel and perverted the nation. It’s a point of comparison for those bringing paganism into the church.
Her teaching took two forms: “…misleads my servant into sexual immorality” is a symbol of idolatry and the second “..eating of food sacrificed to idols” is a reference to the union of the church with the world. During this period Rome sought to bring the Kingdom of the world under dominion of the POPE in Rome. (Jezebel ref I Kings 19)
Church of Sardis: the Reformation (AD 1517-1790): Means “escaping ones” or those who “come out.”
The twofold condemnation of the church: 1: Became a State Church, the Lutheran Church became the state church of Germany, as did others throughout Europe. With the church as the head of the state the need for a personal relationship with Jesus is diminished and REPLACED. 2: Reformed churches didn’t change customs of Church of Rome (still had infant baptism, sprinkling, and ritualism). Ritual and formality are forms of pagan worship where the Scriptures teach us to worship God is SPIRIT AND TRUTH. Ritual from paganism does not come from the Holy Spirit. Main purpose of the church is the proclamation of gospel of Christ. If people leave a church with ritual “worship” and haven’t been brought face to face with Jesus then they’ve been worshipping in a DEAD CHURCH.
Christ’s commendation: “I know they works that thou has a name that thou livest” refers to the early period when Martin Luther and others chose to defy Rome and obey the Bible’s teaching on salvation by faith and that their reputation was a church faithful to Christ.
CONDEMNATION: “But you are dead.” Reformation leaders began well, they didn’t proceed to complete the works of reforming the church, but stopped short.
Christ’s counsel: 1. Wake up
2. Strengthen what remains: strengthen the good doctrinal teachings of the early days
3. Remember, therefore what you have…: return to days of blessing by searching the Bible
4. Obey it: adhere to the doctrines taught in Scripture
5. “… and repent”: repenting involves not only an act of turning to God but a submissive heart
Christ’s warning: they will be unaware when the Lord comes back. Currently they are leaders in the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical program. They want to unite the world’s religions. If they read and obeyed Scripture they would know that they are aiding the Antichrist’s program for that will be his church during first half of Tribulation.
Church of Philadelphia: Missionary church (AD 1790-1900): a throwback to churches of Ephesus and Smyrna:
Name means “brotherly love.” Came out of church of Sardis just like Sardis came out of Thyatira. This produced the modern missionary movement. Biggest factor led to this movement had to be printing of Bible to different languages. William Carey read our Lord’s command to “go into all the world and preach the gospel” so he did!!! The second biggest factor for this movement was the doctrine of the Second Coming. Those who look for Christ’s coming are more inclined to preach the gospel and stick to the Scriptures due to imminency.
Commendation: 1. I know your deeds… an open door no one can shut…: Oppty to preach the gospel
2. “you have little strength”: refers to minority status of believers in this church. Except for America, this church is characterized by small congregations, which are not strong by human standards.
3. “you have kept my word..”: They not only believed the Word but obeyed it. The reformed church believes but does not obey by comparison.
4. “and have not denied my name..”: greatest increase in false Christ’s and false religions began during this age.
Promise: 1.Vindication: those false religionists and heretics will realize that in persecuting the saints they turned their back on Christ. 2. Preservation: Obvious reference to the Tribulation period and a strong argument to pre-trib rapture.
Church of Laodicea: (AD 1900-Tribulation): wealthy inland city 40 miles from Ephesus.
Has distinction of not having a commendation.
“Lukewarm”: not on fire or lifeless, instead it is indifferent. These churches are characterized by social action than gospel action. This church doesn’t see transformation of soul from darkness to light.
I am grateful to men like Tim LaHaye and his ministry. I have learned a great deal from him and the Lord has blessed me with an understanding of Bible Prophecy. Maranatha!!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
What Is Going On?
I don't normally get too stirred up over the things going on in this 'ole world (i.e. earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, floods, volcanoes, etc.,) but this has me a little on edge. It's just weird. The strangest thing is that it's not just limited to birds. People are finding massive amounts of dead fish, starfish, crabs, jellyfish, bees, and even bats. What gives???? In fact, use the attached link and you can see a map of the world where all this is going on: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=201817256339889828327.0004991bca25af104a22b
I know that we are in an age where more and more strange things will happen but to be honest with ya I'm dumbfounded with all of this. Perhaps this is all part of things which are about to take place. The Bible talks of the oceans and rivers turning to blood and nothing will survive. I don't believe this has anything to do with that but I do think we're a lot closer to that event than a lot of people think. Stay tuned Christians. If you don't know Christ as your Savior then I beg you to seek Him out and ask Him to forgive you for your sins and accept Him as your personal Savior. Time is running out!!!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
We Can't Get Away Now
A PICTURE OF EARTH'S SATELLITES!Ever heard of "Beast Technology?" I hear that all the time and recognize that everything needed for the Beast to take over is already here and ready to go. In fact, I hear it so much that I kind of ignore it. But every once in a while I'm snapped back into reality and something catches my attention that hadn't before and it becomes something worth revisiting. It's not that it becomes less important, especially in the grand scheme of things, it's just that it becomes very common place. Well, this is something worth talking about and revisiting.
I was listening to 700WLW today and the DJ was talking about tracking technology, smart phones, the newest apps., etc. He even interviewed the technology guy at "The Big One" and the point was made that we (society) make trade offs. We trade off our privacy for convenience. We all want GPS on our phones and other apps for our smart devices. We like having Google Earth, Games, and other stuff at the push of a button on our phones. But what we may not consider is that with every application we trade off a piece of our privacy. Have you considered how you can be tracked and accounted for?
Look at it this way. What can you do with just cash? You can't rent a car or a hotel room with just cash (unless you have a lot of it). You can't get cash without an ATM Debit Card or credit card. You can't pay most of your bills with cash or even check. As a society we have gone to electronic payments and credit card payments. Do you realize that your every move can be tracked. Think about the gas station you frequent or the ATM you use the most. How about the favorite restuarant you visit or bakery? Almost every move we make can now be tracked. Now I'm not wanting to sound like a conspiracy theorist or an extremely cynical person who thinks the government is out to get 'em. At least I don't think that's the case right now. But I do believe that the "conveniences" that we have thanks to credit cards, etc., have brought us to a point of no return. We will not go backwards as it relates to technology. Those who produce BlackBerry's, the Iphone, the Droid phones, the Ipad, the internet, they aren't going out of business.
I just believe that all of this stuff is bringing us closer to the day when the Antichrist will use these technologies to execute his plan and enslave mankind. The Bible tells us that a day is coming where we will be unable to buy or sell without a mark. What this mark will be is probably going to be an implantable device that is powered by the heat of our bodies. The use of satellites and infra-red technology will facilitate all of this.
The picture above is the earth with all of the satellites in orbit. To me, it looks like a bunch of junk. But the reality is that those are actual satellites that are used for surveillance, economic, and military reasons to name a few. They power our Garmins. Space travel is becoming more dangerous with every new satellite. It's like maneuvering through a mine field.
Beast Technology is here. It's becoming more and more prevalent. People are relying more and more on technology with each passing day. The elderly are even learning this stuff. My 2nd grader even has a blog. Well, I know where it's all leading. Soon, Jesus Christ will be coming for His church and then the antichrist will be free to do his thing and the world will suffer for it. If you don't know Jesus as your personal Savior then today is the day to change all that. Admit that you're a sinner and ask Him to forgive you and save you from your sins.
kev
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Say it Ain't So
Don't Ask Don't Tell is no more with the stroke of a pen!!!A picture says a thousand words, huh? Look at the excitement as our president uses his left hand to possibly seal the fate of the United States of America. Actions have consequences and what do you think the consequences are for a country who once again defies the Allmighty? Obama has thumbed his nose at God before but this feels different. Obama may as well have just thrust his middle finger up in the sky towards Heaven.
There are so many problems with this that I don't even know where to begin. The Bible is very clear on the practice of homosexuality. No better example of how God feels about this than Sodom and Gemorrah. I know the story takes place thousands and thousands of years ago but if we are to believe that God is eternal and never changing then are we to assume that He has changed His feelings on this all of a sudden? If so, then He owes the residents of those two cities a great big apology.
I just keep going back to the words God uses to describe this practice. He calls it an "abomination". Abomination is defined as, "intense aversion or loathing; detestation: a vile, shameful, or detestable action, condition, habit, etc." Now I know that it is our sin that will send us to hell without Jesus Christ and that homosexuality is no greater than any other sin. But the problem I have is that the Bible calls this particular sin out several times. God destroyed two cities over this sin. Shouldn't we consider these examples and stay as far away from this as possible?
Now that the door is open for homosexuals to openly serve I believe that recruitment will suffer and that will affect our national security. Christians and Muslims alike will be less inclined to enlist alongside men and women who are openly homosexual. Muslims and Christians are both taught that homosexuality is sinful and disgusting. Conservative Christians and Muslims will not want to expose themselves to that lifestyle. This will result in more friction and tension within the ranks than is necessary. A soldier has enough stress as it is. To add to that unnecessarily is wrong.
Well, chalk another bad idea up to Obama I guess. Sodom and Gemorrah were the only two cities to bless homosexuality and look what happened to them. The Greeks and Romans were very into homosexuality but it was never blessed by the State. The United States is on the precipice of blessing this vile act. We have removed the barriers to serving in the military, have allowed adoption, and have started the process of blessing weddings/unions. There are several states who now recognize gay marriage and who force benefits to be provided to partners by employers. We have begun the slide down the slippery slope. There is no turning back.
How long can we expect a just God to continue to bless us when we continue to violate His laws and commandments? How long can we expect Him to protect us from threats to our security and from things like the weather? Anyone see what's going on in California and Arizona? How about the terrible weather in 2010? Maybe we should heed the warning...
kev
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tired of Being Targeted
Iraqi army soldiers stand near a massive crater outside the office of the Al-Arabiya television station in Baghdad after a suicide bomber driving a minibus struck. Iraqi authorities say al Qaeda is now planning suicide attacks in the West this Christmas season. (AP PHOTO)
I've really done my best to try and not let this kind of stuff get on my nerves but it's really taking a toll. We are 1 week away from Christmas, the Holiest Holiday in Christianity and al-Qaeda is planning more attacks. Whatever happened to Islam being a religion of "peace". I suppose it is a religion of peace if you're Muslim and happen to adhere completely to what the radicals believe. That doesn't sound like faith to me. That sounds like slavery.
There have been so many different things going on lately. The one thing that really comes to mind is the IMF report on the global currency, BANCOR. This was a report by the IMF that is calling for the world to adopt a global currency and it is named in honor of John Keynes. This is one of those, "are you serious", moments. It is so blatant and obvious and has so much prophetic meaning that volumes of things can be said about this. Truly it's as though someone opened up the Book of Daniel and said, "ahh, this is a great idea, let's do this." I still may post something on this but it's just one of those overwhelming topics that it would require a great deal of time and thought. Let's get back to the terrorism thing, ok?
The enemies of God are selecting the time of the celebration of Christ's birth as a time to go on the offensive. To target and kill innocent Christians as they celebrate their Savior is one of the most evil things you can imagine. These radical Muslims have become the fists of Satan. They are under his control and if given the opportunity will kill many innocent people without regard to their race or station in life. They will have no mercy as they slaughter the elderly and children. All this from a religion of peace!?!?
Another thing that is startling about this is how the media has always played this off as a radical and fundamentalist group within Islam that makes up only a small percentage of practicing Muslims. While I agree with the statement that it's a small percentage, 5-10% at most, the scary thing is the actual number that we're dealing with. By some estimation there are 1.2 to 1.6 billion people who are practicing Muslims. Do the math! That is 1/5 of mankind. Another way to look at it is that 5% of 1.2 billion is 60 million radical Muslims! Yes, 60 million. That is the population of California, Ohio, and Pennsylvania COMBINED. See what we're up against?
This has become something that is absolutely uncontrollable. The world is being taken hostage by a radical element within a religion that is growing and festering with each passing day. It won't be long until there is another terrorist attack against the US. It's not a matter of "if" but only a matter of "when." The goal is to create as much damage and death as possible.
When are people going to wake up to this undeniable fact? Are we just going to lay down like sheep before the slaughter? How are we going to respond to this growing threat? I know how I will answer that question. My answer is "..and for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." There is nothing left to be said. My wife, my children, and I will continue to worship our God and we will continue to celebrate the birth of Jesus. We know that He won the battle at Calvary and we're proud to be His followers, His children. The terrorists can have this world because the Bible says that I'm a stranger in a strange land. My home and my future is in Heaven. My destiny is to spend eternity with God the Father and His ONLY begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Their future is something totally different....
kev
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Rapture Timing
I had a very good conversation the other day with a close friend of mine. Our topic was the timing of the rapture (pre-trib, post-trib, or mid-trib) and why. I am definitely a pre-tribulation rapturist. There are several reasons for this belief. I'm sure there are volumes that can be written on this subject by those much smarter than I am but I think it's worth it for me to toss my little "nugget" out there for those who may someday care enough to read this. At least you know where I stand!!!
I suppose I should briefly describe what each possibility is just so you know what I'm talking about. The pre-trib theory contends that Jesus Christ will come back for His church some time PRIOR to the Tribulation. Of course we don't know when that will be other than it's before the Tribulation. The mid-trib theory states that the rapture of the church will happen in the middle of the tribulation which is 3 1/2 years into the tribulation and since the tribulation is 2520 (7 years X 360 days) days the half way point is 1260 days. Oh, the 360 days in a year is for a Jewish year and since the point of the Tribulation is to reach the JEWS then it only makes sense to use their calendar. Well, as you can now imagine the post-trib viewpoint states that the rapture will happen at the end of the 7 year tribulation.
As I said before I am a pre-tribber for a couple of reasons. Let me first state that my fundamental belief is that the Bible makes absolute sense! It flows perfectly because it came from the mind of a perfect Creator. From the creation to the fall of man to the provision. All of it points to Jesus Christ. The parables, the literal interpretations, it all makes sense. You must start from that viewpoint to get what I'm talking about. Jesus sacrificed Himself for our sin. Those of us who have accepted that sacrifice are the true church or the bride of Christ. Jesus said Himself, "if I go to prepare a place for you then I will come again and receive you unto myself. That where I am there you will be also." See, this goes along perfectly with the Jewish custom of marriage. Once the proposal is accepted the groom goes off to prepare a place where the couple will live. Once the home is prepared he will return unannounced and will take the bride away. This is what Jesus has promised. He is preparing a place for His bride and He will one day come again to claim His bride. The pre-trib viewpoint is the only viewpoint who doesn't know when this event will take place. That's one reason.
Another reason for the pre-trib viewpoint has to do with the restrainer. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church that the restrainer would have to be taken out of the way before the man of lawlessness could be revealed. That's the antichrist for those who don't know. The Holy Spirit is now restraining a level of evil that has not been seen. The antichrist will start the tribulation by signing a peace agreement with Israel that will be for 7 years. But this cannot happen if the Holy Spirit is restraining the AC from doing his job. The Holy Spirit resides in every believer. A pre-trib viewpoint is the only one that makes sense here. Once the church is removed from the scene the Holy Spirit is removed also which would allow the AC to step forward and get the ball rolling. Another reason for the pre-trib view is because there are things that are supposed to go on in Heaven during the Tribulation here on earth. During the Tribulation the church will go through the Judgment Seat of Christ where rewards will be given and crowns will be laid down at the feet of Jesus. Also, the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place. These things are not possible (time wise) if the rapture were to take place at the end of the Tribulation.
There are several other reasons but these should suffice. Hopefully this will strengthen your faith and most importantly will cause you to realize that time is running out. The world continues to spiral out of control and lost people are dying every day. Hopefully this will place a burden in your heart for the lost. Witness to people, don't waste any more time. We have so little of it left.
God bless you!
kev
I suppose I should briefly describe what each possibility is just so you know what I'm talking about. The pre-trib theory contends that Jesus Christ will come back for His church some time PRIOR to the Tribulation. Of course we don't know when that will be other than it's before the Tribulation. The mid-trib theory states that the rapture of the church will happen in the middle of the tribulation which is 3 1/2 years into the tribulation and since the tribulation is 2520 (7 years X 360 days) days the half way point is 1260 days. Oh, the 360 days in a year is for a Jewish year and since the point of the Tribulation is to reach the JEWS then it only makes sense to use their calendar. Well, as you can now imagine the post-trib viewpoint states that the rapture will happen at the end of the 7 year tribulation.
As I said before I am a pre-tribber for a couple of reasons. Let me first state that my fundamental belief is that the Bible makes absolute sense! It flows perfectly because it came from the mind of a perfect Creator. From the creation to the fall of man to the provision. All of it points to Jesus Christ. The parables, the literal interpretations, it all makes sense. You must start from that viewpoint to get what I'm talking about. Jesus sacrificed Himself for our sin. Those of us who have accepted that sacrifice are the true church or the bride of Christ. Jesus said Himself, "if I go to prepare a place for you then I will come again and receive you unto myself. That where I am there you will be also." See, this goes along perfectly with the Jewish custom of marriage. Once the proposal is accepted the groom goes off to prepare a place where the couple will live. Once the home is prepared he will return unannounced and will take the bride away. This is what Jesus has promised. He is preparing a place for His bride and He will one day come again to claim His bride. The pre-trib viewpoint is the only viewpoint who doesn't know when this event will take place. That's one reason.
Another reason for the pre-trib viewpoint has to do with the restrainer. Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church that the restrainer would have to be taken out of the way before the man of lawlessness could be revealed. That's the antichrist for those who don't know. The Holy Spirit is now restraining a level of evil that has not been seen. The antichrist will start the tribulation by signing a peace agreement with Israel that will be for 7 years. But this cannot happen if the Holy Spirit is restraining the AC from doing his job. The Holy Spirit resides in every believer. A pre-trib viewpoint is the only one that makes sense here. Once the church is removed from the scene the Holy Spirit is removed also which would allow the AC to step forward and get the ball rolling. Another reason for the pre-trib view is because there are things that are supposed to go on in Heaven during the Tribulation here on earth. During the Tribulation the church will go through the Judgment Seat of Christ where rewards will be given and crowns will be laid down at the feet of Jesus. Also, the marriage supper of the Lamb will take place. These things are not possible (time wise) if the rapture were to take place at the end of the Tribulation.
There are several other reasons but these should suffice. Hopefully this will strengthen your faith and most importantly will cause you to realize that time is running out. The world continues to spiral out of control and lost people are dying every day. Hopefully this will place a burden in your heart for the lost. Witness to people, don't waste any more time. We have so little of it left.
God bless you!
kev
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