Be of Good Cheer

The Biblical Truth About Hell: Part 3 - Psalms part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:32:00 +0000

Ok, let's continue to part 3 of the study I've been doing on hell. Again, if you haven't yet, please read all the other parts, they all fit together and provide a mountain of supporting verses that relate to each other. I have been writing about how "hell" is actually the grave, and that the fate of the wicked is to be burned up forever in the lake of fire, the second death. Destruction, not burning forever. Let's start Psalms part 2 off with Psalm 37, a Psalm about blessings of the righteous.

Psalm 37:
[1] Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
[2] For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

Notice the word wither here. I'm going to break protocol a little bit, and post a handful of New Testament verses to back this up. I may bring them up again when I unravel more NT verses in a future installment of this study, but it's important that the connection to Psalms is made. The main argument to this "wither" ordeal is probably the one saying that these verses are referring to the life in the flesh, the mortal life. Well, the context of these verses say otherwise.

James 1:
[10] But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
[11] For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
[12] Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

A burning heat withers the grass, and it perishes. It's compared to the rich man fading away. Look at verse 12. James goes on to say that those that endure temptation are blessed with the crown of life. He's talking about life eternal! So it's imperative that we see that the context here is eternity, not a mortal lifetime. Notice also that a burning heat is what causes the grass to wither. Does that sound familiar? Yep, the lake of fire is a burning heat that burns up (or withers) the wicked.

1 Peter 1:
[23] Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
[24] For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
[25] But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

Same concept here. Flesh withers, the Lord endures forever. We're seeing this same pattern of absolute opposites that I've recently noticed is everywhere in the Bible. I thank the Lord for shedding some wisdom on me with this! Let's get back to more of Psalm 37:

[9] For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
[10] For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
[11] But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Evildoers cut off, being contrasted with the meek inheriting the earth. Inheriting the earth is the promise the Lord gave to Abraham and his seed! Abraham has not received this promise yet.

[12] The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
[13] The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
[14] The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
[15] Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
[16] A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
[17] For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
[18] The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
[19] They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
[20] But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

Do you see a very familiar phrase in verse 12? I hope you do. Gnashing with teeth. Doesn't the Lord Jesus mention this in the Gospels? Yes He does! He is referring to the day the wicked are destroyed. They see their day coming, and gnash their teeth at Him and the righteous. The days of the upright, and their inheritance are forever. The wicked shall perish. Once again we have that absolute contrast! Still don't agree about gnashing of teeth? Let's briefly skip over to:

Psalm 112:
[9] He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.
[10] The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

The wicked see the righteous and hate it! They gnash their teeth at them in anger and hatred, and they melt away! It's all right there for us. Here's another teeth gnasher of a verse:

Psalm 35:
[16] With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed upon me with their teeth.

The phrase is used to mean the wicked showing hatred for righteousness, and the upright man.

Back to Psalm 37. Verse 20 says "into smoke shall they consume away." This immediately brought another verse to my mind.

Revelation 14:
[11] And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

I know this verse is used to "prove" a burning inferno, but there is no fire described here. What is described, though, is the aftermath of a fire: smoke! It's a symbolic passage, showing that the wrath of the Lord is forever, and the remains of the wicked symbolically smoke forever. I will get more into this in New Testament studies. The Lazarus passage of Luke 16 plays a role in this as well. From Psalm 37:20, we see the wicked are consumed away into smoke. Revelation says the smoke of their torment rises forever. See the connection? Forever is used to describe finality. It doesn't mean continual. It means God's judgment is final, the wicked are consumed away, like all the verses I'm posting say very clearly.

Continuing further into Psalm 37:

[21] The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
[22] For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.

Again we see the blessed inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). On the other side of that, the wicked do not, and are cut off, meaning destroyed. (I explain the meaning of "cut off" in Psalms part 1.) More of Psalm 37!

[29] The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
[30] The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
[31] The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
[32] The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
[33] The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
[34] Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
[35] I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
[36] Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
[37] Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
[38] But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
[39] But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
[40] And the LORD shall help them and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

We see again that the righteous inherit the land, and this is forever. So now there's no disputing the fact that this is talking of eternity. Verse 34 shows that the righteous will see the wicked being cut off, or destroyed. 36 flat out says the wicked passed away, and was not. 38 says transgressors shall be destroyed together and cut off. Verse 39 then says that the righteous are saved because of the Lord, and He will deliver them from the wicked! It's all here in plain sight. Look at the words used to describe the fate of the wicked: cut off, passed away, was not, destroyed together, and cut off (again). This Psalm alone is enough proof to show the fate of the wicked. Thankfully I am providing much more to reinforce this.

Let's back up a few Psalms, I missed a verse!

Psalm 34:
[22] The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Here's the definition of desolate:

H816
אשׁם אשׁם
'âsham 'âshêm
aw-sham', aw-shame'
A primitive root; to be guilty; by implication to be punished or perish: - X certainly, be (-come, made) desolate, destroy, X greatly, be (-come, found, hold) guilty, offend (acknowledge offence), trespassive

Once again, we see a word that means the same as perish, destroy, cut off, etc. Why doesn't the Bible say that the Lord redeems His people from a burning inferno? It says He redeems them from desolation, from being destroyed. It's right there.

Psalm 39:
[10] Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thine hand.
[11] When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth: surely every man is vanity. Selah.
[12] Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
[13] O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

Verse 10 shows how David is consumed by the hand of the Lord, if the Lord doesn't spare him. Man's beauty consumes away like a moth. The last verse shows David pleading to the Lord to spare him before he is no more. David doesn't say "O spare me...before I go hence, and burn forever," does he?

Psalm 40:
[14] Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.
[15] Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame that say unto me, Aha, aha.
[16] Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The LORD be magnified.
[17] But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God.

The wicked seek to destroy David's soul. Destroy here, again, means the same as it always has so far. Soul is translated from "nephesh," which simply means a breathing creature, or vitality. So David is asking the Lord to drive back those that want him dead. Verse 15 then says to let their reward be desolation, destruction. Death. The Psalm ends by showing how the Lord saves His people and delivers them.

Psalm 41:
[5] Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die, and his name perish?

[8] An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him: and now that he lieth he shall rise up no more.
[9] Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
[10] But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them.
[11] By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.
[12] And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever.
[13] Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.

Another plain example here. David asks the Lord when his enemies' names shall perish. How can a name perish if it is burning forever? Then verse 8 says "now that he lieth", or is cast down/deceased (from the Strong's definition of "shakab"), he shall rise up no more. Verse 10 finds David asking the Lord to raise him up, to triumph over his enemies. Is this talking about eternity? I think it is.

Psalm 49:
[6] They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
[7] None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
[8] (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)
[9] That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.

Corruption is death. See 1 Corinthians 15:42-50. I'll discuss that passage in the New Testament section of this study.

[10] For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
[11] Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.
[12] Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
[13] This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
[14] Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.

Wise men and fools die, perish. They are laid in the grave, death feeds on them, and their beauty is consumed in the grave. Note the same vocabulary as all the other verses. Also note that the upright have dominion over them. They inherit the earth, and trod the ashes of the wicked. The book of Malachi elaborates this (among others), in the chapter that deals with the coming of the Lord:

Malachi 4:
[3] And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.

Continuing in Psalm 49:

[15] But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
[16] Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
[17] For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.
[18] Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and men will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.
[19] He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
[20] Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.

The wicked are consumed in the grave, the righteous are redeemed from the grave's power. They aren't redeemed from the power of a burning inferno. It doesn't say that.

Psalm 50:
[3] Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.

A fire that devours? Interesting. Doesn't Revelation 20:14 say the lake of fire is the second death? Isn't a devouring fire something that destroys? Yep.

Psalm 52:
[5] God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
[6] The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh at him:
[7] Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.
[8] But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
[9] I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

This is one of the clearest examples in the Bible of the fate of the wicked. The Lord destroys them forever, takes them away, and roots them out of the land of the living! What's the opposite of being alive? Being dead! Destruction, having been destroyed! It then goes on to say that the righteous see it and laugh, and that they are like a green olive tree, living forever. Once again it's all right there. We have the same absolute contrasting that is evident throughout many of the verses I'm providing. The righteous praise the Lord forever, because He has destroyed the wicked. Very clear.

Psalm 53:
[5] There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them.
[6] Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

This is the fate of the fool: God scatters their bones, while Israel is saved. Are scattered bones equivalent to burning forever? Or does it fit better with death and being destroyed? Combined with the multitude of supporting verses, I think the answer is very apparent.

Psalm 58:
[7] Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.
[8] As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
[9] Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath.
[10] The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
[11] So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.

Again we see the wicked being melted away, just like Psalm 112:10. Once again pass away is used to describe their fate. The righteous again see it, and rejoice. Verse 11 shows that it's God's judgment, not a prior time, or an earthy death. The Psalm is entitled "The punishment of the wicked" in my Bible.

Psalm 59:
[13] Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob unto the ends of the earth. Selah.

Hmm, here we see consume again.

Psalm 68:
[1] Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him.
[2] As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

Here is another tremendous example of the fate of the wicked. It's undeniable. David compares the perishing of the wicked to wax melting before a fire. Remember the melt away verses? Remember the verses dealing with being consumed? Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Does wax continually melt, or does it melt down to nothing? Please see these verses for what they are. There should not be any reading between the lines or adding to them.

At this, I will conclude part 3 of my study of the truth about hell. I've provided many more verses that I believe show that hell is not a burning inferno, and that the wicked are burned up, not burned forever. They are destroyed, being alive no more. I have more to show from the Psalms, and more to show from both the Old and New Testaments. Please stay tuned for the next installment, coming very soon! Thanks again for reading.

The Biblical Truth About Hell: Part 2 - Psalms part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:26:00 +0000

Ok, I'm not going to waste much time between entries, it's time to start part 2. If you haven't yet, please please please read the introduction and part 1 of this study! It's essential, because all the parts compliment each other, and fully show what I believe is the truth about this. Some people are curious of what I have to say, some are upset, some agree, most don't care. That's fine. If you're still with me, please allow me to continue showing you why I believe hell is eternal destruction/death. In this part, I will examine the first half of the verses I have found in the Psalms that speak of the fate of the wicked, not leaving the righteous in the graves, and other relevant verses. Hopefully this won't be as long as the last one!

We start at the very first Psalm. I'm sure I have missed some verses, but I've tried my best with the time I have. I will try and go in order, and I encourage you to please follow along with your (hopefully translated from the Textus Receptus) Bible.

I would also encourage you to read the surrounding contexts in these verses, when applicable. I don't have the space to post the whole Psalms, and a lot of the time the entire context really clarifies things. Thanks!

Psalm 1:
[3] And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
[4] The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
[5] Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
[6] For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The key thing to take away from here is verse 6. The ungodly shall perish. What does perish mean in the Hebrew? Let's take a look!

H6
אבד
'âbad
aw-bad'
A primitive root; properly to wander away, that is lose oneself; by implication to perish (causatively, destroy): - break, destroy (-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, X and surely, take, be undone, X utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.

You guessed it, it means destroy! Be void of! Fail, lose! When does perish mean burn forever?

Also, note the references to trees bringing fruit, leaves not withering, and chaff being driven away. These are themes throughout the whole Bible. Jesus talks plenty about trees, vineyards, and fruits. The bad trees wither away! They are destroyed, they die off.

Psalm 5:
[4] For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.
[5] The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
[6] Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

God hates wickedness, evil shall not dwell with Him. He will destroy them. If someone dies from a heart attack let's say, is that God destroying them? No, God destroying them is Him putting His judgment upon them. Casting them into the lake of fire, which is the second death. (Rev. 20:14)

The word "destroy" here is the exact word used for "perish" in Psalm 1:6.

Psalm 6:
[5] For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?

Does David say in a burning "hell" there is no rememberance of God? Let's think this out here. If one is saved, they're with the Lord forever. So David isn't talking about Christians in this verse, because Christians will always be with the Lord. He can only be referring to one other group of people, right? He doesn't say they're in "hell," either. He says they're in the grave. Besides, would people in a burning "hell" forget Who put them there?

Psalm 7:
[9] Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.

I think this verse is very clear. "Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end." If wicked people are in "hell," aren't they still around? Haven't they not come to an end? We know this verse talks of the eternal fate of a person, especially because God establishes His people forever. A few verses down, talking of the wicked,

[15] He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made.

Sounds to me like the wicked go into the pit, the grave.

Psalm 9:
[5] Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
[6] O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
[7] But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.

"Thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever." Destroyed and put out their name! What does someone do to a fire at the end of a campfire? They put it out! God will "put out" the wicked, forever! It further says in verse 7 that God endures forever. It's contrasted with how the wicked are put out. God endures forever, the wicked don't.

[13] Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:

I used this verse in this study to show that the gates of death is the thing we are facing, not the gates of a burning inferno. I went into this in part 1 of my study.

[15] The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.

[17] The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
[18] For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.

So the heathen go down into the pit (a most often recurring theme, as we see already), they are turned into hell (sheol, the grave), but the needy are not forgotten! The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever! Doesn't this say that the wicked DO perish forever? Combined with every other verse (I have well over 80 now), I'd say this is the case.

Psalm 10:
[15] Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
[16] The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

Again, God is King forever, the heathen perish. They are not forever. A burning inferno would mean that the wicked are immortal too. Are you starting to see how "hell" does not line up with Scripture?

Psalm 11:
[6] Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.

I think this is talking of God's judgment on the wicked. Fire and brimstone = lake of fire. (Rev 19:20) The lake of fire is the second death. (Rev 20:14)

Psalm 12:
[3] The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:

Hmm, cut off. What does this mean? Thankfully, the Lord has lead me to another Psalm that defines it. I will skip ahead just to immediately define what this phrase means.

Psalm 88:
[5] Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.

The ones that are "cut off" are ones that God has done away with. Ones He has left slain in the graves, that He remembers no more! Just to solidify this point, the definition of "cut off:"

H3772
כּרת
kârath
kaw-rath'
A primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication to destroy or consume; specifically to covenant (that is, make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces): - be chewed, be con- [feder-] ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league ([covenant]), X lose, perish, X utterly, X want.

It means to destroy or perish! To consume! The Lord will "cut off," or destroy the wicked. It's all throughout the Bible, and I'm trying my best to show you.

Psalm 20:
[6] Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
[7] Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
[8] They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.
[9] Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.

The Lord saves His people, the ones that don't trust in Him are brought down and fallen. After many other supporting verses, I can't help to think that brought down refers to down into the grave/pit. When I read fallen, I think of someone that has died. Here's the Hebrew:

H5307
נפל
nâphal
naw-fal'
A primitive root; to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitively or causatively, literally or figuratively): - be accepted, cast (down, self, [lots], out), cease, die, divide (by lot), (let) fail, (cause to, let, make, ready to) fall (away, down, -en, -ing), fell (-ing), fugitive, have [inheritamce], inferior, be judged [by mistake for H6419], lay (along), (cause to) lie down, light (down), be (X hast) lost, lying, overthrow, overwhelm, perish, present (-ed, -ing), (make to) rot, slay, smite out, X surely, throw down.

It can be defined as cease, die, fail, fall, perish, rot. Look familiar?

Psalm 21:
[8] Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
[9] Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

A fiery oven: the time of judgment, the lake of fire. When the tares are gathered into the oven and are burned up. The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath, and fire shall devour them. Devour! What does devour mean?

H398
אכל
'âkal
aw-kal'
A primitive root; to eat (literally or figuratively): - X at all, burn up, consume, devour (-er, up), dine, eat (-er, up), feed (with), food, X freely, X in . . . wise (-deed, plenty), (lay) meat, X quite.

To burn up! This is huge. To consume! We're talking about a fire that burns up and consumes them. Does an eternal hell burn something up? Nope, it just burns something. Does it consume something? Not if it's continually burning! The fire God sends on the wicked is a consuming one that burns up everyone in its path. Nobody survives it.

Psalm 28:
[5] Because they regard not the works of the LORD, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.

God will destroy the wicked, and not build them up. They're done.

Psalm 30:
[3] O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

[9] What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?

God hasn't brought his soul up from a burning inferno, He brought him up from the grave, the pit.

Psalm 31:
[23] O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.

The Lord preserves the faithful. Ok, we know that. Here's what it means in the Hebrew:

H5341
נצר
nâtsar
naw-tsar'
A primitive root; to guard, in a good sense (to protect, maintain, obey, etc.) or a bad one (to conceal, etc.): - besieged, hidden thing, keep (-er, -ing), monument, observe, preserve (-r), subtil, watcher (-man).

To guard in a good sense, to conceal in a bad sense. To keep, preserve. Wouldn't the wicked be concealed in a bad sense if they are kept alive in torment? Yes. The Lord does not preserve the wicked, because Psalm 31 states that He preserves the faithful. By this reasoning it's impossible to have anyone preserved in "hell."

Psalm 33:
[18] Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
[19] To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

To deliver their soul from death, not from an eternally burning inferno.

Psalm 34:
[16] The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

Again we see the term "cut off." Destroyed. This just came to me. If anyone is thinking that this is just talking about the mortal condition of the wicked, remember, the meek inherit the earth. They reign with Christ for 1000 years in Israel, then reign with Him after the wicked are destroyed and New Jerusalem descends.

Alright, I feel that it's time to wrap up this entry. I'd rather make these studies shorter than I have in the past, so that they are easier to read. I hope from this first look into what Psalms says about hell and the wicked is showing you a stark reality: the wicked are burned up by God's fire (the lake of fire) and utterly destroyed.

Part 3 of my study on hell is coming soon! I will address many more verses that I have found in Psalms. Thanks for reading, and as always I welcome your comments and will do my best to answer them.

The Biblical Truth About Hell: Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:28:00 +0000

I'm feeling ready to dive right into this, so I'm going to begin. If you haven't yet, please read my introduction to this study, it lays the groundwork for everything I want to accomplish with this.

The first step I took in my study of hell was to download a program called "e-Sword." You can download it for free here. It is simply a Bible study tool where you can search for words and verses, and download add-ons like the original Greek and Hebrew meanings, like I have. I don't use the program for anything other than that. It has commentaries available to download, but I don't like having other people think for me.

So with e-Sword, I did a search for the word "hell." 54 verses come up. I will show you these verses and expound on their meanings. Ready? Good. :)

Before I do that, I feel that it's a good idea to list all the possible definitions of hell from the Strong's Greek and Hebrew dictionaries that I have in e-Sword. Once we have all the definitions it will be much easier to reference them to the verses I list. (Note: I do think that some of the expanded definitions take errant liberties, as we will see in this study.) The definitions will become clearer as Scripture irons things out as we go along. You'll see. Just stick with me, and read everything I have to show you.

Hell refers to a handful of different words: sheol, hades, gehenna, and tartaroo.

H7585
שׁאל שׁאול
she'ôl she'ôl
sheh-ole', sheh-ole'
From H7592; hades or the world of the dead (as if a subterranian retreat), including its accessories and inmates: - grave, hell, pit.

G86
ᾅδης
hadēs
hah'-dace
From G1 (as a negative particle) and G1492; properly unseen, that is, “Hades” or the place (state) of departed souls: - grave, hell.

G1067
γέεννα
geenna
gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell.

G5020
ταρταρόω
tartaroō
tar-tar-o'-o
From Τάρταρος Tartaros̄ (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment: - cast down to hell.

With those definitions established we will dive into every single instance the word "hell" is mentioned throughout the Bible.

First it is important to note that every reference to hell in the Old Testament refers to sheol. Let's explore them.

Deuteronomy 32:
[22] For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
[23] I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
[24] They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.
[25] The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
[26] I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

What do we have here? A fire burns and devours with bitter destruction. The rememberance of those judged here will cease. Once again, hell here means sheol, the grave or pit.

2 Samuel 22:
[6] The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;

Note the context here: hell (grave, pit) is mentioned along with the snares of death. In the grave we are dead.

Job 11:
[8] It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know?

Again, sheol. Think about it. What makes more sense? A deep grave, or a deep burning inferno? I will show more instances of a deep pit as we explore more of Scripture in the coming posts!

Job 26:
[6] Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering.

The context here also clears things up for us. The grave is naked before God, destruction can't hide. Why would destruction be combined with a word that means the grave and the pit if there is a burning inferno? Before anyone can say that destruction is an everlasting/continual event, I'll let the original Hebrew do the talking.

H11
אבדּון
'ăbaddôn
ab-ad-done'
Intensively from H6; abstractly a perishing; concretely Hades: - destruction.

Destruction means just that. Perishing, concretely Hades, which also means the grave. Is anything destroyed that is kept alive forever? I have so many verses to back this up, please be patient.

Psalm 9
[17] The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
[18] For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.

The wicked are turned into the grave. Verse 18 further explains that the poor shall not perish forever! Perish! Not burn eternally! We see another contextual instance of the grave being paired up with perishing and destruction. Let's see the Hebrew on the word perish.

H6
אבד
'âbad
aw-bad'
A primitive root; properly to wander away, that is lose oneself; by implication to perish (causatively, destroy): - break, destroy (-uction), + not escape, fail, lose, (cause to, make) perish, spend, X and surely, take, be undone, X utterly, be void of, have no way to flee.

Does any of that sound like someone staying alive forever to burn? No. We'll see many more instances of perish as we go along as well. John 3:16 anyone? :)

Psalm 16:
[10] For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

This makes perfect sense. David is saying that the Lord will not leave him dead in the grave. He will raise him up at the last day. Want proof?

Acts 2:
[29] Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
[30] Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
[31] He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.

Paul even directly quotes David's Psalm! People may have a problem with this because they have fallen into another errant doctrine: the idea that souls immediately go to heaven or "hell" at death. This is a fallacy, and I would have to write another blog on it. Proving it is quite complete and lengthy, as most of my studies are turning out to be! I will show some of this proof as we study hell, because the idea of being asleep in the grave is relevant to this topic.

Notice here also that in verse 31 of Acts 2 it talks of how Christ wasn't left in hell. It is obvious here that Acts 2 parallels Psalm 16 with this. David will not be left in the grave, just as Christ has not been left there. "Hell" in Acts 2 means Hades, the grave. With these two passages looked at together, how can anyone think Hades means anything differently? Would David not be left in the grave, and Christ not be left in a burning inferno? See what I'm saying? Let's continue.

Psalm 18:
[5] The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

Same as in 2 Samuel.

Psalm 55:
[15] Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

Seeing a pattern here? Once again the context of the verse explains the meaning of hell. Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell, the grave. Death takes them! They're dead! What happens when death seizes someone? That's right, they go down quickly into the pit. Also, even if you believe in a burning inferno, nobody is judged until they are cast into the lake of fire (which is the second death, Rev. 20:14, I'll get to it). So if nobody is judged, how can anyone go down quickly into a burning inferno? This also disproves the idea of the common belief of hell.

Psalm 86:
[13] For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

God delivers us from the grave at His coming. Believers aren't in a burning hell, right? Of course not.

Psalm 116:
[3] The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.
[4] Then called I upon the name of the LORD; O LORD, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

We see the same thing here. Death surrounds, the grave takes hold. Pay attention to the word sorrow here, we will see how it pertains to Luke 16's Lazarus passage later. Psalm 116 is even titled "Deliverance from Death" in my KJV Bible. That's an accurate title, because again in verse 4 we see the author calling upon the Lord to be delivered from it.

Psalm 139:
[8] If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

This verse is so clear that I don't even have to explain it. I hope at this point you are seeing that hell so far means the grave, and only the grave. I also hope that you are thinking about what the New Testament says regarding hell. Don't worry, we'll get there. I'm not hiding any verse in this study. Let's first finish the rest of the OT verses so we cover all the bases.

Proverbs 5:
[5] Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.

Another verse linking death to hell, the grave.

Proverbs 7:
[27] Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

Same thing.

Proverbs 9:
[18] But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.

And again! :) All verses connecting sheol (the grave) with death.

Proverbs 15:
[10] Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die.
[11] Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

Hell and destruction. Remember the definition up there?

Proverbs 15:
[24] The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.

Here we see life compared to death. Keep this in mind, we will see the Master do this in the Gospels!

Proverbs 23:
[13] Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.
[14] Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell.

Death in the same context as hell again.

Proverbs 27:
[20] Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

I know this is getting repititious, but the Bible drums this into our heads! :) We have to understand this. 13 more Old Testament verses to go.

Isaiah 5:
[14] Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.

The pit "opened her mouth" so to speak, to embrace the dead. They descend into it.

Isaiah 14:
[9] Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.
[10] All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
[11] Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

This is a fascinating chapter. It talks about Satan's ultimate demise, which I will cover eventually in this study! For now we see that Satan's pomp (pride) is brought down to the grave. The Bible is very clear in this. Continuing to verse 15:

[15] Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

The sides of the pit! There it is very clearly. Doesn't a grave have sides? Of course. It makes perfect sense.

Isaiah 28:
[15] Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:

Death in context with hell.

[18] And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

Continuing on in that chapter, we see that the ones judged here are trodden down. There are other references in the Bible to the wicked being trampled, and the righteous walking on their ashes. We'll take a look at those later on.

Isaiah 57:
[9] And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.

This chapter is dealing with leaders of Israel that go against God. They are setting themselves up for the grave.

Ezekiel 31:
[16] I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.

Cast down to hell, descending into the pit. Self explanatory. The very next verse:

[17] They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword; and they that were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the heathen.
[18] To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the nether parts of the earth: thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD.

Down into hell, slain with the sword. Dead in the grave.

Ezekiel 32:
[21] The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of hell with them that help him: they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

The slain by the sword have gone down and are lying in the grave.

[27] And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

What's this saying? These mighty men are fallen, they were terrifying while they were alive, but now them and their weapons have gone to the grave. Iniquities shall be upon their bones. They are dead, and their sins ascend to God. They will be accountable at the judgment.

Amos 9:
[2] Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:

Dig into hell - would anyone dig into a burning inferno?

Jonah 2:
[2] And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

The fish swallowed Jonah up, and its belly became his grave until the Lord caused it to spit him out.

Habakkuk 2:
[5] Yea also, because he transgresseth by wine, he is a proud man, neither keepeth at home, who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people:

Hell in context with death.

So that does it for every single instance of the word "hell" in the Old Testament. I hope you have read all of these verses and have asked God for understanding on them. Do you see that they all mean the grave or the pit? Does the context help explain that to you? Have my comments helped? I truly hope so!

Now let's move on to the New Testament! First I'll list all the verses in which the word "gehenna" is used, and then I will explain what that word really means.

Matthew 5:
[22] But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

[29] And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
[30] And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

Matthew 10:
[28] And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 18:
[9] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Matthew 23:
[15] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

[33] Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Mark 9:
[43] And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
[44] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
[45] And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
[46] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
[47] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
[48] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Luke 12:
[5] But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

James 3:
[6] And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Ok, that is every instance in the Bible of the word hell, translated from gehenna. Let's delve further into this, seeking an explanation of what these verses are saying from the Bible.

First, let's see the definition of gehenna again:

G1067
γέεννα
geenna
gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell.

So we see gehenna defined as a valley of Hinnom, or a valley of Jerusalem. Then we see how it is figuratively defined as a state of everlasting punishment. Is it right to assume that definition? I will show you that it isn't. I will also show you verses that coincide with gehenna being a valley.

Jeremiah 7:
[31] And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
[32] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
[33] And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
[34] Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.

The valley of the son of Hinnom IS gehenna. Gehenna is flat out defined as such. Here we see that the people rebelled against God, burned sons and daughters in this valley, and in turn God will slaughter everyone in that very same valley. Their carcasses will be left to rot there. Keep that in mind, we will see more verses about that shortly.

Jeremiah 19:
[2] And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee,
[3] And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.
[4] Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;
[5] They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:
[6] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
[7] And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
[8] And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.

This reinforces chapter 7.

Jeremiah 32:
[35] And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
[36] And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;

Same thing here.

Joel 3:
[2] I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

[11] Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD.
[12] Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
[13] Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
[14] Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
[15] The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
[16] The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

This passage is huge. Understanding this will give us very important insight into gehenna and hell in general. Joel 3 talks about the Lord's gathering of all nations for judgment. It is extremely important to notice the reference to the sun and moon being darkened, and the stars withdrawing their shining. This directly links us to what Jesus says in the Gospels about His second coming. (Matthew 24: 29 for example) There is no possible reason to think that Joel 3 is referring to a different time period! Also note the mention of the harvest, the end of the world from the Gospels.

I looked up the word Jehoshaphat here, and I'm very excited as to what I've found. I'm actually doing this part of this Bible study on the fly. I wasn't even expecting to find this!

H3092
יהושׁפט
yehôshâphâṭ
yeh-ho-shaw-fawt'
From H3068 and H8199; Jehovah-judged; Jehoshaphat, the name of six Israelites; also of a valley near Jerusalem : - Jehoshaphat. Compare H3146.

It means Jehovah-judged! Also a valley near Jerusalem! Can this be gehenna? Yes! God's judgment is poured out in the valley of Hinnom as we see in Jeremiah. Hinnom is a valley of Jerusalem, Jehoshapat is a valley near Jerusalem. God's judgment is poured out in the valley, referred to as hell, aka gehenna!

The Lord allows the wicked to assemble in this valley of decision. The harvest is ripe - a clear reference to the wheat and the tares parable, the coming of the Lord. So we know the time frame that this is occuring. There's no other explanation otherwise. It's not some earlier judgment, this is the harvest. The press is full - this is referring to the winepress in Isaiah 5 and possibly other areas of the Bible. I'll show those verses shortly.

The day of the Lord is near the valley of decision! The day of the Lord is the day He comes back, it's all over Scripture. The Lord comes to crush the wicked in the valley of decision, gehenna. Here are more things to support this:

Isaiah 5:
[1] Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill:
[2] And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.
[3] And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
[4] What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
[5] And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down:
[6] And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
[7] For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

Here is a parable the Lord gives us, connecting people to a vineyard. Jesus also speaks often about being a vine, having branches, and producing good fruit. In Isaiah we see that the Lord's vineyard produced some wild grapes, ones He didn't plan for or want. What does He do? He lays it to waste.

Oh, I want to show you more verses linking carcasses to God's judgment.

Isaiah 66:
[24] And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

Also, extremely important to note in this verse: carcasses of men have worms that die not, with fires that aren't quenched. I will explain this now, and further prove it later. If these are "spiritual" worms that don't die, and if there's a fire that isn't quenched, how can we have a carcass of a man? A carcass is a dead body! The worm's don't die until they eat up the body. The fire isn't quenched until it is finished reducing the carcass to ashes. Yes, there is hell fire. It is the judgmental fire that God rains down on the wicked, consuming them in the valley of Hinnom, gehenna!

Isaiah 14:
[19] But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.

This is the fate of Satan, which I will expound on further along in this study. It's important to see here that a carcass is basically trampled upon with the feet of the righteous.

Matthew 24:
[28] For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

This is the chapter in Matthew in which Jesus talks of His second coming. The wicked are judged when he comes back, and their carcasses remain on the earth.

Jeremiah 31:
[37] Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
[38] Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.
[39] And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.
[40] And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

This passage deals with the restoration of Israel, and how a new city will be built. Verse 40 mentions the valley of the dead bodies that are reduced to ashes. The valley of decision, gehenna.

There are more verses that flesh out the idea of gehenna being the valley of God's judgment. It's hard to keep all of this organized, since a lot of verses coincide with other topics that I am going to get into. I hope at the end of the study this all fits in for you. My head is spinning a little from getting so involved in this! I hope I'm still being clear, and that the message I am putting out here is easy to see. What we see here so far though, is that every time hell fire or hell is mentioned, and is translated from gehenna, that it is a fire that rains down on the wicked in the day of the Lord, when they are assembled in the valley of Hinnom/Jehoshophat/decision/slaughter. I really hope you see this!

Ok, I feel that I have thoroughly covered gehenna at this point. If you have any questions or want to debate this (or anything I write here for that matter), please leave me a comment! Let's go on and finish up the rest of the "hell" verses in the New Testament. Next up, the translations from the word "hades."

Matthew 11:
[23] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

Luke 10:
[15] And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.

Hell is translated from hades in these two verses. Note the same phrasing as Psalm 55:15, Isaiah 14:15, Ezekiel 31:16-17, and Ezekiel 32:27. All of them contain the words "down to hell." We have previously established that these verses are talking about going down into the grave. Jesus is talking of the same thing here.

Matthew 16:
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Again hell is hades here. The gates of the grave, pit, or death. Don't agree? I know it's natural now to picture a burning hell's gates opening or something. It's what I used to do before the Lord led me to the truth. Let's again turn to the Bible for backup.

Psalm 9:
[13] Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:

Psalm 107:
[18] Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat; and they draw near unto the gates of death.

Isaiah 38:
[10] I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.

I think it is very safe to say that the gates of hell Jesus mentions in Matthew 16 are the same gates of the grave and death mentioned elsewhere. Let's continue.

Luke 16:
[23] And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Hell means hades here also. Since we have defined hades as the grave, we know Lazarus is not in a burning inferno. I will completely dissect the Lazarus parable in another section of this study!

Revelation 1:
[18] I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Jesus' words. He was dead, and lives again. He has the keys of hell (hades, the grave) and death. We see the same thing in this verse as many of the others: hell linked with death.

Revelation 6:
[8] And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Hell also linked with death here. Hades.

Revelation 20:
[13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
[14] And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
[15] And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Huge verses here! Death and hell delivered up the dead to be judged! Are the dead alive in a burning inferno? No! They're dead! The grave "gives them up" for judgment! What is the judgment? It's the lake of fire! What is the lake of fire? The second death! Does death have anything to do with life? No. Let's take this verse into account:

Revelation 21:
[4] And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Just after the judgment of the lake of fire, the second death, there is no more death, sorrow, or crying. No more pain either, they have passed away. They are no more, they're dead! How can there be no more pain or sorrow or crying if people are alive burning? How can death be finished if there are wicked people in a constant state of death, as I've heard "hell" described? The answer is that it can't be. I'll get more into all of this with my 70+ supporting verses in other parts of this study.

That's it for the hades verses. One more version of hell to look into: tartaroo. This one's easy.

2 Peter 2:
[4] For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;

What is tartaroo again?

G5020
ταρταρόω
tartaroō
tar-tar-o'-o
From Τάρταρος Tartaros̄ (the deepest abyss of Hades); to incarcerate in eternal torment: - cast down to hell.

I believe this definition is severely misleading. There has yet to be any mention of an eternal torment in the Bible, and this is no exception. Cast down to hell is more like it. Note the verse above. These sinful angels are reserved unto judgment. They're waiting for their punishment! They haven't received it yet! What is their punishment? We just saw it in Revelation: the lake of fire, the second death.

Well I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted! :) These studies always take a lot out of me. I have covered every single instance of the word hell in the Bible, and explained each verse clearly. Hell is the grave, the pit, the valley in Jerusalem, and a place for angels to be reserved for judgment. Not once is it defined as a burning inferno. There is more to uncover to elaborate and fully prove this, this is only the first part. Ultimately I will show the demise of Satan, the judgment/fate of the wicked, the mortal vs. immortal bodies, and more. I have so much information to show here that I hope I present it clearly and thoroughly.

If you've stuck with me this far, thank you very much. I want to get this message out to every single person I can! If you agree with me, excellent! Teach others, we're commanded to! If you don't agree with me, please pray about it and leave me comments as to why you don't. I will be very happy to discuss things! Granted, keep in mind I haven't fully proven this to you yet. I still have to cover smoke of their torment ascending forever, and other things that "prove" a burning inferno. Don't worry, I won't run from any other takes on this!

Thanks, more to come when I have the strength and time!

The Biblical Truth About Hell: Introduction

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:03:00 +0000

I have been seeking the Lord diligently for a number of years now. He keeps teaching me, through the Holy Spirit, His truth and His Word. I am outside of the typical "church" setting and I don't rely on men or Bible commentaries to supply me with Biblical knowledge. I ask the Lord for wisdom and understanding, and ask for His Spirit to teach me everything. That's what we should all be doing. We don't need a man with a Bible College degree to tell us what God says, we have God inside us! He is ready and willing to pour out His wisdom to us. On top of that, "scholars" and "theologians" typically just pass down man-made beliefs and doctrines! With that being said, God has been breaking down the walls of Christian mythology, if I may. There is so much error in the Body of Christ that it's appalling. The latest topic that the Lord has been revealing to me over the last few weeks has been the idea of hell. It has been bothering me for at least two years actually. He's been knocking.

First, a disclaimer. I belong to no denomination. I'm not Baptist, Lutheran, non-denominational, nothing. I'm not a Seventh Day Adventist, I'm not a Jevhovah's Witness, I am nothing. I believe in Jesus Christ and His Word, that's it. I think denominations are divisive, and that they help think for us. We adhere to a doctrine we like and stick to it. Well, I have to say that every denomination I've ever looked into has had at least one thing seriously wrong with its doctrine. I also believe that the typical church building form of worship is severely detrimental to the Body and to our growth in the Lord. Besides, if we all have the same Spirit and one mind in Christ, why all the disagreeing? Surely God isn't the One who is confused.

So now I will begin to slowly unravel this bombshell that is all over Scripture. I prayed that I organize it well, because I currently have over 70 passages and/or verses to support this.

I will prove, Biblically, that "hell" in most cases is simply the grave, and that nobody burns forever in an eternal inferno. I will show that the wicked are burned up, and ultimately devoured, destroyed, and consumed.

First, I will list all the verses that mention the word "hell" in the Bible. There are 54 instances. I will show their original Greek and Hebrew meanings for each different version of the word. For example, sometimes hell is translated from sheol, hades, gehenna, or tartaroo. I will break down the distinctions as necessary.

After that, I'm not sure how I will organize this. I will, however, show Satan's ultimate fate, and show through many books of the Bible that the wicked are burned up in the lake of fire, which is the second death.

I really hope I haven't turned anyone off yet with this. I know it's a radical idea, and people are quick to judge and label me as something I'm not. I am fully confident that this is the truth, or else I wouldn't publish these blogs. I'm too scared to teach anything that isn't true. I don't want to have to answer for errant teachings on the day that I meet the Lord. So stick with me, and dive into what I have to show you. Thanks!

Pope calls for a "global authority" on economy!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:54:00 +0000

This is not good, but it's also not surprising. Read what the pope has done here.

Joyce Meyer: False Teacher, Wolf, and possible Luciferian

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:02:00 +0000

*********************************
UPDATE!!!!!!!

Joyce Meyer's 5/31/2010 broadcast of "Enjoying Everyday Life" has exposed her further, and this time I have tangible PROOF of what she has said:

"We're never going to mature and develop godly character until we learn to live with the all-seeing eye on us all the time. "

Maybe you didn't believe me when I first blogged about what I heard her say. Well, this latest proof eliminates that doubt!

Here is a link to the transcript of the broadcast. Her all-seeing eye comment occurs at 9:54 on there. (Which actually differs from the time on the video I found of the same broadcast.

Here is a link to Joyce Meyer's main video broadcast page. You'll have to scroll over to the 5/31/2010 broadcast. The comment occurs at approximately 20:27 of the video. I'm not sure how long her "ministry" (heh heh) will keep this broadcast on the site, so I actually took the liberty to record the audio onto my own computer.

If you're short on time, or the original links to this Satanic wolf's quote are gone, here's the link I made of the audio.

Special thanks to "Anna," who left me a comment with the transcript link today about this broadcast. I wouldn't have known otherwise!

************************************

I know what you're thinking. You thought my last blog entry was controversial! Well, I've been putting off something I've needed to share for months now. Joyce Meyer is a total wolf in sheep's clothing, and should be avoided like the plague. I have absolutely no problem saying that. I will give you first hand proof of this, and then you'll be held accountable if you decide to watch her or listen to her, or support her "ministry."

Before I give my personal proof, I'll begin by pointing out the very obvious. The Bible calls Joyce Meyer out from the start.

1 Timothy 2:
[12] But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
[13] For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
[14] And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

Read that a few times, soak it in. Now I'm not against women or anything of the sort, but this passage has been largely ignored in this country. People look for reasons to shoot it down. "Oh Paul was talking about that specific church at the time!" I always ask "then why is it in God's eternal Word, if it applies to one little assembly?" The phrase "usurp authority" is key here. The man is the spiritual leader of a household, a family, a congregation. It's akin to the analogy of marriage in the New Testament. The man is to love his wife as Jesus loves His Bride. How's that for a standard set?

Ephesians 5:
[22] Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
[23] For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
[24] Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

From Ephesians we see a clear example that man is the head of the household, and the wife is to submit to them. I'm not saying the man has grounds to be a tyrant or anything of the sort, he is to love his wife like Jesus loves His own! So what am I getting at here? The man is also the spiritual head of a family unit, and he leads the wife and family in all things Christ. The wife does not "usurp authority" over the man, from the verses listed above. This same thing applies to Joyce Meyer. What is she doing when she so arrogantly walks about on stage? She's teaching (false doctrine and evil, I may add) to both women and men! Usurping man's authority over the Body of Christ.

So with that said, Joyce Meyer shouldn't even be standing up on a stage, preaching the self-centered "Enjoying Everyday Life" gospel to the masses. However, she still is, and I must drop this bombshell on you to (hopefully) open your eyes.

I guess I like getting myself aggravated in the mornings. Earlier this year I developed a little habit of turning Joyce Meyer's program on before work here and there. Maybe I did it to get riled up enough to wake up for work, I don't know. Anyway, one morning I'm eating my cereal, disgusted at her prancing around arrogantly and getting the massive applause of the audience, and she spits this out, and I quote:

"We have to have the revelation that we are living under the All-Seeing Eye."

My jaw almost hit the floor as she paused for dramatic effect. The crowd roared after she said it, which added to my shock and despair. I immediately ran from the living room to my bedroom to jot down exactly what she said, word for word. It was so astounding that I never even had to refer back to my notes to explain this to people.

Do you understand what she said? Do you know who/what the All-Seeing Eye is? It's the same eye that's on the back of every dollar bill in America. It represents the eye of Lucifer, also known as the eye of Horus and eye of Osiris. A masonic, purely evil symbol referring to the destroyer that Jesus Christ threw out of heaven for rebelling against God. There are many, many links on the internet about this symbol, and if you pay attention you can see many corporate logos and album covers displaying variations of these, too. In an attempt to fully convince you just how evil this quote from Joyce Meyer is, I will provide you with more information.

Jesus-is-Savior.com - this is an excellent link that provides great insight into all of what I'm talking about here. It goes above and beyond this topic, but it is priceless information!

ancientegyptonline.co.uk - this website shows you the connection of the all-seeing eye to the ancient Egyptian religions. Ancient Egypt's religion never really left, it's just hidden in things like Freemasonry, and believe it or not, Catholicism.

All in all, the All-Seeing Eye is a representation of Satan himself. Joyce Meyer chose this term quite obviously. She was NOT referring to the God of Israel. I had mentioned this quote in a Christian chat, and people either got extremely mad, told me to "get saved," or made excuses for her. Someone said that it's simply another name for God. Wrong! Show me where the phrase "all-seeing eye" is EVER used to address the Lord! I shudder to even think about that. It is nowhere in the Bible, and Joyce Meyer knows it. I believe she has an allegiance to Satan. No Christian would ever think about using that phrase. No Christian would even know of it unless they researched ancient Egyptian religion, freemasonry, or the secrets on our dollar bill!

Please, I ask you to read this with an open mind, hear what I'm saying, and examine it. Research. Pray. Ask God about it. Why would a supposed Christian refer to our Lord with a phrase that all masons and most satanists/luciferians know to be related to Lucifer? It makes zero sense.

There is more information out there on the internet further showing how Joyce Meyer is a phony. I'll leave it up to you to do the research. I will say though, very strongly, that Joyce Meyer is a false teacher and a wolf. She should be avoided like the plague, and I hope you share this message with any Christian that thinks she is ok!

Here are a few pictures showing the All-Seeing Eye's influence in our culture:

This is a masonic ring, depicting their usual logo, except the "G" in the middle is removed, and the All-Seeing Eye (which in this case is a variation of the eye of Horus, same thing) is displayed.

The devil's hands have reached the entertainment industry as well. Here we see a "Hellboy" comic with the title, and a little eye picture transposed on top of Hellboy.

Does Madonna lead a Christ-led life? I don't think so, Tim. Her unabashed sexuality and open practice of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism/magic) tell us otherwise. Here we see her sporting the All -Seeing Eye on her jacket, same style as on our money. Still think this term represents the One true God?

Are you seeing a "coincidence" yet? Here's a few pictures I took off of my own TV, that I blogged about here:

And finally, to drive this home, I'll give you examples from the music world.

Steve Vai - Passion and Warfare

The All-Seeing Eye is right above Steve.

Shadows Fall - Retribution

You have to look carefully, but the eye is dead-center, right above the band name.

Dream Theater - Black Clouds and Silver Linings

We see the eye on the bottom left, propped up against a stand.

Dream Theater - A Rite of Passage

The first single for the album above. I posted this cover because it clearly displays the connection with masonry, and the song title refers to masonic rites.

Jay-Z, who also calls himself J-HOVAH, making the All-Seeing Eye symbol with his hands and left eye. The left eye is always the one depicted in the logo itself.

Pearl Jam - No Code

This one hit hard for me. I grew up listening to these guys, but I never opened this booklet all the way, exposing the huge eye inside the pyramid. It may be hard to see, but the eye is dead center amongst all the pictures. Clever, huh. No code? I don't think so.

Michael Jackson - Dangerous

Fitting to end this blog entry with a Michael Jackson reference. Check out the eye on the bottom right.

You've read the quote from Joyce Meyer, you've seen what the term "All-Seeing Eye" means, and you've seen pictures of this eye with ungodly associations. So now it's up to you to decide, is Joyce Meyer a false teacher and a wolf? I certainly think so!

The Lord Jesus Christ vs. The Roman Catholic Church

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:09:00 +0000

Colossians 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

Ok, this is going to be intense. It will be a very long read, but it's of the utmost importance. I have a major burden for those trapped in the Roman Catholic Institution. I'm very adamant about it. I don't hate anyone who is a Catholic, I just want all Catholics to come out of that system and to come to the truth of the Lord Jesus. I can't stress that enough - I wouldn't have spent the better part of a day doing this if I hated Catholics. I have a lot to say about it, and I won't pull any punches. That's not my style. I will start off by saying that the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) and the Vatican are NOT related to Christianity. I don't consider them a denomination of Christianity, in fact I see it as quite the opposite. I will limit this entry just to how Catholicism measures up to the Bible. There is much more evil in the ranks of the Vatican and Jesuits to get into, but first it's important to see how God's Word condemns this "church." Allow me to show you.

In this blog entry I will compare the Word of God (using the King James Version translated from the original Greek and Hebrew) to the traditions, beliefs, and rituals of the Roman Catholic Church. If anyone is a Catholic reading this blog, please hear me out. You need to see your "Mother Church" for what it really is. I pray the Lord opens your eyes and gives you the wisdom and understanding to see this. Please pray for that wisdom before you read!

Before I start, I have decided to keep everything in one giant blog entry, to be easily linked to. This is a very long read, so you may want to bookmark it and read from it when you can. It is of the utmost importance that this message gets across!

Hopefully I can organize this in a consice manner so it's easy to read! Here we go...

God's Ten Commandments vs. The Roman Catholic Church's version

I'm going straight to Scripture to start this off. The Lord gave His Ten Commandments to Moses in Exodus 20.

[1] And God spake all these words, saying,
[2] I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
[3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
[4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
[5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
[6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
[7] Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
[8] Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
[9] Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
[10] But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
[11] For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
[12] Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
[13] Thou shalt not kill.
[14] Thou shalt not commit adultery.
[15] Thou shalt not steal.
[16] Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
[17] Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Let me list them plainly:
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or bow down or serve them.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honour thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, wife, manservant, maidservant, ox nor ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

Now let's look at the RCC's version from their own catechism, from the vatican's own site (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM):

They don't put this in an easy list form of course, so let me paste all of them.

1. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.
It is written: "You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve."

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not swear falsely. . But I say to you, Do not swear at all.

3. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work. The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.4. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. He was obedient to them. The Lord Jesus himself recalled the force of this "commandment of God." The Apostle teaches: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother,' (This is the first commandment with a promise.) 'that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth."'
5. You shall not kill.You have heard that it was said to the men of old, "You shall not kill: and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment." But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.

6. You shall not commit adultery.You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

7. You shall not steal.

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. It was said to the men of old, "You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn."

9. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

10. You shall not covet ... anything that is your neighbor's.... You shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant,, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.^{First, I have to say that I deleted the page breaks that the catechism had in their commandments for the sake of brevity. They paraphrased a commandment, then added other verses to relate to it as you can see. These verses were separated by page breaks.}

Admittedly, I made a mistake with the catechisms commandments, as "Kee" kindly mentioned to me. I read right over their inclusion of graven images. For that, I apologize. I attribute some of my confusion to the fact that the Catholic Church does abbreviate their Commandments often, and I had these abbreviated versions in mind at the time of this writing. There is a catechism link here that shows this dangerous abbreviation. There are also other catholic sources that modify, abbreviate, or ignore the Second Commandment, and I will list some:

beginningCatholic.com
roman-catholic-catechism
cylist.com
catholicbible101 (they explain the shortened version a bit)
catholocism.suite101.com

^{First off, the RCC is}^{paraphrasing and adding other parts of Scripture to their Ten Commandments. God's Word isn't to be paraphrased, that's how dangerous things can happen. The links I have listed are example of how the RCC Commandments have been abbreviated. How many Catholics just go by this abbreviation and don't know the full meaning of what God's Commandments are saying? How many children do a general search to learn about the Commandments and aren't given God's full Word? Why would the RCC abbreviate the Commandments in any instance? Oh yea, because they consistently break God's Second Commandment with graven images and statues everywhere you look! They bow to them and worship them, even though priests won't admit it, and Catholics themselves water that notion down. "We're not worshipping we're admiring or respecting." I've heard that before. It's worship, and God hates it.}
^{Please stop and think. Please. Do you want to be a part of a system that mo God's Law? Don't you think that's a bad idea? If you don't, consider God's very stern warning in Revelation 22, the very end of the Bible:}

[18] For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
[19] And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

From these verses, we are seeing that the RCC is taking away from God's Word! We will see later examples on how they add to it as well.

Biblical Mary vs. the RCC's Virgin Mary

This is another tremendously glaring error the Roman Catholic Church advocates. Was Mary a righteous virgin whom God chose to bear her son, and did she have children with Joseph after that? Or was she always a virgin and does she have god-like status? Well, let's see how she is portrayed in the RCC here.

From the article (all quotes will be in purple, since italics are giving me problems) :

"The Virgin Mary . . . is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer.... She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ' ... since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head."⁵⁰⁰ "Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church."

Can anyone tell me where this is in the Bible? When is Mary's virgin status capitalized? That's right, never. When is she called "Mother of God?" Yep, never. "Mother of the members of Christ?" Never. God consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Mary is not in this equation! She was a blessed virgin woman that God chose to birth His Son on earth because He wanted to! Mary did not earn this, she was given a gift!

"Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death";⁵⁰² it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:"

Excuse me? Where in the Bible does it say that Mary is unified with Christ? Union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation?!?! Where is this in the Bible? Of course the answer to both of these is that none of these claims are in the Word of God. It is completely made up by the RCC. What does God have to say about this?

First off, I'm sorry but I have to be a little blunt here. The entire message of the New Testament is that salvation is through Jesus Christ alone, and that He has redeemed us through His sinless life, death on the cross, and resurrection. The entire Old Testament is a foreshadowing of Christ. Jesus IS the Word. (John 1:1) If you believe the teaches of the RCC about Mary and her role in salvation, you probably haven't read the Bible! Mary isn't mentioned at all! She has absolutely no role in salvation, redemption or intercession. Read all of the Gospels, hear what Jesus says about Himself and how He gives the gift of eternal life. Read how He says nobody can come to the Father but by Him. Where is Mary in that? The concept of the Virgin Mary is an addition from the RCC to God's Word!

Please allow me to show you some verses:

Galatians 1:
[6] I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
[7] Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
[8] But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Paul doesn't say the gospel of Christ and Mary!

2 Timothy 3
[15] And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Hmm, no mention of Mary there...

Please read the first two chapters of the book of Hebrews. It talks of how the Son is God's revelation, and Christ's role in salvation. Nowhere is Mary mentioned!

1 Peter 2
[21] For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
[22] Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
[23] Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:
[24] Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
[25] For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

Again, it's all Jesus! Mary does not have a thing to do with salvation.

1 John 1
[1] That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
[2] (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
[3] That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Seeing the pattern? No mention of a "Virgin Mary" anywhere in the Bible! Look for yourself!

"After her Son's Ascension, Mary "aided the beginnings of the Church by her prayers."⁵⁰⁴ In her association with the apostles and several women, "we also see Mary by her prayers imploring the gift of the Spirit, who had already overshadowed her in the Annunciation."

Can you guess what I'm going to ask next? That's right, where in the Bible does it say that Mary had any involvement with the begginings of the Church? Imploring the gift of the Spirit? Utter blasphemy! Jesus Christ gave the Holy Spirit to us after His ascension! It's in the Gospels and in the first chapter of Acts.

The Annunciation? What is that? Of course I don't know what it is, because I only stick to God's Word and I don't branch out to perverted gospels. I'm not even going to look it up.

"Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death."⁵⁰⁶ The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:"

Immaculate Virgin, free from sin? Blasphemy once again! Nobody but Christ was free from sin!

Romans 3
[22] Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
[23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
[24] Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

This passage tackles both claims from the RCC. God says that all have sinned, and that Jesus Christ is the redeemer, no one else.

When is Mary given the title as "Queen" in the Bible? Of course the answer is never. This title of "Queen" or "Queen of Heaven" echoes the ancient Babylonian pagan religion, to which the RCC is extremely closely connected to. (I will not get into this in this blog, it's just too much. Maybe some other time.) When is she labeled the "Blessed Virgin?" Never.

Was Mary even a virgin after she gave birth to Jesus? No she was not. Scriptural proof:

Matt 1:
[18] Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
[19] Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
[20] But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
[21] And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
[22] Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
[23] Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
[24] Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
[25] And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

What do we learn from this passage? While Mary was married to Joseph, "before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost." Now Joseph didn't know that the Lord did this yet. He assumed Mary cheated on him, and wanted to put her away, or divorce her. The Lord came to him in a dream and told him that the Holy Ghost conceived the child. Now let's look at what verse 25 implies:

"And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS."

What is this verse saying? Joseph "new her not TILL" she birthed Jesus. The Bible doesn't say Joseph never knew her! It says he waited until Jesus was born to consummate his marriage!

Let's look and see the Biblical truth that Mary birthed more children after Jesus was born.

Matthew 13
[54] And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
[55] Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
[56] And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

I know people trapped in Catholicism will attempt to refute this by saying brethren and sisters are symbolic, or that they represent those in Christ. While that is sometimes the case, the context of this passage clearly indicates that Jesus had brothers and sisters. First the crowd asks if Jesus is Joseph's son, and that Mary is His mother. This is a dead giveaway to the fact that James, Joses, Simon and Judas were His brothers! (Half brothers of course, Joseph is not Jesus' father because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.)

More verses to further back up this claim:

Matthew 27:
[56] Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children.

Mark 3:
[31] There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.

Mark 6:
[3] Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

Mark 15:
[40] There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome;

Mark 16:
[1] And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

Matthew 12:
[46] While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
[47] Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
[48] But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
[49] And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
[50] For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

This passage is of even more significance than the others. Here we see Jesus' mother and brothers desiring to talk to Him. He answers by basically de-emphasizing their importance in their relation to Him on earth, calling everyone that does the will of His Father His brother, sister and mother! What does that say for what Jesus thinks of this "Virgin Mary" idea? There are more verses but I must move on.

I'll leave you with a few more verses from the Bible showing exactly Who is the intercessor between God and man, and then I will move on to another topic. I could drive this into the ground, but I'll leave it up to you to search this further out. These speak for themselves, so read God's Word and hear what He has to say.

Romans 8:
[34] Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

Hebrews 7:
[22] By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
[23] And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
[24] But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
[25] Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

God's Priesthood vs. the Priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church

Do you think this man (Cardinal Egan of New York) is holier than you are? Do you think God holds him in higher regard than you? He doesn't. In fact, God will exact His judgment on Egan unless he repent of his sins and be saved by the Lord Jesus. That's besides the point. :)

Why is the RCC set up with a Pope, Bishop, and all sorts of priests in a hierarchy? Why are they adorned like they are something special, set apart from others? Of course, this isn't Biblical. Are you surprised I'm saying this by now? All born again Christians are the priesthood of God, and Jesus Christ is our High Priest. It's that simple. There is no need for this system - it doesn't even teach God's Biblical truth!

Examples of Christ as our high priest:

Hebrews 2:
[16] For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
[17] Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 4:
[14] Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
[15] For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
[16] Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 5:
[5] So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
[6] As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
[7] Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
[8] Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
[9] And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
[10] Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

Hebrews 7:
[22] By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
[23] And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
[24] But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
[25] Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
[26] For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
[27] Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
[28] For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

Hebrews 9:
[11] But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

The Body of Christ as a priesthood:

1 Peter 2:
[5] Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
[6] Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
[7] Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
[8] And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
[9] But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Remind me why we need a Roman Catholic priesthood again? We have Jesus as the High Priest, and we believers are a royal priesthood, so there is no need for that system. The RCC priesthood doesn't even teach the truth! They are a bastardized version of the truth! They delete commandments, pervert God's word, teach strange doctrines, and lead people away from the real Jesus!

There is no other mediator to the Father other than Christ Jesus. We do not need a system of priests to connect us to Him, we have The Lord! We all have the right to come before His throne!

God the Father vs. The Roman Catholic "Holy Father"

As I'm sure you already know, the Popes of the RCC have the title of "Holy Father" among other things. What does Jesus, the Son of God say about this?

Matthew 23:
[8] But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
[9] And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.
[10] Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

God Himself tells us not to call anyone on earth our father! How much clearer can this be? Note the Rabbi and Master context here. We can know that Jesus is referring to the word "father" as meaning a godly figure. There is one Rabbi, one Master, one Father. The God of Israel is our one and only Father! Not some man-appointed pope who has zero of the characteristics of Christ! Jesus lived a humble, simple life, and told the Truth given to Him by His Father. The popes exalt themselves and sit on a throne as a god while millions of people worship him! Can't you see the audacity of this? How do you think this makes the Holy One feel?

2 Thessalonians 2:
[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

God's Holy Word is calling out the pope system to be the man of sin. One of the pope's titles is "Vicarius Filii Dei," which means Vicar of Christ. What does Vicar mean? SUBSTITUTE! The pope has the unimaginable audacity to call himself a substitute for Christ! If this doesn't reek of antichrist I don't know what else does. Please think about it. Look how this man adorns himself and eats up the glory. Look at how the RCC claims that popes are without sin. The Bible says all have sinned. Who is telling the truth? God or a man?

Maybe you're confused. Maybe you're thinking "but Peter was the first pope and Jesus gave him authority!" Allow me to expose this lie that the RCC has been feeding their millions of followers.

Matthew 16:
[18] And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Please pay very close attention, because this verse debunks the entire foundations of Catholicism alone. The RCC was not the first church, and Peter was not a pope.

When Jesus mentions Peter, the original Greek word here is "Petros." Here is the definition:

Πέτρος
Petros
pet'-ros
Apparently a primary word; a (piece of) rock (larger than G3037); as a name, Petrus, an apostle: - Peter, rock. Compare G2786.

A piece of rock. Extremely clear.

Now, which "rock" is Jesus referring to next? The Greek:

πέτρα
petra
pet'-ra
Feminine of the same as G4074; a (mass of) rock (literally or figuratively): - rock.

Ooh, Jesus is using a different version of the English word "rock" here! He says His church will be built on a mass of rock! It's clear to see that Jesus is using a little play on words here. He calls Peter a little rock, and then states that He (Jesus) will build His church on a massive rock, himself. Let's get other examples of Christ being called the Rock.

Matthew 7:
[24] Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
[25] And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

"Rock" in this passage is petra.

Luke 6:
[48] He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

Petra again.

Romans 9:
[33] As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Again, petra. Let's lock this in with absolute certainty, shall we?

1 Corinthians 10:
[4] And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Jesus Christ is the Rock, the foundation we are all built on, that nothing in the world can prevail over. Peter is a small rock, a fragment of the foundation we are all a part of through Christ. Christ is the cornerstone, Peter is like you and me!

With that being said, Peter was not a pope and he had no more authority then every true born again believer of Christ has! The RCC is lying to you.

I could go on further about the atrocities of the popes, but I have much more to write, and I want to maintain your attention!

The Lord's Supper vs. The Eucharist

The Eucharist is another glaring atrocity in the RCC. A lot of Catholics may look at the Eucharist as a symbol, in remembering what the Lord did for us. This is how we should look at it. However, this is not what the RCC says about the Eucharist in the catechism. The catechism claims that this is a literal sacrifice of Christ, and that it is a crucial "Sacrament" to their faith. They incriminate themselves (i'm thumbing through this link from the catechism):

"It is by the conversion of the bread and wine into Christ's body and blood that Christ becomes present in this sacrament."

Do you see what this is saying? This institution claims that a priest converts the bread and wine into Christ! Words can't express how bad this is! It is pure evil to teach this, and to believe this is the case. If you didn't know the RCC advocates this, there it is in plain English from their own catechism. Leave this system! God wants you to! Repent from all of this and come to Christ! He will embrace you and reveal Himself to you, I promise. What does God say about the sacrifice of Christ? This is extremely important.

Hebrews 9:
[11] But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; [12] Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

[23] It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. [24] For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: [25] Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; [26] For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. [27] And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: [28] So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

These verses very plainly show that Jesus Christ was sacrificed once for all sin, and it satisfied God the Father forever. Jesus is never sacrificed again, He is seated at the right hand of the Father. He does not come into a wafter and die again. That is a very serious error that God will judge when the time comes.

What should the Lord's Supper be then?

Luke 22: [19] And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. 1 Corinthians 11: [23] For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: [24] And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. [25] After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

The Lord's Supper is something we do to remember His sacrifice for our sins, by His one time death on the cross. Personally, I think it can be any meal that we choose to remember Him with. It doesn't have to be a wafer and wine, it can be anything we choose. God doesn't limit us to rituals. By partaking in the Eucharist, you are sinning against God and you will be held accountable to Him. Please, I beg you to leave the RCC! Their blasphemous beliefs are in plain sight, and the Word of God exposes them very clearly!

Scripture vs. Tradition

I will start this section with the same verses from Revelation 22 that I posted earlier.

[18] For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
[19] And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

God's Word is final. It is complete. We are forbidden to add or subtract to it, it stands as a whole. This is very important to soak in. There is no adding traditions or rituals to God's Word. It is what it is, and that's it.

What does the Catholic Church do? Add traditions of men and rituals, of course. They have added confessional, in which the priest will absolve sin. They encourage repetitive "Haily Mary" prayers with rosary beads. They command not to eat meat on Fridays during Lent. They set up a system of Sacraments in which a person can hope(!) and not assume(!) they are saved! They forbid priests and nuns to marry, and they pray to dead saints. I'm sure there are many more, but I will expose these with what God's Word has to say about them.

1 Timothy 4
[1] Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
[2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
[3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
[4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
[5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Paul, through the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is calling out the Catholic Church here (although probably not exclusively), quite obviously. He calls their traditions "doctrines of devils!" This is very strong language. He rebukes their lies, the forbidding of marriage and abstaining from meat! Nobody is forbidden to marry, the Bible says nothing of it. Marriage is encouraged (1 Corinthians 7, among other passages). We are allowed to eat anything we want, there is no Scripture that forbids us during any time period throughout the year. Lent isn't even in the Bible, it's a made up man-made tradition! Who do you choose to listen to? God in His Word, or what a blasphemous "Church" has to say?

What does Jesus say about prayer?

Matthew 6:
[5] And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
[6] But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
[7] But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

When you see a Pope or Bishop or anyone praying with their hands clasped in front of a crowd, you have to wonder as to what their intentions are. Are they earnestly seeking the Lord or are they seeking attention and their own reverence? God honors the prayers that are made in secret, and that are from the heart. He doesn't want you chanting repetitious nonsense over and over again! Do you think He has a hard time hearing? Do you think He honors robots? God wants a people to love Him from their hearts, not to be disconnected and chant requests with no feeling. Also, things like the Hail Mary aren't even directed to Him! They are prayers to idols!

God's Word on the forgiveness of sin:

1 Timothy 2:
[5] For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Hebrews 8:
[6] But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

Mark 2:
[10] But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins,

Luke 5:
[20] And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
[21] And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?

Colossians 2:
[13] And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him (Christ), having forgiven you all trespasses;

John 1:
[29] The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Romans 11:
27] For this is my covenant unto them, when I (Christ) shall take away their sins.

Acts 13:
[38] Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man (Christ) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

God alone has the power to forgive sins, through the spilled blood of Jesus Christ! No man has any chance in the world, I don't care if it's the blasphemously exalted Pope, he has no power whatsoever! Jesus Christ is the only mediator, and through Him is the only way sins are forgiven!

Even the Pharisees knew that God alone could forgive sins, and they didn't get much right! Some of the Gospels consist of Jesus' blasting them! (Note the similarities between the Pharisees of old and the modern day Catholic Priest system. Jesus knows everything.)

What does our Lord say regarding praying to saints? First, let's learn about what happens to people when they die. This could be a blog of its own, but I will give you the short version here.

1 Corinthians 15:
[3] For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
[4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
[5] And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
[6] After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

[17] And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
[18] Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

1 Thessalonians 4:
13] But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
[14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
[15] For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
[16] For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Matthew 9:
[24] He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.

John 11:
[11] These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.
[12] Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.
[13] Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
[14] Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

Now I know this is highly controversial, but the Bible clearly uses the term "asleep" or "sleepeth" to describe the state of the dead before Christ returns. Jesus Himself says it throughout the gospels. It's truth.

With that being said, any and all "saints" in the Catholic faith are dead. So what does God say about praying to the dead? Before we get into that, remember the Second Commandment? We are commanded not to pray to anyone or anything other than the Lord! If that hasn't convinced you yet, let's look further. Please read 1 Samuel 28:3-20. Also, this website shows many other verses as to why praying to saints is not scriptural.

Are we saved by faith alone or do works play a role in salvation, as the RCC teaches? I have already address this to some extent in an earlier blog entitled "Evidence of Salvation and Faith Evidenced by Works." I encourage you to read the bottom third of the entry or so. The top part isn't a bad read either, if you have the time. ;)

Does purgatory exist? The Roman Catholic Church teaches that it does, and scares its members into giving money for the hope that they can shorten a loved one's sentence. Do you believe them, or will you believe what Almighty God has to say? First, the verses on sleep that I showed you teach us through God's Word that the dead are dead. They aren't anywhere else but the grave right now. It's all over Scripture. With that being said, how can there be a Purgatory? Do a Bible search for that word, you won't find anything. Hades is the state of the dead, the grave. So is sheol. It's not gehenna either. Don't try too hard, it doesn't exist in the Word. Here is one verse that closes the book on Purgatory for all eternity:

Hebrews 9:
[27] And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

A final point: doesn't the idea of purgatory suggest that Christ's sacrifice wasn't good enough? I hope you realize that it was definitely good enough, and through His blood we are redeemed and justified to the Father! We don't need to spend time in limbo to earn our way to Him!

Conclusion

This has been a very great and time consuming undertaking, but I have done it for the Lord's Glory and for His Truth. I have done it because I care about those trapped in the Roman Catholic Church, and I want to see them free from that bondage. I want them to experience true salvation and a true relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, because the one in the RCC is a counterfeit. I know I came on very strong in this blog entry, and that I was blunt. The truth cannot compromise, and I have to tell you like it is. I pray that you soak this up and examine it through the Bible. Read, read, read. God's Word will mold you, and you will see the errors of the Catholic system. The more you learn of the Lord, the further He will distance you from "doctrines of devils."

Please, if you get something from this, pass it on! That goes for born again Christians too. This has to get out there, because the Christian world has embraced Rome as one of their own, while that can't be further from the truth. Nobody wants to stand up for this anymore. The reformers knew it in the 1600s, and this voice existed strongly until the dawn of the 20th century or so. It's been stifled with ecumenism and a very lukewarm Body of Christ. Let's stand up for the Lord and do something for Him. Let's separate ourselves from the world, and learn of the Lord from His Word alone, and conform to it. Make a difference! Jesus told us not to hide our light under a table. Embrace being radical for Him. We aren't on this earth to compromise, we are here to live holy lives for the God who has given us eternal life. We are the only light this darkened world will ever see, and we are commanded to teach the gospel to the lost!

I thank you dearly for reading this entry, if you got this far. There's no prize for finishing this, except maybe the gift of eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. :) I pray He touches the hearts of anyone who came across this.

I welcome any and all comments you have. May the Lord bless you.

Walking in the Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:05:00 +0000

With all that's been going on in recent circles, I'd like to address something of the utmost importance for every Christian: walking in the Spirit. If there's any key factor in our walks with the Lord, it's this. Too often we all get caught up in the small details - obedience, is this a sin/is that a sin, rules, condemnation, all the natural things our fallen state gravitates to. If we learn to walk in the Spirit, everything else goes away. I'll be taking a look at Romans chapter 8, and some other verses as they come to me. Hopefully this comes out pretty organized, it's a lot to tackle and I'm sort of doing it on the fly!

So what Spirit are we talking about here? The Holy Spirit of course. Now before I get into how to walk in the Spirit, do you know that you're born again? Jesus gives us valuable insight in John chapter 3:

[3] Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
[4] Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
[5] Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
[6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
[7] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
[8] The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

What is the role of the Holy Spirit? Quickly, John 14:

[15] If ye love me, keep my commandments.
[16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
[17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
[18] I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
[19] Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
[20] At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
[21] He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

The Holy Spirit is the Comforter, the Teacher. He reveals Jesus Christ to us on a personal level. Assures us of our faith. He opens our eyes to the Truth so that we may see it plainly. He manifests the love of God in our hearts.

If you're not sure that you're truly born again, stop reading this and pray. :) Do you have conviction of sin? A desire to learn about the Lord and read the Bible? Do you display the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-24)? We all stumble and fall from time to time, but when you fall do you get back up? Does your walk get stronger as time goes on? If you show signs of these things, you're most likely born again of the Spirit. With that being established, let's move on!

With being born again comes a desire to obey the Lord and please Him, to mortify the deeds of the flesh and live for Him. That's an excellent way to be, but it can play tricks on us. Human nature causes us to try and earn love. To get rewarded for doing good, and to get down on ourselves for not measuring up. We have to remember a very important verse from Isaiah 64:

[6] But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

There is nothing we can do to please the Lord. Nothing at all! If you're getting worried, you shouldn't be. This is where Jesus Christ comes in. Romans 8:1-17:

[1] There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
[2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
[3] For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
[4] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
[5] For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
[6] For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
[7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
[8] So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
[9] But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
[10] And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
[11] But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
[12] Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
[13] For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
[14] For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
[15] For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
[16] The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
[17] And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Some of the most important verses we can read here. First verse:

[1] There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

There is no reason to feel condemned! No feelings of guilt for not living up to expectations. If we have faith in Jesus and are born of the Spirit, we are free of these feelings.

[2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
[3] For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
[4] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Some heavy stuff here! What's it saying? Life in the Spirit through Jesus frees us from the law of sin and death. Jesus defeated sin and death at the cross. God no longer sees our iniquities and shortcomings, He sees the righteousness of Christ in us.

[9] But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
[10] And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
[11] But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

If we are truly born again, the Spirit of God lives inside us. We are a temple to the Holy Spirit.

1 Cor. 6:19-20
[19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
[20] For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Back to Romans 8:
[15] For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
[16] The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
[17] And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Any time we feel fear we can know it is not of the Lord. We don't worship Him in fear, we worship Him in love. We are adopted sons and daughters, and He loves us! We are joint-heirs with Christ, through His righteousness. Very important to keep reminding ourselves of this!

So how do we walk in the Spirit? It's really quite simple. Once we are truly born again, we're already doing it. If we have the Spirit of God in us, the righteousness of Christ acts as a cloak for our sins, and the Father sees them no more. We are freed from bondage, have no reason to fear, and are loved as the Lord loves His Son. Now, we are definitely not to take advantage of this and sin at will, and I may get more into that in a future blog or two, we'll see. For now, I hope this has been encouraging and I hope you can take something good away from it. Thanks for reading!

The very big misconception regarding Daniel 9

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 25 May 2009 02:56:00 +0000

Hey everyone, I'm back. I know, my loyal fanbase around the world has missed me, and I apologize! Let's just say I had writer's block for a bit, but I hope the Lord uses me and helps the ideas flow through my head again!

So I figured I'd kick things off with something that I had discovered a little while ago, something that the majority of Christians don't agree with me on. (Shocking, I know.) Daniel chapter 9 and the 70 weeks. Now, I definitely don't have all of this resolved, and I could be off on a few things, but I believe the 70 weeks mean a very different thing to a lot of people. Hopefully I can dissect the verses here and give you some insight about my take on this. I believe Daniel 9:24-27 is a Messianic prophecy alone, and that I think the 70 weeks may be completely fulfilled.

Christian legend has it that there will be "The Antichrist" that will establish a peace treaty with 3 1/2 weeks (years) of peace, then he'll turn and have 3 1/2 years of terror. I'm very hesitant to use the term "The Antichrist," since the Bible never uses it to describe one man. The man is referred to as the man of sin, son of perdition, little horn, abomination of desolations. There are many antichrists in the world, there isn't just going to be one, with a nice fancy title like that. We'd be deceived if we were waiting for something like that to happen. So this treaty idea is mainly based on Daniel 9:24-27. I'm not sure how and where it originated, but I don't believe it's correct. Let me give you the verses:

[24] Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
[25] Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
[26] And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
[27] And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

I'll dive in and see what the scoop is with all this. Before I do, I just want to say that I don't have the timing down the way some others do. I haven't really personally studied the idea of weeks being years, and all that. My goal here is to just give you what I feel the passage is about.

Look at what the seventy weeks establish in verse 24: to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Does any of this sound familiar? The Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished all of this in his birth, death, and ressurection.

Now let's compare the highlighted area with verses about what Jesus has accomplished:

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Isaiah 53:5-6 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 Cor. 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;

So hopefully you can see a similar thread running through Daniel 9:24 and the other verses I've provided. Jesus Christ has reconciled us from our iniquities, brought in everlasting righteousness, and put an end to transgressions. Daniel 9:24 is talking about Christ. It's a Messianic prophecy. Let's continue!

To be completely honest I'm not too sure about verse 25 and 26. It gives a seven week and threescore and two week timeframe for the building of Jerusalem to the Messiah. I do think the building of Jerusalem is a figurative phrase, relating to the building of the Body of Christ though.

Verse 27 is the verse that I feel gets misinterpreted in mainstream Christianity.

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Somehow this verse is taken out of the previously established Messianic context of the passage and it is ascribed to "The Antichrist." If this is what you've been taught as a Christian I encourage you to take a closer look with me.

The Bible wouldn't go from describing something Jesus has accomplished to talking about a treaty from an antichrist in the same breath. If we look at verse 27 with Jesus in mind we see a completely different picture.

"And he shall confirm the covenant" - What does this mean? Doesn't God work through covenants? The Old Testament and New Testament mean Old Covenant and New Covenant. Jesus Christ is the promise of the new covenant, and verse 27 is addressing it.

Is. 55:3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

For more insight into this let us read further into verse 27. What does this covenant achieve? In the midst of the week (3.5 years into the 7, the length of Jesus' ministry) the sacrifice and oblation (religious gifts) will cease! The blood of Christ becomes the only atoning sacrifice, and all others become an abomination to the Lord.

I want to finish this little study with a question. Why would the 70 weeks be unfinished to this day if Jesus Christ has already finished the transgression, made an end to sins, reconciled our iniquities, brought in His everlasting righteousness for us, and annoited us with his Holy Spirit?

I know this hasn't been my most thorough and definitive study I've done, and for that I apologize. I've just had this burden for a little while and wanted to shed some light on some things that I had discovered from it. Like I said, I don't have a full understanding of the weeks/years, the timeframe, and things like that. However I hope you take away from this the idea that Daniel 9:24-27 is solely about Jesus Christ, and does not have anything to do with an antichrist making a treaty that he will break halfway through his rule.

I feel Christians have to be prepared for some tough times ahead, and that there is a chance that we may see the man of sin in our lifetime. It's important for us to know what's going on, and what to expect. If we're looking for a peace treaty with Israel or something of that nature, we may not even notice him until it's too late! Who knows. There is much out there in the Christian world that is accepted dogma that just isn't true. We have to all dig into our Bibles ourselves and know that we all have the Teacher inside us in the Holy Spirit!

Now to balance out what may seem to be a little bit of gloom and doom, it's also important to remember that the Lord has conquered sin and death, loves us beyond belief, and laughs at those that plot against him. He's on our side, and we really don't have anything to worry about.

Thanks for reading!

What's Wrong with Our Gospel?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:45:00 +0000

I found a blog post from Frank Viola to be very moving. Figured I'd share!

What's Wrong with Our Gospel?

Christians Use Prophecy to Excuse Laziness, by Chuck Baldwin

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:42:00 +0000

I just came across this from a message board I frequent. Chuck Baldwin (who just ran for President, even though the media hardly wanted you to know) talks about the current "Christian" state of America amidst all the freedoms we are just letting pass by us. I agree with his position, although when he uses the term "elite" I take it one step further in saying the Vatican and Jesuits. Not sure if he knows the power structure goes that high. Anyway, I will paste the entire article and provide the link!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Christians Use Prophecy To Excuse Laziness
by Chuck Baldwin
February 3, 2009

In response to my two previous columns regarding the current development of a devilish New World Order, many professing Christians wrote me with comments to the effect that we should not be concerned about whatever global tyranny may be developing, because "it's all a part of God's plan," or "Jesus is coming soon," and similar statements. I, too, believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ to earth. But, then again, so did Christians from every generation over the last two millennia. In fact, the Apostle Paul was looking for the return of Christ while he lived (Philippians 3:20). But does anticipation of Christ's Second Coming excuse personal neglect, indifference, and downright laziness? Of course not.

Had pastors and Christians of colonial America believed and acted as most Christians believe and act today, this country would still be a Crown colony and we would never have known the freedoms and liberties that our forebears bequeathed to us. Christians of that era, however, believed that it was their duty and obligation to fight for right and do everything within their power to resist tyranny. They also believed that God would honor and bless their efforts, which He certainly did!

It is extremely difficult for me to reconcile the apathy and slave-like mentality that seems to permeate modern Christendom (in America) with both our own heritage and the very Word of God. For example, the Apostle Paul is very clear when he writes that a Christian must never "do evil, that good may come" (Romans 3:8). Yet, that is exactly what many, if not most, Christians are doing today.

When confronted with an obvious evil (a burgeoning tyrannical New World Order, not to mention a number of lesser evils), modern Christians will shrug and glibly say, "It's God's will; we must not oppose it," or words to that effect. This attitude says, "I will tolerate or even condone evil in order to hasten Christ's return."

In the first place, no one knows when Christ will return, no matter how many books or tapes they have produced to say they do. In Acts chapter 1, Jesus was asked by His disciples if He would, at that time, set up His kingdom. The first words out of His mouth were, "It is not for you to know." Oh, we can speculate, surmise, and make educated guesses, but that's the best we can do. It's time we were honest enough to admit it: only God knows when Christ will return. In fact, Jesus said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36).

In the meantime, millions of Christians across America are trying to play God. They talk as if they know when Christ will come. It's actually worse than that. They have the attitude that they have no personal responsibility to defend freedom and resist despotism. They seem to look at God as some kind of glorified fireman, who is obligated to rush in at the last minute to rescue them from a burning fire--a fire that they helped ignite, or at least, refused to put out themselves when they had the opportunity to do so. It's the old, "God would not let that happen in America" syndrome.

How arrogant can we be? Ask believers from despotic regimes around the world what they think about God letting tribulation come, and they will quickly tell you, "We are already in tribulation." Are Christians in the United States really that arrogant as to believe that God loves them more than He loves believers in other countries? If not, can we not see that if believers around the world have suffered (and still suffer) the heavy hand of tyranny and oppression, it is certainly possible for tyranny and oppression to come to our land? The fact is, the only reason that Christians in America have not (for the most part) suffered tyranny and oppression is because of the hard work and sacrifice of our forefathers. We are simply enjoying the fruit of their labor.

In the second place, how do we know what God would do, if we only had the backbone to do our duty? How do we know that God would not give America "a new birth of freedom" for our children and grandchildren, if we only had the courage and fortitude to oppose the evil being thrust upon us by these would-be tyrants? America is only the "land of the free," because it was the "home of the brave." Take away the latter and we lose the former. And that is exactly what is currently happening.

In the third place, Christians have a moral imperative to resist evil, even if their efforts are fruitless. We are not responsible for outcome, only effort. Believers throughout history acted on principle, leaving the results with God. (Read Hebrews chapter 11.) Some were delivered; some were not. That did not matter. What mattered was doing one's duty. We Christians are to give our bodies as "a living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1). It is God's prerogative to use our sacrifice as He sees fit. Therefore, there is no such thing as a "losing effort," when it comes to doing right. Doing right (resisting evil) is its own reward. The three Hebrew children were not commended because God delivered them from the burning fiery furnace; they were commended because they were willing to go into the burning fiery furnace. So must we be.

I believe the real reason why so many professing Christians are so apathetic and indifferent to what is happening has nothing to do with the teachings of Scripture, Bible doctrine, eschatology, or anything of the like. It has everything to do with old-fashioned laziness. Today's average Christian just flat does not want to be bothered. He has a comfortable house, an easy chair, television, and a set of golf clubs in the closet. He takes two or three weeks' vacation every year, goes to church on Sunday (a church that does not intrude on his comfort zone, of course), pays taxes, and votes for his favorite "pro-life" Republican candidate every two years, and assumes that he is a "good" Christian and "patriotic" American. He is neither!

A real Christian patriot would never allow his country to be taken over by a gaggle of elitist goons bent on stealing his liberties--including his religious liberties--without doing everything in his power to prevent it. A real Christian patriot is active, alert, engaged, zealous, and committed to preserving liberty.

What if Jesus doesn't come for another 100 years? Another 200 years? What are we going to say to our grandchildren when they ask us what we were doing when our freedoms and liberties were being stolen? What will we say to our Christian forebears when we meet them in eternity? They sacrificed everything so that we could live in peace and freedom. What will we say to them? What will we say to God, who handed this land of liberty to us on a silver (albeit blood-soaked) platter?

Tell me again that "there is nothing we can do about it," or "it's God's will," or "Jesus is coming soon." Better yet, tell it again to the suffering Christians around the world; tell it again to our Christian forebears; tell it again to your children and grandchildren who are going to inherit a land of tyranny and oppression, all because you were too lazy to resist.

I know unbelievers who have more character and determination about preserving liberty than many who call themselves Christians. And I have a ton more respect for them, too. Our Lord told us, "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Luke 12:48). Yes, Christians in America have been given the best of both worlds, and many do not even appreciate it enough to see to it that their own children--their own flesh and blood--will live to enjoy the same blessings. They are pathetic!

So, the next time you hear some piety-draped Christian talking about how he won't engage the enemy and fight for liberty, because of prophecy, or some other spiritually-sounding platitude, just remember, it has nothing to do with prophecy, or anything of the sort: it has everything to do with old-fashioned laziness. My feeling toward him is the same as that of Sam Adams (a fellow Christian) toward the Tories of old: "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animating contest for freedom--go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!" Amen!

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20090203.html

The King James Bible (and others translated from the Textus Receptus) is the infallible Word of God

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 01:47:00 +0000

Amidst controversy and risking some unpopularity, I will boldly state that the King James Bible is the Word of God. Being hated or unpopular has never been a setback for me, all I want to do is proclaim the truth. So here's some more of it! The King James Bible (from the Textus Receptus) is the inspired Word of God. Any new translation from other manuscripts are fraudulent (most coming from the Alexandria manuscripts from EGYPT, or the Latin Vulgate from the Vatican, self explanatory). I'm going to provide plenty of resources for you to check this out, before you just dismiss me. I believe it is your obligation as a Christian to test this for yourself. Don't just believe me if this is a new topic for you, and don't dismiss me out of ignorance. Satan has been attacking God's Word since the Garden, and he has kicked it into high gear. The Jesuits work hard at confusing Christians and taking away from God's Word. So with all that said, if you haven't closed this window yet, I'll provide you with some links to research. I strongly encourage you to do so.

"The Answer Book," Dr. Samuel C. Gipp
An excellent defense of the King James Bible being the Word of God, answering and debunking many questions and "problems" with the KJV. It even shows how the KJV's one instance of Easter in the New Testament is absolutely correct! A must read!

http://www.1611kingjamesbible.com/
An excellent site written by Ty Bollinger in an honest, plain way. Another must read!

The Attack, by Jack Chick
An excellent comic book version depicting the story of the KJV and the corrupt manuscripts! A fun way to learn about this!

The KJV vs. Modern Bibles
Jeff Johnson allowed this work to be published: "I spent 3 years researching and writing a manuscript which defends the King James. I studied 44 sources, & went thru 3,100 pages of research. (Not to mention reading the texts of these new versions)."

Jesus Is Lord
Amazing, amazing website full of Christian inspiration and information that can keep you busy for weeks on end. About a third of the way down, the site gets into a huuuuuuuge defense of the KJV that shouldn't go unnoticed!

This is enough information on the King James vs. The Rest debate to keep you busy for a long time. I can't stress this enough - you owe it to yourself and the Lord Jesus Christ to look into this matter. Wouldn't you want to know the history behind what you think is God's Word? As a believer in Christ, don't you want to savor His every word in full confidence? Don't you want the full power that comes with God's infallible Word? Or do you want a watered down impostor version that Satan loves for us to read?!

Satan's Puppet Masters of the World: The Jesuit Heirarchy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:40:00 +0000

I'm done holding back from speaking out on this. I trust the Lord will be my strength, and will be my shield. If you want to know who is behind all the wars, all the "terrorism," American politics, the Presidency, JFK and Lincoln's assassinations, almost every significant event in history, here it is. The Society of Jesus, aka the Jesuits. An EXTREMELY evil militarized organization hellbent on ruling the world, with the White Pope ultimately declaring himself god in the rebuilt Temple of Solomon. The Black Pope (aka Father-General) is the ruler of the world, second to Satan of course. I have a feeling I'll lose some of my lurker population on this one, but it is of the utmost importance. They hate Protestants like you and me, and want us dead. We have to know our enemy! I strongly urge to to hear what I have to say on this, as well as the brave men that risk their lives daily to expose this order, namely Eric Jon Phelps and Thomas Richards. They both have excellent websites, both are on the left column of my blog, Vatican Assassins and Spiritually Smart. Now, I don't agree with everything these men say doctrinally, but their research is invaluable.

Here is an explanation of how the Jesuit Order is set up, taken from Phelps' book "Vatican Assassins 3," ultimately taken from Luigi Desanctis:

“The Jesuit government is eminently monarchial, one is their chief, who is called the General; he can do what he likes; he is chosen for life, and need not give a reason to any one, so long as he acts according to the spirit of the institution, that is, to direct all the orders for the greater glory of God. Should he depart from this aim, he may be deposed by the assistants, who convoke a general Congregation to elect another. But this case never happens. See [observe] how the Father-General has in his hand the governance of the whole Roman Catholic [and now the whole] world.

Every Jesuit is obliged to yield blind obedience to his Superior, so that, according to the expressions of their rule, a Jesuit ought to be in the hands of his Superior, that which the dead body is in the hands of the surgeon who dissects it. The Jesuit when he acts from obedience is never responsible for his actions; the Jesuit has no longer a conscience, he has given it over to his Superior for the greater glory of God [“ad majorem Dei gloriam”]; he must blindly obey and look upon the Superior as if he were Jesus Christ Himself, as if the voice of the Superior were the voice of God. It is said in their rules, that if the Superior commands a thing that is manifestly sinful, he ought not to be obeyed, but such exception is illusory. First, because admitting that the voice of the Superior is the voice of God, it is impossible that God should command a sin; secondly, because in the doctrine of the Jesuits, it is difficult to find a sin. As for the Jesuits, the world is their kingdom, and the different nations are only provinces of that kingdom of the Father-General. For example, England, Ireland and Scotland are simply a Jesuit province [there is the province of Ireland today which includes Australia]; all Italy is only a province, France is another province, the whole of Switzerland proper has not even the honour of being considered a province, but French Switzerland is united to the province of France, and German Switzerland is to the province of Germany; and so of other kingdoms. Every one of the provinces maintains in Rome near to the General a representative with the title of Father-Assistant, and such Father-Assistants assist and counsel the Father-General, simply giving their opinion, only as in consultation, when it is asked by him. Every individual belonging to the Society must every day relate what he has seen, thought, or felt, whether of his companions or of strangers, and this relation must be made either to a Jesuit appointed for that purpose, who is called the Spiritual Father, or directly to the Superior [thereby maintaining an international system of spying and espionage]. The Superiors must make extracts from all the relations, collecting what in them may be of interest, and sending their report every week to the Provincial Father. The Provincials in their turn make their report every week, sending it to the Father-General, who in his turn gives the summary every Thursday in the private audience, which he has with the Pope, referring to and consulting with His Holiness.

All these things cause the Father-General to be feared by the Pope and the sovereigns; because he only, through the consciences of all his subjects, which he alone has in his power, knows all the ramifications of Roman Catholic society as a whole. The Father-Assistants are the most sagacious men of their province, men sent to Rome in order that they may better inform and advise the Father-General, who concerts with his Assistants according to the notices he receives from the Provincials, or from the Associated Society of St. Vincent [de Paul] (called the Paolotti); if it is seen, for example, that it would be for the greater glory of God to organize a revolution in a kingdom, the Father-General concerts with the Father- Assistant of that country, who, by his knowledge of the places, of the persons, of the national character, can suggest good advice; then he gives orders to the Provincial of that kingdom, and this latter sends the word of command to his subjects and associates [American Roman Hierarchy, CFR, CIA, FBI, NSA, Military Intelligence, Mafia, Opus Dei, Knights of Columbus, select 33rd Degree Freemasons, State Governors controlling State and Local Police Agencies, Nation of Islam, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, etc.], who, obedient as dead bodies, act for the most part without knowing the aim [as stated by Eugene Sue in his The Wandering Jew]; they work in the pulpits [now talk radio and all the major media outlets], in the confessionals, in the schools, as the wheels of a machine skillfully impelled, which moves without knowing what will be the result [as in the Kennedy Assassination]. In this manner the Father-General who is in Rome can, if he believe it be to the greater glory of God, predict, or cause to be predicted an event [like the death of a Pope], months, and even years, before it occurs, without fear of being belied. This is why the Jesuits are protected by sovereigns and governors. A sovereign who is not their friend will sooner or later experience their vengeance. . . . The Jesuits, my dear friend, are not always dressed in the habit of Don Basilio* (Don Quixote, Second Part, Chapter xxi), nor do they always live in convents; in those countries where they cannot legally live, they exist in other ways; indeed, I can tell you that in those countries the influence of the Father-General is greater. The Jesuits exist in all Protestant countries under the name of missionaries, with the habit of priest, and also with the habit of layman, they exist there under other names.” {12} [Emphasis added]

Luigi Desanctis, 1852
Official Censor of the Inquisition
Protestant Reformed Pastor
Popery, Puseyism and Jesuitism

30th and current Father-General of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), aka the BLACK POPE, Adolfo Nicolas

A Warning to Those Conspiring Against the Lord

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 02:56:00 +0000

PSALM 2

Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

At this very hour the kings of the earth set themselves against God and His people. They have been for centuries. I would like to get more into this topic, but I will wait on the Lord for the best way to present it, because it's massive. However, I can tell you that the leaders of this world conspire against Him day and night, and things aren't what they seem on the surface - yes, even in America. Especially in America actually. He knows all about it, and He's in full control.

Outraged! The corrupt NIV "Bible"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 05:43:00 +0000

I've known for a while that the NIV deletes verses and waters down Scripture to hold less meaning. If you're an NIV reader, please, I plead with you to look into this! This "Bible" is straight from the pits of hell. I'm going to expound on Bibles in the near future (I have too many blog ideas to keep up with!), but for now, I just stumbled upon yet another discrepancy between translations! I can't believe this!

Revelation 1:11

King James Version: Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

New International Version: which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."

Umm, excuse me?!?! The NIV blatantly deletes the part of Scripture that shows Jesus' absolute Sovereignty and Authority!!!!! This is absolute blasphemy and a disgrace. As I've said, I've known about the perversions of this ungodly translation, but this to me is the worst! How can translators omit this key piece of Scripture? I know how: they seek to undermine Jesus' authority, and water it down to take power away from God's true Word!

Hey NIV translators, here's one ya paraphrased correctly!

Revelation 22:18-19 (King James Version)
[18] For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
[19] And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

You WILL be held accountable!

Real Prayer Has Meaning

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:46:00 +0000

"First of all, real prayer is far better than mere ritual because there is meaning in it. When grace is absent, there is no meaning in ritual. It is as senseless as a fool's game.

Did you ever stand in a Roman Catholic cathedral and watch the daily service, especially if it happened to be on a holiday? With the boys in white, and the men in violet, pink, red, or black, there are enough performers to entertain a city. There are those who carry candlesticks, those who carry crosses, those who carry cushions and books, those who ring bells, those who sprinkle water, those who bob their heads, and those who bow their knees. The whole scene is very strange to look at - very amazing, very amusing, very childish. One wonders, when he sees it, what it is all about, and what kind of people are really made better by it. One wonders also what an idea Roman Catholics must have of God if they imagine that He is pleased with such performances. Do you not wonder how the Lord endures it? What must His glorious mind think of it all?

The glorious God cares nothing for pomp and show. But when you call upon Him in the day of trouble and ask Him to deliver you, there is meaning in your groan of anguish. This is no empty formality. There is heart in it, is there not? There is meaning in the sorrowful appeal. Therefore, God prefers the prayer of a broken heart to the finest service that was ever performed by priests and choirs."

-Charles Spurgeon, "Praying Successfully"

Psalm 50:15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

Psalm 51:15-17
[15] O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
[16] For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
[17] The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Matthew 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

I'm currently reading "Praying Successfully" by Charles Spurgeon, and felt prompted to put that quote out there on my blog. I have a very strong feeling that 2009 will be a trying year for America and the world, and I urge everyone to draw near to the Lord!

Evidence of Salvation and Faith Evidenced By Works

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:51:00 +0000

With this entry I plan on wrapping up my little "Blog Trilogy." I didn't plan to do this, but I'm going to roll with it! So far, I have said that we are supposed to love God through obedience and following His commandments, and that believing in Him and repenting of our sins leads to salvation. In this installment I am going to show how we know we are saved, the signs that become evident in true followers of Jesus. Let's kick things off with what the Master says in John 15:

[1] I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
[2] Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
[3] Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
[4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
[5] I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
[6] If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
[7] If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
[8] Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
[9] As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
[10] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
[11] These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
[12] This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
[13] Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
[14] Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
[15] Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
[16] Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
[17] These things I command you, that ye love one another.

As usual, Jesus uses a beautiful and brilliant analogy to illustrate a very important point to us. He compares Himself to a vine, and His people grow out of that vine. The ones that are producing good fruit for Him are trimmed, so they may grow further and continue to be productive. The branch can't bear fruit on its own, it's totally dependent on the vine for its nutrition. The branches that are not connected to the vine will wither and die, and be cast into the fire. Notice here again that Jesus is giving us a conditional statement, like I mentioned in my "how does one love God?" entry. [10] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Now, when Jesus talks of abiding in Him and He in us, He's referring to the Holy Spirit living in us. We can only produce fruit through the Spirit.

John 14:16-17
[16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
[17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

By the way, this isn't the only time a vine or vineyard is mentioned in the Bible. Of course, being the supernatural infallible masterpiece of the Word of God, we see foreshadowing in the Old Testament.

Psalm 80:14-19
[14] Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine;
[15] And the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
[16] It is burned with fire, it is cut down: they perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.
[17] Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
[18] So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.
[19] Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.

The end verses of this Psalm are a messianic prophecy. The vineyard is planted through Christ, whom God placed with His right hand. The branch is another name for Jesus. (Is. 11:1, Jer. 23:5, Zech. 3:8, and more) So before I get too off topic here, I just wanted to show that Jesus is the vine, the branch, and it was foretold many years before He came to earth. Not a surprise, right?

Paul writes about the fruit of the Spirit in the book of Galatians 5:22-24:

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
[23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
[24] And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Something important to note here: Paul deliberately writes "fruit," in the singular form. Why not fruits? All these things he lists are evident in a believer, not just one or a few. The fruit we produce yields love, joy, peace, etc.

I don't want anyone to think that this all comes instantly when someone is saved. It's not this automatic life transformation where all your weaknesses and faults instantly go away, and you're a little Christ robot. No, this is a process. Certain things will manifest themselves in a believer rather quickly, while others may take time. Jesus works out the kinks in us through the process of sanctification, which I'll talk about a little later.

So after learning about good fruit, what should we take away from this? Do we have to go out and save the universe? Nope. Producing good fruit could be as easy as smiling at someone, sticking up for Jesus, witnessing, fellowship, standing against the devil, denying the lusts of the flesh, donating to the poor, anything that is done for God's glory. It comes natural to the believer, and becomes more apparent and abundant as Jesus continues to trim us. If you can see that you're producing good fruit in your life, that's definitely an indication that you are saved by the Lord Jesus.

I just mentioned that the fruit-bearing process is just that - a process. Christ Jesus sanctifies us through his Holy Spirit over time, conforming us to Him. The word sanctify means "to set apart for sacred use, to make holy; purify." This is the miraculous power of the Lord at work in a believer. Let's see what the Bible says about sanctification.

Romans 15:16
That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.

Hebrews 10:14
For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

1 Thes. 4:1-4
[1] Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.
[2] For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
[3] For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
[4] That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

2 Thes. 2:13
But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

John 17:17
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Exodus 31:13
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11
[9] Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
[10] Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
[11] And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

There are even more verses that illustrate sanctification in the Bible, but I feel this is enough for you to get a feel of what's being said throughout. Sanctification is a process that God Himself does, alone, by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, to make us holy and to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. This sanctification process produces the fruit of the Spirit in us, and we can examine ourselves and see if these fruits are evident in our lives.

Let's take another look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 above. God is giving us a stern warning, and shows us what kinds of people will NOT inherit the kingdom of God. It's also repeated in Galatians 5:19-21:

[19] Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
[20] Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
[21] Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Ephesians 5:3-5
[3] But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
[4] Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
[5] For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

God never pulls punches when He gives us warnings! To be honest, I'm glad He doesn't. Jesus also explained to us that we can know if someone is in God by their fruit. Too often I hear "Christians" say "don't judge, don't judge!," although Christ Himself gave us insight on it. I'm not talking about judging Christians here, I'm talking about weeding out false Christians and false prophets.

Matthew 7:15-23
[15] Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
[16] Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
[17] Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
[18] A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
[19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
[20] Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
[21] Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Here we see a reinforcement of what Jesus said in John 15, but with a little more emphasis on false prophets. If someone isn't abiding in Jesus the Biblical (only) way, and doesn't regard His law as holy and righteous, Jesus will cast that person into hell on the day of judgment. No doubt about it. So it is ok to examine people by the fruit they produce in life (like our rotten soon-to-be former President Dubya), and we are actually supposed to do so!

Before this entry gets too long winded, I want to illustrate one more point. Faith evidenced by works. This is a tricky one, because people can get sucked into works salvation. I believe the Catholic church teaches works salvation in part, although I could be wrong. Anyway, our faith is made apparent through the things we do in life. Some Bible for ya:

James 2:14-26
[14] What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
[15] If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
[16] And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
[17] Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
[18] Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
[19] Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
[20] But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
[21] Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
[22] Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
[23] And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
[24] Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
[25] Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
[26] For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Matthew 7:26
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

1 John 3:18
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Again, there are even more verses that illustrate this, but for the sake of brevity I'll just include these. It is very important to read these passages carefully! They are easily twisted. Our faith is demonstrated and justified by the things we do, and going back a few blog entries, our obedience. If we have faith but don't obey the Lord, what good is that? What good is faith without action? It's dead. On the other hand, if we have faith that produces good fruit and that is evident by our works in life, we are justified and in good standing with the Lord Jesus!

Finally, I want to clearly show in Scripture that our works have nothing to do with obtaining salvation! They are simply evidence that we are indeed truly saved.

Titus 3:5-7
[5] Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
[6] Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
[7] That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Ephesians 2:8-9
[8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
[9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Romans 3:20-28
[20] Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
[21] But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
[22] Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
[23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
[24] Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
[25] Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
[26] To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
[27] Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.
[28] Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

Galatians 2:16
[16] Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

I hope you see the distinction the Bible makes on this. We are saved by faith alone through Christ Jesus. Any man that thinks his own works play a role in his salvation is fooling himself and robbing God of His glory! It is God alone who saves, who sanctifies us, who produces good fruit through us, and who leads us in our Christian walk. Without Christ we can do nothing. Without works, we don't have much faith at all though, do we? Is it genuine?

This entry has been a massive undertaking! I hope it isn't too long, and I hope I have made my points clear. We know we are saved by the good fruit we produce in our lives, the fruit of the Spirit that becomes evident, the things we do for the glory of God, and the overall sanctification process we see in our lives. We sin less over time, and gain a real victory over sinful ways in general - a life of holiness. We owe this all to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, without whom we can do nothing. Thanks be to God!

Belief AND Repentance vs. Asking Jesus Into Your Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:08:00 +0000

I figure I might as well write another blog while the ideas are flowing, so here we go! What I want to write about next is related to my last blog, "How does one love God?" The idea of obedience to the Lord led me to start thinking about salvation, and just how is it that one is truly saved. (This blog will also tie into that ever famous Sabbath blog I keep talking about. This is the build up! :P) Sadly, the American church doesn't have a good grasp of this in many instances, and a lot of the time it doesn't produce a Christian when all is said and done. So, let me ask you a question:

"Have you asked Jesus into your heart?"

If you said yes, great! You're saved!

No, wait a minute. That's actually not true. While it's definitely not a bad thing to want Jesus/the Holy Spirit to live inside you (it's the only shot we've got!), simply asking Jesus in or saying the "sinner's prayer" won't do you much good. I'm sure many of you that will read this are already aware of this, but I feel the need to get this out there for those who don't. It's also a very talked about subject, Paul Washer loves preaching on it. I just wanted to put it into my own words, and show the people in my life what I think about it.

Let's begin by establishing how one is saved.

John 3:16-18
[16] 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.
[17] For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
[18] He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

That's the essence of the Gospel right there. The Bible is filled with salvation verses, but these may encapsulate it best. We're sinners, damned to hell, all have transgressed from the law, and the wages of sin is death. God sent His only begotten Son to live a perfect life on earth, fulfill the law, and die as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Anyone who believes in Him is saved (by grace and faith alone). However, what does the word believe imply?

James 2:19
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Hmmm, very interesting, huh? Are you confused? The devils obviously aren't saved, but they believe in God? The only answer for this is to look into what the word "believe" means for a Christian. So let me break out my trusty (albeit a bit dusty) Strong's Concordance. The word "believeth" from John 3 is the word "pisteuo" in Greek. Sorry, don't know how to add the accents above the words! I'm going to type out what my book says:

To have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing) i.e. credit; by implication to entrust (espec. one's spiritual well-being to Christ); - believe, commit unto, commit to (one's) trust, be committed unto, be put in trust with, be commit to one's trust, believer.

So right away we learn that "believe" goes way deeper than just thinking Jesus is God. It's trusting Him and committing to Him. The Concordance further explains it:

Pisteuo means not just to believe, but also to be persuaded of; and hence, to place confidence in, to trust, and signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere credence, hence it is translated "commit unto", "commit to one's trust", "be committed unto", etc.

Hey, pretty cool stuff! Now that we see that belief isn't just a mere thought, let's take the next step here. I'm gonna write out a few verses here for you to read:

Matthew 3:1-2
[1] In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
[2] And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Mark 1:14-15
[14] Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
[15] And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 6:12, talking of the mission of the twelve disciples:
And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

Luke 13:3
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Acts 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 3:19-20
[19] Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
[20] And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

Acts 17:29-31
[29] Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.
[30] And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:
[31] Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Rev 2:5
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Matthew 9:13
But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Ok, I'm afraid if I post any more verses here I'm going to lose you! There are more in the Bible, and the Old Testament is full of warnings from God for His people to repent or die. The idea we should take away from these verses is that belief alone doesn't do much good if one is not living in continual repentance. What is repentance? It means "a change of mind," a turning from sin. To realize that what we do against God's Word is wrong, and that we must do our best to live and conform to Him in obedience, through grace. Repentance is a continual process, we're ingrained with sin and it's always being thrown at us through our own thoughts, other people, television, movies, music, advertisements, the devil, and the list goes on. We must continually "mortify the deeds of the flesh" (Romans 8:13) and put on the armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-20) throughout our lives. It's a fight! It's not a prayer we say once and forget about! Thank the Lord Jesus for giving us the power to live a life of belief and repentance!

2 Cor. 12:9
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

God also understands what we are going through.

Hebrews 4:14-16
[14] Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
[15] For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
[16] Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

1 John 2:1-2
[1] My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
[2] And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Isn't this great? The Lord understands, and is willing to forgive us as many times as we ask for it! (Mat. 18:15-22) The key point to take away here is that if we are willing to repent and obey the Lord sincerely, God is more than willing to extend His mighty hand and guide us.

Now there is a flipside to this. Here's where it gets scary. Some people may take advantage of God's grace and just think they can sin with reckless abandon and just ask God to forgive them afterwards. Anyone who thinks this is true is sorely mistaken. My last blog on loving God parallels this idea to an extent. I urge you that if this pertains to you, listen closely:

Romans 6:1-2
[1] What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
[2] God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

1 John 2:4
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Matthew 7:21-23
[21] Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
[22] Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
[23] And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Hebrews 10:26-27
[26] For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
[27] But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Very, very scary warnings. Iniquity means "lawlessness," total disregard for God's law. It's an extreme, but there are plenty of people out there that live in ignorance to God and His will. People that don't truly love God and His Word (the Biblical way), people that don't walk the walk. I'm being careful here, because I don't want to portray lordship salvation or legalism and salvation by works. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. With that being said, it's one thing to claim a belief in Jesus, but if you don't live like you believe in Him, He will spit you out of His mouth!

Revelation 3:15-16
[15] I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
[16] So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

What I want you to come away with from this blog is the fact that simply "believing" Jesus doesn't do you any good, and that believing in Him goes above and beyond just knowing that He exists. We must believe in Christ AND repent. Salvation is something that is evidenced by our works, the good fruit we produce, and the sanctified life Jesus continually produces in us. I can't wait to expound on that in another blog! Man I'm getting ahead of myself with these, it's too much fun! I want to also stress that I'm not being legalistic - I don't believe that following the law will save anyone. The Christian life is a walk, a relationship, a continuous battle we're in until our death. It's amazing, full of ups and downs, but God is good and everything works out for the better for those who believe in Him!

How does one love God?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:14:00 +0000

I just had the idea to write about this the other night. How does one love God? I feel it's a good prelude to the blog I'm going to write soon about the Sabbath.

Some people I've talked to would answer this question rather easily. They would basically say to just love Him, like our normal human emotions would love a wife, family, friends, etc. While I definitely agree with this, loving God does go deeper! Loving the Lord also must be about obedience, and having faith evidenced by works and bearing good fruit. (I also believe that this is also the case for salvation, I smell another blog coming!) Let's take a look.

Matthew 22:36-40
[36] Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
[37] Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
[38] This is the first and great commandment.
[39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
[40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Now, people (including my own father) like to distort this teaching that Jesus gives us. "Oh Jesus told us to love God and our neighbor, nothing else matters now! New covenant, yea!" They conveniently leave out verse 40. Following the two great commandments that Jesus gives would automatically cause one to fulfill all of the other commandments! If you loved God and your neighbor, would you kill, commit adultery, steal, covet, worship idols, and the like? Makes sense right?

So, what I'm getting at is that obedience is how a Christian shows his love for God. There are many conditional statements that Jesus gives us, and that other books in the Bible illustrate about loving God, even pertaining to our salvation. Now I'm not saying we're saved on works, we're saved by grace alone through Christ, but if we have no works that show evidence of our faith, it is dead.

James 2:14-26
[14] What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
[15] If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
[16] And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
[17] Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
[18] Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
[19] Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
[20] But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
[21] Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
[22] Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
[23] And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
[24] Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
[25] Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
[26] For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

So, a Christian that "loves God" and doesn't show it outwardly in the slightest doesn't really have a leg to stand on.

Hebrews 5:9, speaking of Christ:
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

Pretty self explanatory. Next, let's dive into 1 John, which very nicely illustrates what I'm saying here. From the second chapter:

[3] And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
[4] He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
[5] But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

Simple: If you keep God's commandments, it shows that you love Him, and that loving God is perfected through that obedience. If you don't keep His word, you're lying to yourself and you don't truly love God. It's an eye opener!

Chapter 3 elaborates further, under The test of belief in my KJV:
[18] My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
[19] And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.
[20] For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
[21] Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
[22] And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
[23] And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
[24] And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

So here we learn a few things. Loving the word comes by deed (works) and truth. That's how we know we are of the truth. Also, if our heart (conscience) doesn't condemn us, we know God is pleased with us. If there's something tugging at you, chances are He wants you to do some soul searching! We also learn here that God's giving us our desires through prayer is conditional based upon obedience! Did you know that? God's not going to answer our prayers if we're breaking commandments and living outside His will! Scary but true! Ah, but if we keep His commandments, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit will abide in us.

John 14:15-21
[15] If ye love me, keep my commandments.
[16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
[17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
[18] I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
[19] Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
[20] At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
[21] He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

I can't stress all the red stuff enough! Loving God is conditional upon us obeying Him! Jesus himself said it. "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them!" are those that love Him!

1 John 5:2-3
[2] By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
[3] For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

I hope nobody gets "legalism" or "lordship salvation" out of this post. I'm not saying we have to obey the law in order to love God and be saved. We all slip up and sin, it's in our nature. Thing is, we have to get up and stay in the fight! We have to want to love God and obey His commandments! God gives us the grace to obey His word, we have to walk closely with Him. Throughout our lives we will experience more and more freedom from sin as time goes on. That's the beauty of being sanctified in Christ!

Ok, I think I'm going to wrap this semi-spontaneous study up. I feel that I've drummed enough into you and that you understand what the Bible is saying on how to truly love God. If you already knew this, excellent! If you didn't, I hope these passages in Scripture have changed your heart. Either way, please get this message out, because I don't think it's a popular one with the American church!

Why I believe the "post-trib" view is the correct interpretation of the Bible.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 21:40:00 +0000

Ok, here comes a controversial and touchy subject. The "rapture" of the church. For those that don't know, the rapture of the church is the "snatching away" of the elect in the end times. The controversy about this "snatching away" has to do with when it will occur. Some believe in a secret rapture of the saints before any tribulation occurs, some believe it will happen midway through, and others believe that it happens after the tribulation, before God's wrath. This last stance is the one I take, and I believe the Bible is very clear on it. Please allow me to show you what I have studied. I believe knowing the truth about the rapture is very important, because we are coming closer and closer to the end, and I don't think enough Christians are prepared for what we may face in our lifetime. This is a long read, but I encourage you to stick it out and please give me feedback, whether you agree with me or not. I am ultimately looking for God's Truth on the matter, and while nobody has been able to Biblically show me otherwise yet, I am still willing to hear people out! I'm not looking to defend a belief that doesn't coincide with God's Word. So with that being said, here we go...

First, it is very important to please pray and ask the Lord for the Holy Spirit to guide us and teach us His Truth. Pray that He leads you in this, and that He give you discernment to analyze this study for yourself. He is the Teacher after all. If He shows you any errors of mine, please do not hesitate to show me!

My study began with Matthew, Chapter 24. In it, Jesus gives us the signs that the end of the age are upon us. Here's Matthew 24:1-44:

[1] And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
[2] And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
[3] And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
[4] And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
[5] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
[6] And 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.
[7] For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
[8] All these are the beginning of sorrows.
[9] Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.
[10] And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
[11] And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
[12] And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
[13] But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
[14] And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
[15] When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
[16] Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
[17] Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
[18] Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
[19] And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
[20] But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
[21] For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
[22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
[23] Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
[24] For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
[25] Behold, I have told you before.
[26] Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
[27] For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
[28] For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
[29] Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
[30] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
[31] And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
[32] Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
[33] So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
[34] Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
[35] Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
[36] But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
[37] But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
[38] For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
[39] And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
[40] Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
[41] Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
[42] Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
[43] But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
[44] Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

Please take the time to read this passage, it's very important. With that said, I want to point out a few things. First off, verses 5-12 are all things that are happening NOW, to varying degrees. Many coming in the name of Christ (Joel Osteen, Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Creflo Dollar, Pat Robertson, Todd Bentley, Benny Hinn, the list goes on and on). I believe that verse 5 refers to both people claiming to actually BE Christ (they're already out there) and those that claim they are OF Christ, or IN Christ. So we are seeing this all over the place today. Next, the wars and rumors of wars: Iraq, Afganistan, Israel, Palestine, Iran, nuff said? Famines are all over the place, earthquakes are happening at a much greater frequency and severity. Christians in non-Christian countries are being killed for their faith - just ask Paul Washer. False Prophets are everywhere. Finally, the love of many is waxing cold. Selfishness is the trend of the day. Nobody has time for anyone else, and "we're number 1!" A good way I gauge that is the way people drive these days. Think about it.

Ok, now for some intense stuff. Jesus warns that when we see the "abomination of desolation" stand in the holy place (temple), to flee. Keep in mind, Jesus is warning his people about what they will go through in the end times. He's warning about the antichrist here, saying to flee, to run away, to pray our plight isn't in the winter or the sabbath day (a blog on the sabbath is coming soon!) Notice verses 21 and 22. I have to write them here again, they are of the utmost importance.

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

So a timeline is developing. We have all the birth pang signs - the false Christs, the wars, earthquakes, love of many growing cold - and now we are warned of the antichrist's arrival along with tribulation that the world has never seen before! Jesus says for the elect's sake these days will be shortened, out of mercy. Now, many have tried to explain away the meaning of the word "elect" as being the Jews. This is preposterous. When Jesus died he saved both the Jew and the Gentile, with the Gentiles being grafted into the vine, both collectively being the elect. Romans 9-11 explain this very clearly.

Romans 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

There is no doubt that the elect pertains to both Jews and Gentiles, anyone that calls upon the Lord to be saved. The Jews aren't a special sort of elect, there's nothing in the Bible that shows that. There's no secret rapture that leaves behind Jews that have an opportunity to realize Jesus is the Messiah. Where is this in Scripture?

Moving on, Jesus starts to explain how His coming back will look. Everyone will be able to see Him. Next we have three of the most critical verses possible on this subject.

[29] Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
[30] And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
[31] And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

I can't stress the words in red enough. Jesus comes back right after the tribulation, and with the great sound of a trumpet has His angels gather the elect! This can't be any more straightforward than it is. I know, you probably have questions like "what about being caught up" and the like. I will address this from every angle I can. This chapter is the foundation for everything.

Next, Jesus describes more of how things will look at the end. Skip ahead to verses 40 and 41, two of the most twisted verses in all of the Bible.

[40] Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
[41] Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

See! See! The rapture! Ah, not so fast my friend. :) Now that we've examined these verses in the context of everything Jesus is saying here, we can easily see that the people taken up are taken at the second coming of the Lord. The ones that survive the tribulation.

So to summarize up to this point, here's what we have. We have the signs of the end of the age, then the warning to flee when the antichrist arrives, then the second coming of Jesus in the clouds, then the angels gathering up the elect. This passage is also illustrated in Mark 13:5-37 and Luke 21:5-36. I would encourage you to read those also, it will give you a great background and show you that the Bible is in agreement with itself about this. (We know the Bible cannot be wrong, so therefore we must test every verse that has to do with this, and they must all align.)

Now that we have established the backbone of this study, let's branch out into the supporting verses. 1 Corinthians 15 talks about the resurrection of Christ and our inheritance. Verses 51-52:

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

I'm not sure if I really need to explain this, but I will. The pre-tribulation stance likes these verses, because it's easy to see the "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" part and immediately think "rapture." Ah, but Paul gives us a reference point that fits directly with the timeline Jesus Christ gives us in the gospels: at the last trump. This is the trumpet we read of in Matthew 24:31. This is coming together isn't it!

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

[13] But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
[14] For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
[15] For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
[16] For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
[17] 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.
[18] Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

Crucial, crucial stuff here! We see in this passage that same exact timeline Jesus gave in the gospels, once again. The Lord comes, the trumpet sounds, THEN the ones that are still left after the tribulation meet the Lord in the air.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 is another excellent passage defending this. Here we receive a warning about the antichrist:

[1] Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
[2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Here we learn that BEFORE Christ shall come, BEFORE anyone is taken up (the elect), BEFORE it's all said and done, there has to be a falling away (departure from Christ) and the antichrist has to reveal himself and sit in the temple! Once again, this is directly in line with Matthew 24. It even references the antichrist standing in the holy place, Matthew 24:15. Christians will see and experience the antichrist and his tribulation.

More words from Jesus here that coincide with a post-tribulation rapture. John 6:39-40:

[39] And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
[40] And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

It doesn't get any clearer. Jesus Himself says twice in a row that he will raise His people up at the last day. He doesn't say He'll do it secretly, or He'll raise the Jews up at the last day, or He'll raise some people up, then raise the rest up later. No, He will raise ALL His elect at the last day.

John 11:24 shows that believers in Jesus knew as well. This passage is about Jesus' resurrecting Martha and Mary's brother. Let's see what Martha says:

[24] Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

A more lengthy passage is Jesus' parable about the kingdom we find in Matthew 13:24-30, then explained in verses 37-43. I know this study is getting long, but I feel I should still paste the verses here! I want you to read them.

[24] Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
[25] But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
[26] But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
[27] So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
[28] He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
[29] But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
[30] Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

explained:

[37] He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
[38] The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
[39] The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
[40] As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
[41] The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
[42] And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
[43] Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

This passage is awesome. Jesus paints us an amazing picture. I hope the meaning of this is clear to you. We see that the harvest is at the end of the world, not at some special time beforehand. The angels gather the elect, and the unrighteous are gathered and thrown into the fire. Does this sound like a pre-tribulation rapture to you? Everything happens at Jesus' second coming, the end of time!

Well that's pretty much the extent of my study on the rapture! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, I hope it has helped. I hope that from this you can see that the only "rapture" we will have is the ultimate gathering of the elect at Jesus Christ's second coming in glory! I encourage you to share this message with anyone you know, because the more we are prepared for the times to come the better off we will be. We want to be strong in Christ if we are to face this tribulation, and if most Christians don't even believe we will suffer, what will it do to their faith if they face the sword, or if they are deceived when the antichrist hits center stage?

Again, I would encourage you to leave any feedback you have from this, whether it be positive or negative. I'm willing to hear and read differences of opinions, as long as they can be shown through Scripture. Thanks again!

Satanism/Luciferianism/sun god worship in Hollywood.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 01:13:00 +0000

As if alert Christians need any more proof to realize the underlying motivations and roots of Hollywood (a scroogle or youtube search can teach you a lot about this) , I found yet another glaring piece of evidence I want to share with you.

After having a nice little hibernation of about 12 hours, I sleepwalked over to my tv this morning and turned it on. AMC was honoring Samuel L. Jackson, giving him the American Cinematheque Award. From its own website:

"The American Cinematheque is a non-profit, viewer-supported cultural organization dedicated exclusively to the public presentation of the Moving Picture in all its forms. The Cinematheque presents the best of film and video - ranging form the classics to the outer frontiers of the art form."

You can read more about the American Cinematheque (AC) on that website. Something very important to note: The Hollywood American Cinematheque theater is called the Egyptian Theatre.

Now, on to what I saw.

Apparently, the image on the above left is a picture of one of the AC's logos. Forgive me for the low image quality, I snapped this picture with my cell phone camera straight off my tv as I was seeing this. If you can't tell, it's a very familiar looking eye (right) grafted into a piece of film reel.

Anyone familiar with Satanic/occult symbols will immediately recognize this eye as the infamous Eye of Horus. It is an ancient Egyptian symbol that ultimately represents Satan! It's the same all-seeing eye on the back of our dollar bill, as well as cleverly hidden in many corporate logos. Here is a quick link describing this symbol. There is much more information on this symbol readily available on the internet.

Here's another quick picture I snapped. It was hard to get these, their cameras kept cutting away from the logo. Here Denzel Washington is introducing and praising Sam Jackson, who made a career off of foul language.

Is it a coincidence that Hollywood is so corrupt and sinful, and we see a Satanic image of an ancient Egyptian god in connection with a film society that has an Egyptian Theatre?!? I wonder how many actors, writers, directors, etc. realize what's going on here. If I had to guess, I would say most. Hollywood has an agenda, and it is to manipulate, control and poison the population of America, and to shape her culturally and morally.

Samuel L. Jackson walking to the stage to accept his reward, in front of the Eye of Horus. (Sorry, hard to see!)

I hope this message helps you realize how evil and Satanic Hollywood is. It has definitely helped me, as watching movies is a weakness of mine. Christians must remain watchful and must guard their homes.

The Lord gave us many warnings in the Bible:

Romans 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

1 Timothy 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

2 Timothy 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and
he will flee from you.

Ephesians 4:27 Neither give place to the devil.

Proverbs 2:12-15 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:

Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.

Ephesians 5:8,11 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:...And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

There are too many verses for me to list here. Do we want to give place to devil, or do we want to live our lives unto the Lord?

The Continuing Saving Work of the Lord Jesus Christ

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:56:00 +0000

I've been blessed to witness a miracle right before my eyes. I'm going to try and tell a little story about the first person I helped lead to the Lord. (I say helped because I can't do it, only God saves and gets the glory.) It's one of those "you had to be there" moments, but I'll try and convey it as best I can.

Alright, I work with a guy who's a few years younger than me, we'll call him John. (My friend's a little shy about talking to people about his brand new faith, even though I doubt anyone he or I know will read this, but just go with it. :) )

So I'm sitting in our lunch room about 6 months ago, and somehow God comes up. Being the carelessly bold dude I am sometimes, I'm defending God and the Bible the best I can to a few guys in the room. They say they're Christian, but they don't live it one bit. They're saying things like "How can 2 billion Chinese be wrong?" Basically telling me that all religions lead to the same place, a common new age Satanic belief that's spreading like wildfire. Total tolerance and acceptance. So I paraphrase Jesus when he said "I am the way, the truth, and the life and no one shall see the Father but by me." They retaliate with the same stuff basically, and I tell them if you don't believe in Jesus and repent you will go to hell. Now here's the cool part...John was listening in on the conversation, and when he heard me say that last part, he said "nahhhhhhh..." with a look in his eyes...the best way I can describe it here was that what I said really bothered him, he was shaken up by it. Right there I knew something was brewing! Of course, nothing phased the other guys, but that's another story...

So I begin dropping little hints and subtleties to my friend John here and there as the days go by. I should mention that he's well aware of new world order plans, and he's been seeing that the world isn't exactly what it seems. He's been realizing that something is wrong, and that there's some really bad stuff going down. So I approached him from that perspective, showing him how God is the Truth and Satan is trying his best to rule the world...he's beginning to become very receptive to it.

Before this huge change of his, he had believed in evolution. Thank God that I work with another Christian who was a marine biologist who used to believe in evolution himself! This friend actually found God through science, so needless to say he and I both helped John realize (with God's revelation of course) that evolution is a lie. Amazing! John would stand by us when we talked things of God and soak things up like a sponge. He started asking questions, and I could see a change start to happen in him. By the way, it was no coincidence that the two Christians were paired up working together while God was forming John's faith...

So then I hit a pothole. John and I are talking about stuff as usual, and I offer to get my mini Bible out of my car for him to borrow. He accepts, very excitedly. So I run it inside, and I'm all happy that another small step is being made in the process. Days go by, and I nicely nudge him about reading it, and every time he had told me he didn't have time, or he had this to do, that to do. About 3 weeks went by and he hadn't read a word. Needless to say I was discouraged. He gave me the Bible back, and I kinda took a break from talking to him about God for at least a week or two. I kept praying about it though...

Eventually I got a second wind, and we continued talking. I kept gently nudging him about things as time went on. He just kept soaking it up, and I saw a change in his countenance and everything. I told him he should get a Bible, and he told me funds were tight. I went out and bought him a KJV Bible a couple days after, and he was beyond thrilled. It was like a little kid getting his favorite toy on his birthday. It made me so happy. So he started reading the Bible here and there, and as of right now he's halfway through John! He had started with the first few chapters of Genesis, then moved right to John. I figured that was a pretty good way for him to get a grasp of what being a Christian is.

I think today marked the day where we both realized he is truly saved. John told me today that - and this was hard for him to explain - he felt calm before he went to bed, like he didn't have any thoughts going on in his mind, and that he had never felt that before. I asked him if it was like a peace, and he agreed. I lit up, and told him it was the peace of God, and the Holy Spirit living in him, the Comforter. He was thrilled, and it was no coincidence that he had just finished reading John 14!

I had told John that I couldn't save him, I couldn't convince him that Jesus Christ is God, and that he couldn't convince himself. I told him it is a supernatural revelation from God himself, imparting His Holy Spirit to a person, that saves. He understood that, and we both see God's mighty work in him! Jesus Christ is truly God, and is still saving people! Praise the Lord!

Christmas is rooted in paganism and should NOT be celebrated amongst Christians.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:32:00 +0000

Yes, I said it. Christmas is pagan and should not be celebrated. It's based on the Winter Solstice and the worship of a sun god. I can't explain it as well as some others already have, so I will link and paste content in here for you to view.

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From David J. Meyer, former witch who the Lord saved years ago and is now a pastor:

The Origin of Christmas

Christmas is a holiday shared and celebrated by many religions.

It is a day that has an effect on the entire world.

To many people, it is a favorite time of the year involving gift giving, parties and feasting. Christmas is a holiday that unifies almost all of professing Christendom.

The spirit of Christmas causes people to decorate their homes and churches, cut down trees and bring them into their homes, decking them with silver and gold.

In the light of that tree, families make merry and give gifts one to another.

When the sun goes down on December 24th, and darkness covers the land, families and churches prepare for participation in customs such as burning the yule log, singing around the decorated tree, kissing under the mistletoe and holly, and attending a late night service or midnight mass.

What is the meaning of Christmas? Where did the customs and traditions originate?

You, as a Christian, would want to worship the Lord in Spirit and in truth, discerning good from evil.

The truth is that all of the customs of Christmas pre-date the birth of Jesus Christ, and a study of this would reveal that
Christmas in our day is a collection of traditions and practices taken from many cultures and nations.

The date of December 25th comes from Rome and was a celebration of the Italic god, Saturn, and the rebirth of the sun god.

This was done long before the birth of Jesus.

It was noted by the pre-Christian Romans and other pagans, that daylight began to increase after December 22nd, when they assumed that the sun god died.

These ancients believed that the sun god rose from the dead three days later as the new-born and venerable sun.

Thus, they figured that to be the reason for increasing daylight.

This was a cause for much wild excitement and celebration. Gift giving and merriment filled the temples of ancient Rome, as sacred priests of Saturn, called dendrophori, carried wreaths of evergreen boughs in procession.

In Germany, the evergreen tree was used in worship and celebration of the yule god, also in observance of the resurrected sun god.

The evergreen tree was a symbol of the essence of life and was regarded as a phallic symbol in fertility worship.

Witches and other pagans regarded the red holly as a symbol of the menstrual blood of the queen of heaven, also known as Diana.

The holly wood was used by witches to make wands.

The white berries of mistletoe were believed by pagans to represent droplets of the semen of the sun god.

Both holly and mistletoe were hung in doorways of temples and homes to invoke powers of fertility in those who stood beneath and kissed, causing the spirits of the god and goddess to enter them.

These customs transcended the borders of Rome and Germany to the far reaches of the known world.

The question now arises: How did all of these customs find their way into contemporary Christianity, ranging from Catholicism to Protestantism to fundamentalist churches?

The word "Christmas"itself reveals who married paganism to Christianity.

The word "Christmas" is a combination of the words "Christ" and "Mass.

The word "Mass" means death and was coined originally by the Roman Catholic Church, and belongs exclusively to the church of Rome.

The ritual of the Mass involves the death of Christ, and the distribution of the "Host", a word taken from the Latin word "hostiall" meaning victim!

In short, Christmas is strictly a Roman Catholic word.

A simple study of the tactics of the Romish Church reveals that in every case, the church absorbed the customs, traditions and general paganism of every tribe, culture and nation in their efforts to increase the number of people under their control.

In short, the Romish church told all of these pagan cultures, "Bring your gods, goddesses, rituals and rites, and we will assign Christian sounding titles and names to them.

When Martin Luther started the reformation on October 31st, 1517, and other reformers followed his lead, all of them took with them the paganism that was so firmly imbedded in Rome.

These reformers left Christmas intact.

In England, as the authorized Bible became available to the common people by the decree of King James the II in 1611, people began to discover the pagan roots of Christmas, which are clearly revealed in Scripture.

The Puritans in England, and later in Massachusetts Colony, outlawed this holiday as witchcraft.

Near the end of the nineteenth century, when other Bible versions began to appear, there was a revival of the celebration of Christmas.

We are now seeing ever-increasing celebrating of Christmas or Yule, its true name, as we draw closer to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ!

In both witchcraft circles and contemporary Christian churches, the same things are going on.

As the Bible clearly states in Jeremiah 10:2-4, "Thus saith the Lord, learn not the way of the heathen; and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven. For the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain. For one cutteth a tree out of the forest. The work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers that it move not."

So, what is wrong with Christmas?

1. To say that Jesus was born on December 25th is a lie! The true date is sometime in September according to the Scriptures.

2. Trees, wreaths, holly, mistletoe and the like are strictly forbidden as pagan and heathen! To say that these are Christian or that they can be made Christian is a lie!

3. The Lord never spoke of commemorating his birth but rather commanded us to remember the sacrifice of His suffering and death, which purchased our salvation.

Think about it! Can we worship and honor God by involving ourselves with customs and traditions, which God Himself forbade as idolatry? Can we convince God to somehow "Christianize" these customs and the whole pretense and lie of Christmas, so we can enjoy ourselves? Can we obey through disobedience?

So what is right about Christmas? 1. Nothing!
For more information and documentation contact:

They tell us that it is the season to be jolly. It is a time of ornaments, red and green decorations, silver bells, holly, mistletoe and colored lights. It is also a time of department store Santas calling out their universal mantra, "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas." Nearly all of the realm of so-called "Christianity" join in and repeat this same greeting, "Merry Christmas!"

Although we hear these words constantly as they resonate millions of times throughout the land, almost nobody understands what they are really saying. It is the purpose of this tract to take the words, "Merry Christmas" and examine the true meaning and essence of those words.

A true Christian would want to examine everything they say, because Jesus said in Matthew 12:36-37, "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." We will now set aside all of the customs, glitter and traditions of Christmas, which were taken from pagan witchcraft and popularized by the Roman Catholic Church, and we will focus on the true meaning of the words, "Merry Christmas!"

The word "Merry" is simple to define. It unquestionably means to be happy, joyful and light-hearted. The word "merry" fits into the ambience of laughter and frivolity. This word "merry" by itself is innocent and innocuous enough, but as we will now see, it becomes heinously blasphemous when used with the word "Christmas."

Here let it be noted that most people think that the word, "Christmas" means "the birth of Christ." By definition, it means "death of Christ", and I will prove it by using the World Book Encyclopedia, the Catholic Encyclopedia, and a book entitled, The Mass In Slow Motion.

If you are an honest, sincere and discerning Christian, please read on; if not, you might as well stop right here. The World Book Encyclopedia defines "Christmas" as follows: "The word Christmas comes from "Cristes Maesse", an early English phrase that means "Mass of Christ." (1) It is interesting to note that the word "Mass", as used by the Roman Catholics, has traditionally been rejected by the so-called Protestants, such as Lutherans, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Pentecostals and so on. The word "Mass" is strictly a Catholic word and thus, so is "Christ-Mass."

It would stand to reason, that since all of these denominations love and embrace "Christ-Mass", that December 25th is the great homecoming day, when all of the Protestants become Catholic for a day. It would seem that all of the so-called "wayward daughters" of the Romish church return to their mother, the scarlet harlot. Thus, all of the so-called Protestant churches could sing to the Pope that popular song "I'll be home for Christmas."

As previously stated, the word "Mass" in religious usage means a "death sacrifice." The impact of this fact is horrifying and shocking; for when the millions of people are saying, "Merry Christmas", they are literally saying "Merry death of Christ!" Furthermore, when the fat man in the red suit laughs boisterously and says, "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas", he is mocking and laughing at the suffering and bleeding Saviour, who died for our sins. He does this while parents place their little children into his waiting arms to hear his false promises of gifts that he says he will give them. Consider what you are saying when you say "Merry Christmas."

What is so amusing about our Saviour's painful death? What is so funny? Why is Santa laughing? Why are you going along with it? Your words do count and Satan knows it. Yes, the word "Mass" does mean "death sacrifice", and to cement that fact, we will consider the definition of the inventors of the religious application of the word "Mass." I am looking at page 537 of the Catholic Encyclopedia, which says, "In the Christian law, the supreme sacrifice is that of the Mass." It goes on to say, "The supreme act of worship consists essentially in an offering of a worthy victim to God, the offering made by a proper person, as a priest, the destruction of the victim." (2) Please note carefully the word, "victim" of the Mass. The Latin word for victim is "Hostia" from which the word "host" is derived. The Mass, by definition of those who coined the word, is a sacrifice involving a victim. There is no other meaning for the word "Mass" or "Christ-Mass." On page 110 of a book entitled "The Mass In Slow Motion", we find the following words: "It is only with the consecration that the sacrifice of the Mass is achieved. I have represented the Mass to you, more than once, as a kind of ritual dance." (3)

In essence, the Mass is the ceremonial slaying of Jesus Christ over and over again, followed by the eating of his flesh and the drinking of his blood. The Mass is the death sacrifice, and the "Host" is the victim. This is official Roman Catholic doctrine, and "Christmas" is a word that they invented. Again, I ask, what is so merry about the pain, bleeding, suffering and death of Jesus Christ? Satan has done quite a job of getting millions of so-called "Christians" to blaspheme. What a deceiver he is.
Now you know the true meaning of the word "Christmas" or Mass of Christ. There is much more to know about this pagan holiday, and we will be glad to provide you with plenty of evidence that Jesus was not born on December 25th, and that Christmas is not only a lie, but is actually a witches' sabbat called "Yule" in clever disguise. Please contact us at the address below, and for the sake of your soul, flee from idolatry!

David J. Meyer

Acknowledgements:

01. World Book Encyclopedia, vol.3, p. 408, 1986 ed., World Book Inc., Chicago, IL

02. The Catholic Encyclopedia, R.C. Broderick, 1975 ed., Nihil Obstat, Richard J. Sklba, Censor Librorum. Imprimatur, Archbishop William E. Cousins, Milwaukee, WI.

03. The Mass In Slow Motion, Ronald Knox, 1948, Sheed & Ward, Inc., New York, NY. Nihil Obstat, E.C. Messenger, Censor Deputatus. Imprimatur, E. Morrogh Bernard, Vic. Gen.

Last Trumpet Ministries International
PO Box 806
Beaver Dam, WI 53916

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My friend Charlene also compiled an excellent article on her blog, I encourage you to read it here: Merry Paganism

Has this information shaken you up? Satan is always looking to syphon glory away from God. He's a liar and a thief. Ask yourself: Where in the Bible does it instruct us to celebrate Christ's actual birthday? Where does it tell us which exact day He was born? Is it pure coincidence that Christmas is the same day as all this idol and sun worship? I think not...

Hitler and his Catholic pals

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:07:00 +0000

Much, much more at this link.
And this link.

American Christianity

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 04:49:00 +0000

I've come a long way over the last 4 years or so. God has been waking me up after some collegiate backsliding a few years back. He's done it without a church. Just me, Him, a Bible (KJV), and some friends and family. It's been a very cool wilderness experience.

This same experience has come with a pretty large heaping of frustration though. With my spiritual growth comes separation from the world. Even from the general American Christian world. America claims to be a Christian nation, right? Then why do we let abortion run rampant? Why is homosexuality tolerated? Blasphemy in the movie theaters? Disobediant children? Why do people cling to wolves like Joel Osteen, Todd Bentley and Billy Graham? Satan is rendering the Christian voice of this country useless. We should be standing up for our faith. How many American "Christians" are truly saved though?

How many Christians in this country truly seek God's Truth, asking Him for wisdom and guidance? How many rely on a CHURCH for their salvation? So many are deceived. It grieves me greatly. Hey, maybe some people are happy that they have fire insurance, or maybe God wants them where they're at in their walk. I'll never know for sure. I do know this country is in a very sad state, and it continues to be deceived.

How many people daily try and become closer to the Lord? How many try and separate themselves from the world? Not many. Most "Christians" are just like everyone else. Where is the sanctification? How many read their Bibles? Not many. How many ran out on Black Friday in a materialistic frenzy?

There is a giant wave of deception wrapping up this nation. Last night I told a few Christians in a chat room that Christmas has pagan roots and that we should not celebrate it. There's no denying its origins, you can look it up. The moderator told me to change the subject or she would boot me out of the chat. Another person told me to "get saved." Wake up people! Don't you realize that we are in a spiritual battle and we are losing! Yes, this is all God's will and He is in FULL control, but we must be soldiers during these times! Imagine what a strong witness you can be even to another Christian if you started separating yourself from the world! If you truly yearned for God instead of feeling complacent and not growing spiritually!

How can a movement like the Lakeland Florida Revival this past summer actually gain momentum? There was so much demonic activity in there. People researching the movement were feeling oppressed from watching Todd Bentley on youtube! American Christians have NO discernment and think all the shaking and yelling is of God and the Holy Spirit! Wake up people! Would the Lord tell someone to kick someone in the stomach?

We need to repent as a nation and get ourselves back to God, and fast. His mercy and patience is amazing. I'm surprised He hasn't wasted us yet. "Oh but God loves America! It's a Christian nation!" If you sincerely believe that is the case, then I believe you have some quiet time to spend with the Lord. And if you agree with me on this post, I hope you share this message with fellow Christians. It's important that we lift each other up in these times.