Truth Seekers

Disarming Principalities

2012-01-02T06:45:00.000-08:00

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Col 1:15-16).

Notice that these thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers are in heaven (invisible), and on earth visible. Satanic rulers work in tandem with earthly rulers.

Col 2:15 says, Christ disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross. Evil rulers are not disarmed by commanding them to leave, but by the cross of Christ, the weakness of submission to the Father. Even though the work was finished at the cross, the body of Christ does what Paul said in Col 1:24 by filling up in our flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.

Now please look at how Psalm 82 throws light on these rulers of heaven and earth.

Psalm 82

1 God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. [These mighty “gods” gather together as rulers while God stands among them.]

2 How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah [God’s law says, “You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty” (Lev 19:15). The identifying mark of these rulers is partiality. That is the nature of the beast that results in class warfare.]

3 Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. [The best way to defend the poor is by liberty and justice for all by means of free enterprise without partiality.]

4 Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked.

5 They [the rulers] do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable. [Their earth is unstable because Christ is not their foundation.]

6 I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. [God calls the rulers of darkness “gods” and Sons of God (“children of the Most High”).]

7 But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes [Satan].”

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.

God Takes His Place In The Divine Council

In the midst of the gods He holds court

What God calls gods in Psalm 82:1 He calls “men” that die in 82:7. So, evidently visible human rulers are somehow metaphysically linked with invisible Satanic principalities in the divine council. This is why politicians somehow change once inside the D.C. Beltway. Principalities and powers discover chinks in their character with powerful temptations and corruption runs rampant. This is why liberals congregate in state capitals.

Micaiah’s Vision Of The Divine Council

When The Prophet Micaiah had a vision of the Divine Council we see a good example of how the visible and invisible work together when Ahab and Jehoshaphat had gathered a council to decide about going to war with Damascus. They asked the prophet Micaiah what they should do. Micaiah calls this council “the host of heaven.” Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So there were various suggestions. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ The LORD said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the LORD said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ (1 Kings 22:19-22).

We see another example of the Divine Council in Job 1:6. Just as Psalm 82:6 calls these gods “children of the Most High,” in Job they are called “sons of God.” Job 1 says, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.” You might ask, “Why are lying spirits and Satan among them?” The answer is because of Adam’s fall God uses evil forces to punish sinners. When men break God’s law, God turns them over to the tormentors and we get the rulers we deserve.

The Bible calls these principalities the Rulers Of Darkness of this age. Ephesians 3:8-10 shows how God now includes the church in the divine council. Paul says, “To me… this grace was given, that I should preach… to make all see what… has been hidden… to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” Preaching God’s word is what disarms them. “For we … wrestle against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). The church does this warfare with the sword of the Spirit.

Psalm 2 says, “The rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Christ… but He who sits in the heavens shall … speak to them in His wrath, ‘I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.’” He speaks by the mouth of His people. The rulers of darkness plot in the divine council to ban God’s law in public places. Then they proceed to eliminate the name of God’s Son. Then they forbid our having a voice in the Divine council by separation of church and state. The solution is God speaking to them in His wrath by the mouth of his servants.

God Has a Message To Rulers: “Deliver the poor and needy.” Both liberals and conservatives say they want to do that. Liberals want the government to do it and conservatives want volunteers to do it. But for the government to do it, they have to break God’s law by showing partiality through the plunder of taxpayers.

Does it really help the poor to become wards of the state? Nowhere does God’s law command the government to provide handouts. All it does is make them slaves on Uncle Sam’s Plantation.

I don’t trust any politician that ignores Bastiat’s little book, “The Law.” Psalm 82:5 says, “They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.” Without Christ there is no foundation. Verse two says to the rulers, “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality?” They do not understand that the sole duty of government is to protect the people from plunder. But they do the opposite through imperialism (sticking their nose in the affairs of sovereign nations), regulations, taxes, and welfare.

Our Prayer And Our Hope is in Psalm 82:8Our prayer: “Arise, O God, judge the earth;” Our hope: “you shall inherit all the nations!”

Daniel’s Vision Of The Heavenly Court

The prophet Daniel foresaw the heavenly court seated over 500 years beforehand when the judgment in favor of the saints was given. He says, “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated… And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days… and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” [The time came when Christ ascended in the clouds and sat down on the throne of the Lord] (Daniel 7:9-22)… and Daniel said, “the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High” (Dan 7:27).

If the kingdoms of earth are given to the people of God, then I ask, “How can we possibly “zip it” and not make God’s voice heard in politics?”

“All things were created through Him and for Him,” every aspect of creation is created for Him, including politics.

We have ascended with Christ and are seated together with Him in the heavenly council as Sons of God, kings, and priests ruling and reigning with Him… disarming the rulers of the darkness of this age by teaching the nations. The meek shall inherit the earth.

“Arise, O God, judge the earth;

you shall inherit all the nations!”

churchofthekingmcallen.com

Is Mercy In Harmony With The Law?

2011-08-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

When I was a 12-year-old “bad boy” I learned how to receive mercy. Two friends got me to join them in raiding a Lays Potato Chip van. My two buddies grabbed some bags of chips and took off running. I followed a little late and got caught by a teenage neighbor that was a track star. I broke down in contriteness and begged him to take the chips and not tell my parents. He said he would if I would get my friends to return their chips. I agreed, so he showed mercy and let me go. My contriteness seemed to satisfy his sense of justice.

Mercy never works without satisfying God’s law. It always operates in harmony with God’s law. There is no mercy without satisfying God’s law. Mercy never runs from the law. Someone on Face Book said “Run from the Law of Moses that condemns you, into the city of Refuge who is Jesus Christ!” No one gets mercy by running from God’s law. The way to get mercy is by siding with God’s law against self. Jesus said, “Agree with your adversary quickly… lest your adversary deliver you to the judge” (Mat 5:25).

Mercy does not triumph over the law. James says it triumphs over judgment. Running to the City of Refuge is not running from the law. It’s running from the judgment of the law. Nobody can outrun the Law. The City of Refuge is a provision of the law. Mercy only comes by making satisfaction in accord with the law. Only the merciful receive mercy. The law itself requires mercy. The merciful are those who are taught by the law that they need mercy and do not deserve it. That’s why they can forgive others.

To excuse sin is not the same as mercy. In order to receive mercy, the law must be satisfied. God cannot be in harmony with His holy nature and excuse sin at the same time. That would violate His sinless nature. God forgives in accord with His holy nature, and so do the merciful. Satisfaction must be made.

The law of aerodynamics does not triumph over the judgment of gravity by eliminating the law of gravity. Gravity is God’s law. Aerodynamics does not triumph over gravity. It triumphs over the judgment of gravity in harmony with it. The judgment of the law of gravity is “what goes up must come down.” When the plane crashes, that is the judgment of the law. Mercy does not triumph over the law; it triumphs over judgment.

Satisfaction is called propitiation or atonement. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Heb 9:22). Christ “Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2). He made satisfaction available for the whole world, but until personal satisfaction is made also, there is no forgiveness. David said, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart” (Ps 51:17). Both God and the merciful do not have mercy on those who are in denial. Satisfaction must be made. But if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. That’s when mercy triumphs over judgment.

You Can’t Legislate Morality?

2011-07-18T10:02:00.001-07:00

Some Christians see no need to make an effort to change public policy because, they say, “You can’t legislate morality.” They argue that before the hippy movement of the sixties, people were hypocritically doing the same things under cover that the hippies were doing openly. True. But it was not openly acceptable before that. In one sense it is also true that you can’t legislate morality. Only God can change the heart. The hippies argued that their parents were doing the same things in the “underworld,” so they might as well do them openly, so they belched out of the bottomless pit into the open.

The law restrains evil. So the new morality threw off the restraints. Let me illustrate how that works. I did not know it at the time while growing up, but my mother was committing adultery with a man for about ten years. If it had been socially acceptable she would not have covered it up. That would have caused me to lower my standard. If I had thought it was okay, I would not have believed the Holy Spirit’s effort to convince me of sin, righteousness and judgment as easily. Because I feared my dad’s displeasure, I would have unleashed my urge to fornicate. That, in turn, would have would have enslaved me even more. That also would have led to my corrupting many young girls and damaging them for life. I could give other examples. The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. The law can’t save us but without the Holy Spirit using the law to bring us to Christ, there would be no salvation.

When the restraints of public standards (God’s laws) are taken away, less people will come to Christ and lawlessness will abound. Examples: When Alfred the Great and others established overt Christian laws and governments, the result was conversion to nominal Christianity. The establishment of America is another example. That, in turn, resulted in more born again Christians. The law cannot save, but without it, there is no salvation. Without being convinced of sin, righteousness, and judgment no one will come to Christ. Without that conviction no one would see the need for the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And because every true convert has been convinced of his depravity, it is impossible for him to think he is a good person.

Unbelievers do not see that need because they are not totally convinced they are bad enough to need the Savior. Thus, they are by nature hypocrites. But to avoid being hypocritical, the hippies did openly what they had been doing (or wanted to do) under cover. They think that keeps them from being hypocrites. They think it is hypocritical to resist temptation.

When the little boy was forced to sit down in church, he was still standing up inside. But I am glad for it. “Fake it ‘til ya make it.” It will make a more lawful and peaceful society.

This brings us to another reason why some see no need for an effort to change public policy. It is the idea that the nominal “unconverted” church or society is not relevant. The idea is that only true converts matter. But we see from the Old Testament pattern that nominal Israel was important. The vast majority of Israelites were probably not saved. But they were still under the covenant shelter. They were circumcised in the flesh, but not in the heart, but God still had a covenant with them that brought great blessings and true salvation to many at that time and later to the whole world. Just because common grace is not enough does not mean common grace is bad. Common grace is good and special grace is better. The flesh concludes that because nominal Christians under common grace are hypocrites, that therefore common grace is bad.

To separate the secular from the sacred is dualism. Jesus Christ demands that all governments come under the Lordship of their King. The purpose of redemption is not to take us all to heaven. The purpose of redemption is to bring heaven to earth. “Thy will be done on earth.” But to demand perfection now is to demand utopia. There will be no utopia until Jesus comes. But the path of the just is as the shining light that shines more and more to the perfect day. We have seen that progress in history.

The U.S. Constitution is not perfect, but it is the result of the Gospel. If we do what our Puritan fathers did we will see even greater results. But if we don’t even vote or get involved in politics, America will continue to decline into even more decadence. Christians are the salt to preserve nations.

Martin Luther said, “If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle front besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.”

Daniel’s Sixth Kingdom

2011-07-01T10:18:00.001-07:00

In Daniel chapter two, King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream and Daniel gave the interpretation. He saw a statue with

1. a head of gold (Babylon),

2. arms and breast of silver (Medo/Persia),

3. belly of brass (Greece),

4. legs of iron (Rome),

5_. and feet part iron & part clay (Rome as it crumbled).

6. The 6^th kingdom (God’s kingdom): As he watched, a little stone cut out of a mountain (without hands), flew thru the air and struck the image on the feet. The whole thing crumbled to dust and the wind blew it away. Then the little stone grew and grew till it became a great mountain that filled the whole earth. This is the kingdom of God that eventually destroyed Rome and became Christendom.

Daniel said, “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever…” (2:44). Daniel clearly reveals the timing of when the Kingdom Of God would be set up: “In the days of those kings.” Just before Christ went to the cross He said, “ “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). Christ then ascended in the clouds to the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:13) and sat down at the right hand of the Father “on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father” (1Chron 29:23). “For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet” (1Cor 15:25). When Jesus came in the clouds to the Ancient of Days (Dan 7:13) “a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” (Dan 7:22) “in the days of those kings” (Dan 2:44). Jesus said that judgment was made just before He went to the cross: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31). The judgment was made at that time, and the execution of that judgment “till He has put all enemies under His feet” (1Cor 15:25). The Little Stone is still growing.

The Greek poet Hesiod, who lived 100 years before Daniel, also envisioned a sixth kingdom. He believed history started with a golden age and steadily deteriorated from gold to silver to brass to iron. He believed he was in the iron-age and that there would be a return to the golden age. Hesiod placed a 5th age of heroes before the age of iron.

Plato, who came 100 years after Daniel, also believed in a sixth government: his Republic. He taught that there are five types of government that deteriorate into anarchy and result in tyranny. 1. First is the golden monarchy. In the golden monarchy there is true justice & love for one’s neighbor.

2. The golden monarchy deteriorates into a timocracy. Timo means honor. A timocracy is ruled by men whose motive is honor. 3. Because honor leads to prosperity, the timocracy deteriorates into an oligarchy ruled by a few whose motive is riches. Riches produce libertine children who want fun. They call it freedom.

4. It’s called democracy: the rule of every man doing what is right in his own eyes. It’s the rule of fleshly passions. It’s the French Revolution and the hippies belching out of the Bottomless Pit.

5. The comes tyranny. According to Plato, pure democracy results in anarchy (lawless liberty). Then, to bring order out of it all, they vote for a tyrant. This is what happened in Germany with Hitler, in France with Napoleon, & in Russia with Lenin. Solomon said, “That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun” (Ec 1:9).

Bojidar Marinov writes about Isidore of Seville and the Birth of Europe as the Rule Of Christ (http://americanvision.org/3452/isidore-of-seville-and-the-birth-of-europe-as-the-regnum-christi/).

Isidore (born in AD 560) was Spanish. He based his life’s ministry on Augustine’s theology by accepting Augustine’s six-ages view of history. Isidore was sure that the “sixth age” was the time when he lived, and that was a special age, the age following the Redemption of Jesus Christ, under the power of Jesus Christ, regnum Christi. All previous ages existed only to provide the background for that most important age in history. All previous human achievements in knowledge, wisdom, technologies, social development, philosophy, existed only to be used in the right way in the regnum Christi. The whole world found its fulfillment only in the Incarnation of Christ, and now it was a Kingdom of Christ, under Christ’s royal rule, destined to become one Christian civilization, under Christ, where all authorities and powers will submit to the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

This total authority of Christ in this age of regnum Christi will make all the nations become limbs of Christ. Isidore said nations would be judged by a moral standard, just like individuals, and the greatest of them would be those that live – as societies – most clearly in accordance with the Christian faith. All aspects of the life of a nation must become harmonized with the teachings of Christ, from the personal life of the individuals to the government policies and international relations of the rulers. Those that fail to abide by the Law of Christ will be judged in history. Those that obey will prosper and grow.

Therefore Isidore saw the role of the Church in teaching everyone – from the lowest peasant to the highest court officials – their duties in the new age of regnum Christi. He wrote an encyclopedia and His teaching spread all over Europe until all of Europe became Christendom.

This happened to Europe but Europe has turned away just like Israel did. I predict that was only a foretaste of what will happen to the whole world. We are in Babylonian captivity now, but there shall be a return and a re-building of the New Jerusalem in all the nations of the world.

God promises a time when this will happen not just to Europe, but to the whole world (Micah 4:1-4).

The Current CultureWar And The Scottish Covenanters

2011-06-24T07:23:00.000-07:00

The Covenanters formed an important movement in the religion and politics of Scotland in the 17th century. In religion the movement is most associated with the promotion and development of Presbyterianism (representative government) as a form of church government favored by the people, as opposed to Episcopacy, favored by the crown. In politics the movement saw important developments…

The name derives from biblical bonds or covenants. The National Covenant of 1638 takes as its point of departure earlier documents of the same kind and is chiefly concerned with preserving the Reformation settlement free from crown innovations. Its sister document, the 1643 Solemn League and Covenant, is also concerned with religion, but its chief importance is as a treaty of alliance between the Covenanters in Scotland and the Parliament of England, anxious for help in the increasingly bitter civil war with Charles I.

James VI of Scotland (James I of England) was opposed by the Covenanters in his attempt to bring the Anglican Church into Scotland. He ousted the Covenanters from their pulpits and homes saying that he was the head of the church. The Covenanters said, “No. Christ is the head. We will preach in the fields.” Later King Charles II and his brother King James II indulged certain ministers and allowed them to pastor churches where Anglican pastors could not be found. But to do this, they had to compromise with the king’s state church. Covenanters like Richard Cameron railed against these compromisers as being dead and without God’s power.

The Lion Of The Covenant

Richard Cameron (1648? - 1680) was a leader of the Presbyterians who resisted the Stuart monarchs. The life & ministry of Richard Cameron was among the first of a series of events that led to the Glorious Revolution (1888) and the end of the reign of the House of Stuart. His followers took his name, the Cameronians, which ultimately formed the nucleus of the Scottish regiment of the same name.

He was initially a parish schoolteacher and then a highly successful field preacher of the strict Presbyterian school, a Covenanter. He spent some years in exile in the Netherlands when the authorities demanded that all preachers submit to the Crown's religion. He was ordained there and sent back to Scotland with the prophecy by Rev. M’Ward that he would be martyred for the cause of Christ.

He returned to Scotland in 1680 and issued with others such as Donald Cargill the Sanquhar Declaration, calling for war against the king, Charles II and the exclusion of his brother (James II) from the succession. He was killed in a skirmish with government troops, at Airds Moss near Cumnock, later the same year, in a government attempt to suppress the Covenanters. This period was later given the title of "the Killing Time" because hundreds, if not thousands of Presbyterians were persecuted and martyred for holding Cameronian views. However, after the accession of William III (in the Glorious Revolution) his followers were pardoned and incorporated into the British Army as the Cameronian Regiment.

When hands were laid on Richard Cameron at his ordination in Holland, the one hand of Mr. M’Ward remained and M’Ward cried out, “Behold, all ye beholders, here is the head of a faithful minister and servant of Jesus Christ, who shall lose the same for his Master’s interest, and it shall be set up before sun and moon, n the view of the world.” And so it was that his hands and head were put on display at the gate of the Edinburgh for all to see. One of his enemies said, “There’s the head and hands of a man who lived praying and preaching, and died praying and fighting.”[1]

Before this was done, his hands and head were delivered to his father in prison to add grief to his former sorrow. Taking his son’s head and hands, which were very fair, he kissed them, and said, “I know – I know them; they are my son’s – my own dear son’s. It is the Lord – good is the will of the Lord, who cannot wrong me nor mine, but has made goodness and mercy to follow us all our days.”[2]

Eighteen days before Cameron was killed, he prophesied from the pulpit that there would not be a crowned King of the name of Stuart in Scotland. This was fulfilled eight years later in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He also prophesied “A man shall ride a day’s journey in the shires of Galloway, Ayr and Clydesdale, and not see a reeking house nor hear a cock crow, ere ye get a right Reformation; and several other shires shall be little better.” He also prophesied in the same sermon, “The rod that the Lord will make instrumental in this, will be the French and other foreigners, together with a partying this land joining them; but ye, that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number; for when Christ comes to raise up His own work in Scotland, He will not want men enough to work for him.”[3] This prophecy of slaughter was fulfilled 66 years later in 1746 at Culloden.

In 1746 the Stuart Prince Charles, with the help of the French, Spain, and others, invaded Scotland where many Highlanders joined him and marched toward London. At Culloden the English and other Scots slaughtered them. The slaughter did not end there. Genocide by the English in the highlands followed.

Description Of The Ethnic Cleansing

A little after 12:30 that afternoon the Prince’s side fired what canon they had and waited for the return volley - which came swiftly. His troops were cut down in the dozen by the onslaught of Cumberlands artillery. Disemboweled by the flying balls of 4lb steel, arms legs and heads were scattered amongst the bunched up and freezing Jacobites. It all lasted for minutes and when the smoke cleared all that was left to do was to run or charge - the Jacobites outnumbered by at least 2 to 1 charged on the right flank of Cumberland’s lines. For a brief spell the Duke's troops on the right were scattered, but soon closed ranks on the charging Highlanders and began the massacre, in turn scattering the Highlanders across 'Cumberland’s Bloody Killing Field'.

By 1:00, only 30 minutes later, it was all over and those Highlanders, who could, ran for cover and back to their homes. By Cumberland’s own estimate, some 2,000 Highlanders lay dead on Culloden Moor. These figures have never been seriously challenged and neither has the figure of 300 dead and injured from his side. A more exact figure has been put forward of 1,500 Highlanders but still only 300 of the Dukes men.

The memories of Culloden still run deep in the blood of Highlanders the world over because this battle was not the end - it was just the beginning!

Cumberland gave orders for "No Quarter Given": in other words 'none shall live'. His army marched on and killed every wounded Highlander left on the field - and then made his way to Inverness to carry on the fight. Raiding homes looking for Jacobites, all were labeled as one and swiftly put either to the end of a musket - bayonet – hangman’s rope or burnt alive in their homes. Women, children, old and young, his orders were "No Quarter Given" - and none was.

The slaughter did not end there on that day, and this is the significance of the Jacobite's in Scottish history: particularly Highland history. For months his army moved around the Highlands clearing out any threat once and for all that Highlander should ever pick up a Broadsword against England. It can be quoted from English parliament in reply to Cumberland’s reports that they sent message saying "It will be no great mischief if all should fall." the support for Cumberland’s ethnic cleansing was total.

5 months passed and it was decided that the hunt for the Jacobites, (which by this time there were more than likely none left as well as every other Highlander who wasn't even there), should be calmed down and this is when the Prince made his escape back to France.

In London they celebrated the defeat of the Highland people once and for all, and the German composer Handel wrote one of his most famous works 'See the conquering hero come' - referring to The Duke of Cumberland.

The Highland people were wiped out. Over the coming years they were cleared out of their homes to make way for their lands to be used for profitable sheep farming. For 4 generations the Highlanders were scattered to the corners of the world - Europe, India, and the New World 'America'. Sold as slaves they worked on the lands in the southern parts of America, and one account even tells us that in Barbados a ship load of Highlanders were traded for 10 tones of Sugar.

Their culture was demolished, their native language - Gaelic - was banned and marked as a hanging offence if spoken, the wearing of tartan was also made a hanging offence and even the Bible was not allowed to be learnt in their own language, never mind written.

These times are known to us who are still here as the 'Highland Clearances'. English schools were put in place and the process of conversion began. Finally the English dream of a conquered Scotland was theirs.[4]

Many of those Scots who were exiled came to America where the encouragement of Richard Cameron’s prophecy was fulfilled when they fought along with George Washington and received encouragement in final victory. A high percent of Washington’s officers were Scots. Cameron had prophesied, “…but ye, that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number; for when Christ comes to raise up His own work in Scotland, He will not [lack] men enough to work for him.”

And you, the Christian right of America, be not discouraged at the fewness of your numbers; for when Christ comes to raise up his own work in America, He will not lack men enough to work for him.

What does all this have to do with us? This struggle in Scotland and England led first to the Glorious Revolution in England and later to what the English called the “Presbyterian Scots-Irish Revolt” in America (The American Revolution).

Eighteen days before Cameron was killed, he prophesied from the pulpit that there would not be a crowned King of the name of Stuart in Scotland. This was fulfilled eight years later in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He also prophesied “A man shall ride a day’s journey in the shires of Galloway, Ayr and Clydesdale, and not see a reeking house nor hear a cock crow, ere ye get a right Reformation; and several other shires shall be little better.” He also prophesied in the same sermon, “The rod that the Lord will make instrumental in this, will be the French and other foreigners, together with a partying this land joining them; but ye, that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number; for when Christ comes to raise up His own work in Scotland, He will not want men enough to work for him.”[5] This prophecy of slaughter was fulfilled 66 years later in 1746 at Culloden.

Description Of The Ethnic Cleansing

The memories of Culloden still run deep in the blood of Highlanders the world over because this battle was not the end - it was just the beginning!

Five months passed and it was decided that the hunt for the Jacobites, (which by this time there were more than likely none left as well as every other Highlander who wasn't even there), should be calmed down and this is when the Prince made his escape back to France.

Many of those Scots who were exiled came to America where the encouragement of Richard Cameron’s prophecy was fulfilled when they fought along with George Washington and received encouragement in final victory. A large percent of Washington’s officers were Scots. Cameron had prophesied, “…but ye, that stand to the testimony in that day, be not discouraged at the fewness of your number; for when Christ comes to raise up His own work in Scotland, He will not [lack] men enough to work for him.” The “work in Scotland” was fulfilled in America, the new Scotland, where there are five times as many Scots as there are in Scotland. America became Scottish in culture.

And you, the Christian right of America, be not discouraged at the fewness of your numbers; for when Christ comes to raise up his own work in America (the New Scotland of the “Scots-Irish Presbyterian Revolt”), He will not lack men enough to work for him.

For the earth will be filled

With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,

As the waters cover the sea

(Hab 2:14).

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

http://ronsmithmission.blogspot.com/

[1] Howie, John. The Scots Worthies, Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1995

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] The Rise & Fall of the Jacobite Rebellion By Mark Monaghan.at http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/culloden/jacobite.htm

[5] Ibid.

[6] The Rise & Fall of the Jacobite Rebellion By Mark Monaghan.at http://www.highlanderweb.co.uk/culloden/jacobite.htm

Name It And Claim Presbyterians And Other Evangelicals

2011-04-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

Name It And Claim It Presbyterians And Other Evangelicals
In case you don’t know what “name it and claim it” means, it refers to those modern Charismatics that pick something they want God to give them and then say they are believing God to give it to them. For example, if they want a Cadillac or healing or whatever, they ask God for it and then proceed to speak it into existence. They teach that you must not say that you are sick because that might make you sick. They say that is a negative confession. When they get sick they deny it and say they just have the symptoms, but not the disease. Unfortunately, many have died of the symptoms.
We have all heard of the examples that hit national news. Parents, for example that had a child with a disease that the parents refused to treat because they were “believing for” healing. Then the child died. I knew a couple that was trained in the name it and claim it system and the wife got cancer. She asked me what the “formula” for healing would be. When I told her there is no formula and that “true faith believes nothing can happen to you unless God lets it happen; and if He does, it is for your good, even unto death. There is no promise that you will be healed unless God speaks it. True faith trusts God to make that judgment. But you do have the guarantee that God loves you and whatever He decides will be for your good, even unto the worst scenario.” She said, “Horrors! No! I dare not admit of death!” She thought it all depended on naming and claiming it.
John Owen said, “Take heed to not tell yourself that you have peace with God before God Himself says it.” I have seen “Name it and claim it” Calvinists and Arminians do the same when it comes to salvation. The sinners’ prayer is the “formula,” or pointing to a proof text. They dare not admit of death.
I once assigned a reading on “True and False Conversion” to a seminary class and one pastor said (in effect), “Horrors! My people would doubt their salvation if I taught that!” My question is this: “What is wrong with that? Does not God command us to make our calling and election sure and to examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith. Many evangelicals seem to think that faith in faith is what saves.

Believing you’re going to heaven does not make it so.
Believing God is what makes you know.
Believing you’re okay does not make it true.
Believing God is what carries one through.

John Owen asks, “How can we know it is God speaking and not we ourselves?” He says we must be careful to not justify ourselves before God does. “It is God that justifies” (Rom 8:33). “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (Jn 10:27). Don’t worry. You will know when Christ speaks. He is the Amen, the True and Faithful Witness. But the danger is to mistake His voice for your own. Don’t name it and claim it.

Are Porn Addicts Hell-bound?

2011-04-12T14:01:00.000-07:00

I hear there are many Christian men that are enslaved by pornography. Why? Could it be a symptom of a false conversion? There are two kinds of Christians: true converts and false ones. If one is addicted to porn, for example, he might better question whether he is a true convert. Anybody dominated by sin has a good reason to doubt his salvation. Which is more dangerous, to presume you are okay or to doubt it? If he presumes it he will not bother to examine himself to see if he really believes. But if he doubts it he will not be more likely to make his calling and election sure?
A bad tree can’t give good fruit. A good tree does not bear bad fruit. Do not marvel that I say, “You must be born again.” With men this is impossible, but be of good cheer. There is hope. With God’s mercy & grace all things are possible. As long as one is addicted to scandalous sin, he is still under the condemnation of God’s law. But God’s grace sets men free. Dealing simply with symptoms a new tree will not make.
Are you addicted to pornography, for example? Pornography involvement is symptomatic of a far greater problem. Don't you feel the condemnation of a secret life that only God knows about? Do you have a desire to quit? Trying to quit has not worked in the past for you, so why do you now think you can will yourself away from such a damaging influence in your life? A man, like a tree is known by the fruit it bears. What kind of person are you? Do you need a new beginning?
John Owen shows that it is possible to be addicted to sin and still go to heaven. I agree. But I would not count on it. But the point is not about heaven. Why would the preacher want to assure someone he’s going to heaven if he is under the condemnation of both his own conscience and God’s law? Just to make him feel good? His salvation is held in doubt as long as he has no victory. (I am not talking about dealing with the symptom. I am talking about getting rid of the cause of the symptom.) If the argument is that I might discourage him and he will quit serving God because he now thinks he might be hell-bound, it seems to me that he would have had good reason to doubt. When one is truly converted, he does not serve God for fire insurance. He serves God like Job did… for nought, and not on the condition that he be allowed to go to heaven. Or, if the argument is so he can have peace, I ask, “Why should he have peace as long as he is in bondage?” Would that not be like saying, “Peace, peace, when there is no peace?” What’s heaven got to do with victory now? Should the preacher tell him he should have victory, but he will be saved anyway? He may or may not be going to heaven, only God knows that, but why does he need that assurance when he is living in scandalous sin? How can I possibly make that judgment (of whether he is saved or not)? The secret things belong to God. The point is, he is under condemnation now, and that is not a secret. The question of heaven or hell is irrelevant.
If comfort is what we want for him, the best way to comfort him is:
(1.) to encourage him to believe that God can and will deliver him.
(2.) to confess his sin and bring it into the light by having an accountability partner.
What is happening to the professing Christian in bondage to habitual addiction to scandalous sin is that he feels guilty, cries for forgiveness, and trusts God to forgive. Let me tell the story of Wally.
Wally was the produce manager in an independent grocery store. While standing in the produce aisle he told me his story of how God delivered him several years previously. He had been an alcoholic. His wife “got saved” and he followed her, got baptized, and joined the church. He quit drinking but still had the physical compulsion to drink. After several months of resisting he lived in misery constantly resisting the physical compulsion. But pressure was building up inside until it was ready to explode. He knew he could not resist much longer.
One night Wally went home and went to bed with an impossible urge to drink. But he knew that if he did he would lose his job and his family. He was at the end of his rope. He was now fully persuaded only God could deliver him with a miracle. He clearly saw that short of a miracle his life was over. As he lay there he suddenly heard a voice that said, “Wallace! NOW I am going to do something for you.” The physical compulsion left and he no longer wanted to drink. As we stood there in the produce aisle with customers walking by, he burst out weeping as he shared. It still brings tears to my eyes.
I fear that many modern so-called converts are simply awakened and not truly converted. The Puritans specialized in the doctrine of saving conversion. They taught that there are four kinds of sinners: careless sinners, awakened sinners, convicted sinners, and converted sinners. Wally’s deliverance is an example of true conversion. While he struggled to resist the physical compulsion to drink he was still under the law. He was trying and trying to not sin. But it was a miserable effort. It was not until he was thoroughly convinced of sin, righteousness, and judgment that God said, “Wallace! NOW I am going to do something for you.” No longer did he try and try. Salvation is of the Lord and not of self-effort. The Holy Spirit had convinced him that he could not save himself.
Saving conversion comes in the twinkling of an eye, but the work of humiliation usually takes time because man’s pride dies hard.
Does this mean that after one like Wally is delivered that he is no longer tempted? No. He could still be tempted, but now he had power to resist. Before he did not. His bias was changed. He now had a new proclivity. He became a new tree, a new creature. Does that mean that the true convert no longer sins? “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1John 1:8). But “the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9-10).

Faith In Faith Will Not Do
Believing you’re going to heaven does not make it so.
Believing God is what makes you know.

Believing you’re okay does not make it true.
Believing God is what carries one through.

Believing we’re not so bad can take us to hell.
Realizing we’re sick can make us well.

Faith in faith cannot deliver.
But faith in God will fail you never.

When we see God we cry, “Woe is me!”
And that transforms us to the image we see.

As in a glass God’s glory beholding,
A new vessel now the Potter is molding.

Then those who escape will remember their ways,
Now loathing themselves for the evil of those days.

The “Not-Seen” City That Has Foundations

2011-04-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

The City that Abraham looked for was not heaven.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going… [10] For he was looking for the city that has foundations, whose builder and Maker is God (Hebrews 11:8-10).

The next chapter goes on to say that Abraham looked forward to that city, but that we Christians have come to it now. It’s the City of God, the bride of Christ.” What was Abraham looking for? It was not heaven!!! It was a place on earth. Heaven is not even mentioned in the text.
A city is a government. The Greek word for city is polis, from which we get the word politics. Anyone looking for a city (a government) is involved in politics. Someone heard me on the radio and called. They said, “You’re just a politician” and hung up. I inherited it from our father… Abraham.
There are two basic governments on earth: the City of God & the City of Man. The City of Man has no foundation. “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1Co 3:11). Every government that is not built on that foundation will crumble like the Tower of Babel did. The same is true of individual government and family government.
Before God called Abraham the world spoke one sole language. To save themselves, they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city… and let us make a name for ourselves.” This is the pattern of man’s fallen nature. And this is what man has done ever since. But it always ends the same way. God rejected all the nations at Babel because they made a name for themselves instead of for God. But God so loved his enemies that He chose one man…Abraham and promised that all the nations would be blessed thru him.
In the very next chapter after Babel (Gen 12:1) God said to Abraham, “Get out of your country, … To a land that I will show you.” So Abraham set out to look for that city, that government whose builder and Maker was God. At that time Abraham was living in Ur of the Chaldees. Ur was a socialist state that owned all the property, all the animals, all the souls, and even all the tools. God said, “Get out.”
Later God told Abraham his descendants would go down to Egypt and live there for 400 years. This was the work of preparation to build His government. “Ya gotta go down before you can go up.” Pharaoh had ended up with the same socialist power that Ur of the Chaldees had had. God sent a famine so the people sold their animals to get grain from the government. When the grain ran out, they sold their land to get food from the government. When the food ran out, they sold their souls as slaves to Pharaoh. America is headed that way, too, in an effort to build another Tower of Babel.
After 400 years in Egypt, God sent Moses to put God’s law for His City in writing. The law is our school-master to bring us to the land of promise. “Tell Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, ‘Let My people go.’” Go and do what? Go & look for the City of God.
God’s people today are becoming slaves to statism just like Israel in Egypt. God keeps telling the kings of history, “Let my people go.” Freedom from state control! “Get out.” Statism has no foundation, no absolutes. No rule of law. They make up their own laws that change with their mood swings. God’s law is written in stone. It is unchangeable & absolute. Jesus did not come to abrogate it. He came to fulfill it (Mat 5:17ff).
During the American War of Independence, what the English called, “the Scots Irish Presbyterian Revolt,” God was saying to the king of England, “Let My people go.” God still says, “Let My people go and build a city based on God’s law.” Raabi Daniel Lapin says, “the knowledge of God is one of the most conspicuous Berlin Walls dividing our cultural landscape.” I say, “Mr. Obama, tear this wall down.” …. It’s time for another tea party.
Modern Babel Builders
Statists keep changing their politically correct rules every time they have a period! (And men have them, too.) They have no foundation. Nothing but feelings. Democrat Congressman Dick Durban said he wanted to remake America into the kind of America liberals want. They hate the kind of America the founding fathers wanted. These Big Brother builders of Babel reject God’s Law because it interferes with their vision of America. They think the Constitution is silly. They’re looking for a city whose builder and maker is man. Which is sillier? The Constitution or silly men?
Plato’s Republic groped for an ideal city also, but not like the one Abraham “looked for. The king of Babylon even made a tall image of man to represent the City of Man, and demanded that the whole world bow to it. Men still do it today. These Big Brothers want to save the people with handouts like Obamacare. To look to the government for security is to take the mark of the beast. It’s like saying, “We have no king but Caesar. Crucify Him and give us insurrectionists like Barabbas.”
But now, since Jesus came, believers have come to the City of the Living God. John saw it coming down. The Head is in heaven and the feet are on earth (Heb 12:22). This was the vision of Abraham. The foundation of God’s City is the Rock, Christ Jesus. God demands that the governments of men be built on that foundation. John heard “loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD HAVE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD AND OF HIS CHRIST’” (Rev 11:15)!
The progressives have their loud voices demanding a vision of the utopian city they are looking for: the great society like Egypt and Ur of the Chaldees. God says, “Get out … To a land that I will show you” (Gen 12:1). And that city was not heaven! God demands that human governments have one altar to that same God. “In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt” (Isa 19:19). Not just in heaven.
That’s why early Christians established explicitly Christian nation states. Armenia was the first, then Georgia around 300 AD, then Rome, then the Franks, and later Charlemagne, then England with Alfred the Great, then, all of Europe became Christendom. After the Reformation, Saxony, Scandinavia, Geneva, Holland, Scotland, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony established explicitly Christian governments. America was the result. God made a decree for the church: “Kings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers” (Isa 49:23). So God chose governments like Cyrus the Great, Constantine, and the U.S. Constitution as foster fathers and nursing mothers for His people. “That which has been is what will be” (Ec 1:9).
This is still the goal of Abraham’s children: Christian nation states built on God’s law. Why? Well, why not? Because Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
God so loved the world that He gave His only son to save it. God’s plan is to save the world.

All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the LORD, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD’S, And He rules over the nations... A posterity shall serve Him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation, They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, That He has done this” (Psa 22:27-31).

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Mat 28:19-20). The duty of government is to be the nursing mother of the church. The City that has foundations is not just in heaven. It must manifest itself on the earth.
Jesus prayed, “I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one” (John 17:15). “Go therefore and disciple all the nations” (Mat 28:9-20).
God said Abraham’s descendants would possess the gate of their enemies (Gen 22:17). The gate of ancient cities is where the seat of the governments was. The Cities of Man are the gates of hades (the entrance to the place of the dead). The end result of statism is death. Look at the millions of aborted babies. For Jesus, Jerusalem was the gate of hades. He went there and was killed. But He promised, “I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” He destroyed it forty years later.
The City of Man seeks to take away our God-given rights of life, liberty and property. Just as Ur of the Chaldees and Pharaoh owned all the property, and all the souls, so the City of God also demands our property and our souls. The difference is slavery for one and freedom for the other. If the City of Man can give you rights, they can take them away. If the City of God can give you life, liberty, and property, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” because it was His in the first place. But the City of Man can only take away because the god of this world comes to steal property, kill life, and destroy liberty.

Not Under Law But Under Grace

2011-03-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

Not Under Law But Under Grace.

When the apostle said, “You are not under law but under grace” (Rom 6:14) he was talking to believers. All unbelievers are still under the law and its condemnation. The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Moses, the lawgiver, can bring us to the border of the Promised Land only. And only the Greater Joshua (Christ) can take us in. But no one will enter without the law bringing us to the border because men will see no need for a Savior until the law convinces them they cannot save themselves.
The natural man hates God’s law “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Rom 8:7). For the unbeliever the law is an external threat written in stone. But at saving conversion God puts His law internally in the heart (Jer 31:33). The believer then says, “Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97). He meditates in it day and night (Psalm 1). He now sings both the song of Moses and the Lamb (Rev 15:3). “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus” (Rev 14:12).

Enlightenment Hermeneutics

2011-02-11T05:34:00.000-08:00

Enlightenment Hermeneutics
By R.D. Smith
The second point of the covenant asks, “Who is in charge?” Peter Enns says in his book, Inspiration And Incarnation, that the method of the apostles in interpreting the Old Testament seems odd. He says, “The New Testament writers do some odd things by our standards.” (Maybe we need to change.) He cites several examples of how the New Testament writers seemed to quote Scripture out of context. They did not seem to use our so-called “more enlightened” method. Where did they get the authority to do that?
He even thinks Jesus used an odd (odd to we who are influenced by Enlightenment rationalism) method of proving the resurrection of the body. He quoted what God said to Moses. “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Why would that seem odd? What kind of a God would be the God of men who are dead and gone and will never arise from the dead? He would be the God of the dead. That sounds like the devil. He might as well be the God of cockroaches. His answer certainly stopped the mouths of His adversaries. No one dared to ask more.
The apostles learned from Jesus how to interpret the Scriptures. On the Mount of Transfiguration, God said, “This is My Son. Hear Him.” Hebrews 1:1 says God spoke to us in old times by the prophets but now speaks through His Son. After Jesus arose, He expounded from all three divisions of the Old Testament on the Scriptures that spoke of His passion and resurrection. He taught them how to interpret Scripture. Paul said that the mystery that had been hidden from the ages was now revealed through Christ. Jesus said that “life” from the Old Testament is from those Scriptures that speak of Him.
The method that was taught was that the things in the historical account of the Scriptures were types, copies, and shadows of things that are fulfilled in Christ. The Second temple culture was somewhat familiar with allegorizing, but men like Philo of Alexandria and others were quite fanciful with that method. However, the Alexandrians with whom Stephen debated had no trouble understanding the analogies made by Stephen. He compared Joseph’s rejection and the rejection of Moses to Christ’s rejection. He called the Tabernacle of God the “Tabernacle of Moloch” and implied that the same was true with the temple.
Matthew shows that Christ is the true Israelite when he seems to quote Hosea out of context. “I called my Son out of Egypt.” Hosea was not referring to Christ, he was referring to the nation of Israel. But Matthew is showing us that Israel is a type of Christ. He quotes Isaiah 7:14 about a virgin conceiving and bearing a son, and applies that to Christ. Isaiah was talking about his own son as a sign to King Ahaz. How did he make that connection? It was by way of analogy. When Jesus was taken to Nazareth, Matthew says the prophet said, “He shall be a Nazarite.” Where is that found? This was said to Samson. Evidently Matthew (actually the Holy Spirit) saw Samson as a type of Christ in the same way that Jesus said, “There is one greater than Solomon here. There is one greater than Jonah here. There is one greater than the temple here.” The same logic would make Jesus the greater David, the greater Moses, the greater Joseph, etc.
Where did the apostles get this authority to interpret Scripture this way? “As the Father has sent Me, so send I you.” “What you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”
The first church council in Acts 15 decided on circumcision. Evidently some of the believers in Jerusalem could not make the analogy that this was a type of baptism. We still have that problem with many believers today. Paul tells us that these things were written as types (Gr tupos). Since Jesus was circumcised, and believers are baptized into the body of Christ, that must mean that believers are also circumcised. They are circumcised by means of being baptized into Christ.
In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead (Col 2:11-12 NIV).

So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ (Col 2:16-17 NKJV).

Using this method, Paul saw the Old Testament history and ceremonial law as types of things that were fulfilled in Christ. The unclean foods were gentiles (Acts 10). Hebrews shows us that Christ is our high priest. He is our temple (Rev 21). He is our Passover Lamb, etc.
The prophets, Peter tells us, did not always understand what they were prophesying (1 Peter 1:10-11). The reason they did not was because the Holy Spirit inspired them. The Spirit simply spoke through them and bypassed some of their understanding. Even the High Priest did realize he was prophesying when he said that someone must die for the nation. On the Day of Pentecost the disciples prophesied in unknown tongues (unknown to the speakers). The people gathered from the nations, however, did understand them speaking in their languages in psalms and prophecies. In referring to the gift of tongues, Paul said, “I will pray with the spirit and also with the understanding.” This shows how the Holy Spirit can speak through men while bypassing the understanding. The fact that Isaiah, for example, did not understand that the Spirit was not only referring to Isaiah’s wife bearing a son (Isa 7:14), but was at the same time referring to Christ, also illustrates this. How did Matthew know this? He had been taught by Jesus this method of types, the “already/not yet” motif of prophecy, and was also inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Peter Enns asks, “Should we handle the Old Testament the way the apostles did?” Well, if we do not, we certainly will not understand it the way it should be understood. We are their heirs. We should honor our parents. We are told to not be like the mule that needs a bridle; but to understand the ways of the Lord. If we do not understand the apostolic method of interpretation, we certainly will not understand the Lord and His word. It is obvious that Peter Enns’ Enlightenment rationalism was not the apostolic method of interpretation.

Prophecies Of John Knox

2011-02-01T12:56:00.000-08:00

The
Fulfilled
Prophecies
Of
John Knox
By Ron Smith
Churchofthekingmcallen.org

John Knox was the great Reformer and apostle of the reformation in Scotland during the 16th century. He prayed, "God give me Scotland or I die!" God answered that prayer with the greatest reformation of any country.

Modern day Reformers, being influenced by the Enlightenment, would not be comfortable with such a charismatic prophet today. They would say that these gifts passed away when the New Testament was completed. Let us observe with an open mind what the witnesses of that day recorded. May God give us another to come in the spirit and power of Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord.

In 1572 Charles IX of France had the godly Admiral of France murdered. This was followed up with the general massacre of the Protestants throughout France. Seventy thousand were murdered. "For several days the streets of Paris literally ran with blood. The savage monarch, standing at the windows of the palace, with his courtiers, glutted his eyes with the inhuman spectacle, and amused himself with firing upon the miserable fugitives who sought shelter at his merciless gates." "Hired cut-throats, and fanatical cannibals marched from city to city, paraded the streets, and entered into the houses of those that were marked out for destruction. No reverence was shown to the hoary head, no respect to rank or talents, no pity to tender age or sex. Aged matrons, women upon the point of their delivery, and children, were trodden under the feet of the assassins, or dragged with hooks into the rivers; others, after being thrown into prison, were instantly brought out, and butchered in cold blood."

"The intelligence of this massacre (for which a solemn thanksgiving was offered up at Rome by order of the Pope) produced the same horror and consternation in Scotland as in every other Protestant country. It inflicted a deep wound on the exhausted spirit of Knox. Besides the blow struck at the whole Reformed body, he had to lament the loss of many individuals eminent for piety, learning, and rank, whom he numbered among his acquaintances. Being conveyed to the pulpit [in his old age], and summoning up the remainder of his strength, he thundered the vengeance of Heaven against that cruel murderer and false traitor, the King of France, and desired Le Croc, the French ambassador, to tell his master, that sentence was pronounced against him in Scotland, that the divine vengeance would never depart from him, nor from his house, if repentance did not ensue; but his name would remain an execration to posterity, and none proceeding from his loins would enjoy that kingdom in peace. The ambassador complained of the indignity offered to his master, and required the Regent to silence the preacher; but this was refused, upon which he left Scotland." (THE LIFE OF JOHN KNOX, by Thomas M'Crie)

This prophecy was fulfilled less than two years later when Charles IX died at the age of 24 and left no heir to the throne.

The Prophecy Concerning Thomas Maitland
Shortly after a godly friend of Knox had been murdered, Knox entered the pulpit and found a note. Thinking it was probably a prayer request he silently read it. It was a slanderous note referring to the murdered friend. Not knowing who had written it, Knox said, concerning the author of the note, "That wicked man, whosoever he be, shall not go unpunished, and shall die where there shall be none to lament him." The man who had written it went home and told his sister "that the preacher was raving, when he spoke in such a manner of a person who was unknown to him; but she understanding that her brother had written the line, reproved him, saying with tears, that none of that man's denunciations were wont to prove idle." That man (Thomas Maitland) later died in Italy, "having no known person to attend him." (THE LIFE OF JOHN KNOX, by Thomas M'Crie)

The Queen's Testimony
"John Knox was an eminent wrestler with God in prayer, and like a prince prevailed. The Queen Regent herself had given him this testimony, when upon a particular occasion she said that she was more afraid of his prayers than of an army of ten thousand men. He was likewise warm and pathetic in his preaching, in which such prophetical expressions as dropped from him had the most remarkable accomplishment. As an instance of this, when he was confined in the castle of St Andrews, he foretold both the manner of their surrender, and their deliverance from the French galleys; and when the Lords of the Congregation were twice discomfited by the French army, he assured them that the Lord would ultimately prosper the work of Reformation." (THE SCOTS WORTHIES, by John Howie)

When Queen Mary refused to attend Knox's preaching, he sent word that she would yet be obliged to hear the Word of God whether she like it or not. This was fulfilled when she was arraigned in England.

On another occasion, Knox told the queen's husband, "Have you, for the pleasure of that dainty dame, cast the psalm-book into the fire? The Lord shall strike both head and tail." Both King and queen died violent deaths. (THE SCOTS WORTHIES, by John Howie)

The Prophecy Concerning William Kircaldy of Grange
"He likewise said, when the Castle of Edinburgh held out for the Queen against the Regent, that 'the Castle should spue out the captain (meaning Sir William Kircaldy of Grange) with shame, that he should not come out at the gate, but over the wall, and that the tower called Davis Tower, should run like a sand-glass [an hour glass]; which was fulfilled a few years after - Kircaldy being obliged to come over the wall on a ladder, with a staff in his hand, and the said fore-work [front] of the Castle running down like a sand-brae [sandy hill]." ." (THE SCOTS WORTHIES, by John Howie)

Knox's Defense of His Predictions
Thomas M'Crie tells us that John Knox has been "accused of setting [himself up as] a prophet, presuming to intrude into the secret counsel of God, and of enthusiastically confounding the suggestions of his own imagination, and the effusions of his own spirit, with the dictates of inspiration, and immediate communications from heaven. Let us examine the grounds of this accusation a little. It is proper to hear his own statement of the [basis] upon which he proceeded in many of those warnings which have been [called] predictions. Having in one of his treatises, denounced the judgments to which the inhabitants of England exposed themselves, by renouncing the gospel and returning to idolatry, he gives the following explanation of the [basis] which he had for his threats. He told them if they wanted to know the grounds of his assurance, he hoped they would understand and believe. He said, 'My assurances are not the marvels of Merlin, nor yet the dark sentences of profane prophecies; but the plain truth of God's Word, the invincible justice of the everlasting God, and the ordinary course of His punishments and plagues from the beginning are my assurance and grounds. God's Word threatens destruction to all the disobedient; his immutable justice must require the same; the ordinary punishments and plagues show examples. What man then can cease to prophesy?' We find him expressing himself in a similar way in his defenses of the threats, which he uttered against those who had been guilty of the murder of King Henry, and the Regent Moray. He denies that he had spoken 'as one that entered into the secret counsel of God.' And insists that he had merely declared the judgment which was pronounced in the divine law. In so far then his threatenings, or predictions (for so he repeatedly calls them) do not stand in need of an apology." (THE LIFE OF JOHN KNOX, by Thomas M'Crie)

"There are, however, several of his sayings which cannot be vindicated upon these principles, and which he himself rested upon different grounds. Of this kind were, the assurance which he expressed, from the beginning of the Scottish troubles, that the cause of the Congregation would ultimately prevail; his confident hope of again preaching in his native country [when he was a galley slave], and at St Andrews, avowed by him during his imprisonment on board the French galleys, and frequently repeated during his exile; with the intimations [predictions] he gave respecting the death of Thomas Maitland, and Kircaldy of Grange. It cannot be denied that his contemporaries considered these as proceeding from a prophetic spirit, and have attested that they received an exact [fulfillment]. The most easy way of getting rid of this delicate question is, by dismissing it at once, and summarily pronouncing that all pretensions to extraordinary premonitions, since the completing of the canon [the Bible], are unwarranted, that they ought, without examination, to be discarded and treated as fanciful and visionary. Nor would this fix any peculiar imputation on the character or talents of our Reformer [Knox], when it is considered that the most learned persons of that age were under the influence of a still greater weakness, and strongly addicted to the belief of judicial astrology. But I doubt much if this method of determining the question would be consistent with doing justice to the subject. I cannot propose to enter into it in this place, and must confine myself to a few general observations. On the one hand, the disposition which mankind discover to pry into the secrets of futurity, has been always accompanied with much credulity, and superstition; and it cannot be denied, that the age in which our Reformer lived was prone to credit the marvelous, especially as to the infliction of divine judgments upon individuals. On the other had, there is great danger of running into skepticism, and of laying down general principles which may lead us obstinately to contest the truth of the best authenticated facts, and even to limit the Spirit of God, and the operation of providence. This is an extreme to which the present age inclines. That there have been instances of persons having presentiments and premonitions as to events that happened to themselves and others, there is, I think, the best reason to believe. The strong spirits, who laugh at vulgar credulity, and exert their ingenuity in accounting for such phenomena upon ordinary principles, have been exceedingly puzzled with theses, a great deal more puzzled than they have confessed; and the solution which they have given are, in some instances, as mysterious as any thing included in the intervention of superior spirits, or divine intimations. The canon of our faith is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; we must not look to impressions or new revelations as the rule of our duty; but that God may, on particular occasions, forewarn persons of some things which shall happen, to testify His approbation of them, to encourage them to confide in Him in peculiar circumstances, or for other useful purposes, is not, I think, inconsistent with the principles of either natural or revealed religion. If this is enthusiasm, it is an enthusiasm into which some of the most enlightened and sober men, in modern as well as ancient times, have fallen. Some of the Reformers were men of singular piety; they 'walked with God'; they were 'instant in prayer'; they were exposed to uncommon opposition, and had uncommon services to perform; they were endued with extraordinary gifts, and, I am inclined to believe, were occasionally favored with extraordinary premonitions, with respect to certain events which concerned themselves, other individuals, or the Church in general. But whatever intimations of this kind they enjoyed, they did not rest the authority of their mission upon them, nor appeal to them as constituting any part of the evidence of those doctrines which they preached to the world." (THE LIFE OF JOHN KNOX, by Thomas M'Crie)

Are Miraclulous Gifts For Today?

2011-01-21T10:29:00.000-08:00

Are
Miraculous Gifts For Today?

By Ron Smith

Wayne Grudem edited a book titled, “Are Miraculous Gifts For Today?” He shows that among Christian scholars there are five views on the subject. They are (1) the cessationist view, (2) the open but cautious view, (3) the Third Wave view, (4) the Pentecostal view, and (5) the charismatic view.
Grudem gathered scholars from each of the positions and they all wrote and defended each of their stands on the issue. The Pentecostals believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is subsequent to salvation and is accompanied by speaking in tongues. The Charismatics do not all agree on “whether baptism in the Holy Spirit is subsequent to conversion and whether speaking in tongues is a sign of the baptism in the Spirit. The Third Wave people, like Peter Wagner at Fuller Seminary, “teach, however, that baptism in the Holy Spirit happens to all Christians at conversion and that subsequent experiences are better called ‘fillings.’”
The open but cautious people “are open to the possibility of miraculous gifts today, but they are concerned about the possibility of abuses that they have seen in groups that practice these gifts…. They think churches should emphasize evangelism, Bible study, and faithful obedience as keys to personal and church growth, rather than miraculous gifts. Yet they appreciate some of the benefits that Pentecostal, charismatic, and Third Wave churches have brought to the evangelical world, especially a refreshing contemporary tone in worship and a challenge to a renewal in faith and prayer.”
Signs and wonders have always been one of God’s tools, “God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Heb 2:4 NKJV). To say that signs and wonders passed away when the Canon was completed is to insert into the text something not found there.
Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away (1 Cor 13:8-10 NKJV).

Did knowledge pass away when the Bible was completed? Do we know even as we are known now? Obviously, that which is perfect is the resurrection. Then, and then only will knowledge, tongues, and prophecies pass away because perfection shall have arrived. To say otherwise is to deny the miracles of Columba and many other saints of history. How about the prophesies of John Knox? (This, however, is no endorsement of the “Elmer Gantry” approach of many “Charismatics” today.)
Some Cessationists say, “If prophecy has not ceased, why not add your prophesies to the Bible?” The answer to this question is because:
1. Many prophecies were made in Bible days that never made it in the Bible or were never written down. Saul met a band of prophets who were prophesying and the Spirit of God came on him and he also did it. Phillip had four daughters that prophesied, but not one of their prophecies is found in Scripture. These are just a couple examples out of thousands of possible instances.
2. The way one can tell a false prophet is if his words contradict the other prophets (Scripture).
3. Many times God reveals things to come that are current. Savonarola prophesied the fall of the Medici power in Florence, the invasion of France, and other events that he promised would happen soon; and they all did. John Knox made many prophecies. John Welch (Knox’s son-in-law) said, “Observe what God is going to do to this young man” (a Catholic guard who was mocking his words with facial expressions). The young man immediately dropped dead. Columba's life by Adamnán records about 100 miracles and visions.
Don Richardson, in his book, Eternity In Their Hearts, tells about the ancient prophecy in the tradition of the Karen tribe of Burma. The oracle went something like this: they had left God and lost His book; but one day a white man would bring God’s book back to them and God would receive them again. One day one of their “prophets” told two men to saddle a pony and follow it wherever it led them; he said it would take them to the white man with God’s book. They followed the pony for 200 miles through jungle and mountains until it walked through the gates of a mission compound. It walked up to the well where they found a white missionary digging below. They asked, “Do you have the book?” 75,000 tribesmen were soon baptized by Baptists. Ten different tribes in the same area had the same tradition.
Bruce Olson tells a similar story about the Motilone Indians. They had an ancient tradition of a prophecy that said a white man would come and God would come out of a banana leaf. Olsen asked, “A banana leaf?” Then one of the Indians cut a banana leaf and it unfolded like the pages of a book. He then pulled his Bible out of his back pocket and began to preach the gospel. The entire tribe was converted. God has not left Himself without a witness.
If the gift of prophecy did not pass away with the completion of the Canon, should not those prophecies be included in the Bible? Of course not. Should the ancient prophecies of the Karen tribe be included in the Bible? Should the prophecies of Columba, St. Francis, St. Benedict, Antony of the Desert, and countless others be included in the Bible? When God infuses light saving conversion, should his revelation be included in the Bible. The answer is obvious.
Those who say the day of miracles is gone or that God does not work through the gifts of the Spirit must deny the miracles of Columba, St. Benedict, Francis of Assisi, the record of the Venerable Bede, and others. On what basis is this denial made? Is it on the basis of one passage in 1 Corinthians 13 that is of debatable interpretation? Is it on the basis of contradictory witnesses? Who were they? On that basis we could deny that Christ arose. Or is it really on the basis of enlightenment thinking? Let us be honest. This is the real reason: humanist presuppositions. The enlightenment has influenced moderns more than we know. It permeates the air. But “Love believes all things” (1 Cor 13).
Why is it that the Scottish Presbyterians before 1700 believed in miracles and after 1800 some say the gifts ceased? Could it be that the humanist Enlightenment had an effect? Are moderns really smarter and more enlightened than the ancients?
On the other hand, there are carloads of charismatic charlatans and plenty of suckers to follow them. Would someone like Columba, Francis of Asisi, or Jesus go on television and merchandise the gifts of God? Unthinkable! Jesus said they should “tell no one.” Let them do like the prophets of the Middle Ages such as Antony of the Desert and Francis of Assisi and take vows of poverty. The modern charlatons, too, are influenced by the Enlightenment.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it (Mark 7:36 NIV).

A good example of a modern day prophet with medieval values was Padre Pio of Italy (1887-1968). When he was a young man he fell into a trance and saw a mysterious man hanging on a cross. It frightened him. When he awoke, his hands, feet, and side were bleeding profusely and he suffered with this for fifty years. He cried out to God to take away the embarrassment, but not the pain.
The Catholic Church tested him to make sure this was not of the devil. He was not allowed to minister for ten years. Then they hid him away in a remote Italian village where he stayed the rest of his life. (This is how real integrity responds as opposed to the merchandising arrogance of today's T.V. celebrities. How ironic that so called Protestants should be put to shame by the Roman Church that was so famous for its corruptions in the days of Luther!)
There were many miracles done through Padre Pio’s prayers including multiple healings, exorcisms, and other manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit. A little girl with no pupils in her eyes was instantly made to see. Though he only knew Italian and Latin, he carried on a conversation with an American in fluent English. Once one confessed his sins and Padre Pio asked, “Is that all?' The man said, “Yes, father.” Padre Pio said there was more; “Remember that time under the tree in London in 1942 with that girl?” It scared the man so badly he got converted right then.
Are we to simply dismiss this because the man was a Catholic and believed false doctrines? What man is there that has 100% of his thinking correct? Prophets were never infallible. They had the treasure in earthen vessels (clay bodies). Only the word of God spoken through them is infallible.
Padre Pio was a contemporary of some of those who wanted to “demythologize” the miracles of the Bible; men like Rudolf Bultmann, Paul Tilllich, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Albert Schweitzer, and Karl Barth.
How different was Padre Pio – in style and in results. Without publishing a book or delivering a single lecture in a university, he convinced thousands, even in the age of “historical criticism” of the Bible and the “Death of God” theologians, that miracles are not mythology but reality. Through his life and ministry, thousands came to accept the Bible and all the historical doctrines of Christianity as true.

Through the ministry of Padre Pio (and the Bible) we learn that, contrary to Pentecostal teaching, it is not always God's will to heal. Directions must come from God in each case. Sometimes Padre Pio would heal people miraculously and other times he would tell them only their souls could be healed. In some cases he told them they could be healed through an operation.
The fact remains that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The supernatural methods God used in the past will be used in the future. Padre Pio was born poor and died poor. He suffered with much pain his whole life. These are the ideals of Scripture as opposed to the “hot shot” demonstrations of today's charlatans.
Don Codling presented a thesis for Master of Theology to Westminster Theological seminary arguing against the cessation of the spiritual gifts. He says, “Prior to Hume [i.e. prior to the Enlightenment] it was generally held that miracles and other revelatory gifts were evidence showing that a messenger was from God.” This demonstrates that the real reason for denying the gifts is that Hume’s humanism has unconsciously infected modern Christians and their seminaries.

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

Government Spending

2010-12-28T10:56:00.001-08:00

John Maynard Keynes was a homosexual economist whose tax and spend policies Washington is following today. Spending more than we make is the dishonest policy of thieves. Keynesians insist that our condition is so scary that we must give up whatever moral values stand in the way. They believe the wages of sin is life and what a man sows he will not reap. Keynes admitted these policies that oppress the poor cause inflation and a debt that can never be repaid, but said, “We all die in the end, anyway.” Never mind the curse it imposes on our children. Borrowing money you never plan to repay is called stealing. National health care is one such policy that must be defunded. The prophet Isaiah said, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20).

The Idol Of Humanism

2010-09-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

The Idol Of Humanism
Resentiment (not resentment) is a French word used because there is no English equivalent. Resentiment begins with perceived injury that may have a basis in fact, but more often is occasioned by envy. The result is a persistent mental condition of hatred and the impulse to spite with vengeance. It seeks outlet in doing harm to its object. “Any perceived difference is enough to set the pathology in motion. Resentiment ‘whispers continually: “I can forgive everything, but not that you are – that you are what you are – that I am not what you are – indeed that I am not you.”’ The other’s very existence is a reproach.

President Obama and his ilk are consumed by resentiment. He hates America for existing. He can forgive everything except that America is – that it is what it is – that he is not what it is – indeed that he is not America. America’s very existence is a reproach to him.

In his so-called “social justice” idea A is “played off” against B. The support of the so-called downtrodden is really a disguised attack on the prosperous. The downtrodden is A and the prosperous is B. His “social justice” has its source in this poisonous brew. His “social justice” glories in the praise of the weak and base, if that will also debase the strong and good. American pioneers were once the downtrodden. But once the “downtrodden” become prosperous, they are now the enemy. His goal is therefore not to raise the downtrodden. The goal is to level the playing field by bringing the prosperous down to the level of the downtrodden. In his view, if all Americans were as downtrodden as third world countries, we would all be heroes. He does not understand that all men being created equal guarantees there will not be equal results.

Of course, he and his ilk (the ruling class) exempt themselves. Some are more equal than others. He and his family will not hesitate to live in pompous monarchical opulence. What a contrast with Harry Truman. When he retired  from office in 1952, his income was  a U.S. Army pension reported to have  been $13,507.72 a year. Congress, noting  that he was paying for his stamps and personally  licking them, granted him  an 'allowance' and, later, a  retroactive pension of $25,000  per year. After President  Eisenhower was inaugurated, Harry and Bess  drove home to Missouri by  themselves. There was no Secret Service  following them.

Mr. Obama and his ilk resent the fact that God should prosper anyone, except you know who. “Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do” (Deuteronomy 29:9). But beware. You will be a target of resentiment.

The ideas in this article are from Herbert Schlossberg, Idols For Destruction, p. 52-55

The Gates Of Hell

2009-11-30T17:29:00.000-08:00

…and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies (Genesis 22:17).

God promised that Abraham’s descendants would possess the gate of their enemies. The gate of ancient cities was the place where commerce and government took place. To possess the gate of a city was to possess the political economy of the place. To possess the gate was to possess the city. Who are the enemies of Abraham’s descendents?

To answer that we need to remember that God had rejected all the nations at the tower of Babel because they had chosen to make a name for themselves and to provide their own salvation (social security) instead of trusting God. This insulted God so much that he destroyed their city and confused their languages with the curse of nationalism in order to limit their power and to keep them from uniting in a one-world City of Man. The enemies of God and Abraham’s descendents are the nations of unbelievers.
But God so loved the world that He chose to make a new nation of His friend Abraham and to save the world by giving His only begotten Son that whosoever of any nation that would believe in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life. This is God’s alternative to the salvation of the City of Man.
The first “city builder” in history was a bad guy named Cain. “And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch” (Gen 4:17b). After the flood, the second city builder was another bad guy (Nimrod) who built Babel and seven other cities. The purpose of these cities was to provide salvation (social security). Men thought they could save themselves without regard to God’s covenant. All they needed was a “mighty one” like Nimrod. “Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one on the earth” (1Chronicles 1:10). When he built Babel God said, “Indeed the people are one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.” What men “began” to do was just that; just the beginning. Men are still doing it in bigger and bigger ways. The City of Man is the alternative to the City of God. Augustus Caesar said, “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” But instead of the City of Man being the gate to heaven, it was in reality the gate to hell.
All of the early empires in history started from a city. The Assyrian empire started with Nineveh, the Babylonian empire started with Babylon, and the Roman Empire started with Rome. They all started out as city-states. (The word “city” in Greek is polis. We get the word politic from the Greek word for city. The city was the state (i.e. the government).
The promise that Abraham’s descendents would possess the gate of their enemies “began” to be fulfilled when Joseph became the “savior” of Egypt. This pattern continues with Moses plaguing Egypt, Joshua conquering Canaan, David’s kingdom, Daniel in Babylon’s government, and Esther as queen. Then Christ came and now “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ” (Rev 11:15). It was said of the apostles, that “these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king--Jesus” (Acts 17:7). Daniel says, “the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High” (Dan 7:27). Paul said Abraham’s descendents are heirs of the world (Rom 4:13). He said the world is ours (1 Cor 3:21-22).
Jesus promised that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Mat 16:18). Then He said He was going to Jerusalem to be killed (Mat 16:21). Jerusalem was the gate of hades (death) for Jesus. He was safe until He went there. “How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers” (Isa 1:21). Jerusalem had become like the other cities… even worse. No other city up to that time had been guilty of killing God’s prophets and even His own Son!
When Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against His church, He was picturing the church as assailing the City of Man, the very gate of death. Jesus assailed Jerusalem and destroyed it when He came with the Roman armies in fulfillment of Stephen’s teaching. His accusers testified that they “heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses delivered to us” (Acts 6:14).
Why are the governments of men called the gate of death? It is because of man’s fallen nature. Man’s effort to save himself and provide social security seems on the surface to be noble, but it is the antithesis to God’s City. It always ends up with an attempt to replace God and goes about to establish its own righteousness. Every religion in the world except Biblical religion ends up worshipping the state as the highest authority and as the source of salvation. The state becomes a god by saying, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves…” (Gen 11:4). Instead of making a name for God, men replace God with their own “political correctness” whose “top is in the heavens,” so to speak. To build bigger and bigger government power is called “statism.” It is the “nanny-state.” It is “Big Brother.”
Does this mean there should be no government? No. The Declaration of Independence agrees with Romans 13 when it says, “Governments are instituted among men.” Romans 13:1 says, “the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” Edmond Burke said, “Society cannot exist unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere, and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters."
America’s founding fathers clearly understood that government must be limited. Because they understood that the “beastly” 800-pound gorilla could not be trusted, they replaced it with a chimp. But because of man’s corruption the little monkey established by our founders has grown into a monster twice as big as the 800-pounder.
Jesus not only prevailed against Jerusalem, but, after three hundred years conquered Rome by converting Constantine. He also conquered Armenia and Georgia, the first two Christian nation states around 300 A.D. Then He prevailed against the Francs by converting Clovis their king. Charles Martel saved Europe from becoming Moslem in 732 at the Battle of Tours. Then he used Charlemagne to conquer and convert several attacking barbarian nations. Alfred the Great (850 A.D.) of England also established an explicitly Christian nation with Biblical laws that even the king could not break. All of Europe became Christian in government.
Why is it important that governments establish Biblical laws? It is for our children. If the culture is pagan it will influence the children to be sucked in by non-Christian values. This in turn will turn them from Christ because the Law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. If the culture convinces children that fornication is okay, they will be demonized. The whole design of Satan is to abolish God’s standard. No one will come to Christ until the Holy Spirit uses the Law to convince him of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. The design of Satan is to sear their consciences with godlessness. It is the duty of the government to be “God’s minister to you for good” (Rom 13:4). And “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government…”
The Bible pictures “statist” empires in visions as beastly monsters rising from a sea of mankind. The angel told John that the sea represented mankind (Rev 17:15). They are called “beasts” because they are predatory. They devour other nations and peoples. They exist off the production of others. They do this through taxation and they understand instinctively that God’s Law is an obstacle to their goals. Therefore they must establish their own rules and rage against God’s “bonds” and “cords.” “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot 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 bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us’” (Psalm 2:1-3). It is “the nature of the beast” to do this. It is the very nature of statism to say, “We have no king but Caesar.”
Nero was the last Caesar of Julius Caesar’s dynasty. Nero was the beast of Rome in the flesh. The letters of his name in Hebrew add up to 666. He did not prevail against the Church even though he made war against the saints and overcame them for a time. His doom was sealed by the word of God.
But even though Nero was the last of the dynasty, others assumed the name “Caesar” as a model of statism. Russia called its kings “Czars” (Russian for Caesar), and Germans called their leaders “Kaisar” (German for Caesar). Men still have this primordial passion to build a city that reaches to the heavens and to make a name for themselves with their various “czars.” ‘“Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar!’” (John 19:15). This is the alternative: either Christ or Caesar. There is no neutrality. Christ demands that the state submits to Him unconditionally.
If the kingdoms of this world have been replaced by our Lord and His Christ and given into the hands of the people, the saints of the Most High (Dan 7:27), then is it the duty of God’s people to preach against ungodly government? Can you name one prophet in Scripture that did not address politics? Moses was the Lawgiver, Joshua took his place, the elders of Israel were filled with the Holy Spirit, the Judges of Israel were inspired to fight for justice, Samuel anointed kings, Nathan counseled David, David was a prophet/king, Elijah preached to Ahab, and Elisha sat in the house with the rulers of Israel. We could give example after example. The whole thrust of Scripture is aimed at the gates of hell. The Acts ends with Paul headed for Caesar’s household.
The English called the American War of Independence the “Scots-Irish Presbyterian Revolt” because the preachers preached politics from their pulpits. The book, “They Preached Liberty,” documents how they did it. D. James Kennedy wrote the opening introduction to it. Ben Franklin said, “Man will ultimately be ruled by God or by tyrants.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer preached against national socialism and Hitler hung him for it. Socialism is big government statism. It is the gate of hell that the church must assail because it destroys the souls of men. Limited government must control and limit man’s fallen nature that wants to save itself with its “tower of power” and socialist statism.
Socialists call themselves progressives. President Obama has openly admitted that the U.S. Constitution is an obstacle to his statist goals. These “czars” are lawless. They lie when they swear to uphold the Constitution. Their real goal is to “progressively” dismantle it and build a “city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens” where they can rule and save men as if they were gods.
Frederic Bastiat proves in THE LAW that the law of nature (God’s law) has one sole function. Its only purpose is to protect citizens from the plunder of life, liberty, and property. The law cannot save people any other way. When the state (the gate of hell) attempts to save some by plundering others of life, liberty, and property, it has broken the law. When the state is partial to some by plundering others, it is lawless and unjust. True social justice cannot tax some at a higher rate than others. God’s written law says, “You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor” (Leviticus 19:15). Nowhere does God’s Law of Moses direct the government to give handouts by taxing some in order to favor others. God’s Law commands men to give to the poor out of their own pockets voluntarily and not out of another’s pocket. God’s Law says, “Thou shalt not steal.” It is a documented fact that conservatives give much more to charity than progressives do. Socialists are very anxious to give other people’s money but not their own. Vice President Biden gave less than $1000 to charity from an income of more than $300,000. This is shameless hypocrasy! These people who go about to establish their own righteousness in the name of social justice are the opposite of what they purport to be. Ever since Lyndon Johnson’s hypocritical war on poverty, the poor have been made worse slaves to “Uncle Sam’s Plantation.” It is a proven fact that welfare has weakened the poor by making them trust in a god (the state) that cannot deliver. Only our God can supply all our needs according His riches in glory. Which one will you take? There is no neutrality… either trust God or trust Caesar.
And I said: “Hear now, O heads of Jacob, And you rulers of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know justice” (Mic 3:1)? Who are the “heads of Jacob” and “rulers of the house of Israel?” Are they not the pastors? Why is it that some pastors have no understanding of political economy and cannot see that they have a duty to assail the gate of unrighteous statism? If they did understand they could not possibly say they should not be involved in politics. If they do not preach social justice they are guilty of being “dogs that can’t bark.” “His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber” (Isa 56:10).
These blind watchmen seem to think there is a dichotomy between the sacred and the secular. They believe in “two kingdom” dualism. They seem to have a Gnostic notion that separates the material from the spiritual. Abraham Kuyper, the former prime minister of Holland, said, “There is not one square inch of creation of which Christ does not say, ‘Mine.” Luther said, “If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, then I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battle front besides is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point.” The battle is raging at the gate of hell, the statist city of man. Join the battle for the souls of men and true social justice.

For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: afflicting the just and taking bribes; diverting the poor from justice at the gate (Amos 5:12).
Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph (Am 5:15).

Today’s Uncle Toms

2009-10-09T13:51:00.001-07:00

In Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Uncle Tom was the obedient and trustworthy slave of kind slaveholders in Kentucky. He was trusted to keep his word because he had surrendered his life to Christ Jesus. But because his master was in debt, he was forced to sell Tom. Tom was carried away to New Orleans and sold to the evil Simon Legree. Simon Legree hated Tom because he was a meek and obedient Christian. When two female slaves escaped, Tom refused to tell where they were. His cruel master told him he would have his two slaves beat him to death if he would not tell. They beat and beat him until he died. He knew he would die, but he was willing to lay down his life for his slave friends.

How does this apply to today’s situation? Are we able to make the analogy? Star Parker had a radio talk show in Los Angeles in which she would speak against “Uncle Sam’s Plantation” because it was enslaving the poor with welfare programs. She would get daily calls from her fellow blacks who would verbally “beat her to death” for being an “Uncle Tom.” If blacks like Star Parker are Uncle Toms, who is Simon Legree today? Who are his slaves that beat up the today’s “Uncle Tom’s?” To speak pajoritively of Uncle Tom is to speak against Christ. “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’” (Mat 25:40).

Social Justice

2009-09-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Social Justice

By Ron Smith

God commands us to help the poor by giving from our own pockets and by laws that protect the poor from plunder. Nowhere does God’s Law command governments to give to the poor; and neither does the U.S. Constitution. For government to do that, it would have to give someone else’s money. That is not social justice. Taxpayer money does not belong to politicians. It’s only purpose is for the general welfare; not for special interests.
Declaration:
We hold these four truths to be self-evident:
1. that all men are created equal,
2. that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,
3. that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
4. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

The Declaration of Independence says our Creator (not the government) endowed us with three rights that cannot be taken away: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (property), and that the only purpose of government is to secure these rights. The government (the law) cannot save; it can only protect from the plunder of these three rights. Any effort by government to save some people with social programs will end in plundering others. That is not social justice.

Have you read THE LAW by Frederic Bastiat?

Would you agree that it is traitorous to make laws that plunder some in order to favor others (to level the playing field)? Since all men are created equal, should the law not equally protect them all? Both God’s Law & common sense demand, “You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor” (Levitcus 19:15).

Let us look at history. To look to the government for social programs is to look to Caesar. Augustus Caesar said, “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved but by the name Caesar.” But the Apostle Peter contradicted Caesar and said, “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved but by the name Jesus Christ” (Acts 4:12). The highest insult to God is to say, “We have no king but Caesar.” This is called statism. Caesar tried it; Hitler tried it; and Russia tried it. After 70 years of “leveling the playing field” by government mandate, the Russian ruble was worth zero. And now the U.S. government is trying it.

False philanthropy believes we do not love the poor if we are for equal treatment of all citizens and are against the government plunder of some in order to favor others (leveling the playing field). If they really want to help the poor, the best way to do it is by government minding its own business and equally protecting all from the plunder of life liberty and property. Besides this, it is not only stupid to spend more than you have, it is also immoral.

Dear members of the United States Legislature, all 535 of you.

The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775 - you have had 234 years to get it right; it is broke.

Social Security was established in 1935 - you have had 74 years to get it right; it is broke.

Fannie Mae was established in 1938 - you have had 71 years to get it right; it is broke.

War on Poverty started in 1964 - you have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to huge beaurocracies for "the poor"; it has not worked.

Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - you've had 44 years to get it right; they're broke.

Freddie Mac was established in 1970 - you have had 39 years to get it right; it is broke.

Trillions of dollars in the massive political payoff called the TARP bill of 2009 shows NO sign of working.

And finally to set a new record:

"Cash for Clunkers" was established in 2009 and went broke in ONE MONTH ! It took good dependable cars ( that were the best some people could afford ) replaced them with high priced vehicles. People who couldn't afford it are now making payments.
Mostly Japanese models were sold; so a good percentage of the profits went out of the country.

Lastly, the American taxpayers are now going to be plundered with paying for another 3 billion more for government experiments.
Our wallets will become even thinner.

So with a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves "services" you shove down our throats (and manage), are failing faster and faster. You then want Americans to believe that you can be trusted with a government run health care system? That's 15+% of our economy! Are you crazy? Truly, the inmates are running the asylum!

And what does this say about the voters who put them in office?

http://ronsmithmission.blogspot.com/
churchofthekingmcallen.com

These Days

2009-09-14T06:26:00.000-07:00

These days, God is doing a work on His people. He is judging His people because of our sins. He has turned America over to evil statists who use envy as their motive; and it is our fault. The church has allowed this by being “dogs that cannot bark.”

His watchmen are blind,
They are all ignorant;
They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber (Isaiah 56:10).

“Therefore it shall come to pass, when the LORD has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, ‘I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks”’ (Isaiah 10:12).

Hebrews 12:22 says the church is the Mt. Zion and the New Jerusalem to which we believers have come. Isaiah was referring to the punishment God was inflicting on His people by using Assyria as the rod of His anger (Isa 10:5). Today, God is inflicting His wrath on His people by raising up another arrogant heart… the heart of a socialist president. We get the leaders we deserve, but Isaiah promised that God would also punish the “glory of his haughty looks.”

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O My people, who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian. He shall strike you with a rod and lift up his staff against you, in the manner of Egypt. For yet a very little while and the indignation will cease, as will My anger in their destruction” (Isa 10:24-25).

Legal Versus Illegal Revolution

2009-08-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

It is absolutely astounding how many educated people do not understand the difference between the French Revolution and the American one. Edmond Burke, British Member of Parliament at the time of the 1776 American Revolution, supported the American cause. He saw it as just and legal. He likened it to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. In that year, the leaders in England deposed the tyrant James II and replaced him with William and Mary. It was relatively bloodless and based on the law. The Stuart kings believed in the divine right of kings and violated the laws of Parliament.
Some of Burke’s friends in the Glorious Revolution Club began to support the French Revolution of 1789. Edmond Burke wrote a book explaining the difference and showed how it was a perversion of the Glorious Revolution. He accurately predicted the tyranny that would result from it.
Friends of justice need to make the distinction. “[W]henever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends [life, liberty, and property] it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government.” Some would argue that the French mob had a right to rebel, but they should read Edmond Burke. Men duly elected by the various states led the American Revolution. They were mostly prosperous businessmen. The French Revolution was based on class envy. That is lawless.
The French Revolution, as it progressed, resulted in dictatorships starting with Napoleon and progressing to Lenin, Hitler, Mao, Castro, and others all based on class envy.

Controlling Health Care Costs

2009-08-25T05:32:00.000-07:00

Control Of Health Care Costs
A liberal politician asked on Fox and Friends what we should do to control health care costs. Uh oh! There’s that word: “control;” and that stands for “power;” and that stands for “dictate;” and that stands for “dictator;”and that stands for Big Brother. And that looks like Russia, Cuba, Canada, and Europe.
Let’s face it. Health care costs did not start soaring until after Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society. Government involvement is the cause; not the cure. The only cure is free enterprise.
We hold these truths to be self-evident:
1. that all men are created WHO’S IN CHARGE?
2. that they are created equal HIERARCHY (the consent of the governed)
3. that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights: that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — THE LAW PROTECTS THESE RIGHTS
4. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — SANCTIONS SECURE THESE RIGHTS
5. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government. SUCCESSION
The current “czars” in power now, are Marxists who prefer the socialist model of Big Brother control. Did you know the word “czar” is Russian for Caesar? Caesar represents the destruction of the Republic. That is why the senators of Rome put 32 daggers in him. They thought they had killed the beast with a mortal wound that would save the Republic. But the whole world wondered when the beast came back to life in the form of Augustus Caesar who said, “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, but the name Caesar. “Hail Caesar. We have no king but Caesar the Beast. Sieg heil.”
How did Caesar get his power? He got it from the people just like Hitler and Mussolini did. He by-passed the law.
America is not a democracy. It is a republic. The only Name by which we can be saved is the Name above all names and the King of all kings, and He is the Law. “Re” in republic means “the thing.” The “thing” is the “law” of the public and not the public.
How do we control health care costs? We get government out of it.

THE PURPOSE OF GOVERNMENT

2009-07-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

Jay Leno’s “Jay Walking” interviews on the streets of New York illustrate why America has elected the leaders we have. One man, for example, answered that Australia borders the U.S. Many other unbelievably dumb answers were given to other questions.
The purpose of government is not to save people. Its purpose is to enforce the law. But when it makes up unjust laws that plunder some in order to favor others, this is injustice. Government monopolies (such as national health care) or private ones plunder some in order to favor others. That is lawless.
Nowhere is it written in the Bible or the Constitution that government is to save private businesses. Nowhere is it written that the state is commanded to give to the poor; but individuals are. The sole job of the law is to prohibit plunder. Its function is negative; not positive. It prohibits plunder.
When the state sets out to save people, it becomes a god. This is the major struggle illustrated throughout Scripture. This is why God’s wrath fell on the Tower of Babel, Babylon, Rome, and Jerusalem… statism. Humanists still say, “We have no king but Caesar.”
The three Hebrew children refused to bow to the image of the state, were cast into the fiery furnace, and came out not even smelling like smoke. Let’s follow their example so the fourth Man in the fire will be with us. He will certainly not be with those who bow and adore the mental image of the statist beast.

Then the beast … deceived … those who worshiped his image. These … were cast alive into the lake of fire… (Re 19:20).

Statism And The Tower Of Babel

2009-04-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Tower
Of Babel
Statism

“…and this is only the beginning of what they will do.”

By Ron Smith

Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech" (Genesis 11:4-7).

Josephus tells us that the people after the flood were afraid that God would send another flood, so they built this tower as insurance in case Noah had prophesied falsely. They waterproofed it with asphalt (bitumen), and built it high to ascend above the flood. There would be no need to keep God’s covenant through Noah; they could save themselves.
This account is given through the prophet from God’s point of view. “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (1 Pet 1:20). Their motive was a distrust of God’s promise through Noah that He would never send another earth destroying flood. This greatly offended God. They sought to displace trust in God with trust in themselves. Instead of a desire to make a name for God, they wanted to make a name for themselves. Instead of obeying God’s command to fill the earth, they joined as one, lest they should “be dispersed over the face of the earth.” They were “one worldists” and they were Statists. By establishing a humanistic State, they could produce a utopia and save themselves. The watchword is “power.” “And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” And “this is only the beginning [the genesis] of what they will do.” What they have done since and what they are doing now is even worse.
This is the human situation; the human condition. This story gives us the pattern of the struggle of history that would follow. It is the City of Man versus the City of God. Every religion except biblical religion ends up looking to the State for security and salvation. Though monarchies are not the only Statist systems, we see it manifested with Israel’s desire for a king. God said to Samuel, “They have not rejected you. They have rejected Me.” They traded their freedom for security. Samuel then goes on to detail how they would have to enslave themselves to the State.
Statism comes in various forms. The extreme right wing wants zero government. They are anarchists. The extreme left-wingers are the Statists like Hitler, Stalin, and other dictators. In the middle are those who look to the original intent of the Constitution and the Law. But Statism is always something the people choose. They chose Hitler; they chose Lenin; they chose Obama. After the liberty brought by the Puritan Oliver Cromwell, they preferred a king. What they got resulted in 28 years of what are called “the killing years” under Charles II and James II. They do this because they believe the State will give them more security than their freedom under God will. But it always ends in the figurative confusion of tongues and a broken tower.
We see Statism manifested in every chapter of the Book of Daniel. In chapter one Daniel makes a decision not to defile himself with the king’s meat. The king’s meat represents the worldly consumption of the humanist/statist idea and worldview. In chapter 2 Daniel interprets the dream of the king about another kingdom that would destroy the kingdoms of this world. Chapter 3 tells of the State command to bow to the image of man that represented the State. Everyone had to conform, just as everyone is expected to conform to today’s political correctness. Notice that the entertainment industry was also involved. It was at the sound of the music that they were to bow. Hollywood is also involved in the support of Statism today.
Chapter four of Daniel tells of the king’s madness and eventual repentance when he acknowledges that God is the real ruler. Only then does his reason and sanity return to him. When “seven times” have come over the rulers of this world, “Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him; All nations shall serve Him” (Psalm 72 NKJV). Each of the following chapters of Daniel deal with the struggle between God’s kingdom and the beastly kingdoms of men. God gives the great hope that His King will eventually rule over all kingdoms.
Augustus Caesar said, “There is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved, but the name Caesar.” Caesar was the State. In the New Testament we see this struggle illustrated with the statement of the rulers of Jerusalem when they said, “We have no king but Caesar” and “Give us Barabbas.” This is seen in John’s vision of a lamb that has two horns and speaks like a dragon. Its function is to make the whole world worship the mental image of the beast (Caesar). Caesar represented the extreme left wing, and Barabbas represented the extreme right wing anarchists. (Barabbas had killed a man in an insurrection.) But even the extreme right-wingers are Statists. They attempt to build their own tower of power. They end up taking over the state they destroy. Lenin and Castro did this.
In the center are those who subscribe to the law. The “tea party” center is obedient to the Constitution. The king of England had broken his contract with the colonies and the duly elected rulers of the colonies had a legal right to do what they did. “When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
On the other hand, the French Revolution was illegal. It instituted a reign of terror that was imitated by Russia, Cambodia, Cuba, etc. It was not founded on the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” Its goal was humanist Statism and Utopia (i.e. change). They each eliminated religion as the opiate of the people. The State became the supreme power (i.e. god). Edmond Burke pointed out that the French revolutionaries could not tell the difference between change and reformation. Change as they practiced it was discontinuity with the past. They even tried a new calendar that dated the French Revolution as year one, and a ten-day week so no one could tell which day was Sabbath. Reformation, on the other hand, builds on the good of the past, is lawful, and reforms what is not lawful.
Statists are humanists who believe in the ability of man to create a Utopia (i.e. a “name for themselves” with a tower of power). The tower builders totally ignored the covenant with Noah. Statists want to separate God and the State because we cannot have two gods. And because the Constitution limits their goals, they reinterpret it. They ignore the original intent of those who wrote it. The Conservatives, on the other hand, seek to conserve the Law.

For the Statist, liberty is not a blessing but the enemy. It is not possible to achieve a Utopia if individuals are free to go their own way… His first duty must be to the State – not family, community, and faith, all of which have the potential of threatening the State.

President Barack Obama made this point when lecturing the Wesleyan University graduating class of 2008 during his campaign: “[O]ur individual salvation depends on collective salvation.”.

Because these Utopian Statists believe they can build a one-wordlist tower that reaches to the heavens, “they need to listen to the voices of condemnation from world capitals… The classroom is turned into propaganda mill rather than a place for education.”
The Statists in America call themselves “Progressives.” They realize that their goals can never be reached in America with the aggressive type of Statism. So they have adopted an evolutionary “soft” approach. They believe they are progressing towards Utopia. But in order to do this, they must progressively chip away at the Constitution. They must control the education system, the entertainment industry, and the media. They must tax and spend. They must take advantage of every crisis they create in order to push through laws that give them more control. Because they must see to it that the people believe the State can save them, they make all kinds of promises in their election campaigns. Power is what they seek; a tower of power that reaches to the heavens and provides health care for all.
Mark Levin points out that Statist “Academics claim to challenge authority but, in truth, preach authoritarianism through various justifications for and approaches to deconstructing the civil society.” This answers to the “soft” and gentle looking lamb with two horns representing both Caesar (statism) and Barabbas (anarchy). They are really two functions of the same Statist beast that speaks like a dragon and says, “Crucify Him.”

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

Right-Wing Barabbas v. Leftists

2009-04-21T05:42:00.000-07:00

Barabbas was a “right-winger” who killed a man in an effort to overthrow Rome. The leaders of Jerusalem, on the other hand, were “left-wingers” who wanted Roman control. These two wings are like two horns on a harmless looking lamb (See Rev 13). Its function is to get everyone to adore the mental image of the “beastly” state. Both Barabbas and the leaders of Jerusalem who each believed that humanist state control was what everyone needs illustrate this. Anarchists like Barabbas want to overthrow the state so they can run it. This is what Castro and Lenin did. Anyone who will not adore the state is ostracized. They are considered “enemies of the state.” (Can’t buy or sell, so to speak.)

The pattern set by America’s founding fathers is different. They did not trust government. Their goal was to limit it with the Constitution. For them, it all boiled down to freedom, individualism, and faith in God. The goal of the progressives is to overthrow the original intent of the Constitution. Does that smack of treason to you?

We “Tea Party” people want to be like the founding fathers. We want to turn America back to the values of the Constitution. We are not right-wing extremists. We are law-abiding, hard working citizens who plan to vote for justice as defined by the founding fathers.

They did not believe in separation of God and state. The First Amendment says that Congress should not prohibit the free exercise of religion. That is why the Ten Commandments are displayed on government buildings, God is on our money, and the Declaration appeals to the Creator. It is time for a Tea Party and back to basics. Men do not naturally evolve; they tend to devolve.

Pork Food

2009-03-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

Pork Food
To have a mentality that feels free to dip into the public dole strikes me as an “entitlement” attitude. It is not noble to live on the sacrifice of others unless it is a last resort. To be anxious to do that reveals, perhaps, well, a tinge of greed? Public money is the hard earned blood and sweat of taxpayers. This money goes to Washington where the handlers first rake off their wasteful percentage. Then it is sent back to the taxpayers via pork and or more wastefulness. Many other non-producers dip into the pot and take more.
This is a wasteful greed game. The prodigal son said, “Give me my share now.” He felt “entitled.” When two of David’s men jeopardized their lives to bring him a drink from the well within the Philistine garrison he refused to drink it. Noble men like David say, “God forbid that I should drink the blood of these men!”
After Hurricane Dolly hit the Rio Grande Valley, a neighbor got an estimate for their damaged roof. FEMA gave them money and they then had it done cheaper and profited by $7,000. That money came out of the pockets of hard working taxpayers. This does not represent the values of noble men. The prodigal son “wasted his substance in riotous living” and ended up sharing the food of porkers.
After I left the mission field at the age of 30 with a wife and four kids, starting a new career was tough. $3.00 an hour and two jobs living in a trailer bought for $3400 with financed money was tough. I saw in the paper government housing and called the realtor. She said if I would quit one of my jobs I would qualify. “You mean it would pay me to quit one of my jobs?” “Yes.” “No thanks. Bye.”
Why take on the “poor me” mantle when I can trust God to supply all my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus? It really is better to give than to receive. I determined to give the sweat of my own brow rather than the sweat of the taxpayers. Our policy has always been to tithe first, pay bills second, and feed the belly last. It has paid off to side with God against self and be on the Victor’s side.

The Current Economic Crisis & Homosexuality

2009-02-27T07:46:00.000-08:00

The Current Economic Crisis And Homosexuality
Keynesian economics (also called Keynesianism (pronounced /ˈkeɪnziən/, and Keynesian Theory), is a macroeconomic theory based on the ideas of 20th-century British economist John Maynard Keynes. Keynes was homosexual.
Richard Nixon imposed wage and price controls (like Communist Russia) and proclaimed, “We are now all Keynesians.” Carter came and interest rates went up to 21% in an effort to curb the inflation caused by Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society spending and Nixon’s wage and price freeze. It took Reaganomics to turn the nation around.
Congress, led by Barney Frank, had mandated for years that lending institutions give mortgages to people they knew could not pay. It all came to a head in late 2008. The government decided to give trillions to banks and business.
It is an interesting irony of Providence that both Keynes and
Barney Frank were gay. Gays do not reproduce unless they teach other boys and men to do what they do. Wealth is not created until something is produced. These guys think they can take from the producers in the form of taxes and “stimulate” the economy. This policy punishes the producers and rewards non-producers.
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number” (Gen 1:28). God meant for man and woman to be productive by having babies. Keynesian Theory is homosexual.

Romans 1:24-27
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

The Five World Views

2009-01-20T05:22:00.001-08:00

2009-01-20T05:17:00.000-08:00

Of
Abraham Kuyper’s
Calvinism

Ron Smith's Summary of
Abraham Kuyper’s Speech at Princeton in 1898.
"There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"
Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920)
Abraham Kuyper was an extraordinary figure uniquely capable of wearing several hats throughout his long public career as pastor, theologian, scholar, journalist, educator and statesman. Although he began in the parish ministry, he moved on to become editor of two periodicals; to found the Antirevolutionary Party, the first Dutch political party and the first Christian Democratic party in the world; and to establish the Free University, a Christian university established on Reformed principles. He was first elected to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament in 1874 and eventually served as Prime Minister from 1901 to 1905. Kuyper's thought was introduced to North America in 1898, when he delivered the Stone Lectures at Princeton Seminary.
Although Kuyper was not an academic political theorist, he nevertheless laid the foundations for a highly original approach to politics that would come to be labelled "Kuyperian." Its originality consisted in the fact that he sought to articulate a consistently Christian view of the place of politics in God's world free from the distortions of various nonchristian ideologies.
The most characteristic feature of Kuyper's political thought is the principle of soevereiniteit in eigen kring, usually referred to in English as "sovereignty in its own sphere," "sovereignty in its proper orbit," or simply "sphere sovereignty." Sphere sovereignty implies three things: (1) ultimate sovereignty belongs to God alone; (2) all earthly sovereignties are subordinate to and derivative from God's sovereignty; and (3) there is no mediating earthly sovereignty from which others are derivative. Current efforts at rehabilitating what is often called "civil society" owe something to this principle.
Kuyper's ideas were further developed by Herman Dooyeweerd and others in the twentieth century.
Kuyper points out that the vital turn in modern history was made in 1789. That year gave birth to the French Revolution and the "violent rise of modern humanism." That struggle continues to rage today. The only answer is Biblical Calvinism.
Kuyper points out that the term Calvinism is used in four ways:
1. In its sectarian use it is used as a derisive term with little or no understanding of what it really is.
2. The dogmatic use represents Calvinists as narrow and dogmatic people who believe in predestination.
3. The denominational use is applied to groups such as "Calvinist Baptists" or "Calvinist Methodists."
4. The scientific use refers to its political name. We say, “political name,” because, historically, it sanctions no church hierarchy or magisterial interference by the civil authority, and it results in republican (representative) government.
We can see that it is this very Calvinism, in the scientific use that resulted in the US. Constitution. The French Revolution was based on atheism, while the American one was called "the Scots Irish Presbyterian revolt," and was based on Biblical Calvinism. George Washington and the founding fathers rejected the radicalism of the French Revolution. Calvinism's peculiar theology, special church-order, and its given form for political and social life is unique in its character. The French Revolution was a humanist imitation and counterfeit of Calvinism.
Just as Paganism, Islamism, Romanism and Modern Humanism each have their life systems, so every life-system requires conditions in the three fundamental relations of all human life, namely:
-- our relation to God;
-- our relation to man, and
-- our relation to the world.

The First Condition: Our Relation to God
Paganism worships God in the creature. Islamism isolates God from nature. Romanism teaches "God enters into fellowship with the creature by means of a mystic middle-link, which is the Church." Each of these views stands in opposition to Calvinism.
Calvinism "does not seek God in the creature, as Paganism; it does not isolate God from the creature, as Islamism; it posits no mediate communion between God and the creature, as does Romanism; but proclaims the exalted thought that, although standing in high majesty above the creature, God enters into immediate fellowship with the creature, as God the Holy Spirit."
Kuyper anticipates the objection that Luther and Protestantism should share with Calvinism and be given credit for this world-view. Though Luther alone stands by the side of Calvinism, "Luther still leaned upon the Romish view of the sacraments, and upon the Romish cultus, while Calvin was the first in both to draw the line which extended immediately from God to man and from man to God." He says, "Even the name of 'Lutheranism' is hardly ever mentioned; while the students of history with increasing unanimity recognize Calvinism as the creator of a world of human life entirely its own."
Some might object that Humanism ("People for the French Way") denies any relation with God. The fact is, they make themselves their own god. Man becomes god.
Kuyper repeats: "Thus I maintain that it is the interpretation of our relation to God which dominates every general life system.”

The Second Condition for Every Life-System:
Our Relation to our Neighbor
Paganism results in systems of caste, as in India. Islamism results in a system of slavery. The woman is the slave of man and the infidel is the slave of the Moslem. Romanism results in every relation of man to man hierarchically, and leads to "an entirely aristocratic interpretation of life." "Humanism, which denies every difference, cannot rest until it has made woman man and man woman, and, putting every distinction on a common level, kills life [abortion, etc.?] by placing it under the ban of uniformity. One type must answer for all, one uniform, one position and one and the same development of life; and whatever goes beyond and above it, is looked upon as an insult to the common consciousness [the dogmatic attitude of evolutionists?]."
Calvinism, on the other hand, holds that "we stand as equals before God." "Hence we cannot recognize any distinction among men, save such as has been imposed by God Himself, in that He gave one authority over the other, or enriched one with more talents than the other, in order that the man of more talents should serve the man with less, and in him serve his God. In the same way, Calvinism condemns not merely all open slavery and systems of caste, but also all covert slavery of woman and of the poor; it is opposed to all hierarchy among men; it tolerates no aristocracy save such as is able, either in person or in family, by the grace of God, to exhibit superiority of character or talent, and to show that it does not claim this superiority for self-aggrandizement or ambitious pride, but for the sake of spending it in the service of God... It was Calvinism, then, which was bound to find its unique utterance in the democratic interpretation of life..."
"The difference between [Calvinism] and the wild dream of equality in the French Revolution is that while in Paris it was one action in concert against God, here [in Calvinism] all, rich and poor, were on their knees before God, consumed with a common zeal for the glory of His Name."

Our Relation to the World:
The third Requirement for Every Life-System

Paganism and Islamism
"Of Paganism it can be said in general, that it places too high an estimate upon the world, and therefore to some extent it both stands in fear of, and loses itself in it. On the other hand Islamism places too low an estimate upon the world, makes sport of it and triumphs over it in reaching after the visionary world of a sensual paradise." Muslims make the world a slave and Hinduism is enslaved by it.

Romanism
By the late medieval Church's "dominion over the world the Church proved an obstacle to every free development of its life." This was a dualistic world-view. It was Calvinism that changed England’s attitude toward banking and toward the Jews. This brought about prosperity and freedom to invent and create.

Calvinism’s Early Rejection of Dualism –
Calvinism rejected dualism with the doctrines of "particular grace, which works salvation, and common grace, by which God, maintaining the life of the world, relaxes the curse which rests on it, arrests its process of corruption, and thus allows the untrammeled development of our life in which to glorify Himself as Creator."
"Henceforth, as the Calvinist saw it, the curse should no longer rest upon the world itself, but upon that which is sinful in it, and instead of monastic flight from the world the duty is now emphasized of serving God in the world, in every position in life."
Calvinism also rejected the dualism of the Anabaptists who withdrew from all civil institutions and was bound to take all civil life under its guardianship, and to remodel it, by force, if necessary. Scripture gives a good model in Joseph and Daniel "Your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies" (Gen 22:17). True Biblical Calvinism also rejects the dualistic notion of “escapism” from the troubles of the world.

Conclusion to the "Three Fundamental Relations"
"This justifies us fully in our statement that Calvinism duly answers the three above-named conditions, thus is incontestably entitled to take its stand by the side of Paganism, Islamism, Romanism and Modern Humanism, and to claim for itself the glory of possessing a well-defined principle and an all-embracing life-system."
The first written constitution in history came about as the result of a sermon by Calvinist Thomas Hooker in 1639 Connecticut.

• Everyone has a worldview. Few have a coherent worldview or are able to articulate it clearly.
• Most people don’t consider their worldview to be a central defining element of their life, although it is.
• People spend surprisingly little time intentionally considering and developing their worldview. More often than not, their worldview development process is one of unconscious evolution and acceptance. They allow it to evolve and sum it up this way: “Whatever.”
• Americans rarely interact with each other on a substantive level regarding matters and issues that relate to worldview development and clarification. When they do so, they often do not know how to process the interaction or how to progress from their existing position.

“Survey after survey has shown that Americans – including a huge majority of born-again Christians and evangelical Christians – lack a biblical worldview.”
--- From the book, “Think Like Jesus,” by George Barna.

ChurchoftheKingMcAllen.com
7401 N. Ware Rd
585-4402

The Five World Views

2009-01-20T05:15:00.000-08:00

Psalm 2 And The Current Raging Of The French Revolution

2009-01-10T06:28:00.000-08:00

The Raging Of The Nations
There is a culture war raging in America. The outcome of this conflict could not be more important - it is nothing less than the survival of Western civilization. This is because the roots of this conflict run far deeper than most people realize, and its consequences far more serious. For example, one of the major battlegrounds is over civil rights for homosexuals.
The Gay issue is just one manifestation of what
Psalm 2 describes.
1 Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.”
God’s Response
4 He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision.
The Decree
5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: 6 “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
The Promise
8 Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
The Warning
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

1. They rage
2. They plot
3. They counsel

They Rage & Plot
“Why do the nations rage?”
Whenever the Bible talks about the nations, it means the pagan Gentiles. All the nations except Israel were pagan unbelievers who each had their own gods and found their identity in the doctrines of those gods. This is described as “raging.” It’s like the raging of the sea.
When David wrote this Psalm under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he had in mind all the nations that he was fighting in order to establish the kingdom of God in Jerusalem. But the Holy Spirit had in mind all nations that reject God and His anointed One. David was God’s anointed one and so is Christ. David was a type of Christ. Just as David was making war to subject the nations to God’s rule, Christ also is doing that now. The Bible says, “He must reign until he puts all enemies under his feet.” God said to his Son through the prophet Isaiah, “The nation and kingdom that will not obey you shall be destroyed.”
Zech 14
Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem [the church] will … worship the King, the LORD Almighty… If any of the peoples of the earth do not … they will have no rain…. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations (Zech 14:16-19).

The nations that resist the rule of Christ are raging by plotting a vain thing. It says, “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing?.”

Every nation of the ancient world had their gods. False gods and idols are described in the Bible as being vain things. Actually, every nation in the world today is a theocracy. Every man has a god he believes in. Even the atheist worships a mental image of what he adores & venerates. Some worship nature; some worship the state; some worship man; and some worship themselves, and some worship the buffoon gods of Mt. Hollywood. Every other religion in the world ends up worshipping the state as the highest authority. That is what God’s word means when the rulers of Jerusalem said, “We have no king but Caesar. Crucify him & give us Barabbas the revolutionary!” This is raging & plotting a vain thing.
Envy Cuts Off The Heads Of All Authority And Traditional Values
Since the French Revolution of 1789, this raging humanism has taken over nation after nation. The aim was to destroy Christianity and the Law of God. They even tried to scrap the seven-day week and replaced it with a ten-day week. They cut off the heads of the rich people & the heads of all historical authority. They bowed to the goddess of reason. You can see from the picture what was meant by “reason.” It meant freedom from moral restraints & God’s authority. This is the aim of the socialists and the secular progressives of today who are trying to change the U.S. Constitution to mean something different from the original intent of our nation’s founders. This is a culture war that has been raging since the Tower of Babel & is intent on dethroning God’s rule.
Ever since the French Revolution of 1789, the nations have been raging & plotting in a brand new way. After the fall of Rome around 500 A.D., France became the 1st nation of Europe to become a Christian nation. But after 1200 years, CHANGE came. 200 years before that, at the time of the Reformation, there were many Calvinists in high places in France. The admiral of the navy was one. But then came St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. 30,000 Calvinist believers were slaughtered in one week. Over the next 200 years they were annihilated or run out of France. One was the father of my great, great grandmother, Mariah Bobo.
Then came God’s judgment. God gave them up and sent a strong delusion. Otto Scott, in his book, Robespierre, The Fool As Revolutionary, describes the conditions in France at that time.

For the first time since the decadent days of Rome, pornography emerged from its caves & circulated openly in a civilized nation… Strange cults appeared; sex rituals, black magic, Satanism. Perversion became not only acceptable but fashionable. Homosexuals held balls… Prostitutes were admired; swindles & sharp business practices increased… the word revolution became common; it no longer created shock but became a respectable, accepted word and idea… And no name was the target of more assiduous & filthy inventions than that of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.

When Christ arose and sat down on the throne of David at the right hand of the Father, he said, “All authority is given to me in heaven and in earth.” America and all other nations belong to Christ. He has all authority over them. God said to him, “Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel (vs.8-9). God is in the process of dashing the unbelieving nations to pieces. France has been a 2nd class nation for 200 years now. But France is destined to return to Christ once again. This is not the end. Keep your eye on God for the next 100 years. He has some surprises up His sleeve.
America is a Christian nation and belongs to Christ and His people. God’s enemies know this subconsciously. That’s why they can only resort to tyrannical force. They are a minority, but right now they have the power. God has both authority and power, but he has given His enemies the power because of our sins.
Power is what they seek. Power is the watchword. They try to forcefully change the laws any way they can. They are lawless. They don’t care about legitimate authority because they know in their hearts they don’t have it. They are tyrants by nature. To prove it, when they run out of logic, they raise their voices and call names. “The workers of iniquity sharpen their tongues like swords and bend their bows to shoot their arrows of bitter words” (Ps 64:3). They invented a new doctrine called “separation of church and state.”
Why do they rage and plot a vain thing? Because they want to be free from God’s Law. They want to be liberal. They want to be free to use drugs, free to have illicit sex, free to abort babies, free to lie & steal, free to do swear & do whatever they want to do. So they make the government a substitute for God. “Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us.” “God’s Law makes us unhappy” they say. It creates pathologies and it is humiliating. A recent study reported on Fox News says that conservatives are much happier than liberals. They don’t understand that true freedom comes with rules, boundaries, and limitations (to quote the Dog Whisperer). Dogs and humans find our true harmony with nature when we become calm submissive to Christ our pack leader.

In the French Revolution, they paraded a woman through the streets dressed as the goddess of reason. Reason, they said, proves that humans have no moral point of reference, that nothing I think can be more wrong or right than what you think. They said there are no absolutes. They believed that as people became more knowledgeable they would eventually turn away from religious faith.

They Take Counsel Together
They have this thing all worked out. Their professors told them so. David Letterman' jokes and Oprah give counsel. Hollywood agrees. The media agrees. Friendship with the world is enmity with God. The friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4).
Psalm 2:10-12
10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the LORD with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Conclusion
What can you do about it? Be not conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Arm yourself. Be aware of what is happening. Be a Christian soldier. Get educated on the issues. Be ready to give an answer. Attend SS. Read. Grow in grace. Spread the word. Instruct your kids. Give money to the cause of the kingdom. Be a witness. Jesus said, “All authority is given … go therefore and teach all nations…” Go for it. This is what you signed up for. Lay your life on the line. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Get excited. Pray for wisdom. Pray for the church to repent. Pray for leaders to arise. Enter the fray. Contend for the truth.
Young or old, you have a task. Uncle Sam wants YOU and so does Jesus. Side with God against yourself and be a victor.

Tolerance

2008-12-30T04:31:00.000-08:00

Tolerance
In 2008 America, atheists placed a sign next to a manger scene that says there is no God. They claimed their rights were being violated and that Christian symbols on public property also violated the separation of church and state. Gay people were demanding equal rights and the right to be married by the state. A group of them even invaded a church service and took over, demanding their rights. Moslem minorities were demanding special public schools. Illegal aliens were waving Mexican flags and demanding a right to vote in the U.S. What is the answer to all this chaos? What is the deciding factor in a pluralistic society?
In any nation, the majority rules unless a tyrannical minority, or a just law seizes it. Either “might” or “right” will rule. Minorities have the legal right to believe what they want, but they do not have the right to “take over” by force. So, they resort to “might” (i.e. force).
Pagans dominated Babylon and God sold His people into Babylonian captivity because of the broken covenant. He commanded His people to submit to Babylon and to pray for the peace of the place. Daniel and his three friends purposed in their hearts to not defile themselves with the king’s food because it had been sacrificed to demons. This tells us that faithful believers can tolerate the dominant culture and still not be defiled by it. We can be in the world and not of it. As a minority, it is rude to demand our rights. It is not only rude; it is presumptuous, arrogant, and intolerant unless the law requires it as in the case of Martin Luther King. But even in that case, force was not used nor should it be.
When Persia freed God’s people to return to Jerusalem, there were minorities in Palestine that did not tolerate the rebuilding of the Jerusalem culture. In this case, the Jews were right in resisting them because the law had given them permission and had even partially financed them.
Then, when Greek culture took over the world, Antiochus Epiphenes made a concerted effort to impose it on the Jewish minority by force. He made a law against circumcision and forced Jews to offer incense to Apollo. The religion of the one true God was hanging by a thread. He sacrificed a pig on the altar of the Temple and placed an idol in the Temple court. A small group, led by the Maccabee family blew the trumpet, fled to the wilderness and raised armed resistance. Against impossible odds they prevailed, recaptured Jerusalem and cleansed the Temple. Happy Hanukkah.
Daniel had prophesied that this would happen over 400 years previously. He said that the reason for this trial was the sins of the Jews themselves (Dan 8). He also said there would be a faithful remnant that would do exploits for God (Dan 11). The Maccabees were the faithful champions that saved our godly heritage.
Now let us go back a few thousand years to the time of Abraham. He lived in a world of idolatry, but had enough freedom to establish a godly culture within his own camp. God told him he would have a descendant through whom all nations would eventually be blessed and that the land of the Amorites already belonged to him. (The only way to be blessed is to be a child of Abraham. Only those who enter the covenant of Abraham are blessed with special grace. Others are blessed with common grace. God rains on the just and the unjust alike. That is common grace. Special grace makes us acceptable to God. Common grace does not.)
God told Abraham his descendants would live in Egypt under a pagan culture for four generations and would not return to rule that land until then because the cup of wrath for the Amorites was not yet full. Four hundred years later Moses led them out of Egypt and God commanded them to destroy the inhabitants of that land because of their idolatry and degenerate culture. It had become so degenerate that it had to be destroyed in order to eventually bless all nations. The pollution of degenerate cultures had to be stamped out. There was to be no tolerance because the situation demanded it. God’s Law must dominate. Jesus defined love as the fulfillment of the Law. The destruction of pagan cultures was necessary “tough love” in order to save the world. A few must die in order to save many.
But God’s people failed to drive out all the idolatrous inhabitants of the land and God sold them to their enemies as judgment. Under oppression they then cried out to God and He rose up a judge to deliver them. This happened several times until there was no remedy and they were finally taken to Babylon in 606 BC.
In spite of these failures and judgments, the prophets predicted a Savior would come and all the ends of the earth would remember and turn to the Lord; all nations would bow to Jehovah (Psalm 22:27). They said that His kingdom would destroy all the others and that His kingdom would never be destroyed. He came, was crucified and arose in fulfillment of prophecy. He ascended to the Father and is now ruling with all authority in heaven and in the earth. “Yes. All kings shall bow to Him” (Psalm 72).
The most powerful pagan empire of all time ended up bowing to him 300 years later. But no sooner had that happened than barbarians from the north destroyed it. Then those same barbarians bowed to Him and became Christian Europe.
But now Europe and the West are living in a “post Christian” era. They have forgotten God just as the Jews did before they were carried to Babylon. The humanism of the French Revolution has taken over the culture in Europe and a minority in America now rules. Due to the Puritan foundation of America, Christians are still a majority, but are being defiled by the minority that is in control of the media and the education system. Eating the king’s food is defiling Christians and their children cannot even speak the language of Canaan.
The “Amorite” minority of the secular progressives are now changing the laws and the culture by means of tyrannical activist judges and legislators. The Hollywood culture and the educators love it so and cheer them on so they can be free to fornicate and destroy our children. It is not enough for them to do it privately. They have an agenda to impose their culture on Christians. They tolerate every pagan abomination, but do not tolerate God’s Law and Judeo Christian culture unless it is practiced in private. Their culture must be dominant by all means possible. They by no means tolerate Christian culture. “Why do the nations rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth take counsel together against the Lord and against His Christ, saying, ‘Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us.’ He that sits in the heavens shall laugh and make fun of them” (Psalm 2).
When gay people insist on “coming out,” they force us to accept their culture and to violate our own conscience. It is either their culture or ours. It cannot be both. Neutrality is a myth. By tolerating their culture, we violate ours. When they object to “Don’t ask; don’t tell,” they impose a tyranny on the majority. They want their way and will throw a fit to get it. They will cram it down our throats if they can and make people feel guilty for not tolerating them. God hates the sin and loves the sinner.
The reason this is happening to America is the same reason it happened to the Jews. God sold them to their enemies because of their own sins. Godly principles made America great. Godly laws and culture gave birth to prosperity, and the daughter is eating the mother. God warned His people that after He prospered them they would forget Him.
What were the sins of Christians that caused this? Bad theology. Gnostic dualism that separates the sacred from the secular and says, “The Lord is coming soon anyway, so why dominate the culture? Why polish brass on a sinking ship?” Christians abandoned the theology of the Puritans that made America great. They cut off the legs of the trunk with a truncated gospel that seeks to escape the world instead of changing it. That is a gospel without legs and not the full gospel. They think “getting saved” is just a matter of going to heaven and they forget that the purpose of salvation is not going to heaven. The purpose of salvation is to restore all things as they were in Eden. Our prayer should be “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The pastors have also swallowed the lie of “separation of God and state.” Many of them actually believe that preachers have no business getting involved in cultural issues and politics. Can you name one man of God in the Bible that was not involved in politics and/or cultural issues?
The eclipsing of the Puritan Hope is the cause. The Calvinist Reformers and the Puritans brought the Reformation and the Great Awakenings that changed the world and brought great liberty and justice like the world had never seen. In spite of their dark times and persecution, they believed the knowledge of the glory of the Lord would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The Puritan Calvinists brought a new kind of government called republican democracy and capitalism. The first constitution in the history of mankind was written as a result of Puritan Calvinist Thomas Hooker’s sermon in 1639 Connecticut. “Freedom under law” was their watch cry. It is true that at first the Massechusetts Bay Colony inherited some of the medieval errors by not tolerating heresies, but in a few decades they moderated. This then resulted in liberty and justice for all. But sin was not tolerated.
The current “secular progressives” tolerate sin, but do not tolerate God’s Law. God’s word does not tolerate them because God’s love wants to bless all nations and the only way to do it is by the kingship of His Son. He says to the nations and their rulers, “Kiss the Son lest He be angry and you perish from the way when His wrath is kindled but a little” (Psalm 2:12). He says that the nation and kingdom that will not obey His Son shall be destroyed (Isa 60:12). Unless there is a radical reversal, God will replace what we knew of America with a socialist godless culture. This will result in financial downfall similar to what happened with every other socialist experiment. But just as Christian Britain was replaced by Pagan Anglo Saxons, and re-converted by the Irish missionaries, so others like Chinese Christians will re-convert America.
Jesus promised that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Daniel’s vision saw that His kingdom would grow and grow until it becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth. God promised His Son, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession” (Psalm 2:8). That prayer, because God so loved the world, shall be answered. The meek shall inherit the earth.
When Christians are a minority as they are for example in China, we submit to majority rule as long as we are not required to disobey our God. Christians are the best citizens of any country. They work hard and do not commit crimes. True Christians are willing to pay the price for civil disobedience unto death.
In Christian nations, minorities must submit to the majority, also.
The progress of the atheistic and humanistic French Revolution has taken over much of American culture by means of treasonous activist judges. Instead of submitting to the original intent of the Constitution, they interpret it as a so-called “living” document and re-invented it according to their personal preferences. The Supreme Court in the 1890’s declared America to be a Christian nation, but in 1948 Justice Black reversed that with the new doctrine of “separation of church and state.” Based on that decision, the Court kicked God out of the public schools in the early sixties. The “hippie belch” out of the bottomless pit followed that. Then came the Court decision to legalize abortion in the early 70’s.
These decisions were unlawful and treasonous. Therefore, Christians are obligated to resist them and be willing to pay the price. The law of King Jesus must be obeyed. We must obey God rather than men (Acts 2).
The argument of the secular progressives now is what is called “multiculturalism.” Christianity is the only true multicultural nation. Babel’s attempt to unite everyone under one single government resulted in confusion and division. But on the Day of Pentecost God poured out his Spirit on people from all nations. They spoke in several languages, but understood each other because they were united under One Head. The secular progressives seek to “head up” everyone under the headship of “equal rights.” Their aim is to “cut off” our Head. The cutting off of heads in the French Revolution continues today.
A true Christian nation allows freedom of religion as long as others do not try to replace Christian culture. Christianity is what brought freedom of religion in the first place. The humanist faith of the secular progressives is a religion. Religions are based on presuppositions that are taken by faith. Evolution is a dogma taken by faith. Atheism is a religion. They presuppose the Bible is not true and base all their science and reason on that. Christians presuppose it is true and base all their reason on that. “Why do the nations rage and the peoples imagine a vain thing?” The real reason the Bible is rejected is because they have an “axe to grind.” They consider its laws to be “binding cords.” “They gather together against the Lord and against His Christ saying, ‘Let us break their bands asunder and cast their cords from us”’ (Psalm 2). They hate God’s Law and want to be “free.” They reject the notion that sin results in slavery. “He that sins is a slave” (John 8:34).

Dogs THAT CAN'T BARK

2008-11-19T06:44:00.000-08:00

A Republican Christian heard my radio spot about socialism and abortion. He said I had no right as a pastor to be involved in politics. I asked if he could name one man of God in the Bible that had nothing to do with politics. He could not name one. Can you? Christians in America could be by far the largest voting block. We could turn this nation in one election toward righteousness in our laws. The two obstacles to this are gnostic dualism and fear.

Dualism separates the sacred & the secular. That is the spirit of anti-christ. Fear of man is the other problem. American freedom never would have rung if the preachers of the founding fathers' day had been "girlie men" like so many today. Satan whispers, "Play it safe, boys. Keep your offerings rolling! If not, your heads might roll," like John the Baptist who rebuked a king. God help us not to be like the shepherds described by Isaiah.

"They are all silent dogs; they cannot bark..." (Isa 56:9-11).

DOGS THAT CAN'T BARK

2008-11-19T06:39:00.000-08:00

The Buffoon Gods

2008-08-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

I have many times referred to the celebrities of America and the Hollywood crowd as the buffoon gods of Mt. Olympus. Zeus and his companions were more immoral than the fools that worshipped them. It is altogether fitting that the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver should have a mock-up of a Greek temple in the background for the speech given by the “son of Zeus.” Could the decision to have a Greek temple in the background be a Freudian slip?

If this son of a god becomes president will he be another Caesar? Hail Caesar! A god indeed! “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, but the name Caesar.” He will save us with health care for every citizen. He will visit vengeance on the capitalists, seize their stolen profits, and distribute them among the poor.

O! How the masses swoon. There’s a sucker born every day.

Was Jesus A Socialist?

2008-08-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

Was Jesus A Socialist?
Some people think Jesus was (is) a socialist. Socialism favors state control of the economy and the re-distribution of wealth. In other words, “rob the rich to feed the poor.”
Socialism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Socialism refers to any of various economic and political concepts of state or collective (i.e. public) ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods and services, some of which have been developed into more or less highly articulated theories and/or praxis. In a Marxist or labor-movement definition of the term, socialism is a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done with the goal of creating a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. This control may be exercised on behalf of the state, through a market, or through popular collectives such as workers' councils and cooperatives. As an economic system, socialism is often characterized by state, cooperative, or worker ownership of the means of production, goals which have been attributed to, and claimed by, a number of political parties and governments.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, in From Under The Rubble, traces the history of socialism and concludes by saying that since it is a fact and not an opinion that socialism has failed every single time it has been tried in history, he poses the question, “Why, then, would anyone want to be a socialist?” His answer: Because “there is an organic unity between socialism and evil.”
How so? Was Jesus evil? Those who believe in the doctrine of the Trinity believe that Christ was the I AM who appeared to Moses and gave him the Law of God. Socialism breaks some of the Ten Commandments. “Thou shalt not steal.” “You shall not be partial to the poor or to the rich.” Since socialism depends on class envy, it thrives on covetousness. “Thou shalt not covet.” Since the state pretends to be the savior, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”
Augustus Caesar said, “There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved but the name Caesar.” The state is the beast, Caesar. Every religion except Christianity ends up worshipping the state as god and savior. “What shall we do with your King?” “We have no king but Caesar. Crucify him and give us Barrabas!” (Barrabas represents those who want to overthrow Caesar. He had killed a man in an insurrection. Liberation Theologians like Obama’s pastor Jeremiah Wright want to do the same.
When, at age 30, I returned from the mission field, changed careers, and was struggling in the transition to feed my wife and four daughters, we borrowed money to buy a used trailer for $3400. I had to work two jobs to barely make ends meet. Then I saw an ad for government assisted housing and called the realtor. The realtor asked how much I was making and, totaling both jobs, I told her. She said I did not qualify because I was making too much. She said I would qualify if I quit one of the jobs. I said, “You mean it would pay me to work only one job? Never mind. I’ll trust God and do it myself.”
Peter said, “There is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved, but the name Jesus Christ” (Acts 4:12). He promises to prosper us if we keep the Covenant, work six days, and do not take on a “victim” mentality. To do otherwise is a tendency toward taking the mark of the beast (Caesar).

S

Mark of the Beast

2008-07-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

The Mark
Of The Beast

By Ron Smith
Revelation 13
1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
The Beast out of the Sea
And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.
Commentary: This beast is Rome. The seven heads are seven Caesars: Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, & Galba. The ten horns are the ten provinces of Rome. Each province had a king like Herod who was under the authority of Caesar. Revelation 17 describes the seven heads as seven kings. He said five had fallen and “one is.” Nero was the 6th and therefore this was written during the reign of Nero.
2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.
Commentary: The head that was wounded was Julius. The senators killed him in order to destroy the dictatorship of empiricism. They thought they had killed it, but it arose in more power than ever with Augustus. All the world wondered at what Augustus had done when he brought about world peace. He said, “There is no other name in heaven whereby we must be saved, but the name Caesar.”
4 Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?" 5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.
Commentary: Nero persecuted the Christians for 42 months from AD 64 to AD 68. Peter and Paul were killed at this time.
6 He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world. 9 He who has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed.
Commentary: Nero was killed with the sword in AD 68.
This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
The Beast out of the Earth
11Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon. 12He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men. 14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.
Commentary: Giving “breath” to the image means causing the rule of Caesar to be effective. The image set up was a mental image. The signs produced could mean all the prosperity Herod brought to his reign. The fire could mean all his murders.
16 He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. 18 This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.

Who Are These Beasts?
The first beast rises out of the sea and is international in government. (The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues - Rev 17:15) The second beast rises out of the land and is local. The first beast in Revelation 13 is the same as the 4th beast in Daniel seven. It is the dynasty of Julius Caesar.
The second beast arises out of the Promised Land. It is Jerusalem. This beast looks like a lamb. Lambs have to do with priesthood sacrifice. It represents the chief priests of Jerusalem. It has two horns. Horns are symbols of power. This beast is schizophrenic because one horn says, “We have no king but Caesar,” and the other says, “Give us Barrabas” (who wanted to overthrow Caesar in an insurrection). It then speaks like a dragon and says, “Crucify Him.” The function of this second beast is to make the whole world worship the mental image of the first beast (Caesar). Nero was the current ruling Caesar and was the beast in the flesh. The letters of his name in Hebrew add up to 666. (Every letter in Hebrew is also a number.) This second beast is later called the false prophet in Revelation 20 and the harlot supported by the beast in Revelation 17. Caesar supported the apostate Jerusalem. That is why she is called the “Whore of Babylon.”
The Book of Revelation arises in a crescendo of heavenly rejoicing when she is destroyed in chapter 19. Then follows the marriage supper of the Lamb. The clue as to the identity of the Whore of Babylon is when it says, “And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth” (Rev 18:24). Jesus also described Jerusalem similarly. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets” (Mat 23:37). No other city in history up to that point could be described this way. Neither Babylon, nor Egypt, nor Nineveh, nor any other city was famous for killing prophets.
To take the mark of the beast is to do what the chief priests of the Jews were doing. They said, “We have no king but Caesar; give us Barrabas and crucify Him.” To take the mark of the beast is to put Caesar (the government) as the highest authority. Those who take this mark believe that if the Supreme Court says it is okay, then it is. That is the same as saying, “We have no king but Caesar.”
What Does It Mean In Apocalyptic Language
To “Buy And Sell?”

In Revelation 3:13 Jesus said, “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire.”
How does one buy gold from Jesus? Is it not by worshipping Him in Spirit and in truth? This shows that in Holy Spirit vision language, “buying and selling” is worship. The Spirit says in Revelation 13:16 that no one could buy or sell without the mark of the beast on their forehead and on their hand. This means they could not “worship” in the synagogue.

Put Out of the Synagogue
John 9:22b …the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.
The Mark
Dt 11:18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Just as Stephen called God’s Tabernacle the “tabernacle of Moloch” because of their wrong motive in worship, so here the Spirit is calling the God ordained custom of tying the words of God on their hands and foreheads the “mark of the beast.”

In Acts 7:42-44 Stephen said, “Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:
‘Did you offer Me slaughtered animals and sacrifices during forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You also took up the tabernacle of Moloch, And the star of your god Remphan, Images which you made to worship; And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.’ Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed…”

Malachi 2:3 says the “refuse of your solemn feasts” will be rubbed on your faces. Isaiah 1:14 says, “Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me.” The very festivals God had ordained had become a burden to God because of their wrong motive in worship.

How Do We Apply This Today?
How do we apply this? It means that the very duties God has ordained can become sinful because of performing them from a wrong motive and going about to establish our own righteousness. Just as the Pharisees trusted in their fasting, tithing, and Sabbath keeping and left out mercy and justice, so Christians today can trust in their witnessing, their giving, their praying, their worship, their building of hospitals, helping the poor, fighting abortion, church attendance, and many other legitimate duties.
What the hypocrites of that day did is no different from what professing Christians can do now. One “mark” of this beast is when one thinks he has done his duty and must be careful of not going too far in our dedication and giving. Anyone who thinks that way is marked. Anyone who wants credit for all his giving and all his sacrifice has marked himself. We are also told to “mark” those who cause dissension and divisions (Rom 16:17).
Jesus said to go and learn what Hosea 6:6 means:
For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
It means He desires substance over symbol.

Books & Tracts By Ron Smith
2411 Mimosa, Mission, TX 78574
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ISLAM
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Once Saved
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One Holy Catholic Church
Richard Cameron
SIGNIFICANCE.
Stoddard Way to Know Sincerity and Hypocrisy Cleared Up
Stoddard, Defects of Preachers Reproved
The Coming Of Christ In Mat 24
THE FIVE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HEART
The King is Coming tract
The Love Song of Moses and the Lamb
The Many Comings of the Lord
The New heavens & earth
Thy Kingdom Come tract
TRUE AND FALSE CONVERSION
True And False Conversion
What We Must Understand to be Saved
Spanish Tracts
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Bautismo
Religión Por Afuera Y Por Adentro
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One Holy Catholic & Apostolic Church

2008-07-14T06:22:00.000-07:00

One Holy Catholic And Apostolic Church
By Ron Smith

One Holy Catholic Church

Every Sunday Christians recite the Apostles’ Creed. “I believe in the holy catholic church.” Each of the doctrines found in the creed can be traced to statements current in the New Testament period. The oldest copy of the creed is perhaps the Interrogatory Creed of Hippolytus (A.D. 215). The word catholic simply means universal. It has to do with the unity of all Christians regardless of their respective denominations. We are all unified by our pledge to the essential doctrines as stated in this creed. What we believe in our hearts, we confess with our mouths. All Christians everywhere confess these doctrines. To deny the Apostles’ Creed is to deny Christ.

The Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,  creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord,  
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,  born of the Virgin Mary,  
suffered under Pontius Pilate,  was crucified, died, and was buried;  
he descended to the dead.  
On the third day he rose again;  
he ascended into heaven,  
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,  
and he will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,  
the holy catholic church,  
the communion of saints,  
the forgiveness of sins,  
the resurrection of the body,  
and the life everlasting. AMEN.

The Church’s Authority
Jesus said, “And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (Mat 18:17-18).

To bind means to “make binding” as in a binding agreement.

In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and our leaders, our Levites and our priests are affixing their seals to it (Nehemiah 9:38).

What makes the historical creeds such as the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed binding in heaven, is the unified agreement of all the churches in the world. The argument of the Church of Armenia (the first Christian nation state in history), is that after the council of Chalcedon (451 AD) the churches were divided, and therefore all the councils after that are not universally binding. The Armenian Church and the Coptic churches separated from the others at that time.
The Nicene Creed was agreed on in 381 AD as a result of the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. This creed was agreed on by all the churches as a result of the controversy on the doctrine of the Trinity. The Arians denied the deity of Christ. They said He was a created being, and was the Son of God but not God. The Nicene Creed says, “We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds (æons), Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father…”
Jesus said that what the church binds on earth is bound in heaven. This defines what a Christian is. To deny this teaching of the Trinity is to be “a heathen and a tax collector.” One who denies the doctrines of these creeds is therefore not a Christian.

The Essentials Of The Faith
St. Augustine said, “In essentials – unity; in non-essentials – liberty; in all things – charity.” The essential doctrines are found in the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed because they are a binding agreement. This means we are forbidden to divide over non-essential doctrines and required to divide if we are not agreed on the essentials. But in all things there must be charity. That means no “name calling” and personal attacks. We are to be objective and not subjective in our debates over non-essential doctrines. Those who run out of reasonable arguments many times resort to name calling and personal acidity.
This does not mean that non-essential doctrines are not important. It just means we have no right to reject each other as non-Christian if we do not agree. There should be liberty to debate the non-essential issues charitably. I have been called the Antichrist by uneducated pastors in Mexico because I reject the teaching of a secret rapture and a soon coming of Christ. The universal churches have never agreed on such non-essentials as the interpretation of prophecy.
The Scriptures
The doctrines on which the universal church agreed were based on the Bible. The early church agreed on the books that were included in the New Testament. Therefore, those who reject the authority of the Bible are not Christians. Eusebius (324 AD), the first church historian, explains the criteria for acceptance. The book had to be written by an apostle or by the companion of an apostle. It also had to be received and read by the universal churches. Those books that did not agree with the essentials (the Gnostic gospels) were rejected as antichrist. Jesus said to His apostles, “As the Father has sent Me, so I send you” (John 20:21). To reject the authority of the apostles and prophets (the Bible) is to reject Christ. To invent a new Christ other than the Scriptural one, is to violate the second commandment (No images; including mental ones).
The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and the Old Testament prophets (Eph 2:20). The Bible is the word of the church and the universal church made it binding both in heaven and on earth because Jesus said so (Mat 18:17-18). Paul said the church is the “pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15). This does not mean the “Roman Church” or the “Baptist Church” or any other denomination. It means the original historical church of the historical creeds that were bound by the united churches.
If the church is the foundation of the truth, and the Bible is the word of the church as spoken by the prophets and apostles, and Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, then we must conclude that any teaching that does not agree with the essential doctrines of the church is “another Gospel” and a false one. Jesus said, “No man comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6).

Jesus And The Prophets
Some attempt to pit Jesus against the Old Testament prophets. But Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mat 5:17). Everything Jesus did and said was based on the Old Testament. He did not replace it; He fulfilled it. Fulfilling is not abolishing. When He said, “You have heard it has been said, ‘An eye for an eye’, but I say to you”… He was not contradicting Moses; He was contradicting the Pharisees’ method of interpretation. Jesus claimed to be the I AM who was before Abraham (John 8) and who appeared to Moses. Therefore, it was Christ Himself who gave the Law to Moses. Jesus does not replace the Old Testament prophets; He encompasses them. He is the one speaking through them.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe (Heb 1:1-2 NIV).

Since the Nicene Creed is binding, we must believe that Christ is God. God is one essence in three persons. God inspired the prophets and the apostles. Men are fallible, but God’s word spoken through them is infallible. They were only vessels of clay; but they contained an invaluable treasure (i.e. the word of God).

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us (2 Cor 4:7).

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16 NIV).

For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:21 NIV).

Jesus evidently believed in the inspiration of Scripture because “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27 NIV). “The words of the prophets are in agreement with this…” (Acts 15:15 NIV).

What About Tradition?
You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men (Mark 7:8 NIV).

Traditions that replace God’s word are to be avoided. However, according to Scripture, traditions that do not contradict Scripture and that were handed down by the apostles should be observed. Paul commanded that the traditions that he had handed down be observed, whether they are oral or written.

Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle (2 Thess 2:15 KJV).

Church History
The history of both the Old Testament church and the New Testament church over the last 5000 years since Abraham has proven that men morally devolve instead of evolving. The second law of dynamics is proven. “All things left to themselves tend to deteriorate.” It is also called entropy. The Bible calls it the law of sin and death. It is a record of constant backsliding. Just look at the book of Judges, Kings, and Chronicles. Just look at church history. Denominations start out with the power of God and a generation or so later they deny the essentials of the faith and have a “name that they live and are dead” (Rev 3:1).
The only thing that can reverse death is the power of the resurrection. Christ reversed entropy in His resurrection. And “He must reign till He has put all His enemies under His feet; and the last enemy is death” (1 Cor 15:25-26).
Although history shows constant backsliding by God’s people, every now and then God visits His people in reformation and reverses the trend. This happened in the Exodus; it happened several times in Judges; it happened in the reformations of Hezekiah, Josiah, Ezra, John the Baptist, and Jesus. It happened in church history in the Reformation, the Great Awakenings, etc.
Based on this pattern of the past, we are to expect similar visitations in the future because Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Mat 16:18).

Whatever is has already been,
and what will be has been before;
and God will call the past to account (Eccles 3:15 NIV).

Significance

2008-06-12T04:29:00.000-07:00

SIGNIFICANCE
Would you rather be useful or significant? God created all things to be useful. Only God has significance. We learned this in philosophy class at the seminary.
A chair does not have significance. It signifies that it is useful for something. No created thing has significance. Only God does. When man wants to be significant instead of useful, he makes him self a god. “God knows that when you eat of the tree you will be like God.” Marlon Brando said, “I could’a been somebody. I could’a been a contendah.” He wanted to be significant… like God.
Absolutizing:
There are many aspects of life and many aspects to the body of Christ. Some are ears, some are hands, some are feet, etc. The ear cannot say to the foot, “You should be like me.” That is absolutizing one aspect of the body. When man wants to be significant instead of useful, he tends to absolutize his particular aspect of life.
EXAMPLE: I knew a man that thrived on witnessing door to door. The church doubled in attendance from 200 to 400 in one year due to his efforts. But he thought everyone should be like him, and if you were not, well, you were just not right with God. He felt significant. He felt that he was an important “somebody.” That is called pride. God will reject that offering just as he rejected Cain’s.

ESSENTIALS, ETC.
St. Augustine said, “In essentials – unity; in non-essentials – liberty; in all things charity.” The essentials of the Christian faith are found in the doctrines listed in the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. We must all agree that the Bible is God’s infallible word and that Christ is the only way of salvation. Scripture demands that we divide when we do not agree on the essentials of the faith. We are told to “note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them” (Rom 16:17). We cannot be one with those, for example, who deny the doctrine of the Trinity.
The Scripture also demands that we do not divide over the non-essentials. That is petty, divisive, and factious. The Scriptures say a lot about this subject.
1Cor 1:10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
1Cor 3:3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
1Cor 11:19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.
Jude 1:19 These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.
Galatians lists dissension as one of the works of the flesh (5:19-20).
James 3:14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

When we started this church we believed we had a unique message based on the historical church. I hope we did not leave the impression that everyone has to be like us or they are just not right with God. That would be an effort to be significant; that would be absolutizing one aspect of what God is doing in the world. I hope our motive is not to be significant, but rather to be useful.
It is said that Presbyterians divide over non-essential doctrines and that Baptists divide over the color of the carpet.
We do not require that all our members agree on every point of what we teach; we just require that we agree on the essentials. To do otherwise would be an attempt to be significant, and that would be an attempt to “be like God knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:5).
That does not mean that non-essentials are not important. It just means we have no right to divide over them. We can each try with all our might to persuade one another of our convictions on non-essentials, but please let us not think that each is a devil for not agreeing. Let us never take the position that our interpretation of non-essentials is as infallible as the Scripture.

Already And Not Yet

2008-01-21T12:29:00.000-08:00

Already/Not Yet
The scripture gives many examples of prophecies that were fulfilled already and also not yet. Below are some that are quoted in the New Testament.

Mat 1:22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

Matthew is quoting Isaiah 7:14. But in the context, Isaiah was talking about a sign for Ahaz. Isaiah was talking about his own son but the Holy Spirit was also speaking of Christ. Thus we see the apostolic method of interpretation. Isaiah’s prophecy was fulfilled already for Ahaz, but not yet for Mary. Isaiah meant it for Ahaz, but the Holy Spirit meant it for both.

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isa 8:18 Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts.

Mat 2:14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

Matthew is here quoting Hosea 11:1. Hosea is referring to Israel as God’s son. But we see from this that the true Israelite is Christ. We also see this in Isaiah where Israel is called the servant of the Lord (Isa. 41:8). The context in Isaiah continues to chapter 53 that describes the servant’s suffering for our transgressions. The Jews say that chapter does not refer to Christ, but to Israel. True. But the only true Israelite is Christ. He is the Good Olive Tree. But in the context of Hosea, it is referring to the nation of Israel. So here again we see a double application.

Hos 11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. 2 As they called them, So they went from them; They sacrificed to the Baals, And burned incense to carved images.

Mat 2:17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.”

Clark’s Commentary says -
A voice was heard in Ramah] The Ramah mentioned here, (for there were several towns of this name,) was situated in the tribe of Benjamin, about six or seven miles from Jerusalem. Near this place Rachel was buried; who is here, in a beautiful figure of poetry, represented as coming out of her grave, and lamenting bitterly for the loss of her children, none of whom presented themselves to her view, all being slain or gone into exile. St. Matthew, who is ever fond of accommodation, applies these words, Mt 2:17, 18, to the massacre of the children at Bethlehem. That is, they were suitable to that occasion, and therefore he so applied them; but they are not a prediction of that event.

Mat 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Which one of the prophets is Matthew quoting here? There is only one place these words are found in the Old Testament.

Jud 13:5 For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”

It appears that the apostolic method of interpretation sees Samson as a type of Christ. The word to Samson’s mother was fulfilled in Samson already, but not yet in Christ. Jesus is the Greater Samson.

1Co 10:11 Now all these things [written in the Old Testament] happened to them as examples [Gr tupos], and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

We see this same principal in the covenant with David. The prophet Nathan promised four things, but Gabriel, to Mary, reversed the order of the four items. Observe the following. The New Testament substance is mirrored by Old Testament types just as the objects in a mirror are reversed.

Promise To David
1. Kingdom
2. House
3. Throne
4. God’s Son
The Type
2 Samuel 7:12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 “I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.”
Promise To Mary
Son of God
Throne of David
House of Jacob
His kingdom
The Fulfillment
Luke 1:31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 “And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

This is a good example of how the prophecy to David had a double meaning. It was fulfilled in Solomon “already,” but not yet until the Greater Solomon came. Jesus said, “a greater than Solomon is here” (Luke 11:31).

Mat 4:13 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: 16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.”

John Gill says, “Christ's dwelling in Capernaum accomplished a prophecy of the prophet (Isa 9:1,2) and he went and dwelt there, that it might be fulfilled which he had spoken: the meaning of which prophecy is, that as those parts of the land of Israel, there mentioned, had suffered much by Tiglathpileser, who had carried them captive…”

Isa 9:1 Nevertheless the gloom will not be upon her who is distressed, As when at first He lightly esteemed The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, And afterward more heavily oppressed her, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, In Galilee of the Gentiles. 2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.

Mt 8:17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities And bore our sicknesses.”

Here again, the prophecy from Isaiah 53 was fulfilled by Israel as the “Suffering Servant” already, but not yet as the Greater “True” Israelite at the cross.
The following is from How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth, by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart (Zondervan), which is highly recommended. The quotation concerns prophecy and second meanings:

At a number of places in the New Testament, reference is made to Old Testament passages that do not appear to refer to what the New Testament says they do. That is, these passages seem to have clear meaning in their original Old Testament setting and yet are used in connection with a different meaning by a New Testament writer.
As an example, consider the two stories of how Moses and the Israelites were miraculously given water from rocks in the wilderness: once at Rephidim (Exo 17:1-7) and once at Kadesh (Num 20:1-13). The stories are, it appears, simple enough and abundantly clear in their original contexts. But in 1Corinthians 10:4, Paul seems to identify the experience of the Israelites as an encounter with Christ. He says that "they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ." In each Old Testament story there is no hint that the rock is anything other than a rock. Paul gives the rock a second meaning, identifying it as "Christ." This second meaning is commonly called the sensus plenior (fuller meaning).
Upon reflection, one can see that Paul is drawing an analogy. He is saying, in effect, "That rock was to them as Christ is to us a source of sustenance in the same way that spiritual things are a sustenance for us." Paul's language in verses 2-4 is highly metaphorical. He wants the Corinthians to understand that the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness can be understood as an allegory of their own experience with Christ, especially at the Lord's Table.

The author enthusiastically agrees with this. But then Fee and Stuart go on to say that modern writers are not authorized to do what Paul did. With all due respect, I beg to differ. The very fact that Paul and the other apostles left us the pattern of how to interpret the Old Testament should authorize the church to follow their example. After all, are we not commanded to not be like the horse and mule that need a bridle to guide them? (Psalm 32:9) I do not believe the apostles took the Old Testament words out of their original context and assigned a whole new meaning. I believe they used the first or natural interpretation as a pattern and a guide from which to draw the spiritual analogy.
Since the Old Testament age did not end until the Temple was destroyed (70 AD), and Paul said these things were written as types, can we not also conclude that the events prophesied by Christ and fulfilled in 70 AD could also be types of a more literal fulfillment (antitype) of His return to defeat the last enemy? If we say the last enemy was defeated in 70 AD in the ultimate sense, we have the obvious problem that people still die. The whole purpose of redemption is to restore what Adam lost. The destruction of Christ’s enemies in AD 70 was simply a token of how He will finish the job. Matthew Henry seems to think so in the following quote concerning Matthew 24.

[T]his prophecy, under the type of Jerusalem's destruction, looks as far forward as the general judgment; and, as is usual in prophecies, some passages are most applicable to the type, and others to the antitype; and toward the close, as usual, it points more particularly to the latter.

If we use the hermeneutic of the full preterists, we would have to conclude, in order to be consistent, that Matthew was wrong for applying Isaiah’s prophecy of a virgin to Mary. This “wooden literalism” smacks of “private interpretation.”

Some quotes on true conversion by Solomon Stoddard

2007-10-24T11:17:00.000-07:00

Below are some quotes by Solomon Stoddard in his book,
The Nature of Saving Conversion.

Until men know God, no terror, punishment, or persuasion will make them holy.

Men may be scared into reformation, but not into conversion.

One glimpse of the glory of God will do more than all the punishments in the world to make men holy.

When men know the excellence of God, they cannot keep from choosing Him. The glory of God is such that it captivates the heart; where it is seen it has a magnetic power; it irresistibly conquers the will.

There is no power in the will to resist holiness when the glory of God is seen. It is impossible in nature that men should know God and not be holy. The will always follows the last dictates of the understanding. The understanding is the guide of the will; the will always follows its direction.

This discovery leaves such a sense and impression on the heart as inclines it forever to judge so concerning God. They never forget what they have seen.

The Love Song of Moses & The Lamb

2007-09-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God,
and the song of the Lamb (Rev 15:3).

Faith Alone
Rom 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

What is the law? It is the only standard of righteousness. It is the law of God. It is called the Law of Moses. It is divided into three parts: the moral, the civil, and the ceremonial. There is only one law of God and it emanates out of the heart of God. Sin is described as the transgression of that law (1 John 3:4). Sin is lawlessness. If there is no law there is no sin. But if we say we have no sin, we lie and the truth is not in us.

Who is under it? All sinners are under the law and its condemnation. Only those who are under grace are not under the law.

What is the purpose of the law? According to this text in Romans 3, the purpose of the law is to indict us sinners. It says, “… that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal 3:24). “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin (Rom 3:20). “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law” (Rom 3:28).

Those who attempt to justify themselves are still trusting in their own righteousness. Those who think God judges on the curve by comparing themselves with other humans have not had their mouths stopped. Those who think God can be just and simply forgive them without due process have not seen the truth about themselves and God. They have made and image of a non-existent god.

We are saved by faith alone. Sola fide. But it is impossible to come to saving faith unless the law convinces us of sin and shuts our mouths. Jesus promised He would send the Holy Spirit to convince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Until a person is convinced of those things, he will not see the need for the work of Christ. Until his mouth is stopped and he quits trusting in his own righteousness and quits seeking to justify himself, he is no candidate for salvation. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. The purpose of the law is to slay us. “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Rom 7:9).

Thus we see that the true convert to Christ has a romance with the law because it brought him to Christ. It could not save him because of his sin, but with the help of the Holy Spirit it showed him his need for a Savior. It convinced him that faith in Christ alone could save him. He sings with the psalmist, “O how I love Thy law. It is my meditation all the day” (Psa 119:97). The true convert to Christ has a love affair with God’s law because it is not longer on tablets of stone condemning him. It is now in his heart by means of the Holy Spirit (Jer 31:33). He now sings the song of both Moses AND the Lamb.

We are not saved by faith PLUS works. But according to Scripture, true faith results in obedience. That is why on judgment day we will not be judged by our faith. It says we will be judged by our works (Rev 20:12). True faith is not just mental ascent. It involves recumbence and total surrender. We are saved by grace through faith; and that faith is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast. We become a new creation, and all things become new. We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Our old proclivity to sin has been replaced with a bias toward righteousness (not sinless perfection).

The offspring of the church are called those “who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus” (Rev 12:17). And in Rev 14:12-13, the saints are described as those who keep BOTH the commandments of God AND the faith of Jesus.

Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them” (Rev 14:12-13).

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience (Heb 4:9-11).

Notice that “they may rest from their [own] labors” but “their works follow them.” “And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief” (Heb 3:18-19). In this passage, unbelief is synonymous with “those who did not obey.” True faith always results in obedience.

Blessed are those who have heard the joyful sound and can sing both the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. Notice how they walk.

Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound!
They walk, O LORD, in the light of Your countenance (Ps 89:15).

God’s servants always preach repentance from dead works AND faith toward Christ. Paul was constantly “testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).

No-one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God (1 John 3:9 NIV).

Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven (Mt 7:21).

Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven (Mat 5:17-20).

This is the gospel preached by our spiritual fathers like Whitefield, John Bunyan, Spurgeon, Edwards and the Puritans. This is the gospel that saves and changes cultures. This is the gospel of the Bible.

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

The Gift of Prophecy

2007-09-04T17:09:00.000-07:00

TEXT: 1 Thess 5:20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is good.

Intro: God commands us to not look down on prophecies because there is a natural tendency for rational people to do that. When someone says God is speaking, we tend to despise it and say it is only another human opinion. Also, when prophets do strange things it seems a little crazy. Agabus bound himself with Paul’s belt and used that as an illustration that Paul would be bound when he went to Jerusalem. A prophet in the Old Testament commanded a man to hit him as another illustration. Isaiah walked through the streets naked as an illustration of how God would carry His people away naked as captives. When God sent a prophet to anoint Jehu as king, “Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, ‘Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?’ And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble” (2Kings 9:11). This illustrates the normal attitude of humans to “speak evil of whatever they do not know” (Jude 10). (Jude, however, was speaking of false teachers.)
We should not despise prophecies, but on the other hand Paul tells us not to be gullible in receiving just anything. He says we should “test all things” and “hold fast what is good.” How can we test all things? What is the standard? Since the Old Testament prophets had been tried and tested, it seems to me that they should be the standard. And since the Apostles had been tried and tested with signs, wonders and the personal teaching of Christ Himself, and were proven to be in accord with the Old Testament prophets, they too should be the standard. Anything that contradicts what the prophets and apostles said and taught should be rejected.
Some claim that the gift of prophecy ceased when the canon was completed. The first Reformers, however, knew of no such doctrine. John Knox made several prophesies that were shortly fulfilled. See my tract on that where I document from The Life of John Knox by Thomas M’Crie.

"Being conveyed to the pulpit [in his old age], and summoning up the remainder of his strength, he thundered the vengeance of Heaven against that cruel murderer and false traitor, the King of France, and desired Le Croc, the French ambassador, to tell his master, that sentence was pronounced against him in Scotland, that the divine vengeance would never depart from him, nor from his house, if repentance did not ensue; but his name would remain an execration to posterity, and none proceeding from his loins would enjoy that kingdom in peace."

That prophecy was fulfilled two years later. This was just one example of several in the ministry of John Knox. His son-in-law, John Welch also prophesied, as did scores of the Scottish Covenanters. (Read The Scots Worthies.) Current denials of the gifts of the Spirit are due to the humanist enlightenment. Man’s intelligence is supposedly more enlightened than to believe such things. The Scripture used to prove that the gifts have ceased is 1 Corinthians 13:8-10.

"Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether
there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has
come, then that which is in part will be done away."

They say “that which is perfect” is the completion of the New Testament. Did knowledge pass away with the completion of the New Testament? It says, “whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.” Paul says two verses later, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” Do we now see face to face? Do we now know just as we are known? That seems like heaven to me. Only when we arrive with new bodies will we “put away childish things.”
There seems to be a presupposition, a prejudice, a despising of prophecy that is based on the enlightenment. I know of so-called Reformed men who know nothing of the heritage from which they came. What do they do with the fulfilled prophecies of the reformer Savonarola? They probably have not even read about them. How about Columba (600 AD) and his 50 miracles and prophecies? Do they just deny them? On what basis? PREJUDICE AND UNBELIEF! Despise not prophesies!

Proposition: How can we prove all things?

There are three areas I would like us to consider. 1. How to know a false prophet. 2. How prophets are still human. 3. How the prophet still has self-control.

I. How Can We Recognize False Prophets?
God tells us through Moses in Dt. 18

20 ‘But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who
speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’
21 “And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’--
22 “when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing
which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

False prophets can sometimes make a true prophecy; but not 100% of the time. True prophets never miss. Thus we have Edgar Casey, Jean Dixon, and many others who dazzle the people and tickle their fancies. But when they miss, they just dismiss it and forget it. The same is true with all the prophecy books and their misses. They rake in the money and the people just forget.
In front of the congregation, a traveling prophet told a sick man that he would be healed and he died. The pastor was left with the dilemma of how to explain this to the people. He told them that the promise was conditioned on faith and the man who died did not believe. The fact is the prophet was false, according to Moses. “You shall not be afraid of him.”
Prophecy is not learned or conjured up. It comes from God. God initiates it. God has no trouble communicating when He wants to. Only the pagans like the prophets of Baal need to work themselves into a frenzy to hear from God. Anyone that says, “I missed God that time” is not a prophet of God according to Moses.
I hear both non-charismatic and charismatic people say, “God told me this” or “God told me that.” These people seem to hear from God more than the prophet Elijah did! It strikes me as blasphemous. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of an angry God. “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” Our Reformed forefathers would not dare to make such statements.

II. The Human Aspect of Prophets
According to Peter, the Old Testament prophets did not always clearly understand what they were saying.

Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (1 Pet 1:10-11).

Paul said the mystery had been hidden from the ages but is now revealed through Christ and His apostles (Col 1:26). Psalm 102:18 says it would be written for the generation to come. Prophets spoke in enigmas, visions, and dreams. God spoke to Moses plainly and face to face, but to the prophets in riddles (Numbers 12).
When Agabus told Paul he would be taken captive at Jerusalem, his friends begged him not to go. Prophecy can be mis-interpreted by jumping to unfounded conclusions. Paul responded that he was not only willing for captivity, but also to lay down his life.

III. How The Prophet Has Self-control
True prophets do not work themselves up into “Dervish” frenzies. They do not conjure up or work up a message from God. They simply pray as Elijah a short fervent prayer. Prophecy does not come by the will of man. Holy men of God speak as they are moved by the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:21).
Someone said, “I could not control myself. I just had to speak…” But Paul says, “the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets” (1 Cor 14:32).
When the High Priest prophesied that someone must die for the nation, he was probably not even aware that he was prophesying. He willfully spoke out of what he saw in his own mind. God made him see it and he spoke.
When Saul lay naked all night prophesying, he was not out of control. His carnal nature added that part. The First Great Awakening in Kentucky witnessed people falling and barking like dogs. Why? Like Saul, it was their own rebelliousness added to the powerful sense of God’s Presence. God did not do it. They did. God does not possess men like demons do.

Conclusion:
1Co 14:39 Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.

It is up to God to speak through us. He does it when He wants to and not when we “confure” it. But we can pray for inspiration and the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. Several times God has inspired me to speak things that came to pass - usually through dreams and sometimes not. But I have no control over that. We must submit to the sovereign will of God and not be seeking thrills. Everything, like the prophets of old, must be related to the covenant.
One can prophesy like King Saul and not have any character at all.

Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and
done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who
practice lawlessness” (Mat 7:22-23)!

The Many Comings Of The Lord

2007-08-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

In the midst of high winds on a shrimp boat, Forest Gump’s Lieutenant Dan challenged God. Then Forest said, “And God showed up” (in a hurricane). There is a sense in which the Lord has come many times in judgment and in salvation. He has come several times bringing the armies of other nations with Him. Let us allow the word of God to wash our brains from non-biblical concepts. Please look at the following examples of the Lord’s many comings in Scripture. Let our minds be cleansed by “the washing of water by the word” (Eph 5:26) and allow it to teach us to think biblically.

God Came Down To The Tower of Babel
Gen 11:5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

God Came Down To Visit Sarah
Gen 18:10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”

God Came Down To Sodom
Gen 18:21 “I will go down now [to Sodom] …”

God Came Down To Deliver Israel From Egypt
Exo 3:8 So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land.

The Lord Came Down To Deliver Deborah
Jud 5:13 Then the survivors came down, the people against the nobles; The LORD came down for me against the mighty.

God Came Down To Deliver David
Ps 18:9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down
With darkness under His feet.

God Brought a Nation With Him From Afar
Deut 28:49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand.

The LORD Came With His Army of Medes to Destroy Babylon
Isaiah 13 The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw… The noise of a multitude in the mountains, Like that of many people! A tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together! The LORD of hosts musters the army for battle. They come from a far country, From the end of heaven-- The LORD and His weapons of indignation, To destroy the whole land. Behold, the day of the LORD comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it… For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine. Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them (Isa 13:1,4,5,10,17 NKJV). [Fulfilled 536 BC]

The Lord Came To Egypt With Babylon
The burden against Egypt. Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst (Isa 19:1NKJV).

Clark’s Commentary and many others say this was fulfilled when Babylon punished Egypt.

The Lord Came Down And Defeated Assyria
Isaiah 31:4b So the LORD of hosts will come down To fight for Mount Zion and for its hill

John Gill’s Commentary says God came down against the Assyrian army around 720 BC. We see the Lord’s coming many times in the Old Testament. In observing the preceding examples, could it not be that Jesus was speaking the same Holy Spirit language in the Olivet Discourse? Is there some reason He would speak differently from all the other inspired Hebrew prophets just as He had always spoken through them?
The description of Christ’s coming in Matthew 24 is similar to the coming in Daniel 7. Jesus is obviously citing what Daniel described. “One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days …” (Dan 7:13 NKJV). “…[T]hey will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mat 24:30). Jesus again referred to Daniel 7 when He said to the High Priest, “hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mat 26:64). Nowhere else in the Old Testament is this terminology,“Son of Man coming on the clouds,” used except in Daniel 7. But notice that in Daniel He is not coming to earth. He is coming to the Ancient of Days. Did He not do that in the ascension to the Father? How then, would the High Priest see this since he died around A.D. 40? Could it be that he would see it after he had died? How could he see Christ ascending to the Father after it had already taken place? It seems to be a hieroglyphic word picture meaning that he would meet Christ at the judgment seat and see His ascended authority.
Jesus also said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom” (Mat 16:28). Some explain this by saying that Peter, James, and John saw him coming in His kingdom in the next chapter at the Mount of Transfiguration. But if we say that they saw Him coming then, what is the difference in saying that He came in His kingdom in A.D. 70? Did He not also say, “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Luke 11:20 NKJV). The sign of His coming and the end of the Old Testament age came with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Through that sign every eye saw him coming and not just his disciples to whom He had appeared resurrected.

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Mat 24:30 NKJV).

Just because every eye saw it does not mean they acknowledged it, just as Ezekiel prophesied concerning the destruction of the first Temple that they would “know I am the LORD.”

And they shall know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them (Ezek 6:10 NKJV).

Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words says the word translated coming when the disciples asked about the sign of His coming (Mat 24:3) is the Greek word parousia. It means presence. Jesus said He would be with us to the end of the age (Mat 28:20). He also said He would be present where two or three are gathered in His name (Mat 18:20). Below is what Vine says.

parousia>
lit., "a presence," para, "with," and ousia, "being" (from eimi, "to be"), denotes both an "arrival" and a consequent "presence with." For instance, in a papyrus letter a lady speaks of the necessity of her parousia in a place in order to attend to matters relating to her property there. Paul speaks of his parousia in Philippi, Phil. 2:12 (in contrast to his apousia, "his absence;" see ABSENCE). Other words denote "the arrival"…

But the word for coming in Mat. 24:30 (“coming on the clouds”) is not parousia (presence), but is erchomai. It means “to come” or to “arrive.” Jesus was quoting Daniel 7 where Daniel saw the Son of Man coming with the clouds to the Ancient of Days. He “arrived” in the ascension and sat down at the right hand of the Father.

These Comings Are Also Called Visitations.
Please analyze how the Lord’s coming and His visitations are used in the Scriptures listed below. You will see that His presence and His visitations were not meant as physically present, but as spiritually present.

1 Sam 2:21 And the LORD visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile the child Samuel grew before the LORD.

Psalm 17:3 You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

Psalm 106:4 Remember me, O LORD, with the favor You have toward Your people; Oh, visit me with Your salvation

Psalm 80:14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; Look down from heaven and see, And visit this vine

Jer 15:15 O LORD, You know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not take me away in Your longsuffering. Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.

Jer 29:10 For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place

Amos 3:14 "That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.

1Peter 2:12 having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Luke 19:43 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side 44 "and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Acts 15:14 Simon has declared how God at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name.

Gen 21:1 And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken.

Gen 50:24 And Joseph said to his brethren, "I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."

Luke 1:68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people,

Luke 1:78 Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;

1Peter 2:12… they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Churchofthekingmcallen.com

Is Jesus Coming Soon?

2007-08-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

Is Jesus Coming Soon?

By Ron Smith
We hear many people say that Jesus is coming soon. But in reading the great Puritan preachers of days gone by, none preached that way. Notice what Spurgeon said:

Your guess at the number of the beast, your conjectures concerning a personal antichrist – it seems to me the veriest drivel to be muttering about an Armageddon – forgive me, I count them mere bones for dogs; while men are dying and hell is filling, generation after generation of them have been proved to be in error by the mere lapse of time.

But some will ask, “Doesn’t the Bible say Jesus is coming soon?’

Notice what St. Augustine said:

Luke to show that the abomination spoken of by Daniel will take place when Jerusalem is captured, recalls these words of the Lord in the same context: When you shall see Jerusalem compassed about with an army, then know that the desolation thereof is at hand (Luke 21:20). For Luke very clearly bears witness that the prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled when Jerusalem was overthrown. (vol. 6, p. 170) 419AD Augustine (On Matthew 24:15)

Note what the “Golden Mouthed” preacher said:

375AD 'John' Chrysostom, Homily St. Matthew: (On Matthew 24:15) "For this it seems to me that the abomination of desolation means the army by which the holy city of Jerusalem was made desolate." For He brought in also a prophecy, to confirm their desolation, saying, "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation,spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, let him that readeth understand."(12) He referred them to Daniel. And by" abomination" He meaneth the statue of him who then took the city, which he who desolated the city and the temple placed within the temple, wherefore Christ calleth it, "of desolation." Moreover, in order that they might learn that these things will be while some of them are alive, therefore He said, "When ye see the abomination of desolation." (Of Matthew 24:1,2)

Some who boast in a literal interpretation of the Bible refuse to interpret “soon” literally. Jesus said that the prophecy of His coming would be fulfilled in that generation (Mat. 24:34) and that some of those standing there would still be alive (Mat 16:28). John is one who remained until He came (John 21:22).

C.S. Lewis says these statements by Jesus and the Apostles are one of the “great embarrassments” to the Church. In his essay on The World’s Last Night he discusses the problem with the statement by Jesus that His coming would take place in that generation (Mat 24:34).

But there is worse to come. “Say what you like,” we shall be told, “the apocalyptic beliefs of the first Christians have been proved to be false. It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, “this generation shall not pass till all these things be done.” And He was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.
It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible.

Lewis goes on to offer his solution to the dilemma. He says that because Jesus was both man and God, his human side was mistaken. The problem with that solution is that Jesus was not giving His opinion; He was prophesying. That would make Him a false prophet. At least Lewis is honest enough to admit the problem is there. The solution offered here presupposes the infallible inspiration of Scripture, and offers the only logical solution the author can see. Perhaps there has been a failure to see that the prophecy was fulfilled in the same sense as all the other Old Testament “comings” of the Lord were fulfilled.
R.C. Sproul says Bertrand Russell used these statements of Jesus and the apostles as proof that the New Testament is a false prophecy. Since Russell was operating out of the nature of the “natural man,” and could not discern spiritual things, this is the only honest conclusion to which he could possibly arrive. Could it be that those who say Jesus is coming soon are operating out of a carnal interpretation also?
For a more complete understanding of this, read Sproul’s book, “The Last Days According to Jesus.”

Other Good Books On This Subject For Truth Seekers

Matthew 24, by John Bray
Days of Vengeance, by David Chilton
The Great Tribulation by David Chilton
Paradise Restored by David Chilton
Before Jerusalem Fell by Kenneth Gentry
The Visions of Daniel by Ron Smith
Apostolic Interpretation by Ron Smith
Last Days Madness, by Gary DeMar
End Times Fiction by Gary DeMar

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