false gospels

Jun

2014

What About the Gift of Tongues

Journal,

Sometimes people will ask what our position is on speaking in other tongues, or do we even believe in speaking in tongues. The answer is simple – Of course, we do.

At the same time, I believe it is important to have a better understanding of how the gift of speaking in other tongues took place in the early Church.

Once we have a clearer picture of what the Bible actually teaches, then we can decide for ourselves what place speaking in tongues would apply in our time. In this study, I am not telling anyone what they need to believe. Each person can decide that for themselves.

This entry is an update on a study that I provided almost four years ago, entitled, ‘The Corinthian Dilemma – The Demise of a Church.’

As a beginning place, I would like to look back once again on …

The problems at Corinth

Why does it seem that the Corinthian Church had all these problems with speaking in tongues and other spiritual gifts, yet you see very little about these issues with other churches?

There were so many problems at work in the Corinthian Church that it would take too much effort to try to address them all. However, a primary concern was with the gifts of the Spirit. There is a reason for this. (Speaking in tongues simply means to speak in a foreign or in another language.)

The Christians in Corinth were in a particular situation that was unique to them. Less than 50 miles across the Corinthian Gulf was the city of Delphi. To the Greeks, Delphi was considered the center of the earth. There was a stone set in place that was called the navel of the earth.

The Delphi Oracle –

Earlier myths include traditions that Pythia, or the Delphic oracle, was already the site of an important oracle in the pre-classical Greek world (as early as 1400 BCE) and, once rededicated, served as the major site during classical times for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew Python, “a dragon” who lived there and protected the navel of the Earth. “Python” (derived from the verb pythein, “to rot”) is claimed by some to be the original name of the site in recognition of Python which Apollo defeated. – Wikipedia

Delphi had the Delphic oracle, which belonged to the Earth goddess, and was supposedly guarded by a serpent, Python. (Keep the serpent Pythonic spirit in view.)

At the Delphi temple, they practiced a pagan glossolalia or speaking in tongues, but not in any language that could be understood. This influence of the pagan glossolalia was strongly felt not only in Corinth but also in the entire Grecian world. (You can study this in most encyclopedias.)

The way the oracle worked was that a male prophet at the temple would receive a question from an inquirer. The question could be personal, or about government affairs, or whatever.

The inquirer would be brought into the presence of a young woman priestess of Apollo who was said to have a “pythonic spirit.” The young woman would speak in unintelligible utterances, often fall out in a frenzy, supposedly through the spirit of Apollo in her, and the prophet would interpret the message.

Paul encountered this Pythonic spirit in Philippi.

It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination [puthõna] met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.” (Act 16:16 NASB)

The Struggle with Delpha

It is important to understand that Paul never took away from a gifting from God about speaking in other languages. (And neither do we.)

The problem seemed to be that certain ones who had been to the Delphic priest were beginning to show up in the congregation, and very likely, even some of the priests and priestesses were entering.

The Christians would have been considered a threat to the Delphic oracle. In addition, the Corinthian believers may have felt like they were in competition with the Delphic oracles.

This was probably why Paul had to deal so much with the issue of speaking in tongues with the Corinthian church. You don’t find it in any of the other churches.

If you read the Corinthian letters with this background in mind, it will help you appreciate some of the things Paul is addressing. Listen carefully to the language:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.” (1Co12:1,2.)

From this, we can assume that perhaps some of the Corinthian believers had been led astray by taking part in the Delphic oracles. It was the spirit of divination that had led them astray. (Keep in view the term, ‘led astray’. We are going to see it again in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians.)

Again:

“Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed’; and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1Co12:3)

Someone was speaking by an unknown spiritual power that declared Jesus was accursed. Paul’s contention was that the Holy Spirit would most certainly not say that Jesus is accursed.

There is a vast difference between Jesus being accursed and Jesus taking the curse of the Law upon Himself at the cross. But these false outbursts of prophecies were leading the people astray.

Now a crucial question.

Can a person confess the wrong Jesus?

For someone to truly make the confession that Jesus is Lord, would be an act of the Holy Spirit.

However, is it possible to confess a Jesus who is not the Jesus of the Bible? Is it possible to receive a spirit other than the Holy Spirit? Is it possible to speak in a tongue that is not of God? Is it possible to be led astray by a false gospel?

It was happening in Corinth. The people were being led astray from a true walk with the Lord, and it all centered on supposedly spiritual gifts, and false prophets, and a false gospel.

You must decide if that very thing can happen today –

Listen to Paul:

“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2Co11:3)

Remember the term, ‘led astray.’ There it is again. Paul used it in both letters. In this second letter, Paul is coming even more strongly against the people being led astray.

Notice the background of being led astray is still the ‘serpent.’ ‘Led astray’ is the Greek word, phtheiro, which means to corrupt or spoil. The corrupting is a spiritual deception.

This word is used in Rev19:2, where it says …

“He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting (phtheiro) the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bondservants on her.”

Now take note of how Paul shows how this corrupting influence can work in a Christian group. He said,

“For if one comes and preaches another Jesus who we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted you bear this beautifully” (2Co11:4)

The Corinthian group was coming under the influence of the occult. There is no other way to explain an involvement with a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel.

You may think this is hard to do, but Church history has proven that this has always been a real danger for believers.

Did the Church at Corinth ever revert itself? Who knows – We do have a promise that the Lord will not lose any that belong to Him.

Did not the apostle tell the Corinthians to examine themselves to make sure they were in the faith?

Time for a checkup

And here is where we need to use caution. Paul did not say that these elements of prophecy and speaking in other languages would be ‘destroyed.’

There is no question that the Lord can speak to us through others. But to go about seeking a prophet today can do much damage to a believer’s walk with the Lord.

I realize everyone has their own thoughts, opinions, and experiences. But in the study of Scriptures, it is important not to let our experiences decide what we believe. We must learn to be true to the Scriptures.

Everything I have shared in this entry is for educational purposes. My advice to believers today is to stay on guard against any form of occultism. Familiar (pythonic) spirits love to enter congregations and play off as being from the Lord.

Perhaps Paul gave us the best warning of all. Listen to it once again —

“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”
(2Co 11:3)

Note the keywords: Simplicity and purity of devotion.

Finally – I have two recommendations. I began this study with a quote from the second chapter of Acts. The whole of this chapter is often overlooked by some teachers that wish to make ‘speaking in other languages’ the lesson in place, at the expense of what is actually happening. Take time to read the entire chapter. You may be surprised.

Secondly – You must decide for yourself, if some of what is called speaking in tongues today fits the Bible description of tongues, or is it possibly more in line with the Delphic description.

Am I coming against all speaking in tongues today? Certainly not. So, once again, do we believe in speaking in tongues. Of course, we do.

My point – Don’t check your brain at the door.

But what do I know? I’m just an old-time, guitar playing, country preacher.

Here is a song by Simon & Garfunkle – Originally written as a gospel hymn, titled, ‘Bridge Ove Troubled Waters.’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0n-mYqB9WQ

May the Lord’s blessings rest upon you and all that is yours,

In Christ always,

Buddy

Jan

2012

Something About Mormonism

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:8)

Journal,

The expression, ‘neither fish nor fowl’ can be applied both to Islam as well as to Mormonism. It doesn’t take an in-depth study of the Muslim faith, to realize that Mohammed set about to embrace elements of Rabbinic Judaism with elements of Christianity, and thereby creating another religion that was neither Rabbinic Judaism nor Christianity. He merely borrowed components from both.

A term used for the mixing of religions is the term syncretism. Syncretism is the fusion of different systems of thought or belief with the result of creating something very much unlike the two blended systems of thought or belief. And of course the boast of Mohammed was that his religion was the only true faith.

So you have something similar in Mormonism. While Mormonism wishes to find itself as the only true Christian religion, actually it is far removed from what is commonly recognized as Biblical Christianity. The Latter-day Saint religion followed the same route as Islam. It has produced a hybrid religion.

It is interesting to note that both Islam and Mormonism were brought into place by angel appearances. For Islam it was supposedly the angel Gabriel. Mohammed’s angel encounters left him bewildered and frightened. He thought he was losing his mind or had been demon possessed. Over time he came under the influence is this spirit being and thus produced his new religion called Islam. [Islam means submission. Of course the sword became the means of submission.]

For Mormonism it was the angel Moroni. The story of Moroni has changed in character and name several times in Mormon history. Be that what it may, let’s move on.

Perhaps it is enough to take heed the Biblical warning about angel messengers –

“I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:6-9)

And again,

“For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. …

“…For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” (2Co 11:4-15)

Leaving Islam aside let’s consider the Latter-day Saints. Most people today are little aware of the latent side of Mormonism and why it is often considered a cult religion by many.

It would be well for my readers to do some personal research on Mormonism. Most of this journal entry will simply be quotes from various writers. Here are some books that I recommend.

For Personal Study and Research…

(1) ‘No Man Knows My History – The Life of Joseph Smith’, by Fawn M. Brodie. (Fawn Brodie’s uncle, David O. McKay, was the 9^th president of the Church of Latter-day Saints. 1870-1970.)

The title of Brodie’s book comes from a recorded statement Joseph Smith made at a funeral:

“You don’t know me. You never knew my heart. No man knows my history. I cannot tell it; I shall never undertake it I don’t blame anyone for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I could not have believed it myself.”

(2) ‘In Sacred Loneliness – The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith’, by Todd Compton. (This book has documentation from diaries of Joseph Smith’s several wives.)

Editorial Review: “Compton has compiled a meticulously researched and masterly study of Mormon Joseph Smith’s 33 wives. The women are presented individually, with many of their own documents cited. Compton contends that ‘Mormon polygamy was characterized by a tragic ambiguity’: infinite dominion in the next life vs. a social system that did not work, thus resulting in acute neglect of the wives. These “key women have been comparatively forgotten,” surprisingly so considering the reverence Mormons hold for their founding prophet and how important polygamy was to Smith.”

(3) ‘An Insider’s View of Mormon Origins’, by Grant H. Palmer.

Note: Palmer is a three-time director of LDS Institutes of Religion in California and Utah, a former instructor at the Church College of New Zealand, and a LDS seminary teacher at two Utah locations.

From the Preface: “I, along with colleagues, and drawing from years of research, find the evidence employed to support many traditional [official Mormon] claims about the [Mormon] church to be either nonexistent or problematic.”

(4) ‘Sidney Rigdon – A Portrait of Religious Excess’, by Richard S. Van Wagnoner.

Description: “Disciples of Christ minister Sidney Rigdon was one of the most significant early converts to Mormonism. His education proved indispensible to Joseph Smith, as together they updated the Bible, received revelations, drafted the Lectures on Faith, dedicated the first temple, and formalized LDS theology. But Rigdon’s unstable temperament made him an ultimately unreliable counselor.”

Quotes from ‘Sacred Loneliness – The Plural Wives of Joseph Smith’

[From the introduction] “The supernatural–revelations, prophecy fulfilled; miraculous healings and glossolilia; visitations from dead relatives, from angels, from demonic spirits, and from the Three Nephites–comprise a major element of nineteenth-century Mormon writings.”

“This was a time of frequent blessing, tongue-speaking meetings, which were dominated by women. On the first day of 1847 Louisa (very large with child), Eliza, Zina Young, and Patty celebrated with a blessing meeting filled with glossolilia and prophecy.”

From the diaries of Joseph Smith’s wives. (No corrections made on the English.)

Brigham Young had 55 wives

[Patty’s and Eliza’s diaries.] “‘Went to a meeting to Eliza Beamans with many of the sisters.’ … all spoke in tongues on June 2. The next day Louisa, Elisa, Zina, and Emily laid their hands on Patty Sesions’s head and gave her a prophetic blessing. After another blessing meeting during a rainstorm on June 9, Eliza ‘went home with Loisa & Z. in the mud rejoicing.’ The next day Louisa, with others, spoke in tongues…”

[Zina’s diary.] “The gifts of the gospel were manifest the first time I ever sang in tong[ue]s after being baptized into the church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints – around me was a light as the blaze of a candle – I was surrounded [it was] a heavenly influence and no unpleasant sensation from that day the gift has remained with me.”

Note: Accord to Zina the gift of tongues rested upon her with such “overwhelming force” that she became “alarmed” and “checked its utterance.” As a result the gift left her, and she felt she had offended the Holy Spirit. … The gift returned, and Zina kept her vow; she would take part in glossolalia and interpreting tongue speech throughout the rest of her life. She and Eliza Snow, with Elizabeth Whitney, would be the most enthusiastic tongue-speakers in the early [Mormon] church. Thus women practiced a prophetic mode in early Mormonism …

Emmeline Wells would later write that Zina gave “the interpretation of hymns, psalms and sacred songs in the most musical and happy manner, without thought or hesitation. There is something divinely beautiful in thus rendering, by the gift of inspiration, words uttered in an unknown tongue.”

From No Man Knows My History

In this book we read about “nervous spasms and swoonings” that were attributed to the Holy Ghost. Here is a quote:

“There were now about one hundred and fifty converts in Kirkland, more than twice the number that had followed him from New York State. But Joseph was disturbed by the fanaticism that possessed this people. Prayer meetings were punctuated by fits and trances. Converts would roll along the floor to the church door and out upon the frozen ground in a masochistic frenzy. Some would mount stumps to preach to imaginary congregations in unknown tongues…”

Note: Joseph Smith finally forbade the preaching of Mormonism by anyone but an elder who had been ordained by the church.

There is an interesting fact about one of Joseph Smith’s teenage wives. He married Lucy Walker when she was about sixteen years old. This is what Lucy writes:

“[At the next prayer meeting the newly baptized children] “spoke in tong[u]es, others prophesied; again another has the gift of faith, to heal the sick … “

Lucy Walker was the last of Joseph Smith’s proxy wives to die. Lucy passed away on October 1, 1910.

An Issue of Concern

How about these esoteric experiences such as the Mormons espouse, or those that Mohammed underwent? Do they confirm that a thing is from God? What many don’t realize is that esoteric experiences, such as those of the Mormons, and the experiences of Mohammed, can never be trusted in themselves as being of God. They can be demonic in origin, but they can also well fit into a psychological framework.

A psychological experience can be induced in certain intense religious environments. It is very real to the person having it. But the question remains, ‘Is it of God?’

For example speaking in tongues is a known phenomena in just about every religious grouping of people on planet earth. Consider this quote from the Dictionary of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements, page 33:

“Spiritualistic glossolalia and related phenomena among spiritual mediums were among the first studied by psychologists near the beginning of the twentieth century. … Pathological glossolalia is known to medicine and psychiatry, the result of such causes as organic neurological damage, effects of drugs, or psychotic disorders. Schizophrenic disorders have furnished examples of glossolalia. Most relevant to Christian glossolalia are clearly reported cases of pagan glossolalia, both ancient and modern…. [Glossolalia] was used sparingly among American Indians but was widespread in African tribal religions.”

Well, perhaps I’ve said enough for now. So, I will simply leave this with my readers. You can decide for yourself where any of this fits in your own belief system.

Just some things to think about.

[signoff]

Nov

2011

Beware of Spiritual Counterfeits

“So the worthless rose up against the honored, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years.

“For this reason righteousness and peace are now far departed from you, inasmuch as everyone abandons the fear of God, and is become blind in his faith…”

– The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.” (1Ti 4:1-2) – Apostle Paul

Journal,

The beginning quote for this entry is from a letter of Clement to the Church of Corinth. Scholars are in favor that this letter was written by the traveling companion of the apostle Paul. When Clement wrote the Corinthian Church both Paul and Peter had already been martyred.

Clement’s letter is one of several letters written by those who knew the apostles. Clement along with Barnabas, and a couple more writings, were given consideration with regard to being placed in the New Testament canon of Scriptures. (Clement’s letter is found in the Alexandrian manuscripts. [Clement lived A.D. 30-100])

Paul speaks of Clement and other workers who helped him;

“[They] have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” (Phil4:3)

The Battle Through the Ages

One of the greatest dangers that the Church has faced through the ages has been that of seducing spirits that attempt to make inroads among God’s people. Paul warns that in the latter times this will become even more pronounced. He says many will reject or abandon the true faith in Jesus Christ to follow ungodly spiritual influences, even to the extent of following a false or counterfeit Jesus.

It isn’t simply Paul that gives the warnings. All the apostolic writers call attention to the spiritual seductions of the end times. But it goes even further back. The prophets of old also called attention to the last days where false prophets will abound among God’s people.

Listen carefully to the Lord speaking through the prophet Jeremiah –

“The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; In the last days you will clearly understand it. I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied.

“But if they had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My people, and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds.” (Jer 23:20-22)

Jeremiah gives several clues to the false prophets of the end times –

1st: “In the last days you will clearly understand it.” [God’s true people will have insight into false prophets.]

2nd: “I did not send these prophets.” [Why would God need to say that He did not send these prophets? It is because they’ll claim to speak for God, in a way of, ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ They will flower their prophesies and preaching with the name of Jesus.]

3rd: “(A true prophet) would have turned My people back from their evil way & evil deeds.” [Notice how the prophets in Jeremiah’s time were preaching prosperity, and love, and no accountability or responsibility for sin.]

— Now take note of what Malachi has to say; “You have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet you say, ‘How have we wearied Him?’ In that you say, “EVERYONE WHO DOES EVIL IS GOOD IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD LORD, AND HE DELIGHTS IN THEM,’…”(Mal2:17)

Don’t confuse these warnings with God’s promises that nothing will ever be able to separate His ‘born from heaven’ believers from His love that is found in Jesus Christ. A believer’s salvation was make complete at the cross. All the warnings have to do with false prophets and false spiritual movements.

There is a Biblical example of a church gone astray…

Corinth Typifies a Church Gone Astray

The Church of Corinth is a classic example how dark spirits can make inroads among God’s people. Let’s take a closer look at the Corinthian issues that allowed the enemy to find a place with this group.

With the Corinthian Church there was one very serious situation that called for special concern by the apostle Paul. It had to do with the gifts of the Spirit and in particular the gift of speaking in foreign or other languages.

There is so much more to this story than many are aware of. The City of Corinth was less than 50 miles across the Corinthian Gulf from Delphi. To the Greeks, Delphi was considered the center of the earth. A stone was set in place that was called the navel of the earth. Delphi had the Delphic oracle, which belonged to the Earth goddess, and was supposedly guarded by a serpent, Python. (Keep the serpent Python image in view.)

At the Delphi temple they practiced a pagan glossolalia or speaking in tongues, but not in any language that could be understood. This influence of the pagan glossolalia was strongly felt not only in Corinth, but also in the entire Grecian world. (You can study this in most encyclopedias.)

The way the oracle worked was that a male prophet at the temple would receive a question from an inquirer. The question could be personal, or about government affairs, or whatever. The inquirer would be brought into the presence of a young woman priestess of Apollo who was said to have a “pythonic spirit.”

The young woman would speak or scream out in unintelligible utterances, often fall out in a frenzy, supposedly through the spirit of Apollo in her, and the prophet would interpret the message.

For some reason it was the women that took the role of having a pythonic spirit. They would go into trances. Their frenzied babbling sometimes would continue over a time.

The idea was that the young woman was possessed by the spirit of the god. The god was supposedly speaking through her in the form of telling the future.

Paul met this pythonic spirit at work in Philippi.

“It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination [puthõna] met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling.” (Act 16:16 NASB)

The Issue of Gifting

It is important to understand that Paul never took away from their being a gifting from God about speaking in other languages. The problem seemed to stem from those who had been to a Delphic priest and had been exposed to the spirit of divination. It is even possible that some of the Delphic priests and priestesses were attempting to infiltrate the Christian assembly. Christians would have been considered a threat to the Delphic oracle.

In addition the Corinthian believers may have felt like they were in competition with the Delphic oracles. This was probably why Paul had to deal so much with the issue of speaking in tongues with the Corinthian church. You don’t find this issue in any of the other churches.

If you read the Corinthian letters with this background in mind, it will help you appreciate some of the things Paul is addressing. Listen carefully to the language:

“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.” (1Co12:1,2.)

From this we can assume that some of the Corinthian believers had taken part in the Delphic oracles. It was the spirit of divination that had led them astray. (Keep in view the term, ‘led astray’. We are going to see it again in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. )

Again:

“Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, ‘Jesus is accursed’; and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1Co12:3)

Someone was speaking by a spiritual power that declared Jesus was accursed. Paul’s contention was that the Holy Spirit would most certainly not say that Jesus is accursed. There is a vast difference between Jesus taking the curse of the Law upon Himself at the cross, and Jesus being accursed. But these false outbursts of prophecies were leading the people astray.

Can a Person Confess the Wrong Jesus?

The false prophet claims power by simply waving his hand.

For someone to make a true confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died on the cross for our sins, that He arose from the grave and ascended to the right hand of the Father, and is truly the Lord God, this would be an act of the Holy Spirit. It is this act of true believing that includes the very heart of repentance towards God and faith in Jesus Christ. Out of this heart confession of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, there is a heart exchange, the person is born again.

However, can someone say that Jesus is Lord and it not be of the Holy Spirit? Yes, if there is a occultic spirit involved. Paul addresses this issue in his second letter. He says it is possible to preach a Jesus who is not the Jesus of the Bible. (See the book, ‘The Beautiful Side of Evil’, by Johanna Michaelsen. She came under the influence of a false Jesus spirit.)

Listen to Paul:

“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.”(2Co11:3)

Continue to keep in mind the term ‘led astray.’ Paul uses it in both letters. In this second letter, Paul’s warnings are even stronger with regard to people being led astray.

‘Led astray’ is the Greek word phtheiro, which means to corrupt or spoil. The corrupting is a spiritual deception. Notice that the background of being led astray is still the serpent.

This word is used in Rev19:2, where it says,

“He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting (phtheiro) the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bondservants on her.”

Paul shows how this corrupting influence works. He said,

The Corinthian group was coming under the influence of the occult. There is no other way to explain an involvement with a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel. You may think this is hard to do, but Church history has proven that this has always been a real danger for believers.

The pattern seems to follow this line – First a move of God in the hearts of believers for a return to the purity of the ancient faith. Not long afterwards the enemy begins making inroads into the movement. The movement becomes corrupt. Then comes a judgment from God that includes a call to repentance.

Now let’s hear a bit more from Paul’s traveling companion.

Clement Has More to Say

Let’s come back to Clement. Here are a few notable quotes from his letter. It gives an idea of what happened to the church in Corinth, and what can happen in a church today if a spirit of occultism enters the scene, and turning to the Lord with repentance does not take place.

“Your schism has subverted the faith of many, has discouraged many, has given rise to doubt in many, and has caused grief to us all. And still your sedition continues.”

“The height to which love exalts is unspeakable. Love unites us to God. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love beareth all things, is long-suffering in all things. … Love admits no schisms.”

“All the generations from Adam even unto this day have passed away; but those who, through the grace of God, have been made perfect in love, now possess a place among the godly.”

“Through envy and jealousy, the greatest and most righteous pillars of the Church have been persecuted and put to death. … Peter, through unrighteous envy … Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity … Thus was he removed from the world and went into the holy place…”

Did the Church at Corinth ever revert itself? Who knows. We do have a promise that the Lord will not lose any that belong to Him. It is possible that the Lord simply removed His people to a place of His choosing. But this is speculation.

So a question remains.

What Gives Birth to Working of Darkness

It all begins with false promises. The downward spiral of every spiritual movement can usually be traced to people seeking power without purity of heart. People want power and they want it now. So they run about seeking someone to lay hands on them so they can have more power. They are looking for this one special experience that will transform them into some sort of spiritual-giant.

Then you have these false teachers who make prideful boasting their platform of ministry. People get turned on by being told that they can do everything that Jesus did. The gospel of, ‘take up your cross and follow Jesus,’ becomes a mockery. And the inside message becomes, ‘We are gods!’

[For more insight go to: http://buddymartin.net/blog/2011/05/twisting-and-turning-in-the-wind/]

What’s wrong with this? What is wrong with this is that the power of life that believers are promised is found in only one place. It is found in the out working of the cross. God never promised us that we would have no struggles, or battles, or temptations, or failures, or heart ache. He promised that He would never desert us or fail us. He promised us that His presence in our hearts and lives would be enough to any and every circumstance we may face.

What the Lord promised us is that we would have tribulations but we were to take courage because He had overcome the world. The lesson is that He will overcome the world in us. The Lord made it very plain that we are not of this world and that our future glory is yet to come.

Listen to the great apostle Paul —

“After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying,

“‘Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.’” (Act 14:21-22)

Time For a Check Up

Paul was simply telling the Corinthians not to get over-focused on these particular gifts. There is no question that the Lord can speak to us through others. But to go about seeking a prophet today can do much damage to a believer’s walk with the Lord.

Everything I have shared in this entry is for educational purposes. My advice to believers today is to stay on guard against any form of occultism. Familiar (pythonic) spirits love to enter congregations and play off as being from the Lord.

Here is your song for today. Please listen to it. It is titled, ‘In Christ Alone.’

May the Lord’s blessings rest upon you and all that is yours,

In Christ always,

Buddy

Oct

2011

Why Our Goodness Cannot Save Us

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them [Israel] is for their salvation. For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.

“For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Rom 10:1-4)

Journal,

I felt it would be good to offer a study on the subject of salvation by setting forth why a person cannot be saved by anything they do in their own efforts. Until this truth is realized, the struggle over salvation will always be there. Let’s talk about it.

It is important to understand that being saved has nothing to do with anything we can offer to God. What can a sinful race offer to a holy God? Everything we touch is imbued with sin. Our unsaved hearts are hearts of sinners. The human race is charged with sin, infected by sin, directed by sin, and corrupted by sin.

What can our sinful hands offer to God that would not be an offering of sin? We can offer God nothing. We are bankrupt of any righteousness.

David asked it best:

“What can I offer the LORD for all He has done for me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the LORD’s name for saving me.” (Psa 116:12-13)

And so…

What Can I Offer the Lord

What can we offer God with a view to salvation? What do we sinful creatures have that would be good enough for God to accept us? Again the answer is, nothing.

We can’t clean ourselves up. It is our heart that is corrupt. There is nothing on our part that we can do to be accepted by God. Until we recognize this basic truth, we will never understand what salvation is all about.

Let’s press this further. Nobody prays through to salvation. Fasting and prayer are not issues of salvation. Having uncut hair does not get God’s attention. Whether you drink or smoke has nothing to do with salvation.

Going to movies or not going to movies is not a thing of salvation. No matter what we may think about these things, they have no relationship to salvation itself. No person ever becomes good enough to get saved.

We cannot change the inside by working on the outside. Salvation is about a heart condition. When the heart is made right, everything else will come into place. (In its time.)

We Are Powerless in Ourselves

So let me repeat — We are powerless in ourselves to think that anything good can come from us. Salvation has to come from God Himself. He alone is righteous and without sin. He alone is good.

Stop and think about what John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus, and the apostles all taught on the issue of salvation. They were addressing a Jewish audience. The Jews hung their hats about being saved on the merits of Abraham.

In dealing with Jewish attitudes, Paul said that the Jews were just as lost as the pagans. Why is that? It is because salvation can only come from God Himself. And the sinful state of Adam had casts its shadow across the whole of humanity.

All unsaved people are under the power and authority of a spiritual being beside God. Satan is actually called the god of this world.

Deadness of Sin

Paul brings out the deadness of sin:

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” (Eph 2:1-3)

Have we nailed this issue down firm enough? Once again, until a person realizes that they cannot be saved by any effort of their own, they will remain stupefied in how to be saved.

What then is the answer? The answer never changes. Salvation is trusting wholly in Christ and in His Lordship. Reading a bit further in Ephesians 2, we hear Paul say this:

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Eph 2:8-10)

The Battle Over Grace

The argument goes this way,

‘That is too easy. Anyone can say they trust in Christ. Where is their experience? Where is their holiness? Where is their separation from the world? Where is their…where is their…where is their…???’

Do you see the problem with the argument of ‘Where is?’

All these responses continue to miss the message of salvation. What then is the central message of salvation?

Listen:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Joh 3:16-18)

Salvation is Through the Son Alone

This is My Beloved Son

Did you catch it? Salvation is through the Son alone. The Son took the place of the human race. The Son took to Himself our separation from God. The Son died in our place.

The Son was judged with our judgment. The Son was declared sin so that we could be declared right before God. The Son resurrected from the dead as a sign that judgment had been met.

The Son entered back into heaven. And the Son is now Lord of all. He is above all. He has all authority in heaven and on earth.

So how then are we saved? We are saved by appealing to the Son. This was the message that Peter preached on the day of Pentecost.

“And it shall be that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [Jesus] will be saved.” (Act 2:21)

This is the message that the great apostle Paul preached to the Gentiles:

“For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for ‘WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD [Jesus] WILL BE SAVED.’” (Rom 10:12-13)

The Eternal Law of Salvation

Out of the cross came the eternal law of salvation. It is the one law that Satan hopes no person ever sees clearly. This is why he keeps adding religious ritual to religious ritual, condition upon condition, law upon law, tradition upon tradition, and anything else he can throw into the mix.

Satan knows that any person who calls upon the Lord Jesus Christ with their heart in respect to salvation, will be saved. It is as simple as that.

Satan knows it. We need to know it. We need to be able to preach this simple message of faith in Christ to the harlot, to the beggar, to the drunkard, to the sinner of the deepest cut.

There is no other message that Christians are commissioned to preach. Our job is to preach the message. The message will take care of itself.

The Message Completes Itself

Yes, all the apostles preached the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, and that faith in Christ as the risen Savior is what salvation truly is. In fact the only witness a person needs to know that they are saved is that they truly believe in their heart that Jesus Christ is their own Lord.

Faith in Jesus Christ itself is the testimony of salvation. This is where many people misunderstand the power of the gospel message.

The message of the cross carries in it the inherent power that accomplishes the work of salvation. The moment a person truly believes, the Holy Spirit enters that person’s heart and places the seal of salvation.

Paul explains in two places the power of the gospel message.

“For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word [gospel message] of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (1Th 2:13)

And again,

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH [In Jesus Christ].’” (Rom 1:16-17)

And so, until we truly believe in Jesus Christ, there can be no seal placed on our heart. The seal carries God’s testimony.

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Rom 8:15-17)

Have you received the Spirit of God’s Son in your heart? Listen once again to the witness of salvation.

“For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Rom 8:15-17)

What Can Take Away My Sins

Some time ago I was asked to take part in a prayer breakfast for a Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial. When it came time for me to offer a prayer, I begin to sing the song, ‘What can wash away my sins.’ I will never forget how singing that song changed the atmosphere of the gathering from political to spiritual.

Are you ready for your heart to change? Perhaps now would be a good time to listen to it.

Jesus loves you,

Buddy

May

2011

Twisting and Turning in the Wind

“As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” (Eph 4:14-15)

Journal,

In this entry, I want to share how certain heretical teachings can be based on either a misunderstanding of the Scriptures or by stark misrepresentation.

Then you have the issue where a false doctrine is the calling card of false prophets and teachers. It is not my purpose to judge anyone in this entry as a false prophet. However, it is important for God’s people to be able to judge things for themselves. Jesus told us to judge with righteous judgment.

With regard to heretical teachings, David said it well enough –

“He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD. How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, and has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.” (Psa 40:2-4)

David compared the miry clay with ‘those who lapse into falsehood’. Paul speaks of this as the trickery of men by craftiness in deceitful scheming, or, as, ‘winds of doctrine’. He is using the ‘wind‘ illustration in a Hebrew Biblical sense. The idea is of clouds and winds that make a promise of rain, yet produce nothing but disappointment. The boast works on the emotions, but are a mere illusion.

Hence –

“Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely.” (Pro 25:14)

What are winds of doctrines

Winds of doctrine are teachings that twist and turn the Scriptures to make them mean something that they don’t mean. Most believers at one time or another have accepted a teaching that was not true to God’s Word. This generally comes from immaturity. But believing a falsehood can also come from a defiant attitude. This is where a person has made a choice to believe a lie. Thus they become snared by darkness.

At this point, it is important to point out how the charismatic movement that began in the early 60s, has become a breeding ground for heretical teachings. Through the goodness of the Lord, a great many true believers have escaped from that movement of ‘pyramid teachers’ by personal soul-searching and by a proper study of Biblical doctrine.

The term ‘pyramid teachers’ is a keynote. Most often a heretical teaching begins with a well-recognized, big-name, noted charismatic teacher. It then filters down the ranks until all the teachers in that movement are parroting the false doctrine. The thinking is, ‘How could so-and-so be wrong about anything. He is a chosen instrument of God.’

Here are some but not all of the proponents of this teaching. These quotes are not taken out of context.

“You don’t have a god in you, you are one.” (Kenneth Copeland) “… You are a little god running around.” (Benny Hinn) “I’m a god and you are a god.” (Jim Jones) “You are as much the incarnation of God as Christ was” (Kenneth Hagin) “Until we comprehend that we are little gods, we cannot manifest the kingdom of God.” (Earl Paulk) “I am a little god! Critics, be gone!” (Paul Crouch, TBN)

The godhood heresy is based primarily on two Scriptures portions. The problem is that both these portions are removed from their cultural and Biblical context.

First, the Psalmist Asaph wrote,

“I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.” (Psa 82:6)

Then we have this from the New Testament:

“The Jews answered Him, ‘For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.’

“Jesus answered them, ‘Has it not been written in your Law, “I SAID, YOU ARE GODS”? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’”? (Joh 10:33-36)

The heresy twist follows this line of thinking – All Christians are gods. The Bible says that we are ‘little gods’ on this planet. We are made in the image and likeness of God, and thus we are ‘little gods.’

Keep in mind this adage…

A text taken out of context is a pretext

Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are little gods. We are sons and daughters of God. Even those terms have to be placed in their proper understanding. So what was the Psalmist Asaph’s point and why did Jesus quote from him? Good questions. The answer is not as difficult as it may seem.

The context of Psalm 82 has to do with the ‘rulers‘ of Israel. Verse 1 says, “God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers.” (The word for ruler here is ‘elohim‘.)

The rulers in Israel were given a dignity by God to represent Him in Israel. Verses 2 through 4 are charges against these unjust rulers.

“How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah. Vindicate the weak and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.” (Psa 82:2-4)

Then we have the Lord’s answer for these unjust rulers who held a certain God-given dignity.

“They do not know nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, ‘You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High. ‘ Nevertheless you will die like men and fall like any one of the princes.'” (Psa 82:5-7)

The ‘all of you’ remains in place for Israel’s leadership. Their role as ‘rulers (elohim)’ had well gone to their heads. They loved being held in high esteem. They loved the acclamations. They loved to boast on their higher status as ‘the‘ rulers who represented God. What does the Lord say? You are no different from any other person. You are going to fall and die like any other person of high rank.

Why did Jesus use the Asaph quote

Thus we have the key to why Jesus quoted from Asaph. Two issues are in view.

(1) During the time of Jesus, each city had its own Sanhedrin, and then all Israel was under the rule of the Great Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin continued to use Asaph’s ‘elohim‘ statement for their placement in Israel’s society. They alone had the status of representing God. They alone were the elohim of God. (By the way, the term ‘elohim’ is a generic term. It can be translated other than as ‘god.’ – gods, judges, angels.)

(2) Secondly, Jesus turned their boast on their own head. Listen: “If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”?

Did you catch what Jesus was saying to the rulers? If you are going to say that I am blaspheming, then you must also take this charge to yourself. What you charge Me with, would also make you a blasphemer. He caught them in their own foolishness. This is one reason that the Jewish rulers hated Jesus. They could never outdo His wisdom.

What is the point of all this

The point is that the ‘we are gods’ heresy is doing the very same thing today that it did during the time of Asaph and the time of Jesus. It is pride-centered, egotistical based, and creates an attitude of self-righteousness in those who take to themselves these teachings.

The point is that there are a lot of hurting believers coming out of the Charismatic movement. They have been damaged by heresy. The ‘we are god’s’ is only one of many heresies found there. The teaching that, ‘we can create with our words’, that ‘we are messiahs on the earth’, that, ‘Jesus was rich and wore designer clothes’, that, ‘any form of sickness is always of the devil’, and on and on and on, are all teachings that run contrary to the truths of God.

Heresies do not bring true freedom into a child of God’s life. They do just the opposite. They end up as bondages.

It is as I said at the beginning of this entry –

“…heretical teachings can be based on either a misunderstanding of the Scriptures or by stark misrepresentation. … It is important for God’s people to be able to judge things for themselves. Jesus told us to judge with righteous judgment.”

While you think about these things, please take time to listen to Michael W. Smith, as he sings, ‘Draw Me Close to You.’

In Christ always,

Buddy

May

2011

Beware of the Godhood Lie

“Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD has not spoken.” (Eze 22:28)

Journal,

It is the immature believers who become potential prey for spiritual mishandling and psychological abuse. This is why it is so important for believers to grow in the Lord. In this growth comes spiritual discernment. Discernment is a thing of the knowing heart.

The mature believer has learned to pay close attention to the ‘cautions‘ of his own spirit. A believer’s intuition alerts him to things that are not right. (Has nothing to do with rational processes.)

But where the immature believer gets in trouble is when he overrides the cautions in his heart. Often this overriding comes from, ‘Something must be wrong with me. Everyone else thinks this is of God.’

The longings of the heart

The problem is that we humans long for spiritual realities. But there is a problem. Since the fall of Adam, humanity entered into Adam’s state of spiritual disrepair. Moses speaks of this as a defect.

Listen to Moses:

“They have acted corruptly toward Him, they are not His children, because of their defect; but are a perverse and crooked generation.” (Deu 32:3-5).

When a person turns to the Lord, they enter into a new expression of being as a believer. However, there is still work yet to be done to repair what had been lost in the fall of Adam. The Bible speaks of this work as ‘the renewing of our mind,’ or, ‘the transforming life’. A place to begin is in understanding what the Bible means by ‘the lie.’

We need to go back to…

The lie that caused man’s disrepair

The original lie that Satan used on Eve can be considered the mother of all lies. Understand this and you are on your way to realizing how this same lie is making its rounds in certain movements today. The lie is the ‘godhood’ lie. Let’s see if you can pick up on it.

Concerning the forbidden fruit, Satan said to Eve,

“You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, [you will be a god] knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4,5)

The godhood lie was Adam and Eve could be exactly what God is. They themselves would be gods. They could do all the things that God does.

The godhood lie is found in one form or another through the history of the human race. Roman Emperors were worshipped as gods. The Pharaohs considered themselves to be gods. The emperor of Japan was considered a god. Hinduism is a major player in the godhood lie as well as is Mormonism and new age teachings.

Today this very lie is being ‘subtly’ promoted by well-known charismatic speakers. I use the term ‘subtly’ because the lie is covered in Biblical language. It is insidious to the degree that it literally undermines the Lordship of Jesus Christ. If we can do everything Jesus does, then why do we need Jesus. (Think about it.)

A form of mind control

A lie is a deception at work. A deception is a form of mind control. One Hebrew definition for the term deception means, ‘to steal the heart.’

While the Bible says that God cannot lie, Jesus tells us that Satan’s primary calling card is lying. Satan’s main mode of operation is defined, ‘power and signs and false wonders, and all the deception of wickedness.’

Lying wonders do not do away with the true miracles and workings of God. But the miracles of God are always in a form of bringing glory to Jesus Christ, and not to a man.

Coming back to Satan as a liar, Jesus spoke to a certain group who were religiously serving Satan, though they would certainly deny this. They were willing to believe in Jesus, but it had to be on their terms, and not on the terms for who Jesus really was.

Listen:

“Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (Joh 8:42-44)

Self-deification

The godhood lie today is a form of self-deification where humans are made to be god-men. The godhood lie will culminate with the appearance of antichrist. (2Th2:4)

“Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” (2Th 2:3-4)

Noted godhood teachers

Here are sampling of noted teachers of the past and of today who have promoted the godhood lie. To you in the ‘Word of Faith’ camp, I have a special caution for you. Beware! Beware!

– The Original Lie Seen –

“You don’t have a god in you, you are one.” (Kenneth Copeland, “The Force Of Love”, audiotape #02-0028, Kenneth Copeland Ministries.)

“I am a ‘little messiah’ walking on earth.” (Benny Hinn, “Praise-a-thon Program” on TBN, broadcast.)

Joseph Smith – considered a prophet of the Mormon Church, said: “As God is, man shall become.”

Shirley McClain proudly declared: “I am God. I am God. I am God. I am God.”

Jim Jones (the infamous murder of the Jonestown massacre) – “You are what Jesus was. Jesus said that every human being was a god. It is written that you are gods. I’m a god and you are a god.”

Margot Adler – “We are as gods and might as well get good at it.”

Benny Hinn – “Don’t say you have Jesus. You are everything he was, is and shall be.”

“When you say, ‘I am a Christian, you are saying I am a little Messiah walking on the earth. May I say it? You are a little god running around.” – Benny Hinn

“You are as much the incarnation of God as Christ was….The believer is as much an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth.” (Kenneth Hagin, “Word of Faith.”)

“Adam and Eve were placed in the world as the seed and expression of God. Just as dogs have puppies and cats have kittens, so God has little gods; we have trouble comprehending this truth. Until we comprehend that we are little gods, we cannot manifest the kingdom of God.” (Earl Paulk, “Satan Unmasked”)

“I am a little god! … I have His name. I’m one with Him. I’m in covenant relation. I am a little god! Critics, be gone!” (Paul Crouch, TBN).

“God made animals and didn’t have the foggiest idea what they were … He brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them. … Adam was a speaking spirit like God is.” (Duplantis has Adam creating life in the animals and not God.) See YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DDYyym5tD20

End time delusions

I want to be kind in saying that there are men and women who get caught up in the convolution of all the Charismatic error because of their own lack of understanding of the Scriptures. This may even be true for some of the noted charismatic teachers.

These people often come to their senses and began to recognize that much of what they are involved in is super charged flesh. The Lord in His goodness can help these misguided souls to find their way out of the quagmire of deception.

For the sake of my readers who are concerned over how to spot someone who may be operating under a spirit that is not of God, there are certain common traits to look for. (I’ve provided Scripture resources for your study.)

Place your cursor over the Scripture reference and it will appear.

Things to beware of:

(1) People with an arrogant boastful spirit. Pride is always a major working factor in a demonic deception. Cf. Dan7:11; James3:15,16.

(2) Counterfeit gifting. Sorcery manifests itself as a form of spiritual mind control, and in a way of fortune-telling. Cf. Acts 8:9-11; Matt7:21-23.

(3) Sensual and fleshly exhibition with no true reverence or respect for holiness. 2Pet2:2,3.

(4) The preaching of a false Jesus that does not Biblically agree with true character of the Son of God. Cf. 2Co11:4,13-15.

(5) The preaching of a gospel that is not in full accord with God’s testimony as given in the New Testament. Cf. Gal1:6-9; 1Tim6:3-6.

(6) Lifting up personalities who claim to be modern-day apostles and prophets, and, who, in turn, claim authority equal to that of the Bible apostles and prophets. Cf. Eph2:19,20; 2Co11:12; 1John2:6.

(7) Where the preacher uses language that equates himself with God; where he boasts of godlike abilities; where he preaches an earthly prosperity message; where he claims powers of creation, and such like. And it is all done in the name of Jesus.

A true walk of faith

The only remedy for our disrepair is to come to God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said,

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”(John 10:10)

And for you are still in fear about your walk with the Lord, keep in mind the great Shepherd promise:

Jesus said:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (Joh 10:27-30 NASB)

Be encouraged. The love of the Lord belongs to you.

As is my custom, I must leave with you an uplifting song. Listen to the Lord. He wants to speak to your heart.

The Hoppers – I’m a Citizen of Two Worlds

In Christ always,

Buddy

Apr

2011

There’s a Promise Coming – Restoration

“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.” (Act 3:19-21)

Journal,

The eyes of the world are on the Middle East. We are seeing a conflagration (uncontrolled fire) working its way out from the regions of ancient Babylon. The heat is intense in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Israel, Somalia, Egypt, Syria, Libya, not to speak of all the ‘***istan’ nations of the former Soviet Union. Keep in view that all these nations with the exception of Israel, are Islamic.

So much for all the diatribe on Islam being a religion of peace.

The apostle Peter told the Jewish people that Jesus had been received into heaven and would stay there, but would send times of ‘refreshing’ [special moves of the Holy Spirit] until the period of restoration of all things.

What did he mean by the term restoration? The Greek term ‘apokatastasis‘ means a restitution of a thing to its former condition. This expression denotes the times when the ‘fullness of the Gentiles’ is completed, and the conversion of the Jewish nation is at hand.

This was a primary concern for the Lord’s Hebrew apostles. Jesus clearly taught that the kingdom of God would be taken away from the nation of Israel until the day came when they would say of Him, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”

In Acts 1:6, they asked Him,

“‘Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?’ Jesus responded, ‘It is not for you to know the times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority.'”

The clock is ticking

This is why May 14, 1948 is so important to redemption history. Israel lost her nationhood in the year 70 a.d. She was brought forth again as a nation in 1948, and took her place among the nations. Thus we have Isa66:8 fulfilled;

“Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons.”

Then we have this from the Lord:

“And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles [other nations] until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)

Some like to think that a nation being brought forth all at once has to do with the church. However, this does damage to the prophecy. Notice carefully that it is not simply a nation, but also a land that will be born in one day. The Hebrew for land [’erets] speaks of the earth. The land took on the name Israel on May 14, 1948, and land of Israel once again took her place among the nations of the world.

Without laboring this too much we also need to understand that the nation of Israel today is not the nation she is going to be. The Jews returning to the land is at the heart of Old Testament prophecy. Yet Israel today is largely secular, with Talmudic Judaism in charge of her religious affairs. The fact that Israel is largely secular is not a bad thing in comparison to the Christ-hating Talmudic religion.

(Most Jews do not hate Jesus. There are even Jewish-Christian churches and synagogues in Israel. According to my sources, the number one topic of discussion among Israelis today is about Jesus. The Lord is stirring their hearts. Any hatred towards Jesus and Christians comes largely from Orthodox-Talmudic Judaism.)

The mystery of the dry bones

When God spoke to Ezekiel about the dry bones, it had to do with the restored captivity of that time. However, it had a deeper meaning that would reach forward to the day when Israel turns to Jesus, and call upon Him as their Lord and Savior..

“He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ And I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, You know.’ Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones and say to them, “O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD.”’

“Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. ‘I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the LORD.'” (Eze 37:3-6)

Now lets combine two Scriptures, one from the old and the other from the new. Both with the same goal.

First Zechariah 12:10:

“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me [This is Yahweh speaking] whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him [Jesus the crucified One], and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him [Jesus] like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”

Now Romans 11:25-27:

“For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to Israel [the Christ-rejecting nation group] until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved [nation group looks to Jesus]; just as it is written, ‘The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.'”

The sins of the Christ-rejecting Israel can only be taken away when they come to faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ.

The message to Israel has never changed. When Peter addressed the Jewish leadership, this is what he said:

“He [Jesus] is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Act 4:11-12)

No one can ever be saved aside from receiving Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as both Lord and Savior. There are no exceptions.

A house restored

Let’s come back to what Peter said about the times of restoration:

“…that He [the Father] may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.” (Acts 3:20,21)

The Greek term for ‘period‘ is chronos. It speaks of a particular time or space or season of events.

The Greek term for ‘restoration‘ is a double compound. It is only used here. But interestingly enough it is also used by Flavius Josephus for the return of the Jews from captivity, and for the restoration of the year of Jubilee. That is the how the term was understood during the time of Christ.

The period of refreshing and restoration that Peter speaks of has a dual focus. It includes the Church being refreshed during her journey on heart. And while the Church is being prepared for her departure, the Jewish people are being gathered to the land of Israel to fulfill her prophesied purposes. Hence, God is working with the Jews and with the Christians.

For the Jew there is a period of tribulation they must endure before the Savior comes out of Zion. The Bible also gives place for a pseudo-Church during the last hours of this age. (Pseudo refers to something that appears to be true but is not. A false pretender.)

The true church refers to those who are inborn of the Spirit and will not follow anyone other than Jesus, in spite of signs and wonders. The true Church will make her departure from the earth at the proper time. The pseudo Church will follow after lying wonders.

Tears for Jerusalem

Let’s listen to some of the last words that Jesus spoke over Jerusalem.

“When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41-44)

And again,

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me UNTIL you say, ‘Blessed is He [Jesus] who comes in the name of the Lord.” (Matt23:37,38)

So, will the kingdom of God be restored to Israel? Will Israel really turn to the Lord Jesus and become part with His people? Can it be proved by the Scriptures? I believe it can. For your extra study consider these Scriptures: Isaiah 1:26; Jeremiah 23:3-6; Hosea 3:4,5; 5:15; 6:1-3.

That’s it for now.

Here is your song. Let the Lord refresh your heart. ‘There’s a Promise Coming Down’ by Joy Gardner…

Blessings,

Buddy

Apr

2011

Don’t Check Your Brain at the Door

“…His disciples came to Him and said, ‘Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’ And He said, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.’

“So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Mat 13:36-43)

Journal,

Some of my readers may not take lightly to this journal entry. Rarely do I share an entry that deals with the negatives. However, it is always best to be forewarned when it comes to the false movements that are abounding today. So, here goes. Please consider what I have to share. You can judge for yourself if it is of the Lord.

In Matthew 13, there are seven kingdom parables. Each parable addresses an essential truth. The parable of the tares is second of the kingdom parables.

The Lord explains that there *will* be tares planted among the wheat. (Cf. Matt13:24-30) The wheat represents the children of God. The tares are the sons of the evil one. Throughout the church age this battle will continue.

That doesn’t sound so difficult, does it? After all, all we just need to do is look for a son of evil one? Surely someone of this caliber would stand out from everyone else!?

Well, it isn’t as easy as it may seem. And this goes to the heart of the parable.

The tare instills ruinous heresy

The disciples were familiar with the symbols Jesus used. The tares in the parable would be the ‘bearded’ tare, or darnell tare. This tare looks very much wheat, especially while it is growing. It takes a trained eye to recognize the difference. In the parable the workers went to sleep. When a flock lacks proper Biblical guidance and ‘alert’ mature spiritual leadership, this is where the tare can begin to do his damage.

The bearded tare is poisonous. If it is mixed with wheat, and ingested, it can cause sickness, and possibly death. This is why the tares have to be harvested out of the wheat, before the wheat can be harvested. But who can do it properly? Only the Lord. And He uses angels for this work.

The tares and their false doctrines have always been a major cause for spiritual weakness among believers. False doctrines are man centered. Rather than produce a genuine maturing in a believer’s life, they create a false bond between the believer and the false teacher.

It is because of these false bonds that you find some believers who chase after various teachers, prophets, and movements. They reach for every new ism that moves with the wind. These weak believers have never learned what Biblical spirituality and maturity is about.

Paul address this issue:

“As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” (Eph 4:14,15)

The original godhood lie

Here is an example of a noted Charismatic teacher making pure mockery of God. If you are unable to see the mockery here then I pray that the Lord opens your eyes. This man makes God out to be a fool. He twists and turns the Scriptures to mean something that they do not mean. He has Adam giving life to the animals, and not God. This kind of teaching abounds in the ‘We are gods’ teachings that are making rounds in certain movements today. Judge for yourself.

What you heard in the afore video are elements of the original lie that Satan used on Eve. It can be considered the mother of all lies. Understand this and you are on your way to realizing how this same lie is making its rounds in large portions of the Charismatic movement today.

‘The lie’ was that Adam and Eve could be exactly what God is, therefore they would have no need for God. They themselves would be gods. And this is the very lie being pushed today. It is insidious because people do not realize that it actually undermines the Lordship of Jesus Christ in a person’s life. If I can do everything Jesus does, then why would I need Jesus. (Think about it.)

Most false-doctrine groups have the godhood lie built into them.

The power of the tare and of false doctrine

In Samaria there was a man named Simon, who claimed to be someone great. Everyone gave attention to him. They thought he was from God. After all, he could do supernatural things. When Philip came to town and began preaching the gospel, people began to turn to Jesus by the multitudes. Guess who gets baptized? You got it. Simon the sorcerer.

Simon was a false believer. He had no intention of turning from his occult works. As Simon sees the wonders done by Philip, he needs to associate with that power. And when he sees people being filled with the Holy Spirit through the hands of the apostles. He wants that power! He has to have it. So Simon begins with the money exchange.

Peter recognizes right away that Simon is a ‘tare.’ He says,

“May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you.” (For full story see Acts 8:4-24)

Church history tells us that Simon never repented. He continued in his sorcery, and came to beguile of many souls. Simon began a gnostic group that tried to undermine the Christian faith. His followers began to call on him as a god. (According to Justin Martyr.)

Do not ignore the warnings

There is a Scriptural setting that is easy to misunderstand and yet it provides a special warning that Jesus gives for end time events. It centers on what the term ‘Christ’ actually means. Christ and Messiah both mean ‘the anointed one.’

The Lord warns about ‘special anointed places,’ and ‘special anointed ones.’ These anointed ones claim to speak for God. Yet they are producing chains of bondage that the misguided and immature is unable to recognize. Think about it for a moment and you will find where the pieces fit.

Now the warning –

“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ [the anointed one],’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe him. For false Christs [anointed ones] and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to misled, if possible, even the elect.” (Mat24:23,24)

The Lord goes on …

“Behold, I have told you in advance. So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ to not believe them.” (At this point the Lord begins to speak of His second coming.)

Not only did Jesus warn that there would be a sweeping move of a false anointing in the last days, but the Old Testament prophets also warned of this. Listen carefully to Jeremiah;

“…In the last days you will clearly understand it. I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied.” (Jer23:20,21)

Then Jeremiah explains the message of a false prophet. He says these prophets lead God’s people astray by their “falsehoods” and “reckless boasting.” (Jer23:32)

What is the false prophet doing?

“But had they (the false prophet) stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My people, and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds.” (Jer23:22)

The false prophet speaks with a voice of authority, but their message reeks of earthly treasures and pleasures. Peter and Jude tell us that they merchandise God’s people. With flattery (often by personal prophecies, a form of fortune-telling) they deceive the hearts of the simple.

The spirit of sorcery is powerful. Unless it is arrested in some way, it can take on the feeling of a flowing river, of great euphoria, and even sensations in the body. And this is how it deceives someone with appearance of being the Holy Spirit. But the happiness is misleading. It is hypnotic and dangerous. It is merely an eroding of a person’s foundation. The result can be a mental institution.

The masquerade

We think that just because a person is speaking in the name of Jesus, and because supernatural things are happening, that it has to be from God. This is a mistake no believer should ever make. Keep in mind that a false gospel produces false converts

It appears that the Corinthian Church was bordering on the occult. You find this in both of Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. Paul explains this, when he says,

“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (2Co11:3)

Notice how Paul describes the true Christian walk. It is based on a simple devotion to Jesus Christ. No more. No less. It is not based on supernatural experiences.

Now for the occult –

“For if one comes and *preaches* another Jesus who we have not preached, or you *receive* a different spirit which you have not received, or a *different gospel* which you have
not accepted, you bear this beautifully.” (2Co11:4)

Do you see the occult warning? Another Jesus! Another spirit! Another gospel!

If someone doesn’t understand the true gospel, how easy it is for the enemy to give a replacement.

The last thing I wish to share is that it is possible even for a child of God to be misguided for a time, and to get caught up on these false movements. But once your eyes are fully opened to the deception at work, that is when you make your departure. My advise is simple — Don’t ignore the cautions in your own heart.

And get your eyes back on the glory of the cross.

I hope some of what I shared will be of help to others.

In Christ always

Buddy

Feb

2011

Egypt and the World of Islam #2

” … in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.” (Dan 9:2)

Journal,

This is a follow-up entry on ‘Egypt and the World of Islam.’ In my last journal entry I called attention to certain prophecies about Egypt and the world of Islam and to world events that precede the second coming of Jesus Christ. I concluded that entry with a prophecy where the Lord makes His appearance with Israel. Part of the prophecy reads…

“And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.” (Zec 12:9-10)

I also shared a video that sets forth how the gospel is making powerful inroads into the world of Islam. The gospel penetrating into Islam is a crucial part of God’s redemption program that is to be played out before the second coming. In this entry I want to share more properties about the second coming of Jesus Christ that some may not be aware of.

The place to begin is to understand the role that Islam plays with regard to the second coming. Here is the scene – Satan has always known that God’s plan of redemption completes itself with the second coming of Jesus to Jerusalem. Therefore his major line of defense has been to create a false gospel that would avoid the true gospel. This false gospel would honor Jesus as one of the great Messengers of God. However, it would disallow how the gospel of Jesus saves people. This false gospel would find its center in the nations surrounding Israel. Herein you have Islam.

Here is a quote from my last entry:

“In the Golden Dome [on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem] there is written in Arabic, ‘God has no son.’ The world of Islam has labored under a false gospel about Jesus Christ ever since Muhammad began his religion of the sword. Muhammad perverted the gospel in saying that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, that His death on the cross had nothing to do with salvation, that Jesus was simply one of the great Messengers (prophets), that Jesus would return, would die, and would be buried.”

Did you catch it? Muhammad managed to undermine the saving power of the gospel in the world of Islam by removing the very heart of the gospel. Jesus said He would build His church upon this revelation: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.’ Yet Muhammad said that God has no son. Muhammad literally created an antichrist religion. {Anti means in place of or over against.]

Listen to the apostle John:

“Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.” (1Jn 2:22-23)

God is Taking Out a People

God is taking out for Himself a people from all the nations. This final movement of redemption is moving swiftly through Islam and will end up at Jerusalem. The redemption movement will increase in the days ahead. Consider these Scriptures:

“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Mat 24:14)

“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.'” (Rev 5:9)

“And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken. And it will be said in that day, ‘Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.'” (Isa 25:7-9)

*Place your cursor over a Scripture reference and it will appear.

The Principle of Seventy

The number seventy often carries a prophetic emphasis in the Scriptures. Here is a short synopsis on how the number seventy can be seen prophetically. It is possible that we are in a seventy year redemption time frame. (Place your cursor over the Scripture references.) …

(1) Jeremiah prophesies of Israel’s captivity into Babylon for seventy years. (Jer25:10-12)

(2) Daniel’s attention is brought to Jeremiah’s prophecy. The time was at hand. (Dan9:2,3)

(3) In seeking the Lord, the angel Gabriel gives Daniel a prophecy that reaches across redemption history and takes in both the first and the second coming of the Messiah Jesus. (Dan 9:23-26) This prophecy of seventy calculated into weeks of years and pinpointed the time of the Messiah. It foretold the cutting off of Messiah until the time of restoration. (Second coming.) The rabbis later placed a curse on anyone who tried to calculate the times of Daniel’s prophecy.

(4) Gabriel left the seventieth week to itself. The seventieth week is known as ‘the time of Jacob’s troubles’ or the period of tribulation. It is understood by many that the book of Revelation largely concerns itself with the seven years of tribulation. This seven-year tribulation is also called ‘the day of God’s wrath.’ (Just as the day of grace is a defined time, even so the day of God’s wrath can be traced through the Scriptures.)

(5) Then we have another interesting notation – The city of Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 a.d. Israel ceased to being a nation for nearly 2000 years. Then on May 14, 1948, Israel once again became a nation among nations. (Isa66:8) It may be that God’s time clock of redemption began clicking once again in 1948. And here once again we need to consider the number seventy. No one knows the day or the hour for the second coming but Jesus said that we could know the times of His coming. So, if the seventy year time frame began in 1948, it would then end up with 2018.

(6) The removal of the church.) There are three broad beliefs about what is commonly called ‘the rapture’, Pre-trib, Mid-trib, or Post-trib. If we subtract the seven years of tribulation from 2018, we end up with 2011. This is the Pre-tribulation position. Some take a mid-tribulation position. In this case the rapture would happen in 2014. For those who do not believe in a rapture, for them the time of the second coming would be in 2018.

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(7) What is important is knowing that the coming of the Lord is near at hand. With this in mind God’s people are not to live in an attitude of fear. The second coming is a time of our completed salvation. But as for the times, there are many prophecies that describe the world as we know it today. As for the proper time itself, be it this year, in three years, seven years, or whatever time the Father has determined, keep in mind what Jesus said, “But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Luk21:28)

Here are some Scriptures to meditate upon —

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” (Joh14:1-4)

“Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the LORD GOD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.” (Isa 12:2-3)

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.” (1Th 5:9-10)

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” (Col 3:1-4)

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev 21:1-2)

Let this song minister to your heart. ‘Morning Has Broken’ (This is a Christian hymn set to the music of a traditional Gaelic tune known as ‘Bunessan.’

In Christ always,

Buddy

Feb

2011

Egypt and the World of Islam

“’The oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; the idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; and they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom. Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them; and I will confound their strategy, so that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead and to mediums and spiritists. … “ (Isa 19:1-4)

“Thus the LORD will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day. They will even worship with sacrifice and offering, and will make a vow to the LORD and perform it. The LORD will strike Egypt, striking but healing; so they will return to the LORD, and He will respond to them and will heal them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrians will come into Egypt and the Egyptians into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be the third party with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, ‘Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.’“ (Isa 19:21-25)

*Place your cursor over a Scripture reference and it will appear.

Journal,

The upheaval is making its way through the Isl?mic world. This is only the tip of the iceberg. There are other elements that must come into play. Actually the world will enter into a time of fermentation and turmoil. The Bible speaks of the shaking of the nations. All this is necessary to the second coming of Jesus Christ. However, the Lord said that when we began to see the dismay among the nations we are to lift up our heads, because our redemption is drawing near. (Cf. Luke 21:25-28)

As for Islam, while the most recent government overturn began in Tunisia, it has spread swiftly to Egypt and is continuing with inroads into other Muslim nations. But we need not be caught off guard. We are told beforehand of the things that will take place at the closing of this age. For one thing the prophet Isaiah calls attention to the agitation that we are now seeing in Egypt. [Read the afore Scriptures carefully for a clear description of Egypt today.]

Many are little aware of how exact the story of redemption history is laid out by the Old Testament prophets. Isaiah lived 700 years before Christ, and yet he gives exact prophecies about both the first and the second coming of the Lord Jesus. Isaiah spoke of things in eternity passed. He spoke of the times that he lived in, and he set forth how God’s redemption plan would work its way through in the far distant future. His fulfilled prophecies are too far many to try to list in this entry.

Islam also treats Isaiah as a prophet. For instance it is of great interest to see the succession of Southern Sudan into an independent nation. They are basing their move to independence on Isaiah 18. Then according to Isaiah 19, Egypt, and Assyria, and Israel are going to be in league together. It will be a league based on these nation groups turning to the Lord Jesus. [Assyria during the time of Isaiah would include Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey, and other regional Isl?mic nations.]

God gave these ancient servants of old the prophetic foundation for His plan of redemption. The apostles were instructed to do their work from what had already been written by the prophets. Every prophecy was to have its fulfillment.

Jesus to the apostles —

“Now He said to them, ‘These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.'” (Luk 24:44-47)

Notice Jesus said that every thing that had been written by the prophets must be fulfilled. Christianity did not begin as some upstart new religion. Our very foundation comes from what had been revealed to the prophets. The apostles were to take these ancient writings by way of instruction in laying the foundation for the new covenant people of Christ. The apostle said,

“… for through Him [Jesus Christ] we both [Jew and Gentile] have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” (Eph 2:18-22)

The apostle also said that we are never to exceed “what is written.” (1Co4:6)

When Peter spoke to the crowd about the miracle healing of the blind man, he said,

“And now brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance [in crucifying Jesus], just as your rulers did also. But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.” (Acts3:18)

Muslims turning to Jesus

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I won’t pretend to know how all this plays out. Some things are very clear while other things have to be seen in their time. One thing we do know is that God’s work of redemption began in Jerusalem. It will end in Jerusalem.
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The Dome of the Rock (the Golden Dome) is built on the site of the first and the second temple in Jerusalem. It remains the holiest place in Judaism. Yet Israel has no access to the Temple Mount other than to the Western Wall. (Often referred to as the Wailing Wall.)
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In the Golden Dome there is written in Arabic, ‘God has no son.’ The world of Islam has labored under a false gospel about Jesus Christ ever since Muhammad began his religion of the sword. Muhammad perverted the gospel in saying that Jesus Christ is not the Son of God, that His death on the cross had nothing to do with salvation, that Jesus was simply one of the great Messengers (prophets), that Jesus would return, would die, and would be buried.
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The greatest need in Islam today is for the Muslim people to hear the true gospel of Jesus. And that is exactly what is happening on a measure that is nothing less than astonishing. Not only are Muslims being exposed to the true testimony of Jesus, but the Lord is appearing to them in dreams and visions. Jesus is speaking into the very heart of Islam. The turmoil we are seeing in the Muslim world will be played out with the greatest movement of salvation that the world has ever seen.

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The world of Islam has been preconditioned for the gospel. While the truth of Jesus Christ has been distorted in the Quran, yet Jesus is highly regarded in the Muslim faith. He is seen both as Messiah and as one of the five great Messengers of God. Of course their idea of Messiah is not that of God Himself revealed in human form. However, it is in this high regard that the gospel will make powerful inroads into their world. Keep in mind what the apostle said about the gospel of Jesus Christ —

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.'” (Rom 1:16-17)

The most powerful force on this planet today is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has the power to penetrate into the darkest of human hearts. Just as the Bamboo Curtain has fallen, and the Iron Curtain has fallen, even so the Isl?mic Curtain will also fall. Islam is the last vestige in the gospel’s final approach to Jerusalem. Oh yes, there is much more to take place, but everything is moving at a rapid pace. Jesus said that He was going to shorten the days for the sake of God’s people. Perhaps it is time to begin looking up.

As for Jerusalem, here is what the prophet Zechariah said —

“The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel. Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, ‘Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around …'” (Zec 12:1-3)

“And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.” (Zec 12:9-10)

Back to Islam. View this report on what is happening in the Muslim world with regard to Jesus. It is lengthy but well worth the viewing.

In Christ always,
Buddy

false gospels

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An Issue of Concern

Beware of Spiritual Counterfeits

The Battle Through the Ages

Corinth Typifies a Church Gone Astray

The Issue of Gifting

Can a Person Confess the Wrong Jesus?

Clement Has More to Say

What Gives Birth to Working of Darkness

Time For a Check Up

Why Our Goodness Cannot Save Us

What Can I Offer the Lord

We Are Powerless in Ourselves

Deadness of Sin

The Battle Over Grace

Salvation is Through the Son Alone

The Eternal Law of Salvation

The Message Completes Itself

What Can Take Away My Sins

Twisting and Turning in the Wind

Beware of the Godhood Lie

There’s a Promise Coming – Restoration

Don’t Check Your Brain at the Door

Egypt and the World of Islam #2

Egypt and the World of Islam

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