Tuesday, November 22, 2016

What is the Sign of the Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ

MATTHEW 24

1And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8All these are the beginning of sorrows.

9Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

The Abomination of Desolation

(Mark 13:14-23; Luke 21:20-24 Daniel 9:27 II Thessalonians 2)
15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 23Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect (all who are God's chosen, not just those who are of the house of Israel who are among the faithful). 25Behold, I have told you before.

(Do not be fooled by Satan, when he is thrown from Heaven in the middle of the last 7 years.  Satan will come as a false Christ, and will say that he is God.  He will come with 1/3 of the stars/angels/hosts of Heaven when he is finally totally cast out of Heaven.  He will do great signs and lying wonders.  But the false Christ must come before the actual coming of Jesus--when Heaven is truly rolled up as scroll and the tabernacle of the testimony in Heaven is revealed.) 

The Return of the Son of Man
26Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
29Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect (all God's chosen, called, faithful servants) from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The lesson of the Fig Tree
32Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass (The generation that sees the fig tree budding), till all these things be fulfilled. 35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Be Ready at Any Hour
36But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken (in judgment), and the other left. 41Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken (in judgment), and the other left.
42Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

False prophets will proclaim peace, when repentance is what is in order....

Ezekiel 13 

From The Message (MSG)

People Who Love Listening to Lies

13 1-2 God’s Message came to me: “Son of man, preach against the prophets of Israel who are making things up out of their own heads and calling it ‘prophesying.’
2-6 “Preach to them the real thing. Tell them, ‘Listen to God’s Message!’ God, the Master, pronounces doom on the empty-headed prophets who do their own thing and know nothing of what’s going on! Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals scavenging through the ruins. They haven’t lifted a finger to repair the defenses of the city and have risked nothing to help Israel stand on God’s Day of Judgment. All they do is fantasize comforting illusions and preach lying sermons. They say ‘God says . . .’ when God hasn’t so much as breathed in their direction. And yet they stand around thinking that something they said is going to happen.
7-9 “Haven’t you fantasized sheer nonsense? Aren’t your sermons tissues of lies, saying ‘God says . . .’ when I’ve done nothing of the kind? Therefore—and this is the Message of God, the Master, remember—I’m dead set against prophets who substitute illusions for visions and use sermons to tell lies. I’m going to ban them from the council of my people, remove them from membership in Israel, and outlaw them from the land of Israel. Then you’ll realize that I am God, the Master.
10-12 “The fact is that they’ve lied to my people. They’ve said, ‘No problem; everything’s just fine,’ when things are not at all fine. When people build a wall, they’re right behind them slapping on whitewash. Tell those who are slapping on the whitewash, ‘When a torrent of rain comes and the hailstones crash down and the hurricane sweeps in and the wall collapses, what’s the good of the whitewash that you slapped on so liberally, making it look so good?’
13-14 “And that’s exactly what will happen. I, God, the Master, say so: ‘I’ll let the hurricane of my wrath loose, a torrent of my hailstone-anger. I’ll make that wall you’ve slapped with whitewash collapse. I’ll level it to the ground so that only the foundation stones will be left. And in the ruin you’ll all die. You’ll realize then that I am God.
15-16 “‘I’ll dump my wrath on that wall, all of it, and on those who plastered it with whitewash. I will say to them, There is no wall, and those who did such a good job of whitewashing it wasted their time, those prophets of Israel who preached to Jerusalem and announced all their visions telling us things were just fine when they weren’t at all fine. Decree of God, the Master.’
17-19 “And the women prophets—son of man, take your stand against the women prophets who make up stuff out of their own minds. Oppose them. Say ‘Doom’ to the women who sew magic bracelets and head scarves to suit every taste, devices to trap souls. Say, ‘Will you kill the souls of my people, use living souls to make yourselves rich and popular? You have profaned me among my people just to get ahead yourselves, used me to make yourselves look good—killing souls who should never have died and coddling souls who shouldn’t live. You’ve lied to people who love listening to lies.’
20-21 “Therefore God says, ‘I am against all the devices and techniques you use to hunt down souls. I’ll rip them out of your hands. I’ll free the souls you’re trying to catch. I’ll rip your magic bracelets and scarves to shreds and deliver my people from your influence so they’ll no longer be victimized by you. That’s how you’ll come to realize that I am God.
22-23 “‘Because you’ve confounded and confused good people, unsuspecting and innocent people, with your lies, and because you’ve made it easy for others to persist in evil so that it wouldn’t even dawn on them to turn to me so I could save them, as of now you’re finished. No more delusion-mongering from you, no more sermonic lies. I’m going to rescue my people from your clutches. And you’ll realize that I am God.’”

Monday, November 14, 2016

A GOOD and Godly Governor; Nehemiah Chapter 5; http://biblehub.com/nlt/nehemiah/5.htm

Nehemiah Defends the Oppressed
1About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews. 2They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more food to survive.”
3Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the famine.”
4And others said, “We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes. 5We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.”
6When I heard their complaints, I was very angry. 7After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem.
8At the meeting I said to them, “We are doing all we can to redeem our Jewish relatives who have had to sell themselves to pagan foreigners, but you are selling them back into slavery again. How often must we redeem them?” And they had nothing to say in their defense.
9Then I pressed further, “What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the fear of our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations? 10I myself, as well as my brothers and my workers, have been lending the people money and grain, but now let us stop this business of charging interest. 11You must restore their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes to them this very day. And repay the interest you charged when you lent them money, grain, new wine, and olive oil.”
12They replied, “We will give back everything and demand nothing more from the people. We will do as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the nobles and officials swear to do what they had promised.
13I shook out the folds of my robe and said, “If you fail to keep your promise, may God shake you like this from your homes and from your property!”
The whole assembly responded, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
14For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxesa—neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance. 15The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty piecesb of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way.
16I also devoted myself to working on the wall and refused to acquire any land. And I required all my servants to spend time working on the wall. 17I asked for nothing, even though I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides all the visitors from other lands! 18The provisions I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large number of poultry. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor’s food allowance because the people already carried a heavy burden.
19Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it.

Footnotes:
a 5:14 That is, 445–433 b.c.
b 5:15 Hebrew 40 shekels [1 pound, or 456 grams].

The Word for the Day

Romans 13:8-14:1 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10  Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11  And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13  Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14  But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. 
Romans 14:1  Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
 

Jeremiah 17:5-18 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. 6  For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. 7  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. 8  For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. 11  As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool. 12  A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. 13  O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. 14  Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. 15  Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now. 16  As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee. 17  Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil. 18  Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

The Great Deception; Signs and Lying Wonders

I have been reading about the end of all things for a long time; roughly 30 years, yeah, that is a long time.  I love re-reading all the passages that speak of the return of Jesus and what will be the signs of His coming.  Years have been dedicated to attempting to get it all down into my mind and soul so that, in the horrid event of being left without a Bible, I would be able to recall the Scriptures of Jesus's warnings from memory.  I am ashamed to say that I do not have it all memorized word for word (by any stretch), but to a great degree, the words are etched into my mind, hidden in my heart, if you will.

Recently, I was again pondering the great deception which will come upon the earth at the time of the abomination of desolation (spoken of by Daniel, Jesus, and Paul) and the rise of the beast (anti-Christ) and false prophet (as revealed by John and Daniel).

I had also been reminiscing about the Revelation 12 signs in the Heaven which detail the birth of the nation of Israel, rebellion of Satan, birth and ascension of Jesus, the war in Heaven and defeat of Satan, the final casting of Satan to earth along with his fallen angels, and the ensuing great tribulation after Satan's final, permanent fall to earth.  Some have said that this Revelation 12 sign will appear in the Heavens on September 23, 2017.  It is the woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, a crown of 12 stars, and paining to be delivered.  Jesus describes the beginning of sorrows as birth pangs.  Obviously, since I am looking so hopefully to Jesus's final return, a possible sign of the beginning of the end is a very exciting thing for me to contemplate.  I can not verify that this sign will appear on September 23, 2017, but others have written about it and have published writings on the internet or Youtube videos about it.

There are a great many theories about the progression of end time events, the order of them, and the interpretations of the prophecies.  I do understand this, and I have heard most if not all of the possible theories, since it is a topic of great interest to me.

Some say that there will be a faked or real alien invasion, which purports itself to be the coming of the 'Christ' the anointed one of God.  As we know that Scripture teaches that there will be a counterfeit Christ and a false prophet (Revelation 13-14, Daniel 7-8), so obviously this counterfeit will be so realistic, so convincing as to deceive even the very elect, if that were possible.  So, how might this be possible?

I was speaking to my brother the other night about all of the things I think will come to pass in these end times; just my own thoughts about things that the elite will reveal in order to convince people to go along with their final schemes to control the whole world.  I had mentioned that I think they'll 'reveal' the real location of Noah's Ark, that they will admit that the flood really did destroy the earth and that Noah's history was true.  I spoke of other things, such as how they may disappear some Christians in order to fake a 'rapture' event, which so many are looking for as a sign of the end of all things. 

While we were speaking, I suddenly blurted out something that I had never before even contemplated.  It was not something that I had deduced by my own reasoning or by analysis of the texts in the Bible.  It just literally jumped out of my mouth, and I couldn't believe what I'd said after I said it.

I told him that I thought that we would be able to physically witness that prophesied falling down from heaven of Satan and his angels after Michael and his angels defeat Satan in Heaven in Revelation 12:7-12  and Daniel 12:1.  Imagine seeing a visible descent of Satan and his host of fallen angels with your own eyes, in the natural realm.  What if this occurs in a physical way, not just a spiritual way.  This would be the ultimate 'faking' of the second coming of Jesus Christ!

Jesus told us that, "As the lightning flashes from the east unto the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be."  This is his warning to us in Matthew 24; that we be not deceived by any man regarding what it will look like when He returns.  There are other descriptors (very detailed ones) in Revelation and elsewhere, which say very clearly what His return will entail and how it will look and what will have had to transpire prior to His return.

One of the signatures will be that Jesus comes in the flesh, in the clouds, and on a white horse.  At the time of Jesus's return, Heaven will be rolled up as a scroll and the tabernacle of God will be seen in heaven.  The veil will be rent again, but this time it is the veil of the dome over the earth which is rent, not the veil of the temple in Jerusalem.  Jesus will also return with his Holy Saints and at that time the dead in Christ up to that point will rise from the dead.  So obviously, to anyone who does know the Scripture, the fall of Satan will not be confused with the return of Jesus.

But here's the thing.  I know close to zero people who actually search out, read and memorize these various passages so as to familiarize themselves with what is to come.  I think many people, especially those who don't know the Lord at all, will easily be able to be deceived by this great sign in the Heaven, if no one is there to warn them or explain the Scriptures to them. 

There are Old Testament prophecies which detail the coming of the Lord.  They speak of the sun being dark as the sackcloth of hair, or not giving its light, the moon becoming as blood, and the stars of the Heavens falling.  Even in the New Testament it is said that the powers of Heaven will be shaken, the sun goes dark, the moon is as blood, the stars fall from the sky; all this at Jesus's return, on the Day of the Lord.

My great concern is that since people are by and large so afraid of the book of Revelation, and so fearful of reading it literally, that they are making themselves ripe to be deceived by what is to come.   This passage in Revelation 12 details the final events clearly (at least to me, since I am so familiar with the parallel passages elsewhere in God's Word).  Satan gets cast out along with his fallen angels and woe is proclaimed to the earth, since Satan is full of wrath and knows he has but a short time (3 1/2 years as told in Rev 12:14) to go after Israel and the remnant of her seed who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

If people see this great falling star (Satan), and his angels (1/3 of all the host, i.e., stars, of Heaven) cast to the earth, it is going to look like the movie Transformers, where these alien beings look like meteors falling to the earth.  If Satan can appear as an angel of light, he could surely take this time to pretend to be Jesus in disguise.

This fall of the Devil also looks a lot to me like what is described in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Trumpets of Revelation.  The 3rd Trumpet in Revelation 8:10-11 shows a great star falling from Heaven, called Wormwood who makes the waters in which he fell bitter, causing many men to die.  The 4th Trumpet sounds and 1/3 of the sun and moon are darkened and 1/3 of the stars are darkened.  The 5th Trumpet pictures a star who falls from heaven to earth; this star has the key to the bottomless pit, which he opens, releasing a horde from Hades to torment men who don't have the seal of God for 5 months.

So the 3rd and 5th Trump are falling stars.  One has a name (Wormwood), and the other one has a key to the bottomless pit of Hell where some of the fallen angels and demon spirits are currently imprisoned.  (Even Jesus revealed that the evil spirits are imprisoned in the abyss (pit), when he cast out the demons and they asked if He was come to torment them before the time and send them to the abyss.)  These falling stars could be Satan and his chief angel cast to earth in Revelation 12.  When they open up the pit, smoke goes up and darkens the sun and air.  This sounds like when the 4th trumpet was blown and 1/3 of the sun, moon, and stars were darkened.  Furthermore, at the 4th Trumpet, when 1/3 of the stars don't shine, could this be because they lose their estate in Heaven, after losing the last battle in Heaven and being cast out finally and fully from Heaven?  Revelation 12 says that Satan has 1/3 of the host of heaven (angel armies of Heaven) on his side. 

I know this may sound confusing to someone unfamiliar with the various texts, so I am probably going to end up either over or under explaining what I am saying.  I apologize for that in advance.

Here's the thing.  Satan will be cast to earth roughly 3 1/2 years prior to the return of Jesus.  If this is a visible occurrence, which I believe it will be, this event may look terribly similar to the coming of Jesus in the clouds.  Satan can transform himself, as an angel of Light.  Lucifer means 'light-bearer.' 

Also, the unbelieving Israel who is still looking for their Messiah (because they do not believe Jesus was the Christ), may look to the Old Testament Prophets who proclaim that the day of the Lord will include stars falling from the sky, and they may mistake this as the coming of Jesus.

Further, the Vatican is looking for something like this.  They have their Lucifer telescope on Mt. Graham in Arizona (a sacred Apache mountain where the guardian spirits of the Apache supposedly live).  I just now found an article at arcticbeacon.com which even suggests that they may be looking for the star Wormwood from Revelation--unbelievable!

The Vatican has said they believe in extraterrestrials; the Pope said he would baptize an alien.  This is very bizarre unless they are looking for Lucifer, knowing that he is indeed a fallen star and that he is going to set up shop here in the near future.  Could the Vatican be positioning themselves to assist in the great deception, pretending that the falling Lucifer is Jesus, and promoting the visible event as the coming of Jesus back to earth?

If this event is visible, as I believe it will be; and if the Vatican has a super powered, long range, infrared telescope and constant eyes awaiting the first signs of Satan being cast out and down to earth, ought not we also be making ourselves aware of this sign to come, so that we guard against the potentially great deception?

You know, as I ponder this even now, I am more convinced than I was at the first that this will be a visible event.  The fact that the Vatican and the Jesuits want to be the first to have eyes on this star falling (giving them the inside scoop on the timing, and even giving them the ability to 'prophesy' about the day of the star's arrival to earth), makes this even more relevant and of greater concern to me.

I do not want anyone to be deceived at all by the signs and lying wonders which will occur in the Heavens and on the earth in the final years of history before Jesus returns.  I pray that all who may read this will at least consider that there could be a counterfeit 'coming of Christ in the sky' event when Satan falls to earth, which could look eerily like the real deal if you don't know all of the other signs and benchmarks which have to happen to precede the coming of Jesus.

For those of you who believe what you've been told about being 'raptured' out of this world prior to all of the events of Revelation, I pray that you will seek God, read His Word, search all the Scriptures and let them speak for themselves.  When you do this, it is impossible to find an interpretation which guarantees and exit for all believers in Jesus prior to the tribulation caused by Satan's wrath against the followers of Jesus.  Please consider at least, the words of Jesus when he urges us not to let anyone deceive us about His return and the signs of His coming.  He gave us the details for a reason: so that we could hedge against being deceived.  He reiterated it to John in Revelation in an even more detailed fashion, for the same reason: so that we would not be deceived.  I pray you feel compelled to investigate God's Word on your own in this regard.  He will give wisdom to all who pray for it. 

Peace be upon all the called and chosen and faithful of the household of faith in Jesus Christ the Righteous who's glorious appearing we eagerly await!

Where We Are and Where We're Headed

I can't believe it is November 9th!  It's insane to think it.  I do not know where this year has gone.  It seems the older I get, the faster time passes me by.

Summer and the gardening season are long gone, Fall is fading fast, and another school year almost half way over already.  Add to this the excitement/turmoil of another election season and I feel as if the last few months has lasted an entire year!

But I am not complaining.  I am thankful for the rest to come, especially from the work of summer.  Winter is always a time of recuperation for me.  It's a time to get back to baking and reading and writing.  I confess I have missed the hours of Bible study and writing down what I am learning.  I always feel that something is missing when I am not deeply delved into some aspect of inquiry into God's Word.  That's not to say I've not inquired of Him this summer; it's just that I don't spend hours writing notes and composing essays when I have weeds to pull and veggies to can and freeze.

Sitting here today, I admit to feeling a little off kilter.  This entire election was so electrically charged and very confusing for me in a way.  I felt that the establishment pushed Donald Trump forward in the Republican corner to the exclusion of the other (actually) conservative/Christian candidates.  I believed they did this so as to ensure a victory for Hillary (whom they'd already chosen early on as their high priestess, er, um, I mean, nominee).  I mostly tried to avoid all media for the longest time, as I do not believe in the veracity of our electoral system.  I do believe that men in high places pull strings and install leaders.  I have seen these things from inside the system, so I am not just guessing at this or surmising this for myself.  I know there is a 'rigging' in the system.  I know the two parties control everything; and if you are not going to kiss the ring of the 'ring leader,' then you have no chance at being a representative in our democratic system.

So I had written this election off, as with the last few.  I have pretty much settled it in my mind that there is no hope for any positive change.  I know that my God prophesies a one world leader and one world Satanic religion to come.  I've done my homework, and I know what the powers that be have written in their occult 'Plan.'  I've read thousands of pages of proof exposing the leaders of this world and many of the religious leaders for who they are and for what they have in store for the poor sheep of this world.

I see the darkness which is already here and that which is coming.  It is a horror which is in store.  It is a dark storm on the horizon, not a beautiful sunset.

Having said all of that, I did, within the past few weeks, get a little bit sucked in to the election hype.  There were so many Christian leaders and alternative media voices heralding Trump as our last and only hope.  The disgusting filth which came out about Hillary also made it easy to see Trump in a better light, and as an even better choice.  I went from not planning to vote, to voting early.  But there was still something nagging at me.

It had early on occurred to me that there was no conservative/Christian person on the ballot.  There was not even a Republican.  What I mean is, Trump is a Democrat and Hillary is a Communist/Socialist/Witch, so really, I had no one to vote for.  Any vote I would cast would really be about voting against the other candidate rather than voting for my choice.

In the end I decided I could vote for Pence, since I had wanted him on the ballot years ago when he had ran and failed to get the nomination.  The Republican party has never been any good at nominating any good candidates.

I couldn't help but see in my mind's eye all of the democratic media personalities rolling on the floor laughing about the absurdity of the Christian Right propping up the likes of Trump.  If Trump had been the Democratic nominee, and Pence the Republican nominee, every single conservative talking head and Christian pastor would be ripping Trump apart and contrasting his evils and evil ways to that of the conservative Christian family man, Pence.  Instead of voices in concert praising Trump, we'd hear of the woes of a Trump presidency.  It's all quite ironic when put in these terms.

But that wasn't what was really bugging me.  What I really felt grieved about in my spirit was the fact that for a while, the Pastors and Christian commentators/teachers really left off of warning the body of Christ of the coming judgment and put all their corporate efforts into warning of the woes of a Clinton presidency.

Now, do not misunderstand me.  I am glad that people desired to warn people off of Hillary Clinton (not that anyone in their right mind needed to be alerted to all that she is about); I did some warning of my own.  What vexed and still vexes me is that it almost seemed that all the pastors became ad hoc Trump-stumpers to the neglect of warning the church body of the judgment to come.  Voting was suddenly just as important (if not even more important) as praying and seeking God's face and reading His Word.  It's like the shepherds were telling the flock that if they just banned together in droves and got Trump into the White House, all would be well with their country and their souls. 

Even now the voices of the church leaders seem to be resounding with cries of victory at Trump's win, as if it is somehow God's perfect will that we be led by this man.  All will be well now, do not fear, Trump will protect you from the evil left, from the heavy burden of taxation, from the loss of freedoms, from the scarcity of jobs, from the possibility of persecution.  I don't know.  This all does not sit well.  I see a lot of people in for a bad surprise when more of the same ensues, when world governance continues to gain power, when economies of the world still implode and wars still break out.  Our beloved country is ripe for winnowing, God's people have not turned from their wicked ways yet.  If they had, we'd be in the midst of a revival and the entertainment industry would be going broke!

I watched TCT yesterday and saw several personalities claiming that Trump has said the sinner's prayer, and that he is filled with the Holy Ghost.  Several people all basically said that the way to stay off God's judgment for our sins is to elect Trump.  As if casting a vote is remotely equivalent to getting on your face, weeping before the Lord and asking forgiveness.  As I said, something about this is not right, and I am afraid for what is coming upon the followers of Jesus here.  I am sad that men of God find it preferable to tout a political candidate as our salvation rather than making Jesus the focus of all things.  I understand that we can/should talk about political things; I just believe that the emphasis needs to be on Godly repentance and faithful following of our Lord Jesus, not on the hope of a physical salvation and a temporal solution.

When Jesus came the first time to this world, He came as the salvation of our souls.  He was rejected by most of His own, in part, because He did not come to bring earthly salvation (a political kingdom).  God's kingdom is coming soon, but it is not coming through any man other than Jesus Christ Himself, and that at His second coming, after the great tribulation and the rise of the anti-Christ and false prophet, after we have the collapse of the world economy at the 3rd Seal of Revelation, after all of the prophecies have been fulfilled and the 7th trumpet sounds.  I for one am not looking for a false hope of restoration, rebuilding, recuperation, or reparation, at least not at the hands of a man. 

I just hope that all of this hype and hope does not lead people into complacency, believing that they've done their part simply by voting for Trump instead of Clinton.  God commands us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength.  He is our Great Redeemer, our Refuge, our Rock, our Fortress, our Deliverer in whom we do trust.  He does not bring victory for His children through alliances with Egypt (i.e., with carnal forces).  The victories experienced by the ancient Israelites came through God's mighty right hand of power, so that He alone was magnified in their eyes and worshiped for bringing salvation.  Since God is the same yesterday, today and forever, I can assume that His ways have not changed.  When He brings salvation in these last days (and I mean when we experience physical salvation from enemies if/when He wills to do so) He will do it in such a way that He alone can be praised and glorified; in an impossible way, such as in the days of Gideon. 

I do pray that by some miracle, Donald Trump and Mike Pence will be Godly leaders.  But, I pray even more urgently and fervently that God's children will wake up from their slumber and fill their lamps with oil and keep the night watch.  For the great day of our God approaches, and blessed are those who are watching and waiting, keeping the words of His testimony, standing firm in their faith when Jesus returns.  Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Our School Motto

Here's a little poem I wrote yesterday about educating our children...at least from my point of view.

We're not making scholars,
We're molding Godly men.
We're not producing athletes,
We're preparing them to win.
We're not turning out more masters,
We're training them to serve.
We're not just imparting knowledge,
We're empowering them to learn.
I know it might sound like I'm ripping on athletes or masters or scholars, and maybe I do wish to demean those titles a little, if only to esteem some of the lesser lauded stations in life.  Sometimes I feel the focus is on all the wrong things when it comes to educating and equipping our children for adulthood, so I'm sending out my insignificant thoughts into the vague and unknown realm of this blog.  I do so love the irony of the situation here ;)
In school, in high-school particularly, it's the athlete, the prom king/queen, the lead in the school play, or the star intellectual student who gets all the notice.  Why is it that just being a nice person, being caring, helpful, conscientious, hardworking and eager to learn, aren't given loads of attention and praise (or any at all)?  I'll tell you why--it's because the 'grown ups' have decided that's how it's going to be.  Our entire society loves the 'hero' and the 'star.'  The average Joe (or Jane) who just does his/her best and is a decent person, gets no kudos for doing their part to make our society or our economy function.  It's the exact opposite of how it should be; and I assert that it is very detrimental to our children and to humanity as  whole.
Just as the 'Cinderella/princess/fairy tale' lie has never done any girl a favor in the real world, so the 'superstar athlete'/CEO dream disservices every little boy.
All through school our kids are lied to and told that they can achieve anything they work toward and that they can realize all their dreams if they just dream big enough.  What  a load of crap.  Talk about setting kids up for failure and future bouts of depression.  Life is hard.  It is a supreme amount of work, and most people never reach the goals they've set for themselves.  Only a very few ever become the 'American Idol,' or MVP of the game, or actor, model, writer, newscaster, CEO or even a manager of a company.  We tell them they can attain to any/all of these highly esteemed positions, and that is just not plausible.  Not everyone will be 'someone' in the eyes of this crazy world.  There aren't that many movie studios and publishing houses clamoring for new talent--it's just not going to happen. 
You might be a very talented writer, a poet, a songwriter, a speaker.  None of that means you will have a very good chance at a career where you are actually using those skills and making money off of creating/producing your own work.  You've a better chance at being someone's secretary/assistant than being any of those things.
You might love music or sports or art.  That's wonderful!  Most of us do love at least one of those things.  But the sad truth is that there is no great shortage of musicians, ball players or painters.  Many of us have these abilities; many are very, very good at these things.   It is just that the top tier does not have room for masses and masses of individuals to fill those spaces.  There is but one rung at the top of the ladder, one capstone atop the pyramid.  Your chances are slim to none--and yes, I get to be the ONE person who will tell you this.
Now, I am realistic.  I know that most people know their chances are slim, and I'd never, ever blame someone for trying to reach for the stars, their goals, their dreams.  In fact, if you don't try, you may live with more regret than ever; so I don't recommend that.  I just wish that schools weren't ruining kids by filling their heads full of marshmallow dreams and fools fables.
I merely survey the world around me, and I can tell you, that the evidence is overwhelming to prove my point.  How many people do you know who went to school for such and such a degree, and they are pushing paper somewhere doing completely unrelated work.  Maybe you went to seminary and are working for a construction company, or an auto producer, or not working at all.  I know more people who are not using their degrees than those who are.  Life throws us curve balls, sometimes one right after the other, and sometimes we just make different choices (family over work).  But the one thing life does not throw us is a leg up the ladder.  Most of us are slummin' it here down at the bottom of the pile, holding everybody else up.
And I contend, what is so wrong with that (being a nobody)??  Why are we so celebrity obsessed anyway?  It's insanity.  I mean, someone can tell me, 'hey, so and so published a book' or 'bought a restaurant franchise' and immediately that person's stock goes up in my mind.  Why?  Why would I esteem someone just because they had some random success which none of the rest of us seem to be afforded by God or time or chance.
I tell you, I'm wired just the same as the rest of you are.  We, with our fallen nature, are prone to worship those who attain to fame and fortune.  It's just silliness and it is something that, I would assert, we need to re-train our brains on.  I would like to see people not being 'respecters of persons' as Jesus puts it.  We are all of the same value, whether servant or master, teacher or student, athlete or trainer, famous or unknown.  The people cooking the meals are certainly every bit as important as those doing the eating.  The one who cleans the hotel room is even more necessary than the hotel manager or the CEO of the chain.  Those of us on the bottom, doing servile work, are THE most indispensable elements of society; and incongruously, we are the very least esteemed, the most underpaid, and devalued members of society. 
I feel very certain--scratch that, I am completely certain, that this will never change.  In 5777 years of human history it has always been the same, so any real turnaround would be impossible.  But, it would be nice, wonderful-in fact, if all of us nobodies just stopped worshiping the somebodies of this world.  What if we stopped chatting about the who's who's of this world and just started esteeming one another instead.  What if we stopped empowering all the lords and masters and started really glorifying Jesus.  

It is true that in the kingdom of Heaven, the first shall be last and the last shall be first; the one who would be the greatest must seek to be the lowest servant of all.  So go ahead, rebel against the status quo of this fallen world and embrace your lowly place, and know that if you are doing all that you do to bring glory to Jesus and to help your fellow brethren and sisters, you are a bright and shining star indeed!

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Spring 'Fever' and a Garden Poem

I have spring fever!!

I would love to just scrap every plan I have and head outdoors to tend my flower beds and plant my veggies.  For now, I must wait until the frost is surely passed and content myself to plant, replant and transplant starters in my very sunny basement. 

Whilst dreaming of my garden, this poem came to me...

Plant me in a garden-
That's where I long to be.
It doesn't matter what the task-
Even pulling weeds!
I love to see the flowers bloom
And plants put out new shoots.
And what a joy-when little seeds
Put down their tiny roots!