Christ is the true Israel

In my last post I said that all believers are Israel.
It would be better and more accurate to say that Christ is the true Israel.

1. The servant songs of Isaiah (41:8-9; 44:1-2,21; 45:4; 49:3) have a double referent. On one hand, they refer to the people of Israel. On another level they refer to an individual. The New Testament authors interpret this as referring to Christ (Mt 8:17 and Acts 8:30-35)
2. Matthew sees Jesus as Israel in many of his statements of fulfilled prophesies in Christ. Hosea 11:1, "Out of Egypt I called my son" is one such double referent.
3. Paul calls Jesus Christ as Abraham's seed, not physical Israel. (Gal 3:16)
4. Gal 3:7 and Romans 4:11,16 identify the church as Abraham's offspring. See also Gal 3:26-29, Rom 2:28-29, Phil 3:3.
5. The Old Covenant is obsolete (Hebrews 8:8-12) and is not applicable and will not be reinstated in a future millennial period ("obsolete" means "obsolete"). Also, the reference in this passage to the new covenant being with "Israel" means that the author is identifying the church as Israel.
6. The Old Testament authors didn't understand their prophecies. 1 Peter 1:12 says that they looked into these things. Until Christ came and fulfilled his mission, the prophecies of the OT were unclear. We must use the NT to interpret the OT.

How many "Israels" are there?

March 7, 2007, John MacArthur gave a speech at the Shepherd's Conference at Grace Community Church. It was entitled "Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist is a Premillennialist"

As a thoughtful amillennialist, Kim Riddlebarger gave a response to the speech. I have a few general notes to throw into the fray.

MacArthur said "There are over 2,000 references to Israel in Scripture, not one of them means anything but Israel. Not one of them, including Romans 9:6 and Galatians 6:16 which is the only two passages that amillennialists go to trying to convince us that that cancels out the other 2,000. There is no difficulty in interpreting those as simply meaning Jews who were believers..."

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Several years ago I was listening to a Dispensational Premillennial radio program in which two pastors were stating the same thing: "there is only one Israel."

I called into the show and read Romans 9:6 to them. Note that this is the same passage MacArthur says "we" run to as a proof text.

It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel."

My question was "if the word Israel is used twice in a sentence, with a negation between them, there must be two Israels, right?"

I don't recall that the pastors ever addressed my challenge/question.
A few of the people that called into the show after me said that they'd pray for me :-)

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Back to MacArthur's claims:
If Romans 9:6 "simply means Jews who were believers" then the verse would read "not all Jews who are believers are Jews who are believers."

Of course this is silly. John must not be meaning that "Jews who are believers" is to be substituted on both sides of the equation.

Paul begins chapter 9 with a concern that many of his fellow Jews are not being saved. In verse 4 he sates that "There's is the adoption as sons ... the covenants" and YET they aren't saved. How can that be, if God keeps his promises? (verse 6a asks) It's because "not all of the physical descendants of Abraham/Isaac/Jacob (Israel) are of (spiritual) Israel."

In John 10:16 Jesus says "I have sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. ... and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."

We believing gentiles are being made part of the "one flock" with believing Jews that Jesus spoke of.

In Ephesians chapter 2:11-20, Paul states the same thing:
11 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles
by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves
"the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)--
12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded
from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the
promise, without hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought
near through the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has
destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,
15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and
regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out
of the two, thus making peace,
16 and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the
cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to
those who were near.
18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow
citizens with God's people and members of God's household,
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ
Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

"We amillennialists" don't have to run to just one or two texts. We don't have to read into the text the meaning we want. We see the text plainly stating that we have been brought near (elsewhere "grafted in") and are no longer foreigners and aliens.

ALL BELIEVERS ARE ISRAELITES

The logical conclusion of Darwinism is a-morality

The following quotations are directly from “Darwinism: Survival without Purpose” from found in the November 2007 issue of Acts & Facts, written by Jerry Bergman, Ph.D. (Bold added to highlight the a-moral nature of Evolution)


Humans have always wondered about the meaning of life...life has no higher purpose than to perpetuate the survival of DNA...life has no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference. Richard Dawkins
Scheff, Liam. 2007. The Dawkins Delusion. Salvo, 2:94.


Darwin "was keenly aware that admitting any purposefulness whatsoever to the question of the origin of species would put his theory of natural selection on a very slippery slope."
Turner, J. Scott. 2007. The Tinkerer's Accomplice: How Design Emerges from Life Itself. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 206.


The ultimate purposelessness of evolution, and thus of the life that it produces, was eloquently expressed by Professor Lawrence Krauss as follows: "We're just a bit of pollution…. If you got rid of us…the universe would be largely the same. We're completely irrelevant."
Panek, Richard. 2007. Out There. New York Times Magazine, 56.


"undirected, purposeless variation to the blind, uncaring process of natural selection, Darwin made theological or spiritual explanations of the life processes superfluous."
Futuyma, Douglas J. 1998. Evolutionary Biology. Third Edition, Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, 5.


John Alcock, an evolutionary biologist, therefore concluded that "we exist solely to propagate the genes within us."
Alcock, John. 1998. Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, 16, 609.


The pleasant outward face of nature was precisely that--only an outward face. Underneath was perpetual struggle, species against species, individual against individual. Life was ruled by death...destruction was the key to reproductive success. All the theological meaning was thus stripped out by Darwin and replaced by the concept of competition. All the telos, the purpose, on which natural theologians based their ideas of perfect adaptation was redirected into Malthusian--Darwinian--struggle.
Browne, Janet. 1995. Charles Darwin: Voyaging, A Biography. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 542.


Neo-Darwinist Richard Dawkins recognized the purposelessness of such a system:
In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.
Dawkins, Richard. 1995. River Out of Eden. New York: Basic Books, 133.

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Some of the above quotes/Evolutionists say that we only exist to pass on our genes ("selfish genes"). Speaking from within their system, that is totally wrong!

Evoltuion has NO PURPOSE. Things, animals and people exist, but they have no purpose.

If they pass on their genes, they have offspring. That could be a measure of success. However, perhaps some humans would measure success as "having climed the most mountains."

The Evolutionary system has been built on a tautology of "Survival of the Fittest." And they deem "survival" as good. But they have no philosophical basis for this belief. It is presupposed.


Another conclusion of their "Survival of the Fittest" has lead some to conclude that rape is just another method of ensuring the passing on of genes. Refer to Randy Thornhill and Craig Palmer. A Natural History of Rape (Cambridge, Mass., MIT Press, 1999).

"Move over Archaeopteryx"

I wonder how special we'd feel the Archaeopteryx is if we could see a South American Hoatzin up-close.



It is a beautiful, striking, bird. They have claws on their wings, allowing them to climb trees just like a monkey and helping them ward off enemies.

The Hoatzin become expert swimmers before they can fly. If a predator approaches, they can fall to the swamp below their nest and swim back to shore and climb back up to the nest.

Another unique trait is that they are the only bird known to digest their food like a cow. They have two stomachs and they ferment their food.

Lastly, molecular biologists say that it is a relative to the cuckoo. Huh, and I thought it was a dinosaur!

What's on your brain?

While the brain weighs only three pounds, it can do the work of 1,000 super-computers. It doesn't need to be connected to a power source and it doesn't overheat because it is able to make its own electricity and it operates on only microvolts of power. If you brain's 10 trillion cells were placed end-to-end, they would stretch for over 100,000 miles. Your brain has the capacity to store every word of every book on a bookshelf 500 miles long.

In order for the human brain to have evolved from a simpler brain in the time that evolutionists claim it has, the brain would have had to evolve millions of new cells every year for millions of years. A.R. Wallace, co-discoverer with Charles Darwin of Natural selection, once noted that there is a huge gulf between the human brain and that of the ape. Darwin recognized what Wallace's argument did to their theory and responded, "I hope you have not murdered completely you own and my child."

Ref: DeYoung, Don, and Richard Bliss, 1990,

Thinking about the brain, ICR Impact, Feb P.1

The darkness the engulfed the world at the time of the crucifixion was recorded by Apollophanes. He was a fellow student with Dionysius at Heliopolis and reported that, upon the occurrence of the unexpected (miraculous) solar eclipse Dionysius exclaimed "Either the God of nature is suffering, or the fabric of the world is breaking up."

History of the Christian Church by Philip Schaff, David Schley Schaff, page 600

Scientific Red Faces

Some years ago scientists discovered human bones in California buried under thick layers of mud. Scientific authorities studied the bones and dated them at about 75,000 years old. Digging deeper, scientist discovered an old United States Army button! Was the U.S. Army around 75,000 years ago, or was the dating method unreliable? More recently an archaeological team from a Japanese university discovered drawings on a cave wall on a Japanese island. This important discovery was dated at 10,000 to 13,000 years old. When one of the local residents of the island heard about the discovery, he stepped forward to confess that as a boy he often drew on the walls of the cave with charcoal.

From an ICR (Institute for Creation Research) article, they quoted from
Jackson, Wayne 1990, Scientific red faces, Reasoning from Revelation, v. II, n. 1, Jan p.3

I trust ICR, but if anyone reads this and shows that one of these is an urban legend, I will quickly remove it from this post.

Jesus did not have a physical defect

Some people claim that Jesus had a physical defect. This opinion is based on Isaiah 53

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

BUT, this is regarding Jesus as the Suffering Servant. This is talking about his death and atonement.

As our High Priest, Jesus would have met the Law when it states "None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish may approach to offer the bread of his God. For no one who has a blemish shall draw near, a man blind or lame, or one who has a mutilated face or a limb too long." (Leviticus 21:17-18)

The VISUAL holiness of the High Priest symbolized the spiritual holiness required of us. Jesus was without outward (physical) blemish or inward (spiritual) blemish.

Loving our neighbor Leviticus 19:15, 18

Oh, that our court system, our taxation system, and our daily lives could follow this:
"You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor." (Lev 19:15)


"you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD." (Lev 19:18b)

Salvation by ...

In the institution of the Levitical Law, its easy to see why a non-faithful person could read it as "salvation by works"

God said "You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD." (Leviticus 18:5)

But King David helps to see behind the law: "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." (Psalm 51:16-17)

"but the righteous shall live by his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4b)

The obedience of the law SHOULD stem from the broken and contrite heart. IF the broken spirit is the source of the obedience, then the person is righteous.

"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:20-22)

"[that I may gain Christ] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith" (Philippians 3:9)

The blood of Christ

I was part of a prayer ministry with some wonderful people. Several people "claimed the blood" over several prayer concerns. That "claiming" sounded to me like an incantation - as if the blood had special properties that could be called on.

"Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (Hebrews 9:22)

In the establishment of the Day of Atonement, God explains the importance of blood: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life." (Leviticus 17:11))

If Jesus had just pricked his finger, THAT would not have atoned for my sins.
Jesus had to give his life.

The Day of Atonement

I'm a bit behind in my reading through the Bible this year.
I'm in Deuteronomy and reviewing some thoughts from Leviticus.

There is a progression in "atonement” enactments:

1. one animal for one person - Adam and Eve in the Garden
2. one lamb for one family - the Passover lamb
3. one sacrifice for the nation - “the day of atonement”
4. one sacrifice for the entire world - Jesus Christ - "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)
   

The first three are "enactments" because true atonement is SOLELY based upon the work of Christ. The prior three point forward to Jesus' crucifixion.

On the Day of Atonement, two male goats are presented as offerings.

1. One is sacrificed as a sin offering, pointing to Christ's death paying the penalty for our sins.
2. The second goat is called the scapegoat. The High Priest would lay his hand on the goat, to symbolize our sins being transferred, and the goat was led into the wilderness. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalm 103:12)

You might be a DISPENSATIONALIST if...

You might be a DISPENSATIONALIST if...

1. You think other Christians are anti-Semitic
2. You’ve never read Hebrews
3. You can justify being 2000 years late for an appointment
4. You’re really bad at math
5. When the going gets rough, you’re nowhere to be found
6. You sleep nude so your post-rapture bed is tidy
7. You were born after 1830
8. You use your newspaper for morning devotions
9. You’d rather have been outside Noah’s ark
10. You don't think Satan really noticed the cross
11. You prefer the shadows
12. Always always means always except sometimes
13. You went to Dallas Theological Seminary
14. You prefer the shadows
15. Always always means always except sometimes
16. You went to Dallas Theological Seminary
17. Bad news excites you
18. You feel Scofield's notes were inspired
19. You’ll only be a 2nd class citizen of paradise
20. You think THIS means THAT
21. You think NEAR means FAR
22. You thought about naming your kid Darby
23. You decided it’s too late to have kids
24. You believe the Day of Pentecost refers to the birthday of Dwight Pentecost
25. Your Pastoral Search committee only looks at candidates from DTS (Dallas Theological Seminary)
26. You consider your children to be an "intercalation" in your marriage
27. When people tell you Lewis is their favorite Christian author, you think of "Lewis Sperry Chaffer," not "C.S. Lewis"
28. No matter how many member states the EU adds, you "know" it's the revived Roman Empire with 10 heads
29. You own the entire "Left Behind" series
30. You get your news from Jack Van Impe
31. You’re offended by this list
32. When someone asks for your opinion on Bible versions and you think of
    The John MacArthur Study Bible
    The Ryrie Study Bible
    The Scofield Study Bible
    and not
    The ESV - English Standard Version
    The NIV - New International Version
    The KJV - King James Version
    

Christian Rap

Love their humor.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NGx2sGM1aw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xay8Zq_eutc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eP82CRoQnSU



their tour web site is http://reachrecords.com/dwyl/

Atonement

In Leviticus chapter 9, Aaron offers a sin offering, a burnt offering (verse 3), a peace offering and a grain offering (verse 4) to the Lord. The rites had been given to Moses and Aaron and they followed the prescription. The culmination of the service is in verses 23 and 24:

Moses and Aaron then went into the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. Fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar. And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

Chapter 10 begins with the account of Nadab and Abihu (Aaron's sons) offering unauthorized fire before the Lord:

Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: "'Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.'" Aaron remained silent.

The animals died because of the people's sin (ch 9). God's glory shown and fire consumed the animals. Then Nadab and Abihu die for their sin and fire consumed them (ch 10).

Do you WANT a substitute for your sins?
Or do you want to approach the Lord "as you please" but without a substitute?

God offers the substitute of Jesus Christ.
Why, oh why, would you profane Christ and not cling to him as your hope?

I heard it said that
"Hell is eternity in the presence of God"
"Heaven is eternity in the presence of God with a mediator "(Jesus)

Restitution, plus

Leviticus 6:1-5 says:

The LORD said to Moses: "If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the LORD by deceiving his neighbor about something entrusted to him or left in his care or stolen, or if he cheats him, or if he finds lost property and lies about it, or if he swears falsely, or if he commits any such sin that people may do-- when he thus sins and becomes guilty, he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion, or what was entrusted to him, or the lost property he found, or whatever it was he swore falsely about. He must make restitution in full, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the owner on the day he presents his guilt offering.

The guilty person must not only return what was stolen, they must pay an additional 20%. That is restitution plus 20%. America's penal system does not have a sense of restitution, yet alone a 20% penalty.

(I wonder if our growth of government, government entitlements, and growth in taxes are a result of this lack of concern for personal property.)

Telling the truth

Years ago, I was in a church's annual business meeting where the chairman said a falsehood. It was probably unintentional. There had been a general meeting several days prior to the annual meeting where the errant statement was made by someone else and I corrected it.

Here, at the annual meeting, no one corrected the chairman. I waited a while and then asked to be recognized - and then corrected him.

Leviticus 5:1 says 'If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible.'

The burden is on believers to be TRUTH TELLERS.

East of Eden

I've never read the book "East of Eden." Perhaps I'll look it up, now that I see "East of Eden" (and just plain "East") as a recurrent theme in the Bible.

Gen 3:24 - After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Gen 4:16 - So Cain went out from the Lord's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

Abraham was the first person mentioned in the Bible to travel west

Gen 13:11a - So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company

The following two are about the construction and layout of the tabernacle:


Ex 36:27 -They made six frames for the far end, that is, the west end of the tabernacle,
The front of the tabernacle was to the East. The priests walked from east to west to approach the Lord.

Lev 1:16 - He is to remove the crop with its contents and throw it to the east side of the altar, where the ashes are.
The discard was cast out to the east.

The Prodigal Son

In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells the parable of the prodigal son. It begins:

Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living."

When living in rebellion against the father, he was still living off the riches of the father.
Imagine this rebellious son throwing a party - someone asks him "where did you get such fine wine?" - would he have said "I bought it with my father's wealth."?

When we have lived in rebellion against God, we were still his beneficiaries.
Even now, after my redemption, it is so easy to see the "wealth" I have as mine and not as His provision!

Economic Rules from a century ago

1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
3. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
4. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by increasing class hatred.
5. You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.
6. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
7. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
8. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
9. You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
10. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they will not do for themselves

Rev. William J. H. Boetcke, 1916

The Journal, December 2008, by Summit Ministries

Thomas Jefferson - a "supply sider"

Thomas Jefferson argued that "a wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.

The Journal, December 2008, by Summit Ministries

The December issue of The Journal discusses a financial disaster in the 1830 similar to the one we've experienced recently. Easy credit led to land speculation. Prior to 1832, land sales on the frontier were running about $2.5 million per year. By 1836, annual land sales totaled $25 million.

In our recent debacle, it is estimated that 1/4 of all homes sales were speculative sales. Once housing prices stopped rising, and interest rates began to rise, foreclosures increased.

At Christ's coming (1 Th 4:v16) the trumpet will sound and the rapture will occur. As verses 16 and 17 say, "the dead in Christ will rise first" and then "we will be caught up together with them."

When a Roman army would return from victory, they would camp outside Rome and wait for the town to prepare for a triumphal entry. When the town was ready, the residents would go out to meet them and parade with them into town.

"We will be with the Lord forever." (v 17) We will be with Christ as he "rules with a rod of iron" and defeats his foes. As Christ approaches, (5:3) destruction will reign down on his adversaries.

This matches with the the passage from 1 Th. we looked at. Verse 9 is often used by Dispensationalists to argue for a pre-trib rapture since 'we aren't appointed to wrath' and the 7 year tribulation is full of wrath. However, if you read the full text for the context, it is clearly that "we aren't going to hell" "we're going to be with the Lord" Which means that the destruction which rains down on the unbelievers will not be on "us" (if we're alive at His coming).

Christ's return

Claim:
Every clear teaching regarding Christ's return shows that Jesus' return is the culmination of all things. There is no secret rapture and no millennial kingdom.

The three clear texts teaching about Christ's return are:
1 Thessalonians 4:16 - 5:3
2Thessalonians 2:7-8
2 Peter 3:10

1 Th. 4:16-5:3
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words. 5:1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.


2 Th 2:7-8
7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

Jesus return ONCE
It is called "the day of the Lord"
That day will come as a surprise to unbelievers "like a thief"
And destruction will come upon Christ's enemies.

This sequence coincides with the return of Christ in Revelation 20:7-9
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

May I recommend some John Piper videos?

Do you love Jesus Christ more than football?
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=lPBCGMBmDHE

Let's not waste our lives
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=DKNFbZa9cH4

What Christians need to remember about politics (especially the last 1/2)
http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=YGjGbZNyIBY

I am not surprised that Obama has won.
Unfortunately, he is ultra liberal

It would be depressing but my life is not wrapped up in the the country - rather it is wrapped up in the Lord.

A general question I have for any evangelical that voted for Obama is "is abortion wrong?"

Page 15 of the national Democratic platform endorses "reproductive health care" - - they consistently fight for any form of abortion and partial birth abortion and Obama voted against the giving of aid to children born alive after a failed abortion attempt.

The MN Family Council states that 39 abortions are performed in MN each day.
If that is carried out in each state, we have a 9/11 happening every day across America


Another question for an evangelical that tends to vote Democratic is "have you at LEAST gone to the caucus and submitted a resolution against those stances?"
"why not?"
These are clear-cut platform stances which need to change.

NEA - The National Education Assoc

the journal of Summit Ministries reported (October 2008):

[Delegates of the NEA met at their annual convention in July this year. they] sported buttons with provocative slogans such as "Gay marriage causes Global Warming only because we are so hot!:, "Hate is not a family value," " The 'Christian Right' is neither," and "Gay Rights are civil rights."

[They passed non-education related resolutions] such as supporting stat-hood for the District of Columbia, a 'single-payer heath care plan' (i.e., government-run), gun control, ratification of the International Criminal Court Treaty, and taking steps "to change activities that contribute to global climate change."

their source: Phyllis Schlafly, Human Events, July 28, 2008, pg. 10

When will these "teachers" teach?

Global Warming

The October 2008 issue of the journal (by Summit Ministries) states:

British archives contain more than 100,000 Royal Navy logbooks from around 1670 to 1850 ... They are a stunning resource.

The UK Met Office ... scoured more than 6,000 Royal Navy logs dating from the 1600s. 'Ships' officers recorded air pressure, wind strength, air and sea temperatures and other weather conditions. From these records, scientists can build a detailed picture of past weather and climate ... the findings show ... we went through a similar period of global warming in the 1730s that could not have been man-made.

the journal cites newstrackindia.com, August 4, 2008

Michael Ruse - Evolution is a Religion

Michael Ruse, in Saving Darwinism from the Darwinians, National Post, May 13, 2000, B-3, Ruse said:

"Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion - a full-fledged alternative to Christianity, with meaning and morality. I am an ardent evolutionist and an ex-Christian, but I must admit that in this one complaint ... the literalists are absolutely right. Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today."


Every worldview needs to explain how we got here.
Secular humanists need a creation story and they have developed Neo Darwinian Evolution to explain how we got here.

Global Warming

On 10/12, I reported on Dr. Larry Vardiman's article regarding climate change in the October issue of Acts & Facts.

His second article, in the November Acts & Facts at http://www.icr.org/article/4156/

There is a 0.92 correlation between cosmic ray strength / volume and cloud cover. fro (1983 to 2005) This correlation has been traced back to about 1600 AD.

"A potential change in cloud cover of 3-4 percent caused by changes in cosmic ray flux is sufficient to explain global temperature changes of several degrees due to the change in the reflectivity of clouds."

A significant amount of global warming is caused by the sun. Perhaps we should reduce its "carbon footprint"!

Superfaults

A year-long world-wide flood would significantly change the Earth's contours. Also, in the years immediately following the flood, there can be a lot of movement of the Earth as it regains equilibrium.

As reported in the Nov, 2008 Acts & Facts:
"The Heart Mountain detachment fault in northwestern Wyoming near Yellowstone National Park is the largest continental rockslide known on earth. this mass of rock, more than 400 square miles in area and over 1,000 feet thick, moved rapidly down a slope of less than 2 degrees at an estimated speed of 50 miles per hour."

The article discusses a possible way the immense friction of this rock formation could be reduced to allow the movement. You can read the article at http://www.icr.org/article/4154/

This is not an appeal to the "God of the gaps."
Rather, it is a phenomena more easily explained within the context of a major earth-wide catrastophe which saw the earth's tectonic plates move vast distances and had long-range effects, such as the movement of the Heart Mountain detachment fault.