Frames of Reference - Prophecy

The Future of the United States

yeager — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:03:32 +0000

Periodically you’ll find surveys which attempt to determine just how many people follow each religion in the United States, guessing about trends. A recent survey appeared in Newsweek, with some interesting results:

According to the American Religious Identification Survey that got Mohler’s attention, the percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 percentage points since 1990, from 86 to 76 percent. The Jewish population is 1.2 percent; the Muslim, 0.6 percent … Meanwhile, the number of people willing to describe themselves as atheist or agnostic has increased about fourfold from 1990 to 2009, from 1 million to about 3.6 million. (That is about double the number of, say, Episcopalians in the United States.) Newsweek

So “Christians” have fallen 10 percentage points in 15 years, according to this survey. Is the United States destined to become as Europe, where God takes a back seat to secular humanism, churches maintained only as relics of the past?

Many in this country and its government have openly stated the desire to become more “Europe-like” — is this the future for America? Or can the plunge toward the depths of Sodom and Gomorrah be stopped? Some place the blame on government itself, yet it’s important to remember we have elected representatives. If the nation slouches toward Gomorrah, it’s because the people tolerate it. If the nation be Godly, it’s because the people demand it.

The problem isn’t in Washington (it’s only a reflection of the disease); the real problem lies with the church which sits idly by as the country abandons Godly principles, descending into moral relativity and “everyone does what is right in their own eyes” — as Bill Ritchie said “Without God, anything is possible”.

Yet if the survey is correct, three-quarters of the country remains Christian. Imagine what would happen if each demanded action?

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

The problem isn’t the government or the President, it’s the church, we’ve allowed it to happen. Government follows society — if it abandons God, it’s because the people allow it, and if it be Godly, it’s because the people demand it.

Where to begin to halt the slide away from God? First off, the solution won’t be found in either of the political parties as each travels down the same road — it doesn’t matter if you’re on the left side of the road or the right side of the road as the destination remains the same. It won’t be found in PAC’s or waving signs. It’s a spiritual battle, and must be fought in the spiritual realm.

Study your Bible! Once or twice a week during church won’t get the job done.
Study the Armor of God — you’ve got to understand and properly use the tools God’s given you. Start with our article on the armor of God and then move on to further study. We’re starting a series in our newsletter on the armor of God — what it is, how you get it, and most importantly, how you use it.
Get involved! Too many shun politics, yes it’s a dirty business, but if you’re not involved, you yield your influence to others. Make your opinion known, and support those candidates and positions espousing Biblical principles, and shun those failing to support Biblical principles. If 70% of the country followed that idea, the nation would turn around. This isn’t a plea for one political party over another, but a principle all Christians can agree on — support candidates (not just single political parties) holding Biblical principles.

Is it too late to halt the slide? No — Nineveh was 40 days from destruction, and turned it around. It’s not too late, and God does perform miracles. The problems in the United States aren’t financial, or military, or even moral — they’re spiritual, and need to be addressed spiritually.

If government abandons God, it’s because the people allow it, and if it be Godly, it’s because the people demand it.

The Beginnings of the Financial Crisis

yeager — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:50:59 +0000

With all the talk of economic depression, stimulus, sub-prime mortgages — and of course all the political grandstanding, finger pointing, and attempts to use the situation to further political agendas, most people have a simple question:

How did the country get in this mess?

A good question, and one the media doesn’t cover much so we’ll try and put the pieces together. But be warned while it’s not hard to understand, it does take several pieces appearing unrelated until put together. So stay with us, it’s going to be a wild ride, and plenty of blame exists to go around — neither political party has clean hands.

The Beginning - Community Reinvestment Act

In 1977 under the Carter Administration, the Community Reinvestment Act passed congress and became law. While it contained good intentions, it lays the foundation for the current disaster. Certainly not by itself, but as you’ll see, combined with reasonably foreseeable events, anyone studying the law could understand how we arrived in this position (it is not, as many politicians claim, completely unforeseeable and a shocking revelation).

Basically, the CRA mandates banks loan money by the needs of the community — it’s essentially a quota act designed to enable “easy credit” for people who otherwise would not qualify for loans. From 1977 until about 1989, the act by itself did little damage (as long as the housing market climbs, anyone losing their home owes less than the mortgage, but we’re ahead of ourselves), but under President Bush and Clinton, changes to the CRA set the stage for certain doom, guaranteeing failure when combined with other factors.

ACORN and the 1990’s

From 1977 until the 1990’s, the CRA didn’t cause too much damage — as long as the market climbs and not too many sub-prime loans were available.

However, in the 90’s and early 2000’s groups like ACORN discovered the law could be used to force banks to make more sub-prime loans, for example NINJA loans (NO income, NO job, NO assets). In short, loans were made simply by signing for them — those making the loans knew the loans could not be repaid, and the groups lobbying for more sub-prime loans also knew those loans could not be repaid. Why do such a thing? Two reasons:

Community organizers and other groups (Congress) forced banks to make sub-prime loans for political and social reasons.
Greed of the banks.

How can greed of the banks factor in? How can they profit from loans they knew were bad? That’s the next key of the puzzle, coming right after the dot-bomb era.

Stock Market Bubble

During the stock market bubble (dot-bomb), money flowed and everyone was happy. Until the crash, that is. Then (like now), cries for the government to “fix it” arrived from every corner. Never one to miss the opportunity of a crisis, the government lept into action. To stimulate the economy, interest rates became low to encourage investing.

One problem with their “fix” — combine low interest rates with NINJA loans, and what do you get? An exploding housing market! This of course was what government wanted — economic recovery.

And life was good again, as everyone made piles of money, government and community organizers got their housing to people who couldn’t pay the loans, and all was good … until the housing market went down.

But by then (when the adjustable rates begin to change) interest rates became more historically normal and many people couldn’t pay their mortgage anymore. So all those sub-prime mortgages began to fail. And if that’s all that happened, we still wouldn’t be in the mess today. So we’ll diverge a bit, and then you’ll see how the pieces fit together.

Politics

Republicans used to be known as the party of fiscal responsibility, while the Democrats were tax-and-spend — Democrats haven’t changed, but the Republicans sure have. They’re called “neo-cons” by some, and if you’ve been involved in Republican politics you’ll know they’ve thrown Conservatives off the cliff, while asking for donations on the way down.

The two parties now share a common fiscal irresponsibility, and both now believe in massive deficit spending (with no viable means to pay it back). Nobody in Washington believes in fiscal responsibility anymore, and the hugely increasing deficit will at some point have to be paid.

President Obama already announced he’ll run trillion-dollar deficits for his entire administration, and combine that with all the “stimulus” floating around (already by some estimates at over 7 trillion), and in 4 years Obama’s administration could add 10-15 trillion to the deficit.

Leveraging

While all this went on, investment banks used something called “leveraging” to make piles of money, basically meaning borrow money to invest. For example, if you have $1 to invest and you think you’ll make 10%, after one year you’ll make $.10 profit. But if you borrow $9, and promise to return it at 5%, you’ll have $10 to invest, you’ll have $1 gross profit of which you’ll pay $.45 to the person you borrowed from, and you’ll have $.35 more profit!

Sounds great, huh? And it is … as long as your investments pan out. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the risk involved if what you invest in goes down. And it turns out some banks leveraged 40-1, so when the investments went south, so did the banks.

But still, the mess would be contained to the mortgage market, except for one more piece to the puzzle.

Securitization

Banks knew those sub-prime loans were bad, so a brilliant idea appeared — package them together with “good” loans, and sell them to investors, thus spreading the risk. Another great plan … except nobody really knew how good those loans were (in spite of grade “A” ratings). They sold little bags of doggie poo-poo, which worked as long as nobody looked in the bags.

But once they did, they realized all they held was doggie poo-poo.

Additionally, those banks still didn’t want the bad loans around, so the government came up with an idea — sell them to Fannie and Freddie! And those on the government oversight committees thought it was a great idea — banks continue to sub-prime loan, but they won’t complain because they’ll sell the loans to Fannie and Freddie!

And their scheme worked great … right up until Fannie and Freddie collapsed.

But Democrats like sub-prime mortgages (people who by definition can’t pay back the loan), and Republicans enjoyed the banks profit, so nobody in Washington cared and all bought into the scam. More regulation can’t solve the problem, because all the bureaucrats in charge of oversight were well aware of what was going on (either they deliberately lied to the public or they simply lack understanding. Either way they allowed the disaster to unfold right under their nose). Many of those in charge of committees were among the largest recipients of Fannie and Freddie lobbying money — so it’s no wonder they did nothing as they fed at the trough as well, profiting from sub-prime loans.

The Problem in Brief

Combine Securitization, leveraging and sub-prime mortgages, and you’ve got the makings for the perfect economic storm. Banks were now only too happy to sub-prime loan, knowing they would sell the loans to Fannie and Freddie. Fannie and Freddie took the bad paper, securitized it, and sold it to investment banks like Lehman and so on.

Lather-rinse-repeat. Life is good!

In short, Congress (through the CRA and other legislation) mandated and required sub-prime loans, but Congress had the bright idea of passing them off to Fannie and Freddie. Since banks no longer had to keep the loans, they had no incentive to require people to afford the loans. They profited from points and fees, and passed the debt off to Fannine and Freedie. After the stock market bubble, when interest rates went way down, this enabled many people who couldn’t afford mortgages to get them (interest only, negative amortization, NINJA loans, etc). BOOM! Housing bubble born, prices skyrocketed.

But when the economy turned around a bit, interest rates rose to more normal levels. In 2006 and 2007, when those adjustable rate mortgages came due to adjust, many people discovered they could no longer afford their home. But as the overheated market cooled a bit, they found their home wasn’t worth what they paid for it, and began to default on their loans. Fannie/Freddie were left holding bags of doggie poo-poo and collapsed.

But through securitization and leveraging, the toxic mess spread through the banking system — Lehman and so on. Those banks became insolvent and collapsed, as when the bags of securities were opened, everyone found out they held nothing but doggie poo-poo — and the banks collapsed.

So this mess ultimately arose from two issues:

Deficit spending.
Credit expansion.

Both political parties were complicit in this disaster, though Democrats controlling Congress the last few years were the most recent to refuse to reform the system in order to advance their own political agenda, while taking political contributions from the very people their committees should have been overseeing.

The issue contains many more details we’ve left out, if you’re interested the wikipedia article of sub-prime crisis has more information, and lots of links for further study. The economic situation is one area you must investigate for yourself, as the media rarely yields comprehensive information, and politicians won’t ever give the complete story.

Solution

What do the fearless leaders propose to solve this mess? Deficit spending and credit expansion — Washington never learns the lesson from history — many of the proposals have been attempted before, and none worked as you can’t get out of a disaster caused by deficit spending and credit expansion by spending more and expanding credit.

That sounds bad (and it is), but reality is even worse than that. Examine the following graph provided from the St. Louis Fed regarding the Money Supply.

Notice the vertical line at the end? That’s how much money the government has been pumping into the economy in an attempt to reduce the crisis they created. What will be the end of all the spending? Inflation. How do you end that? Raise interest rates. That makes a recession, and then more “Stimulus”, then … lather-rinse-repeat.

Notice each “bubble” is worse than the previous? The housing bubble exceeded the stock market bubble, and so on. The next bubble caused by current government stimulus/bailout will be worse than the housing bubble the country is in now.

The $800 billion spending bill & TARP can’t solve the problem, because it’s more of the same — deficit spending and credit expansion.

The Looming Crisis

Anyone studying even casually knows the money doesn’t exist for any of the so-called “stimulus” (much of which is pork, and not even stimulus), so where are they going to get it? They’ll borrow it, of course (and tax later for it, to be sure). Combine that with the fact we’re using more oil than produced (and Obama and Congress refuse to seek out new sources) and soon the energy crisis will be roaring back. Mix in the tension with Israel and Iran. Stir in Social Security being broke in 2017.

Where does that leave us? In big trouble.

No quick and easy fix exists. The recession caused by years of federal mismanagement — ultimately deficit spending and credit expansion — has now arrived. Yet the new administration desires to fix it be deficit spending and credit expansion?

Don’t make the mistake current events are temporary and life will return to normal again when the crisis ends. It can’t. The massive deficit, coupled with those using the situation for political reasons shall alter the landscape permanently.

Conclusion

So is all hope lost? Are we doomed? Of course not. God is in control.

Don’t be afraid, as God still reigns and His will shall be done — read the back of the book for answers as the end events are already known. How the world goes from point “A” to point “B” isn’t known, but obviously a major shift has begun.

Yet in any crisis, you can make two mistakes:

Failing to prepare.
Trusting in your preparations.

First, being a good steward requires preparation. It’s foolish to put trust in government, even if they could solve the problem; you need to be prepared for events which can be reasonably foreseen (do you have a spare tire in your car?). But second, don’t trust in your preparations, as it’s ultimately the Lord who provides. It’s quite easy to vear off to one side or the other, but as with other areas of your life a balanced approach is required. Yes, you must prepare, but don’t overly trust in your preparations to the exclusion of the Lord.

Read through 2 Kings chapters 6–7 to see one example of how the Lord works in spite of doomsday scenarios. During the siege, Israel has been reduced to cannibalism as their food supply was cut off. Finally, a few lepers decide to venture out side the city, as they’re going to die anyway.

But the Lord drives off the Syrian army ahead of them, and they find supplies and empty tents. Running back to the city, they inform the King, and just as Elisha said previously, by the end of the day food would be abundant again — and it was.

But the point remains, during the siege, if you were in the city, would you have believed Elisha’s prophecy? No matter how dark events appear to be, it’s never a lost cause as you and God are a majority every time.

Be prepared as times change, but don’t trust in your preparations.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord. (Proverbs 21:31 KJV)

The Seventy Weeks of Daniel

yeager — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself; and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:24-27 KJV)

The Famous 70 weeks of Daniel. Even people knowing nothing else of the book have heard of this passage. It’s vital to understand this section before you get to Revelation or you’ll be completely lost; Matthew underscores the importance of the prophecy as it’s specifically called out for understanding.

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand) (Matt 24:15 KJV)

This passage provides the framework to understanding all unfulfilled prophecy. If you follow this, the remainder falls into place, while failure to understand this prophecy causes many problems relating the church and the Jews, the tribulation and the church, and so on.

First note the implicit technology — when you see. We immediately take that for granted, but prior to satellite TV, only a few could see the Holy Place at once, while these events will be broadcast world-wide. It’s only recently (last 30 years or so) where such technology existed for the whole world to watch events unfold live.

A few quick remarks to help avoid lots of bad information, and which should be obvious from even a casual reading (though surprisingly many miss):

It’s about the Jews, not the church. It’s Daniel’s people (the Jews) and their Holy City (Jerusalem).
It hasn’t happened yet. The end of sin, everlasting righteousness, and so on. Some attempt to claim a previous fulfillment, but then we must have missed the end of sin and the beginning of everlasting righteousness.
The 70 weeks are not continuous. A gap appears between the 69th week and the 70th week.
Revelation details the 70th week (mainly chapters 6-19).

Just keeping a few obvious things in mind helps avoid pitfalls and puts you ahead of many scholars who don’t really read the book.

You’ll notice God deals with the church and Jews separately. Before Jesus, God dealt with the Jews (Gentiles were only included if they became a Jew). Since Jesus’ death and resurrection, God dealt with the Gentiles. This leads some to believe God abandoned the Jews, and their promises are now bestowed on the church.

Nonsense — God’s promises to Abraham in Genesis are unconditional and irrevocable; the Jewish people still have a destiny to be fulfilled. Don’t make the mistake the Jews aren’t important anymore, or God’s promises to them have now fallen on the church. That’s a tragic error, and the cause of much persecution of the Jewish people. More importantly, it’s simply not true.

We’ll break the prophecy down into a few sections:

V24 — Overview.
V25 — The 69 weeks (complete).
V26a — The Messiah.
V26b — The interval between week 69 and 70 (where we’re currently at).
V27 — The final week (still future, but detailed in Revelation).

The Overview (verse 24)

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. (Daniel 9:24 KJV)

As noted, it’s obvious this prophecy concerns the Jews and Jerusalem, not the Church; the Church and the Jews are distinct and separate. Second, while history records the fulfillment of parts of the prophecy, parts are still yet future. Obviously, an end of sin hasn’t occurred, nor everlasting righteousness.

But what are the seventy weeks? The Hebrew says seventy sevens, and it’s translated weeks. Similar to our use of decade (meaning 10 years), in this context the Hebrew clearly implies a week means 7 years. One thing you must note; Bible prophecy uses 360 day years. Why exactly isn’t important, but if you’re going to try to calculate this yourself you can’t use the current 365 day calendar.

But it does represent a literal period of time — it’s not an allegory and must be understood to be literal. To jump ahead a bit, several allusions to the 70th week appear elsewhere in the bible, each describing the time involved a bit differently, yet equally.

42 months — Revelation 11:2,13:5
1,260 days — Revelation 11:3,12:6
Half of one week (literally “sevens”) — Daniel 9:27
Times, time and half a time (3 1/2 years) — Daniel 12:7

Notice that 1260 divided by 3.5 = 360 — so a year in the Bible is 360 days.

Chuck Missler notes all ancient calendars changed in about 700BC from 360 days to the current 365 1/4 days, although each did it differently. Why the change occurred is historically interesting, but not important here, and is left as an exercise for the interested reader.

The 69 Weeks

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. (Daniel 9:25 KJV)

For most of this discussion, we’re going to use Sir Robert Anderson’s work “The Coming Prince”, cited by Chuck Missler, J Vernon McGee, and others (no we didn’t do all this work ourselves).

First off, notice it’s a prediction, and it has a starting event, mathematical number, and a terminating event. This should be easy to verify or disprove for critics. In fact, it’s the exact nature of this prophecy (and others in Daniel) leading skeptics to late date the book by someone other than Daniel. The research is on shaky ground, but the presumption is God doesn’t exist, therefore prophecy doesn’t exist, thus it’s impossible for Daniel to have known the future with such precision.

But notice Daniel’s error is zero. Compare that to the prophets you’ll find in the National Enquirer who have great accolades heaped on them if they get it half right. Compare to the Bible prophets who were correct 100% of the time, and would be stoned if something uttered failed to come true — the yardstick for prophets of God is 100% accuracy, all the time.

But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22 KJV)

Let’s break down the 69 weeks for further analysis:

START: from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem.
NUMBER: There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.
FINAL EVENT: Until Messiah the Prince.

So lets figure this out. First, when did this start? Perhaps your Bible mentions 3 possibilities for this starting event (actually, there are 4).

Cyrus in Ezra 1:1-4 (First year of Cyrus)
Darius in Ezra 6:1-12 (First year of Darius)
Artaxerxes in Ezra 7:11-26 (Seventh year Artaxerxes)
Artaxerxes in Nehemiah 2:1-8 (Twentieth year Artaxerxes)

So which is it? Go back to the text to get one more clue “The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times”. Only Nehemiah mentions the wall, and that decree occurred in 445 BC in the month of Nisan. Notice how simple Bible prophecy becomes when you just take what it says as what it means? Imagine all the problems we’d have if we tried to allegorize it. Just take it as it says and you’ll be fine.

Mark Eastman in his book The Search for Messiah states it’s Hebrew tradition when the day of month isn’t mentioned specifically it means the first day. According to Nehemiah, the starting point is the first of Nisan in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes.

So we have a starting point — the interval is easy as 69 weeks of 360 day years is 173,880 days. What’s the final event? Until the coming of the Jewish Messiah. And that’s the whole prophecy.

If you do the calendar work, from Nisan 445BC to the tenth of Nisan 32 AD is 173,880 days (McGee page 588). You know this as April 6, 32AD. So What? The significance of this comes from Jesus himself, after the events of what we call Palm Sunday, as He weeps over the city.

And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. (Luke 19:41-44 KJV)

As you read the Gospels, you’ll notice a few times the crowd tries to make him King, but he slips away, saying My time has not yet come. Yet this specific day, he not only allowed it, he arranged it. Why? It’s the exact day from the prophecy in Daniel.

Jesus held them accountable to know. The prophecy isn’t hard to understand, and if we can figure out the events thousands of years later, the Jews certainly should have understood. It’s not allegorical or theoretical; the creator of the universe holds people accountable to what He’s said.

Something else is going on on why the Jews missed it.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:10 KJV)

To distill all that, it means the Jews would not have capital punishment taken away from them until the Messiah comes. And as Rome takes over Israel, the Jewish leaders lament, for they think the scripture has been broken. Yet they did not know about a young boy growing up among them in a local town; the Jewish leaders believed God’s word had been broken.

They imposed presuppositions to the text, and possibly for that, missed their messiah. Don’t do that. Don’t force your ideas on the Bible. God sometimes does things a little strange, at least the way we see it. But the prophecy is clear — “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7 KJV).

OK, you’re a skeptic. Let’s look at it another way, as Mark Eastman notes the following. Luke chapter three states Jesus’ baptism occurs in the fifteenth year of Tiberius. Tiberius’s reign began on Aug 19 14AD, so Jesus’ first passover would have been spring AD29. Most believe Jesus’ ministry was 3 1/2 years, so the fourth would have been 32AD. And in 32AD, the Sunday before Passover that year was April 6, 32AD, the same day given to Daniel (what a coincidence!).

So that’s verse 25. So far it’s been simple. But once you get there, what happens?

The Messiah

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself (Daniel 9:26a KJV)

After sixty-two weeks is same as after the 69 weeks (as it’s 7 + 62). After that period of time the Messiah shall be cut off (which means executed). But not for Himself (substitution); of course Jesus Himself was innocent, He paid the price for my sin, not His (He was sinless). Chuck Missler examines the gospel according to Barabbas:

The substitution of Barabbas over Jesus before Pilate on that fateful day has profound implications for each of us. It is illuminating to examine the contrast between the two accused more closely:

Barabbas stood under the righteous condemnation of the law.

Barabbas knew the One who was to take his cross and take his place was innocent.

Barabbas knew that Jesus Christ was for him a true substitute.

Barabbas knew that he had done nothing to merit going free while another took his place.

Barabbas knew Christ’s death was for him perfectly efficacious.

Barabbas and Jesus changed places! “The murderer’s bonds, curse, disgrace, and mortal agony were transferred to the righteous Jesus; while the liberty, innocence, safety, and well-being of the immaculate Nazarene became the lot of the murderer.

The Interval

and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:26b KJV)

How do we know an interval exists between 69th and 70th week? Carefully read the passage again, “the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary”. The prince who is to come refers to Antichrist, and his people (the Romans) destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD as a historical event. So we know by history the interval was at least from 32AD to 70AD, and by real experience it’s been about 2,000 years.

But the 70th week draws near.

Back to what we started with, as this passage concerns the Jews, not the church. What happens in the 70th week? You’ll find out in Revelation chapters 6-19. But here’s what Daniel says about that period.

The 70th Week

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:27 KJV)

He is “the price who is to come”, the anti-christ. He shall enforce an agreement with Israel (whether he makes the agreement itself is debatable), but in the middle of the period he breaks the covenant, committing the abomination which causes desolation — it’s at that point the Jews realize their mistake. The book of Revelation expands on the 70th week if you’re interested.

Conclusion

History records the fulfillment of the first 69 weeks perfectly, do you have any doubt the 70th week will be? This passage poses no problems if you take it as it reads, and not try to allegorize it. The events are sure — but where is United States in the end times? It’s not mentioned much in Bible. Why not?

Society continues to degrade — Robert Bork wrote a book called “Slouching toward Gomorrah”, and the title itself is provocative as we head toward value relativism and moral relativism, losing the moral absolutes of God’s word in all corners of society. Schools fail to teach, turning out people ignorant of basic skills which makes them easy pickings for anyone desiring to subvert the truth; consider a recent bizarre Texas court decision.

Texas law allows the killing of a fetus to be prosecuted as murder, regardless of the stage of development, but the laws do not apply to abortions, the states’ highest criminal court has ruled … The Texas court said abortion precedent was based on the premise that a woman wants the procedure.

First situational ethics, now situational murder. It’s based on the idea the woman wants to kill her baby. If she wants to kill her baby, it’s not murder (George Orwell would be proud as we’ve now called bad good, and good bad). If she doesn’t want to kill her baby, it’s murder. We’re rapidly slouching back toward the time of Judges, where “everyone did what was right in their own eyes”, and moral absolutes become lost in a sea of relativism.

Some say the situation is hopeless, yet Nineveh was 40 days from destruction and turned it around. Since the United States isn’t in prophecy we don’t know the end; it’s possible to change course. The problem does not lie with the congress or president, it’s us; the politicians are our employees, we put them in office, and by our votes we can remove them.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

We will be held accountable as stewards for the republic; we hired the guys leading the county. If they be Godly men, it’s because we demanded it to be so. It’s not about advocating for a political party, but principles. Find out what the candidates believe, and support those holding biblical principles.

And of the children of Issachar, who were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; (1 Chronicles 12:32 KJV)

The End is Near!

yeager — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 08:00:00 +0000

When will Jesus return?

At the turn of the new millennium many people predict the return of Jesus Christ to the earth. Even gossip rags in the grocery store proclaim in bold type “Jesus will return in 2000”. What should we make of these claims? And more important than what we think, what does the Bible say about it? Is the return of Jesus near? Can we know? Many people point out that Christians for centuries have believed Jesus would return in their lives — and all died. Does a Christian today really have the truth when they say Jesus will return in their lifetimes? Isn’t that presumptuous on our part?

Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. (2 Peter 3:1-4 NKJV)

The first part of this issue is simple: just the fact that people are doubting the return of Jesus is a sign to us it is near! But the real issue for most Christians can be summed up in the following e-mail I recently received regarding the return of Jesus.

They were claiming that back in Jesus’ day too, how can we know He’s coming in our time? That’s what we say for ourselves, it’s only OUR estimations and calculations, maybe those folks back then had their reasons too … how can we claim it [the soon return of Jesus]?

First, let’s dismiss a common problem: Nobody knows exactly when Jesus will return. Anyone who sets a date or time is displaying their lack of knowledge about the Bible. The Bible clearly states no one knows the exact day (Matthew 24:36, 25:13, Mark 13:32, etc). So if you’re expecting dates and times from this article, don’t waste your time: none will appear.

As already mentioned no one knows when Jesus will return. But some people go to the opposite extreme and say since we don’t know, it shouldn’t matter to us — we can do what we want, since His return is far off. But this is wrong, and the Bible does have much to say about that attitude. In Luke 19 during Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), He stopped and wept over the city. Why? Because He knew that these same people, who today were crowning Him as the Messiah, would in a few days be yelling “crucify Him — we have no king but Caesar”? No. He wept over the city because “if you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!” — Jesus expected them to know when He would arrive.

When it is evening you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. (Matthew 16:2-3 NKJV)

So let’s look at a few ideas in the Bible speaking about end times. Along the way, we’ll learn a valuable lesson about how to approach the Bible.

Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:11-12 NKJV)

What characterizes our society today? Deceit. The more digging you do, the more you find out how you have been lied to — our society promotes deceit (try buying a car). For those of you who doubt that statement, just consider the farce of evolution. Evolution isn’t credible science. Yet today our kids are brainwashed that we came from monkeys. “From the goo to the zoo to you” as Doctor Mark Eastman says.

But notice the statement the love of many will grow cold — love is agape. And in the Church today we see a lack of genuine love. We have “user friendly” churches not speaking the truth for fear of offending someone. If you see someone doing something that is harmful to them, and will kill them (read that send them to eternal damnation), yet refuse to say something, is that love? Yet the Church today is afraid to take a stand against sin and for the Bible and Jesus, because that’s not a popular message. The love of the Church is growing cold. As a result, countless people are trusting in a counterfeit gospel that cannot save them. Deceiving people such that they suffer eternal damnation as a result (all in the name of church attendance) is not only a lack of love, it’s a serious transgression some pastors will have to answer for at the throne of God.

Let’s also look at what Paul has to say about signs of the end times in his second letter to Timothy, chapter three.

“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come”. Paul speaks about the last days before the return of Jesus, giving a list of signs that will accompany the end days. The first is perilous times will come. Can crime get much worse these days? As people today put bars on their doors and windows, and are afraid to go out at night, we definitely live in perilous times. But that’s just the domestic scene. On the world scene we have the proliferation of nuclear and biological weapons, unstable economies, and a steady erosion of personal integrity, truth, and justice (and the American way). Perilous times indeed.

“For men will be lovers of themselves”. Anyone who has been to the grocery store knows this one. All the magazine rack speaks about is yourself. Ignore everyone else and look out for number one. This is also the idea behind advertising — after all, you deserve a break today.

“lovers of money” Fox network launched a new show called the “Tower of Greed”. Enough said.

“boasters, proud, blasphemers” - We’re number one.

“disobedient to parents” It’s interesting this is a sign of the end.

“unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.”

So in general our society is exactly what Paul said it would be in the last days. Can it get worse? Probably. But let’s move on to specific ideas presented in the Bible about the last days. One of the exciting benefits about studying the end times is learning a valuable lesson about the Bible — we must take it seriously. Some of the following passages have mystified Christians in previous years, simply because they didn’t understand it; they try and find analogies and other methods by which to explain it. But by saying “what does it mean when it says 1/3 of the people die” we miss an important point: The Bible says what it means and means what it says. Analogies and other figures of speech are sometimes used, but problems are caused in Bible interpretation not because we don’t understand what the Bible says, but because we DO understand it, and just can’t explain it (or accept it). Take the Bible seriously and you won’t have this problem.

Let’s start off with a fun one from Zechariah.

And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, Their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, And their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. (Zechariah 14:12)

Sounds like a neutron bomb, doesn’t it? This is recent technology — in the past people would try and figure out what these verses meant — after all, it’s hard to picture people’s flesh just dissolving while they stand on their feet. But today we know it means exactly what it says. While it’s true it could be something else besides a neutron bomb, we have the ability to see this in its literal fulfillment. See how easy this is if you take your Bible seriously? Let’s try another. Jesus speaking in Matthew chapter 24 says:

And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:22 NKJV)

This was absurd with the swords, muskets, and cannon weaponry of ago. Many didn’t believe this could be true until the 1940’s, when with the invention of atomic weapons we could see how man could literally exterminate everything on this planet.

The Bible also speaks of Israel being back in the land again (Isaiah 11:11-16, Ezekiel 34:11-16). This is old news. Since May 1948, Israel is back in the land again — another time to take your Bible seriously. Many were wondering what does it mean when it says Israel will be back in the land? Simple. It means Israel will be back in the land again.

And it’s always fun to look at Revelation chapter 13.

He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17 NKJV)

We don’t want to deflect off the issue and start analyzing who the antichrist is, but tracking the world’s economy wasn’t possible until the computer age. How can you control the entire world’s buying and selling? It takes quite a computer database to accomplish that.

So the question is, if we see we are in the last days, what is the next event? The rapture of the church. This is another area in which to take your Bible seriously — it means what it says and says what it means. But let’s allow quantum physicist apostle Paul to explain to us the rapture:

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:50-52 NKJV)

This verse is commonly misunderstood by people who claim a post or mid tribulation rapture for the church. After all, Paul says “at the last trumpet” — and we see seven trumpet judgements in the book of Revelation, therefore, the rapture happens after those. But anyone who has been to school knows what Paul means. When you go to school, a bell rings to notify you when you need to be in class, and you have to be in class before the last bell rings. But how many “last bells” are there? Once for each class — every day. It doesn’t mean no bells sound ever again, but that it’s the last call for the class — after that you are tardy. That’s what Paul means here — it’s the last call for the church — and you don’t want to miss this tardy bell!

But let’s dive into the physics of what Paul speaks of. Some people like to question how fast the rapture occurs. Paul says “in the twinkling of an eye” — and some people have timed how fast that occurs, and say the rapture happens in a thousandth of a second or so. But the phrase “in the twinkling of an eye” is really a modifier of Paul’s first statement — “we shall all be changed in a moment” — and that statement tells us exactly how fast the rapture occurs. In the Greek, the word for moment is atomos or atom. Big deal. It is if you understand physics and the nature of time. If you look in Strong’s concordance, he defines atom as “indivisible (an ‘atom’ of time): — moment” (Strongs definition G823). The Greeks called atoms atoms because they felt it was the smallest thing possible; you could not divide it. It turns out time also has a smallest unit; beyond it you can’t get any smaller. You would think you could take a second and cut it in half, then half again, etc infinitely. But you can’t. When you get to a unit of time at 10^-43 seconds, you can’t divide it anymore. This is called the Planck time. So when Paul says we will be changed in an atom of time he means 10^-43 seconds! That’s fast. To imagine how this happens, imagine a film, and instead of 16 frames per second, you have 10⁴³ frames per second. Now imagine you can look at each frame individually. What you would see is in one frame people, the next they are gone!

Now, if you have studied a little about quantum physics, the preceding paragraph has great meaning for you. If you haven’t and want to (doesn’t everyone?), a great place to start is with a book called Alice in Quantumland - it’s an easy way to understand some of the concepts in physics without all the math getting in the way. It’s really an easy reading book.

But if you’re totally lost in quantumland (the preceding explanation was indeed brief — after all we don’t want to wander too far off) just consider this about your Bible — why did Paul use such a word when speaking of the rapture? It may not have meant much then, but today we know exactly what he was saying. Either Paul was 2,000 years ahead of Einstein, or he had some special tutoring! And of course, he did:

But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1:11-12 NKJV)

But let’s return to our original question: How can we be sure we are living in the time when Jesus will return? We can’t. But that’s not the real issue. What? The issue is not whether we are right or not, for no one knows when Jesus will return — we live in the times of the signs to be sure, but cannot claim with definite proof the Lord will return in our time. The issue is one of how we will live our life — do we live as if we are expecting Jesus to return? This is the question. Allow Peter to explain:

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:10-13 NKJV)

How should we live? Do you live as if Jesus could return at any time? Are there some things you wouldn’t want to be doing when He returns? If so, the solution is obvious. Are you using the talents and gifts He’s given to you for His glory? Or are you a lover of self? Or money? Or pleasure? We are stewards of what we have been given, and Paul reminds us “it is required in stewards that one be found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2)”. Are you faithful with what you have been given? If you believe Jesus could return at any moment, does that change how you view your service for the Lord? Consider the following teaching Jesus gave about servants in their service:

For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’(Matthew 25:14-25 NKJV)

Notice the principle — each has been given talent according to his ability. The master didn’t judge the man with five talents and say “why did you not get ten, like the other servant?” Each was judged according to his ability and gifts. But the warning is clear: don’t hide your talents. But again, would you do this if you thought your master would come at any time and ask for an account of what you have been given? That’s why it’s important for us to live as if Jesus will return at any moment. First of all, He could. But second (and most important for us), it changes the way we live our Christian life. That’s the real reason we should believe the return of Jesus is near.

But to those who still look upon me as a dreamer, I have this to say — Yes, I believe the Lord’s return is near, and His return will occur in my life. But I could be wrong. But if I am, add me to the apostles Paul, John and Peter. Count me with the Chuck’s (Smith and Missler). Mark me with McGee (J Vernon). Consider me with Courson (Jon). Mention me with Martin (Walter). List me with Lenhard. If I’m wrong, I want to be counted in that group of men.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Revelation 22:20-21 NKJV)

Daniel 9 Commentary - The Key to Unlock all Prophecy

yeager — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:49:23 +0000

Notes on our continuing study in Daniel are now available for the seventy week prophecy found in chapter nine.

Daniel’s prophecy of seventy weeks contains the key to understanding all end times prophecy. While much misunderstanding exists, allowing the Bible to explain itself makes the 70 week prophecy clear and easily understood.

View the complete Daniel commentary.

The Most Dangerous Gospel

yeager — Fri, 16 May 2008 01:07:49 +0000

We frequently hear of maintaining “unity” in the church — a worthy goal, is it not? Yes, it’s true Christians shouldn’t quibble over petty doctrinal differences (like dunking forward or backward during baptism), yet a move is afoot which, while sounding thoroughly orthodox, proves quite dangerous and not even Christian as it seeks to pervert Christianity into something else, all while using the same vocabulary as traditional Christianity.

This movement doesn’t try and hide their goal, drawing away many ungrounded in the foundational doctrines of Christianity — or who desire to appear intellectual and fit in with the crowd.

The minister at Toronto’s West Hill United Church, Rev. Gretta Vosper, does not teach her congregation to recite the Apostle’s Creed. She does not believe that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit or born of a virgin. She does not believe that Jesus rose again from the dead or ascended into heaven… or most of the basic tenets of Biblical Christianity. In fact, when her congregation sings famous hymns, the references to Christ and God are removed. Yet, Ms. Vosper calls herself a “Christian” and runs a church in one of Canada’s largest Protestant denominations.

Ms. Vosper believes that all that stuff about resurrection and miracles and the forgiveness of sins is something the Christian Church has to get past in order to make it in the 21st Century world. To her, the essence of Christianity is about loving your neighbor. She therefore follows some of the teachings of Christ — according to her preferred interpretation of those teachings. The rest of his message, about dying for our sins, rising again on the third day, and being one with the Father, those must be things she just ignores.

On the other hand, famous evangelical theologian J.I. Packer has recently cut his ties with the Anglican Church of Canada because a significant portion of its liberal leadership has become heretical. He is not alone in his concern. … A chasm has steadily grown between those who hold conservative, Bible-based beliefs and those who affirm more liberal, man-centered views. (Unity v. Truth in the Apostate Church)

Ms. Vosper may be an extreme example (or maybe not), but churches overflow with this cancer as so-called “Christians” abandon Christianity for a mix of political correctness, new-age philosophy, and a deep-rooted desire to meld with the world and its philosophical, educational and political views. This heretical apostasy (a falling away from Biblical Christianity) Paul warned against would come before the return of Jesus (which the heretics deny anyway).

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

Jesus warned about dead churches in his letters to the seven churches in Revelation. To the church at Sardis (of which nothing good was said) Jesus said they had a name (“Denomination”), but were dead. These groups throwing traditional doctrine off the cliff are exactly the dead church Jesus warned about — groups claiming to be religious, but having no substance. Paul as well warned about those departing from Biblical teaching which he taught the Galatians:

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now seek the favor of men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:8-10 KJV)

For those desiring to fit in with the ever-changing modern political and social views (whatever is current), we just say welcome to the end-times church — perhaps your church won’t need a new pastor after the rapture. That’s harsh, you say. Well, it’s not our warning, it’s Jesus’ … and Peter’s … and Paul’s. Should we heed their warnings, or sit idly by as the church disintegrates before us?

Unfortunately, Ms. Vosper is not alone in her views and rejection of Christian doctrine:

A number of leading theologians in Britain — where the decline in adherents is more dramatic than in Canada — are on the same path, people like Richard Holloway, former bishop of Edinburgh and primate of the Scottish Episcopal (Anglican) Church, who has likened the Christian church to a self-service cafeteria stacked with messy trays of leftover food urgently in need of being thrown out.

Like Bishop Holloway, Ms. Vosper does not want to dress up the theological detritus — her words — of the past two millennia with new language in the hope of making it more palatable. She wants to get rid of it, and build on its ashes a new spiritual movement that will have relevance in a tight-knit global world under threat of human destruction. (Prophecy News Watch)

Even if an angel reveals something other than what Paul preached, you must ignore them and their teaching. If we should ignore angels deviating from orthodox Christianity, how much more the deviant wisdom of man? These people are not Christian — they’re so deceived they simply can’t understand what the apostle Paul warned about. Since they’re teaching something different from what Paul did … well, draw your own conclusions.

You’ll meet people who sound completely orthodox, yet deny foundational doctrines of Christianity — even as they attend your fellowship and call themselves “Christians”. Some of these have even infiltrated the conservative churches promoting views not held by the vast majority of Christians; a telltale sign can be when they say Christianity needs to change to fit with modern society (or redefine common terms, or have a compulsive need to “update” the Bible with modern language and terminology. Sorry guys, God doesn’t change, and neither does His Word).

The parable of the tares in Matthew 13 (which Jesus Himself explains) states satan will infiltrate the church with imposters — people who may use the same language and might even be pastors or other leadership in the church. Yet they are children of satan, not God.

Unfortunately, the coming apostasy will affect all churches as the siren song of liberal intellectualism sways many to their destruction. Those are harsh words, you may say. Yes, they are. But remember the warning of Paul about anyone teaching doctrine other than what he taught — they’re not Christians and listening to them will lead you astray.

Rev. Gretta Vosper is wrong about the future of Christianity. Biblical Christianity that is full of the Spirit of God will never become outdated. It might be scorned by the intellectuals who consider themselves wise, and it might be rejected by those who seek the praise of man over the praise of God. But, the Spirit of God is always at work in the hearts of men, giving life to human spirits by the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead. (Unity v. Truth in the Apostate Church)

Ms. Vosper and her ilk are free to believe whatever they want, promote it, and wrap it all up in secular humanism, intellectualism and “scholarship”. But it’s your responsibility to realize what they’re peddling is not Christianity (and it’s our job to be the watcher on the wall and blow the trumpet in warning).

Here’s a clue — if someone promotes doctrines nobody in the church has heard of since it’s inception, you might want to consider where it came from. You have to choose God’s wisdom or man’s — it’s your choice. You can choose the intellectual path of man or the wisdom of God — but know and understand digressing from what Paul taught in the first century is heresy — there’s no polite way to say it, they’re heretical teachings attempting to lead people down the path of destruction.

Neutering the Bible, denying the virgin birth, seeking “modern” translations of the Bible, denying sin and hell are all a part of this new-age politically-correct heresy mixing in with the church. Do you want Bible-based beliefs, or man’s liberal views? The church is splitting on these terms, and it should surprise no one, as Paul foretold it in the first century.

Some may say we’re being picky about defining words. After all, these are pastors of mainline denominations! But language and definitions are important; the premier expert on cults of our time is Walter Martin; he had more experience about using language to distort and pervert (as well as how cults use language to sound orthodox) than anyone else in our time. Listen to his warning.

I’m a rational empiricist and a devotee of inductive logic. Whenever I hear people make statements I very much like to know what they mean by the words because if they can’t define the words in context they don’t mean anything. (Walter Martin)

The problem of semantics has always played an important part in human affairs, for by its use or abuse, whichever the case may be, entire churches, thrones, and even governments, for that matter, have been erected, sustained, or overthrown. The late George Orwell’s stirring novel 1984, in which he points out that the redefinition of common political terms can lead to slavery when it is allowed to pass unchallenged by a lethargic populace, is a classic illustration of the dangers of perverted semantics. It should be of no particular surprise to any student of world history that trick terminology is a powerful propaganda weapon. (Walter Martin, “The Kingdom of the Cults” page 28-29)

So no, we’re not being picky — language definitions are important and you can’t just change them to suit whatever bizarre belief you conjure up and wish to rationalize; the cult of Liberalism is dangerous and quite heretical. It’s common today for recently educated people to borrow a tactic from the cults and switch definitions. After all, they’ve been taught value relativism and the denial of absolutes — so why should language be any different? They simply re-define any terms they wish to suit their perverted ideas and claim they can’t be wrong no matter what the evidence says.

That’s the reason it’s so hard to communicate with the cult of Liberalism — you may be using the same words, but the cultist has deftly redefined the terms to something else. It’s a common problem not only with cultists, but anyone subjected to teachings of value relativism and the denial of moral absolutes. Or as the book of judges says a time when “everyone did what was right in their own eyes”.

If you don’t like Christianity, fine. Nobody forces you to be a Christian. Start your own religion and redefine anything to whatever intellectual, educational and philosophical ideas you want — but hands off my Lord, my Bible, and the doctrines defining Christianity for thousands of years. There are mountains to fight on, and others not to. Attempting to replace Christianity with secular humanism and intellectualism is one we’ll call out every time — it’s heresy, and to say otherwise is to deny the Lord.

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who secretly shall bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. (2 Peter 2:1-2 KJV)

You can call yourself the President if you want but it doesn’t make it so, just as these false teachers call themselves Christians, but aren’t. It doesn’t matter if they have Phd’s, seminary or anything else — they’re not Christian and their heresy kills like cancer.

Don’t fall for the lie.

Matthew 24 - When does Jesus Return?

yeager — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 02:03:12 +0000

Much of the email we receive is around a few topics which cause the most confusion and argument. Some people send anonymous comments, and unfortunately that means we can’t reply. We don’t mind anonymous comments, but do believe “to every man an answer”, and when a comment is on a heated issue, we believe it merits a reply in case someone else has similar questions.

Recently, someone pointed out Matthew 24:29 as claiming a post-tribulation rapture.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31 KJV)

This person then went on to scold us for teaching lies, and filling people with false security, saying we need to be counted worthy to escape the tribulation.

But what does this passage mean in context? Remember, context is Genesis to Revelation. In this passage context is vital, as it tells you who Jesus speaks to – and it’s not Christians.

Matthew 24 starts out with the disciples asking Jesus what will be the end? In verse 20, Jesus says “pray your flight not be on the Sabbath”. That’s bizarre. Why as gentiles would we care if our flight is on the Sabbath? We won’t – Matthew 24 speaks to the Jews, not the Church.

The confusion with Matthew 24 arises because people don’t realize Jesus comes twice. Once in secret for his bride the Church (the rapture), once publicly at the end of Revelation (the Second Coming).

Those two events are not the same. Careful examination of the NT shows one is private, one public. They can’t be the same event, and they aren’t.

Some people become confused because they mix the Jews and the Church. But those are two different groups, with two different plans. Don’t make the mistake the Church has taken the place of the Jews – the promises to the Jews in the OT are still in effect.