Category: bible

Posted in bible, grace, trials

How do you go through trials?

Posted on by elizabethprata

At my church, we are studying 2 Corinthians on Wednesday nights. We looked at chapter 11 this week. We got to the end where Paul was reluctantly boasting in his sufferings for Christ (verses 22-39). Our teacher asked us something like, (if I remember correctly), “How do you handle sufferings? What do you do?”

I thought about that for a few days. I like when our teachers and pastors ask us questions, because I really think about the answers. I like having something biblical to chew over. Here is my answer:

1. I tell myself that this present trial is not permanent. Even if I were to receive a fatal diagnosis or were to suffer in an accident where I was totally disabled, the trial is not permanent. It is temporary. This life is short, being but a vapor (James 4:14). A 20 or even a 40 year trial is nothing, compared to eternity. And thus far, thanks to God’s grace, I have NOT received a trial that has lasted all my life. At most, one has lasted 5 years, and most of the rest only a few weeks or months. So whatever I am going through will end. I tell myself that often, because it is true.

2. My trial is not as bad as someone else’s. There is always a Christian out there who is suffering more, and usually with more grace than I am, too. Am I in jail for my faith? No. Have I lost employment for my faith? No. Have I lost a child because of Jesus’s name? No. And in reading Paul’s resume of sufferings, being the epitome of how His grace is sufficient, I have nothing to complain about, even when I am at my darkest or my lowest.

3. I tell myself that He is Good. He IS Good therefore everything He does is good. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). Therefore everything He does is Good. Even Job, who lost all, suffered much, went through one of the bible’s most difficult trials, it was Good. How so, you say? Job’s trial, his righteousness in looking to God in all things, his victory over the devil as a result, and his restoration was set into the bible, to be read by countless millions of Christians going through trials and needing encouragement. Job’s trial was bad, but it helped millions, over thousands of years. Now that’s good! So as dark as my trial is, I know something good will emerge out of it.

4. I stay positive. I do not dwell on the bad part I am going through, but pray, read the bible, and tell myself repeatedly that it is for the good. I apply 2 Corinthians 10:5 here, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” I refuse to dwell on how low I may be feeling, because feelings are ephemeral. I concentrate on God’s sovereignty, because I know I can rest under His control, even in the seemingly “bad” things. I take the negative thoughts captive while I allow the positive thoughts in. I focus on the promises, not the trials. Romans 5:3-5 helps here, “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” James 1:12 too.

5. Every time I have gone through a trial, I have gotten closer to God. Jesus is my Savior and Lord, and though I can never know all His ways nor ever plumb the depths of His grace, each time I emerge from something bad, I feel closer to Him. This is a good thing! I have that to look forward to on the other side. I have been the recipient of His grace, His comfort, His faithfulness. So even in the bottom of the valley I tell myself that the reward will be a closer relationship with Him. It keeps me going.

6. I read the bible a lot. When I am going through a dark time, I wash myself in the Word even more than usual. I cling to it. I read it and chew on it and it fills me up instead of the darkness and negativity that would be there instead. His gift of spiritual armor is in place for a reason. It can withstand the fiery darts of the evil one. The bible is truth, and it sustains us. I turn to it and appeal to the Spirit for encouragement. The Spirit assures us, “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”” (Galatians 4:6). The Spirit empowers us, ““And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”” (Luke 24:49). He helps our weakness! “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;” (Romans 8:26). If I do not read the bible I would not be reading these truths about His work in our lives and His power to help us overcome.

These are a few of the things that I do when I come upon a trial, and I do have them. I am relentlessly joyful despite them, because the Most High is in my heart, helping me. I surely cannot do it on my own. But He is there, in so many ways. Never forget that, even as dark as it may get in your own life, dear brethren.

What do you do when you go through a trial?
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-do-you-go-through-trials.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in bible, spiritual armor

More about the Belt of Truth

Posted on by elizabethprata

We put on the full armor of God. If you read the whole passage in Ephesians 6, you will notice that all the weapons are defensive. It is all protective gear, not to be used in offense. I want to focus on the first thing Paul says to put on, the belt.

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,” (Ephesians 6:13-14).

The Roman soldier’s belt was important. I can imagine with all the time Paul spent in prison that he had plenty of time to watch soldiers gear up. The belt was so important to a Roman soldier that it often had two buckles, or at least two places to be tied on. It was called a cingulum or a balteus. It performed several duties. First, it held the other pieces of armor in place. Cinched up tightly, the belt would hold fast the breastplate etc. Secondly, everything hung from the belt. Foremost, a soldier’s sword hung from it. He usually hung a length of rope, an empty bag to put loot in, his lunch. There were loops on the belt because everything hung from it. Everything.

Now, when Paul says, ‘put on the belt of truth,’ we tend to take for granted the most important question. What is the truth? What truth does he mean? Do you know?

Clarke’s Commentary gives the answer:

“The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the truth of God; unless this be known and conscientiously believed no man can enter the spiritual warfare with any advantage or prospect of success. By this alone we discover who our enemies are, and how they come on to attack us; and by this we know where our strength lies.”

Do you know what the Gospel is? Do you know? We toss around the term, but do we know the basics of what Paul said was the Gospel message? (Gospel means “Good News”).

1 Corinthians 15:1-5 has it:

“15:1 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you – unless you believed in vain.  For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received – that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

So we must know what we believe and why we believe it. We must be ready to make a stand and give a reply as to why we have this Good News, this eternal hope. 1 Peter 3:15 says “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”

Now, we have the basics down, the belt of truth and why we must cinch it tightly, what the truth is, why we believe it and why we must be ready to articulate it.

Now for the consequences of having a loose belt.

Too many people today study the bible a little and then coast. Or they think that is enough. Or they think that theology doesn’t matter. All wrong. It is dangerous to know but a little.

In Revelation 3:15-16 Jesus decries lukewarm Christians. ““I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

Barnes Notes explains: “”That thou art neither cold nor hot – The word “cold” here would seem to denote the state where there was no pretension to religion; where everything was utterly lifeless and dead. The language is obviously figurative, but it is such as is often employed, when we speak of one as being cold toward another, as having a cold or icy heart, etc. The word “hot” would denote, of course, the opposite – warm and zealous in their love and service. The very words that we are constrained to use when speaking on this subject – such words as ardent (that is, hot or burning); fervid (that is, very hot, burning, boiling) – show how necessary it is to use such words, and how common it is. The state indicated here, therefore, would be that in which there was a profession of religion, but no warm-hearted piety; in which there was not, on the one hand, open and honest opposition to him, and, on the other, such warm-hearted and honest love as he had a right to look for among his professed friends; in which there was a profession of that religion which ought to warm the heart with love, and fill the soul with zeal in the cause of the Redeemer; but where the only result, in fact, was deadness and indifference to him and his cause. Among those who made no profession he had reason to expect nothing but coldness; among those who made a profession he had a right to expect the glow of a warm affection; but he found nothing but indifference.”

It is the Word that makes us hot. The more tightly you cling to it, the hotter you get. Constant study brings us truth which is constant revelation of Jesus which brings more constant love and zeal for Him. Lackadaisical study brings lukewarm Christians and lukewarm deeds and that is an indignation to Jesus.

When the serpent questioned Eve, she had an answer. And it was mostly right, too. But her belt of truth was a little too loose, some crud had gotten in under it. She added a little to the doctrine, and the serpent saw his opening. He went in for the kill. (Genesis 3:1-5).

The fall of man came after that. Now, if we mess up the ONE DOCTRINE that God had given at that time, what do you think satan can do with a people who play fast and loose with many of the doctrines that we have now?

You say, ‘well, I know enough. Satan won’t bother me.’ That is wrong too. Look how bold satan is. He tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4). In the second temptation, satan tempted Jesus by twisting the WORD OF GOD. He tempted the WORD with twisting the Word! What do you think he will do to you? Especially if he sees that you know just enough to be dangerous, complacent (Revelation 3:15), or studiously ignorant of the truth? (2 Timothy 3:7).

Of course, Jesus made an appropriate reply, and it should be a goal for all of us to be able to refute scripture twisting. Satan takes a little truth and wraps it in a big lie. Or he takes a little lie and wraps it in big truth. For example, back to the conversation satan had with Eve. “And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”” (Genesis 3:2-5)

Satan was telling the truth, they would not surely die…physically. Satan was lying, they would surely die…spiritually. Satan was telling the truth, they would know good and evil. Satan was lying by omission…in not telling them what would happen after they knew good and evil (and he should know, shouldn’t he?). And all because her belt of truth was too loose. She knew just enough to be dangerous.

We must wrap the truth around us so tightly it is like a second skin.

We have to know our bibles well enough to detect lies and to sort out what is the truth. We can do that with the belt cinched tightly. If it is loose, then satan will come and insinuate himself between the truth and your body and you will lose.

Now, I am not saying we can know the bible as well as Jesus like when He replied to satan in the wilderness, of course! But we must be diligent to always study. If we know the truth well, when we hear something a little off, we will know it is a little off. We must have an active prayer life and be close enough to the Lord so that when we hear something that doesn’t sound quite right, we can appeal to the Spirit to lead us in the bible to where we can find the answer.

Cinch up, soldier! Put on the belt of truth and let us do what Paul urges even in himself:

“Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (Eph 6:19-20)
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/02/more-about-belt-of-truth.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in bible, prophecy, shepherd

Reclining at Jesus’s bosom

Posted on by elizabethprata

Growing up, I used to watch the PBS Masterpiece Theatre classic “I, Claudius”. It was about one of the least known Emperors of the Roman Empire, Claudius. Who wouldn’t overlook him, being sandwiched between Caligula and Nero, lol. I was fascinated with the Roman banquets, of which the show “I, Claudius” had many, and I used to wonder why they ate while reclining. It seemed cumbersome to me.

However, Amos mentioned reclining while eating in Amos 6:7- “Therefore they shall now go captive as the first of the captives, And those who recline at banquets shall be removed.” Amos lived in around 760 BC. As a matter of fact, the first known artistic depiction of someone reclining while eating is captured in this ‘Garden Party’ relief from the North Palace of Ashurbanipal, Nineveh, Iraq, about 645 BC, well before the Roman Empire. The relief is currently housed at the British Museum. King Ashurbanipal reigned from 669-631 BC. Here he is shown eating while reclining on his left side, with a pillow propped under his armpit and his wife upright in front of him. This custom was later shown in Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art and writings. It was picked up in Jewish traditions.

source

I was then and I am still bemused by the Roman custom of eating while reclining. The Romans said it aided digestion. It also was a cultural boast, that the upper class Romans were so wealthy they could afford to not only sit to eat, but to recline. Leisure was a mark of class and wealth.

The photo below from Wikimedia Commons shows a re-enactment of a Roman banquet. The Romans would lie on their left side with a pillow under their armpit. They would use their right hand to eat. Their feet would extend out and away from the specially designed couches upon which they would recline for many hours. Dinners took a while, interspersed as they were with conversation and entertainment. Women were allowed to participate at dinners at later stages of the Empire, and usually sat in upright chairs in front of their husbands.

This reenactment of a Roman banquet shows members of the upper class reclining on couches. The women wear their chiton and palla, while the men wear purple-bordered togas, denoting their position of senator. As women are present, this is most likely a dinner party, as opposed to a symposium, where women would only be permitted if they were entertainers.

As the custom caught on, the middle class then the lower classes copied the posture of reclining while eating.

The typical dinner would include nine guests. There were three reclining couches arranged in a semicircle, with three diners to a couch. The inside of the horseshoe was left open so slaves could pour wine and serve food. Anything not eaten, like bones or shells, were cast to the floor to be swept up by the slaves later.

The host would assume the place in the middle of the central couch and to be placed next to him was the place of honor. It is like “the head table” at a wedding. The place of honor was given to the one on his left. Jesus spoke to this when he said in Matthew 23:6, “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,”

As Barnes’ Notes describes, “On these the guests reclined, leaning on their left side, with their feet extended from the table, and so lying that the head of one naturally reclined on the bosom of another. To recline near to one in this manner denoted intimacy, and was what was meant by lying “in the bosom” of another, John 13:23; Luke 16:22-23.

“John 13:23– “There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.”

Embroidered altar dossal, 1633. source

Barnes continues, “As the feet were extended “from” the table, and as they reclined instead of sitting, it was easy to approach the feet behind, and even unperceived. Thus, in Luke 7:37-38, while Jesus reclined in this manner, a woman that had been a sinner came to his feet “behind him,” and washed them with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head. She stood on the outside of the couches. So our Saviour washed the feet of his disciples as they reclined on a couch in this manner, John 13:4-12. Whenever we read in the New Testament of “sitting” at meals, it always means reclining in this manner, and never sitting as we do. The chief seat, or the “uppermost” one, was the middle couch at the upper end of the table. This the Pharisees loved, as a post of honor or distinction.”

All one had to do if wanting to ask a private question or make a one-on-one comment was to lean back against the person next to you, and with your head at their bosom, ask it in a low voice. The Beloved Disciple, assumed to to be John, asked this of Jesus when prompted by Peter, who was going to be His betrayer?

“He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” (John 13:25).

Jesus replied to the Beloved Disciple who had just asked Jesus who His betrayer was going to be by saying it is the one to whom I will dip this bread (Verse 26). Because Jesus was able to hand Judas the bread it it assumed that Judas had been reclining at the second place of honor, to the Host’s left.

Though Jesus certainly had upside down ideas about the places of honor, so the ritual usually associated with Roman & Jewish dining places can’t be dogmatically assumed, except for Jesus being at the center. “When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable:  “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”” (Luke 14:7-11).

The handing of bread that had been dipped was a custom of friendship, or reconciliation. By Jesus handing Judas the bread He was giving an offer of friendship at that late stage, and still giving Judas grace to change his mind.

Judas was close to Jesus because Judas was handed the bread and he took it.

“After the morsel, Satan then entered into him.” (John 13:27).

So Judas accepted the gesture but still resolved to betray Jesus! Then Jesus said, “What you do, do quickly.”

Here are a couple of other verses referring to intimacy and closeness in proximity by being at the bosom-

Luke 16:22– “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.”

Isaiah 40:11– “Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”

The picture of the different people at the bosom of Abraham or Jesus shows us rest, intimacy, care. Are you reclining at Jesus’ bosom today? It is an amazing thing to know that He is holy, holy, holy; that His thunder can rend the earth into pieces, but that love of His forgiven is as gentle and accessible as being able to lay your head on His bosom. He will even gather you into His arms and carry you. He is not just the Judge of all sins, He is not only the Subduer of foes, but He is the gentle Shepherd, able to tenderly carry the feeble and the weak. Come to Him today, your Shepherd, your Companion.
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/02/reclining-at-jesuss-bosom.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in bible, child porn, homosexuality, perversity, teacher semen

Sadly, I report two child pornography stories

Posted on by elizabethprata

Ontario child porn bust snares 50
“Police in Ontario are expected to release details Thursday morning of what could be the largest child pornography bust ever in Canada. According to Ontario Provincial Police spokesman Sgt. Pierre Chamberlain, police will release “results of a provincial-wide sweep of child sex offenders that occurred over the last couple of days in the province of Ontario.” Police have scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference in Vaughan that will include participants from more than 20 police departments across the country. “We’ll be drawing attention to the serious blight that is child pornography,” Chamberlain told CBC News. Police said they have taken more than 50 people into custody after raids across Ontario on Wednesday. Those arrested were not part of an organized child porn ring, police said. Members of the provincial strategy to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation on the internet have laid more than 200 charges while the investigation continues.” Video of the news spot at link

The CBC news spot video opens with this statement: “The victims are society’s most vulnerable, young children, even infants. The crimes against them, heinous.” The video reporter stated that child pornography doesn’t just include still photos of children in abusive situations, as most people suppose, but nowadays also includes live streaming of the abuse. Worse, “victims are increasingly younger, sometimes, even infants.”

In another story from California in the US, we read something that is positively sickening in its inventive evil:

“Teacher who ‘bound and gagged children, put roaches on their faces, and fed them semen’ jailed on $23 million bail“

This teacher had taught for 30 years in that school, and was held in high esteem by parents and community. The children victims ranged in age from 7 to 10.

A hallmark of Christianity is care for society’s most vulnerable– the poor, the widows, the children, and the oppressed.

For example, God regards equally the rich and the poor: “How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.” (Job 34:19)

So James warns us not to show favoritism, either: “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

“Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” (James 2:1-5)

It is the same with the widows. They should be treated with honor, 1 Timothy 5:3; and they should be helped, 1 Timothy 5:16.

How widows were treated is a component of judgment:

“And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:5)

As for children, the Lord has a special place in His heart for them, because they are a special gift from His grace: if I may be so bold as to interpret thusly from the following:

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” (Psalms 127:3).

Children are capable of glorifying God and therefore should be brought to Him, (Psalms 148:12-13; Mark 10:13-16) and trained in His ways.

I’ve been speaking of progressive judgment. God does give individuals, and nations, over to their depravity. It doesn’t happen all at once. It is described in Romans 1:18-32. First we are told that God reveals His glory and His wrath in creation. Why? because God’s glory is obvious and man deliberately suppresses it. (Romans 1:18-20).

Not only to they suppress it, but they fail to give Him thanks and they fail to glorify Him, so then their thinking becomes futile and their foolish hearts are darkened. They start worshiping the creation instead of the Creator. In this, they think they are so wise, but they are fools. (Rom 1:21-22).

Next, because they cannot think straight, sinful desires of their hearts arise and sexual impurity enters in, and they degrade themselves with one another. (Homosexuality). (Romans 1:24)

But sin can always go deeper, and in the progressive judgment of God, the sinners are allowed to follow its natural course to shameful lusts, and “even” the women (mothers and widows, who are the moral compass of a family and thus of society) become lesbians. (Rom 1:26).

Finally, in verse 28-29, they end up with a depraved minds. They are out of their minds with degrading shameful lusts and cannot think of what is right and good any more. By now they are completely unmoored from anything resembling purity or goodness. “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity….”

Filled. No room to squeeze into a conscience anything good or pure, only depravity. Now, the verse says they exchanged normal lust for unnatural lusts to do with each other. Adults. But what about the terrible stories we read above, the shameful, evil, and degrading lusts perpetrated involving children? Given how the Lord feels about children, would it not seem that a special wrath would come upon those who abuse their own bodies with children in such a way? Paul finishes the chapter thus:

“…He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 2:28b-32)

They are brutal, depraved, “doing what ought not to be done”. They invent ways of doing evil. If ever there was a verse that spoke to my heart regarding these precious children subjected to trafficking, porn, and degrading bondage games, this is it. And we know that many people applaud these kind of activities, such as members of the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). We know that in dark corners of sticky, sour rooms, men will smirk and gleefully applaud the teacher’s inventiveness who subjected the children to what he subjected them to.

Are we at the point as a nation and a society where God has given us over to shameful lusts and deserved wrath? I would venture to say yes. Though I began the essay with the title “Sadly, I report two child pornography stories” I can end it with pointing to Jesus. HE is good, pure, perfect. He loves all His creatures, especially children. Though we suffer now in the fallen creation from witnessing such sin, He has vanquished it. If we are in Him, we are victors through Him of the victory over sin. (Romans 6:18). And there WILL come a day when he wipes sin from the earth!!!

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” (Zechariah 13:1)

On His day, the Lord will put an end to sin (Daniel 9:24) When he calls for those who had believed in Him and whose names are entered in the Lamb’s Book of Life, He will install us in the place He has prepared for us, New Jerusalem, and nothing impure will ever enter it.

“Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27)

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God who is sinless, who takes away our sin, and with whom we will dwell in sinless purity forever!!

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2012/02/sadly-i-report-two-child-pornography.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in bible, love grows cold, state of the church

State of the Church part 3: The numbers aren’t good

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

State of the Church:
Part 1: Introduction, Love growing cold
Part 2: Are you tending your anchor?
Part 3: The numbers aren’t good
Part 4: Carnal Carnival, & the greatest sin pastors commit
Part 5a: When carnality leads to spiritual abuse
Part 5b: Is your church spiritually abusive?
Conclusion: Spiritual Leaders and Humble Relationships

In the Introduction/Part 1 of this series, I discussed the Matthew 24:12 prophecy Jesus gave of “love growing cold”, and showed how that prophecy relates to believers. So then if love of believers for God and of each other is predicted to grow cold, in this series I ask what causes love to grow cold. Part 2 explored that question, focusing on the Hebrews 2:1 verse “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” In future parts I will also take a look at what will love growing looks like at your local church or in your life. Last, this series will hopefully (by God’s grace) discuss how to spot waning love and how frequently these days waning love gives rise to church spiritual abuse.

The numbers give us a clue as to why so many are growing cold. Barna is a respected Christian research group, and in 2009 their numbers found that only 9% of born again Christians adults have a biblical worldview. “For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as

  1. believing that absolute moral truth exists;
  2. the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches;
  3. Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic;
  4. a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works;
  5. Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and
  6. God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today.

“In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview. For Baptists the number was 8%. For youths the number was even lower- 5%.

Let’s look at that practically. If you belong to a medium sized Baptist church as I do, where on average 200 people congregate on Sunday mornings to worship, according to the Barna number of 8%, how many will hold a biblical world view? 16. Sixteen people. That’s it. Sixteen people in your pews on average who believe all six of the basic doctrines of the Bible said to give us a biblical worldview. Sad, isn’t it?

But we are told again and again about the numbers. This should not surprise us. The Bible is clear on that. Noah’s family of 8 were the only righteous saved in all the world. Lot and his two daughters were the only people saved out of four cities destroyed that day, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim. (Gen 19:1-29; Deuteronomy 29:23). And here is a lesson for love growing cold: Mrs Lot seemed to love her husband and children, seemed to be righteous in loving God, after all, she obeyed the angel from God, didn’t she? Mrs Lot left the city where her sons-in-law did not. But when push came to shove, she disobeyed the angel from God and looked back. What was she looking back to? All her stuff. It turned out that in the end, her carnal worldview was revealed. And we know what happened to Mrs Lot. Please pass the salt.

Jesus gave the parable of the soils (Luke 8:4-21) and out of fours soils only one soil was good to produce fruit. Jesus said the way is narrow and few find it, but the way is broad that leads to destruction and many will follow it. (Matthew 7:13-14). Books were opened to judge the damned but only one book of life was opened. So you can see that when Jesus says many will be cold and not have agape love, that even Christians will be part of this prophecy- MANY do not make it. Many of those who don’t were thought all along to be Christians but in the end are revealed not to have been.

Taking our eyes off our first love impacts our biblical worldview. (Rev 2:4). Once we ‘neglect our salvation’ we will begin to insert other things into our worldview in addition to our Bible. The further away we drift the more things enter into our view. Soon, people begin thinking the bible is not sufficient. They say, ‘Hey, we’re still on the boat, we’re not sinking, and life is still pretty good. Maybe we didn’t need to be that strict after all. Maybe we can navigate through these waters using our own navigation techniques.’

It was my contention in Part 1 that increasing belief in the Bible’s insufficiency is one of the main causes of love growing cold. Keeping a biblical worldview is critical to tend to our salvation! If you have a biblical worldview it means you believe the Bible is sufficient. Sufficiency is defined in Part 1.

Answers in Genesis describes the problem of declining biblical worldview here: “The history as recorded in the Bible has been attacked by our increasingly secular culture. As a result, recent generations have been brought up to see the Bible as a book that contains many interesting stories and religious teaching, but has no connection to reality.” AIG goes on in a different essay to define worldview from the “American Heritage Dictionary as ‘The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world. ‘The most simplistic definition for a biblical worldview is to have the mind of Christ. That would mean that one would think like Christ; love like Christ; act like Christ; walk like Christ: have the humility, patience, longsuffering and all of the other Galatians 5:22–26 fruits of the Spirit. Christ would not only be the model but the individual’s worldview would be an exact copy. That is the final target of the committed Christian’s process of sanctification. Prior to reaching that glorious point, Christians will have more or less of every aspect of Christ’s worldview reflected in their biblical worldview.”

The moment you neglect your salvation which is Jesus and Him risen and sufficient to pay the penalty for our sins, your reality shifts. The Bible is the only connection to reality, but for those 92% not having the biblical worldview, they have accepted that it is OK to add things to the Bible and thus have corrupted their mind of Christ. In future parts of the series I’ll discuss this addition mentality and how it relates to (in)sufficiency.

(ClipArt source ChristianArt.com)

I strive to maintain my biblical worldview by studying the Bible, praying, living consciously for Christ, repenting frequently, making decisions and taking actions that are consistent with what the bible says to do, and saying that is what I am doing, worshiping unabashedly, and loving people. It is as if I took the Bible and put it in front of my eyes like glasses and that is the view from which I look out into the world. I will admit to you that this lifestyle is seen as weird today. I’m not talking about the lost, they think anything related to the Bible is weird. I am talking about close brothers and sisters in a conservative, southern Baptist church who think my worldview is weird. I’ve been accused by believers of taking the Bible way too seriously. Seriously!

That is how love goes cold. They leave their first love. Once they do that, submissive adherence to the Bible’s precepts for everyday living is seen as extreme. According to Barna’s numbers, it is extreme, if 92% of my fellow Baptists do not fully believe six basic six tenets of the Bible (those aren’t even the most foundational doctrines, either, other essential doctrines here). Anyone who does believe those 6 basic precepts is easily seen as too hot, too fervent, too outside the norm. And we are.

Praise the Lord that He always keeps a remnant! How precious to Him is that 8%! Those sixteen in the midst of the 200 drifting away, striving to retain zeal and live submitted, Godly lives! If you know one of these, now you know how much more precious than gold these saints are. Pray that at all times we do not do anything to douse the ardor of these few saintly sheep, and if we do, hasten to reconcile in all Agape love.

Part 4 will deal with the twin corruptives in the church: carnality and insufficiency, and how they lead to spiritual abuse.

Part 1: Introduction, Love growing cold
Part 2: Are you tending your anchor?
Part 3: The numbers aren’t good
Part 4: Carnal Carnival, & the greatest sin pastors commit
Part 5a: When carnality leads to spiritual abuse
Part 5b: Is your church spiritually abusive?
Conclusion: Spiritual Leaders and Humble Relationships

Posted in bible, christmas, repent

About blogging…

Posted on by elizabethprata

In January of 2009 I started this blog. It wasn’t my first blog. In August 2006 I started The Quiet Life, a more personal blog and one which I still keep up to this day. I picked up on blogging only a bit late, 2004 was proclaimed the Year of the Blog. Before that I’d been writing for newspapers and before that I’d been writing academic papers for Universities as a graduate student. 2004 was the year that the medium burst onto the scene and journalism has never been the same. Neither have activism, diaries, relationships, or book publishing. Even some churches have their own anonymous blogger watchdogs.

So in 2009 I received a conviction that my lifetime of writing would and could be put to good use for Jesus. World Wide Web outreach was possible through this medium. However, I was daunted in January of 2009 by the sheer number of blogs out there. Blogs covered every topic and every corner of the internet. “[T]he current estimates say there are about 450 million “active” English language blogs right now, but that number varies according to the source. Technorati estimated over 200 million blogs at the start of 2009, with exponential growth since then.” (source)

200 million blogs? Plus one more? Was anyone even going to notice my blog? My paltry words floating out on the ethersphere? But I leaped in, confident that the Holy Spirit knew what He was doing and that even if only one person ever read this blog that it would be the right person at the right time. So on January 6, 2012 it  will be the three-year anniversary of this blog. I’ve blogged on this blog 1411 times, an average of 470 essays per year. More than one a day, every day, for three years. The Holy Spirit is endlessly creative.

I thought that the economic crash of October 2008 was a huge end time sign and was pleased to be used of the Lord for His name by writing. I love writing and I love the Lord so it is literally a match made in heaven. Through prayer and bible study the Spirit makes me aware of the deeper things of the Word and then I can turn around and write on topics I feel led by the Spirit to write about. If what I write is of the Spirit, He will pierce the heart of the person and they will be convicted, or encouraged. I’m humbled by this process, and often am reduced to tears of thanks when someone writes that they were moved by something on the blog. When that happens it is a visible manifestation to me of the Spirit’s working in the world.

But not so many visitors came in 2009 even after the crash. People still thought what was happening in the world was kind of normal. I didn’t think so but I knew the nature of birth pangs would be such that eventually they’d become noticeable to a wider swathe of the population, and then they would come running for answers. Hopefully they would accept Jesus as that answer.

For all of 2010 there were still millions of blogs being opened each day. I blogged on. Sometimes I’d get discouraged that the people would not respond as well to the theological posts as they would the weird posts. Essays about UFOs or sinkholes or weird noises or vampires always got lots of hits and the ones about Jesus being God … didn’t. But in the end I was grateful that someone felt compelled to read what is here because that meant they were searching for a Divine reason for the weird things happening rather than a secular one.

In January 2011 the page views went from the steady hundreds per day as they had been for two years, to a steady thousands per day. If you remember January 2011 opened with Aflockalypse. That was the world-wide event where thousands of birds at various locations simply dropped dead to the ground. Then it started happening with fish and then other wildlife such as starfish or penguins or seals. THAT seemed to get people’s attention in a way that even the economic crash of 2008 hadn’t. In March 2011 was the all-time high for page views and you’ll remember that was when the Japan earthquake and tsunami and resulting nuclear disaster occurred. People were awake now.

Since Aflockalypse, the page views have only been upward.  Last night I passed 1 million views.

Though the numbers are humbling to me, they aren’t really so great in the blogosphere. Many, many other blogs get a million views per day, not a million views in three years. But I wanted to take a moment to thank the Holy Spirit for this ministry, because each and every one of those views is a blessing. Someone, somewhere, looked at a page here and in so doing learned a little bit about Jesus. Each time I write I aim to exalt Him, and to promote that He has a plan for each of us and that it is available to each of us if we will just repent of our sins.

I boast of Him, and the opportunities and ministries He gives us for His name. Delivering information about Jesus, connecting people with Jesus, alerting people about Jesus’ soon arrival, urging people to repent before it is too late, are blessings for me to perform in His name. Seeing the interest in prophecy go up as the page views rise (not just my blog but many others) means that people are becoming alerted to the times. They are waking up. And it is a blessing because He gave us a more sure word, prophecy, and it is coming to pass just as He said. (2 Peter 1:12-21).

THIS is the reason for this blog: (Philippians 2:6-11):

Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

I want this blog to be as this verse, “For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Thank you all for your visits and your encouragement. I will keep blogging until the day I die or the rapture, whichever comes first. I will keep proclaiming the Goodness of Jesus until the end of time and then for all eternity. I hope that for your Christmas present you fall out of love with your sin and in love with the Savior from your sins.

As we read in the above sermon, “Romans 10:9-10, ‘If you confess Jesus as Lord with your mouth, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you’ll be saved.’ Saved from hell, from sin, from judgment. Better to confess it now and go on confessing it forever in heaven than to go on confessing it in bitterness and remorse forever in hell. Every tongue will confess it.” (source). Will you confess today? It would be the best Christmas present ever.

http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/12/about-blogging.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in bible, comfort, contemplative prayer

Let the Man of Sorrows comfort you in your sorrow

Posted on by elizabethprata

Dear friends,

As the times become more cold, and love ekes away, many people may find they are feeling rejected for their faithful witness to Jesus. They may feel sorrow and betrayal. These are hard things to bear. We are all human, and we all want to feel loved for who we are, but sometimes, because we are human, we are rejected instead. Or maligned. Or misunderstood. Or any of the myriad of things that a population of diverse people feel when they are thrown together and have only one common bond: Jesus.

But what a bond!

Isaiah 53:3 says “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.” Recently I was thinking of when He was alone in the Garden and everyone fell asleep even though He had asked for company. And later, how Peter said he didn’t know Him, denying Jesus three times. That had to have hurt. I thought about the universe’s most ultimate betrayal, Judas. I thought of Jesus saying to Judas, “What you must do, do quickly.” (John 13:27).

You see, Jesus KNEW Judas was going to betray Him, but He loved Judas perfectly anyway. That is a powerful model of love. If I knew I was going to be betrayed and rejected ahead of time, would I love the people all the same? I’m human but sinful and Jesus was human and sinless. Therefore I know I would not.

Jesus came to earth SO THAT He could feel these things with us. Did you know that? We focus on the salvation aspect of His time on earth and His sacrifice as the Lamb. But did you know that He is not only Messiah, but also High Priest? He was fully God and fully Man and He came to feel every emotion that we feel. Hebrews 2:17-18 says “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

He wanted to feel everything we feel so He could be the most faithful High Priest, not only to save us but to sympathize with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now let that stop us for a moment. The God of the Universe poured Himself into human skin to live a full life, so that He could save us by dying, but before that, to feel what we feel as we are tempted.

When you are feeling lost, lonely, sad, rejected, tempted, betrayed, angry, bitter, or anything else, remember, that when we pray to Him, He is there. He knows. When we feel betrayed, He knows. He has been there. He serves God as our High Priest, interceding for us in a way that is fully empathetic. He is God, yet He came to us as fully human this so He could empathize with us in our times of sorrow. Are you not floored by knowing this?

Know this also, Psalm 56:8b- “Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?” He not only numbers the hairs on your head but sees and knows every tear shed in His name.

Psalm 34:18- “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.” So, just knowing He WILL do it, helps us until He does it. That is faith.

Are you crying in your own sorrows right now? This from Revelation 21:4 “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Your face may be wet today, but he will dry it Himself on that Day! Isn’t it worth the wait, and the tears, just knowing He will fulfill His promise to wipe them away with His own hand? If your tears feel large to you today, just imagine how small they will be when His hand erases them into oblivion and gives you perfect peace.

And finally, remember the Love chapter from 1 Corinthians 13. Love bears all things. Love means we have to open ourselves to people and love them, even knowing that rejection, betrayal, sadness and hurt will come along with that. We don’t like it, but Jesus said to choose this kind of love as an expression of the Gospel He came to proclaim. His hurt and betrayal was so monstrous, how can we then complain of ours? We cannot.

Begin praying for others. Pray for missionaries in places where their mission will bring them death. Converts in the dangerous places where their faith may bring them imprisonment or worse. Praying for others in worse circumstances helps us put our things into perspective; HIS perspective.

The key is to focus on Jesus. He is the lens through which all trials are put into proportion. He gives comfort and He gives a Kingdom perspective, of eternity. Prayer helps and prayer works, because the Spirit brings to mind his Word, and his Word is always the triumph over all. Why? It is the greatest love letter ever written, and relying on it through submission to and by the strength of the Spirit revives even the poorest, saddest child of Jesus.
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/12/let-man-of-sorrows-comfort-you-in-your.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in bible, dignity, prophecy

Has today’s church said "dignity shmignity"?

Posted on by elizabethprata

I enjoy a good laugh as much as anyone. I love fun, a good time, being with friends, and yukking it up. However, I do not believe those things are appropriate for church, for bible study, for ecclesiastical conferences, or for prayer meetings. The call to dignity is both overt and inferred in the scriptures.

In the first essay I wrote about my concerns with Beth Moore’s teaching, I wrote that one of the issues is that she is not dignified on stage. I am not speaking of a personal preference, though I do have biases in this area. The scriptures in that piece speak to how we must act when in the position of teacher or elder. She uses signs, tricks, volunteers, personal anecdotes, jokes, innuendo, and more. When she teaches the bible, she is not dignified.

Mark Driscoll is pastor of the Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington. He is well known for his casual approach to preaching the Sunday Services, in demeanor and in apparel. He readily admits that his sermon delivery is influenced by stand-up comedians like Chris Rock. I saw the first and only clip of Mr Driscoll a week or so ago. He was speaking of the Twilight novels and movie release in culture and how it is affecting the young girls of today, like his own daughter. I posted the 10 minute video on my blog here, and I fully admit that it is hilarious. He strode about the stage in tennis shoes, jeans, and untucked flannel shirt, making funny remarks and it was a good ten minutes of  punchline delivery that Chris Rock would envy.

I believe that demeanor is important when one is delivering a teaching on the greatest information ever imparted to Man. I am not a fuddy duddy, but the clear call to present the Gospel of Jesus and Him crucified means deliver it with dignity.

How many pastors today forgo a jacket and tie on Sundays anymore? How many over-rely on media such as video, loud music, dancing, casual attire, and any and all things that actually distract from the bible as the central focus?

Venerable evangelist Paul O. Nichols wrote in 1997,

“YOU ARE STANDING ON HOLY GROUND”
“Today if there is ever a time when a man is on “holy ground” it is when he is preaching Christ and Him crucified. Qualifications are specified. The inspired writer says, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2). Peter demanded, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet 4:11). Preaching and teaching the word of God is a serious matter. The pulpit is no place for frivolity and merrymaking. Theatrics and foolishness are as out of place in the pulpit as a cowbell in a musical concert, and beneath the dignity of a faithful representative of the crucified Christ. No man has a right to profane the pulpit while representing the Saviour of the world. Cuteness and slang may provoke a laugh from the less spiritual, but the more serious disciple of Jesus demands sincerity and evidence that Christ lives in us (Gal 2:20).”

Do you demand sincerity and evidence that Christ lives in us from your church, your pastor, your services? I hope so. Dignity is an old fashioned word these days, much maligned. But while there is a place for frivolity and fun, guffaws and jokes, there is also a place for dignity. The two places are not the same.

The lowering of standards of pulpit behavior is indicative of the lowering of the place of Jesus in the heart of one who is treating Him so casually. It belies an internal attitude that Jesus is lower than He is, which is consistent with the attitude of many of today’s pastors who preach man higher than he is. The lowering and heightening will eventually meet as level after the rapture. It will soon after that find its ultimate culmination in the Man of Sin. Finally, satan (for a little while) will live on earth as the king of earth where Jesus is below man. But not for long.

When the time is fulfilled and the transgression is finished, (Dan 9:24) Jesus will appear as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS! “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” (Revelation 17:14)

There is none higher and all the enemies of Him are under Him at the footstool. “A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” (Psalm 110:1)

You can be a joint heir with Christ, (Romans 8:17) or under His feet when He comes. He leaves the position you want to occupy up to you. Repentance and belief brings the former. Rejection of His pardon brings the latter.
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/12/has-todays-church-said-dignity.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in back to basics, bible, jesus, salvation

What’s "The Gospel"?

Posted on by elizabethprata

I watched a good movie called Time Changer this summer. It was stodgy and slow, but I like stodgy and slow. It was set in 1900 and was about a junior seminary professor who writes a book saying that in some cases it is all right to preach living a good life without using Jesus as a moral absolute. A senior professor of the seminary objects to that section in the book and urges the young seminarian to use his secret time machine to go 100 years into the future to see where his beliefs will lead. He arrives in 2000 horrified to experience the cold and pale thing Christianity has become.

What I liked about the end was a scene where he is getting ready to return to the past. He says goodbye to a laundromat caretaker he had met, and gives him a bible. He says the following to the laundromat guy, named Eddie:

“Jesus is coming back soon to set up His earthly kingdom. The requirement, though, to enter this kingdom, is that we must be absolutely perfect, without sin.

Well, that leaves me out of that party.

No one is without sin, Eddie. Not one! All of us face eternal judgment and separation from God. This is why we must accept Jesus Christ into our life as Lord. He is the only one who lived a perfect life, and thus became the substitute for our sins.

For me, too?

Yes, for you too Eddie. He rose from the dead, proving He was God. And He wants to save us from the penalty of our sins, and give us eternal life. But we must first individually receive Him. This is what it means to believe in Jesus.

I never heard it explained so simple, preacher.

God wants us to be reconciled to Himself. So much so that He gave His only so to die for us. It’s all in the bible. I pray that you will consider what I’m saying.”

That is the Gospel. Here are some few scriptures that are proof texts for this Gospel:

Jesus and His kingdom: Revelation 20:4, Daniel 7:13-14, Zechariah 14:8-11
Requirements for entry: John 3:5, John 3:3, Titus 3:5
No one is without sin: Romans 3:10
We all face judgment: 2 Corinthians 5:10, Hebrews 9:27, Romans 2:16, Acts 10:42
Jesus is sinless: 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5, Hebrews 4:15, 2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus is our substitute: Isaiah 53:4-6
He died for all: John 1:29, “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'” and John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” 1 John 2:2, “and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
Jesus’ resurrection: Acts 13:33, Romans 1:4
Believe and you shall be saved: Acts 16:31, Romans 10:9
It’s all in the bible: 2 Timothy 3:16

Why was a sacrifice necessary? Why was it necessary that blood had to have been shed? The Gospel is that we believe Jesus the son of God is fully God and fully man, manifested in the flesh, who came to earth to seek and save the lost. He died on the cross, shedding His blood as the perfect, sinless sacrifice. He was buried and resurrected by the power of God three days later. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

 Leviticus 17:11 says “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ ” Hebrews 9:22 says “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

I do not know why God set it up that the blood is the life, and is the mechanism for atonement, but it is so because we are told that by His word. God had to pour out His wrath for sin upon Jesus, whose shed blood was payment for the sins of the world. There had to be a sacrifice and it had to be pure. Jesus is sinless, and was therefore acceptable to God as that sacrifice. Jesus took on all the sins of the world AND all God’s wrath for it. He took our place so we do not have to endure God’s wrath, unless a person rejects Jesus. Then they are subject to wrath! Forever!!

That’s the Gospel. Please believe it. Your soul depends on it.
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=%20http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/11/whats-gospel.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150

Posted in bible, false doctrine, false teachers

Why we name false teachers

Posted on by elizabethprata

Christians are called to love one another. However foremost and primarily we are called to live in truth and protect the truth. So many times John rejoices over the new Christians walking in the truth, in 1 John, 2 John, 3 John… Do not mix up loving the brethren with remaining silent when false teaching comes for the sake of peace. If you love them you will speak up.

The Word is a precious gift, bought with the blood of our own Savior so that it could be inspired by the Spirit to men whom God loves so dearly. It is God’s own revelation of Himself to us for Godly living and proper worship. 2 Timothy 4:2 tells us to —

“preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.”

I submit to you that the Word is out of season at this present time. It is very hard today to cut through the accumulated baggage that is American Christianity. There are fads, books, ridiculous doctrines, liberalism, and attacks on the very foundations of the most basic truths of the faith. Under most attack today are the notions of hell as a place for eternal punishment of the unrighteous, that Jesus died for sins and rose again on the third day, and that Jesus is the only way to heaven. One out of season approach to the Word that particularly grieves me is when people say “take God out of the box” we have put Him in and they stay away from conviction of their convictions. No, God is not in a box, He is infinite. But He purposely revealed  Himself in the 66 books of the bible and that is the God He wants us to know at this time. He didn’t make Himself uninterpretable and He didn’t make Himself unclear in that revelation. There is more to God, but for now, we work with what we have, and that is the God in the bible. Which ironically often comes in a box.

Paul warned that a major end times sign is that they will not endure sound doctrine. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires:” (2 Timothy 4:3).  It doesn’t say that they will not endure doctrine, but sound doctrine. The Greek word “sound” in the part of the verse ‘sound doctrine’ means healthy, pure, well as in not-sick. It means as opposed to a debilitating sickness. And that is what unsound doctrine is, sickness.

It reminds me of the verse in 2 Timothy 2:17. Paul urged the workers in the faith to remain strong, refuting the words of false teachers such as Hymenaeus and Philetus, and Paul said something interesting here. He said that their teachings will spread like gangrene. The Greek word used here gangraina means gangrene, just as we know it today. A cankerous, spreading, oozing sore sickness. The US National Library of Medicine defines gangrene as “the death of tissue in part of the body.” The church is the body of Christ. Does that resonate with you, or what?

Paul is saying that false teachings kill off parts of  the body in oozing, putrid, destructive manner. Worse, the method of death of this tissue is defined as happening “when a body part loses its blood supply.” Jesus paid for the body with His blood so when we are cut off from the blood of Jesus by false teachings we are in very severe danger! That is what false teaching does, causes destruction to a part of the Body. The Holy Spirit was so apt in using gangrene as a metaphor! How wonderful He is!

So how do doctors treat gangrene? If it is caught before the infection goes too far, it is removed through a medical term called debridement, a medical word meaning the precise removal in an exact surgical procedure excising just the infected tissue. (I don’t want to get carried away with stretching metaphors too widely, but the body of the church is called the Bride…) However, if gangrene is left untreated for too long, a larger part of the body may need to be amputated. Finally, if left untreated for too, too long, the whole organism dies.

As far as the Word goes, I submit to you that failure to correct false teaching in firm manner over the last few decades has led us to the very brink of this apostate time, when Jesus said asked if, when He returns in His second coming, will He find faith upon the earth? (Luke 18:8.) One can almost imagine the gangrenous, disgusting thing that religion will have become by then, left untreated. And the pure parts that are left will have been amputated do deeply there may only be one finger or one toe remaining in light and in truth. Sorry for the gross images, but Paul started it!

So what are we to do when coming across a false teaching? Now I admit it is easier to point to a false teaching when finding a false teaching like Jentezen Franklin or Joel Osteen, or Beth Moore or Billy Graham because they are far away and we can simply turn the channel, walk by their table at the book store without purchasing, or say no to taking up their simulcast. But what happens when the false teaching comes to your church and you have to endure it week after week? Now there is a problem and I tell you up front is the hardest thing in the world to handle. Many, many people won’t, can’t, or don’t. And that is why we are in this apostate situation. Brothers and Sisters, you have to point it out!

But before you do, make sure that you have prayed, loved, walked, studied, waited, watched, and prayed some more. Then and only then when the Spirit assures you the time is right, go public. Be ready for blowback of satanic proportions!

People will question your authority to point out a false teaching, especially if your pastor is promoting it. This is very good, we should be questioned when we say a church leader or pastor is promoting a false teaching. (That is why you have to be very sure that the Spirit led you to the right conclusion). Read these following verses but be sure to read them in the context of the chapters later so you have a thorough understanding of the mandate and burden to publicly exhort against a false teaching.

1 Timothy 5:20: Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.

Titus 1:13: This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith

Titus 2:15: These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

But am I sure we are to do this to a brother? Yes. When Peter went off the rails in Antioch, Paul opposed Peter to his face. “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.” (Galatians 2:11-14). What? Wasn’t Peter saved? Not condemned? Well John 3:18 says we condemn ourselves by what we believe and Peter had condemned himself by accepting a false teaching. It also could mean that the Gentile believers at Antioch were condemning Peter already. There was a ruckus and it was known that a division was happening in the church there because of the divisive nature of the Judaizers’ false teaching.

It was particularly hard because the co-pastor at Antioch, Barnabas, Paul’s beloved Barnabas! was now also being carried away too. Gangrene spreads, and Paul must have been grieved to see he was losing Barnabas to the hypocrisy dividing the church there. Peter was the most highly thought of in all of Christendom. But that didn’t stop Paul, because Jesus is even higher than that and it is His name we defend. He got to the point in Gal 2:14 where when he “saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the Gospel.” Paul waded in, knowing that the truth was more important than keeping peace. He opposed Peter to his face. The Spirit saw fit to include that in the record so we must use that as a pattern for today. When public sin against the Gospel encroaches on the church, there must be immediate and unequivocal church discipline to rectify it. Otherwise when we preach holiness and purity but don’t get rid of unholiness and impurity, we destroy our own credibility.

Now to the other point. Many people say not to name names. However, throughout the New Testament, we are told who was sinning and why. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, Saducees, Scribes and Herodians. (Matthew 16:6-12 and Matthew 23:15). Paul rebuked Peter in Gal 2. Paul dealt with Hymenaeus, Philetus (1 Tim 1:20), and Demas (2 Tim 4:9-10). Peter dealt with Simon the Sorcerer and Ananaias/Sapphira (though these last two were not false teachers bringing false doctrine, but liars bringing hypocrisy to the tithe or grieving the Spirit). Names were named.

We know the names of the false doctrines too, not just the people perpretrating them. There were the  Judaizers/Legalists, (Acts 15:1), Gnosticism (1 Timothy 6:20-21, and likely was what Paul was dealing with in 1 Cor 8),  Asceticism (Colossians 2:18-23), Antinomianism (2 Timothy 3:2-9). There are other false doctrines, but suffice to say, why do we know the names of these false doctrines now? Names were named.

Most of these false doctrines are still around today, and indeed it is a blessing that they were named, so we can identify them and combat them in same manner as the forefathers of the faith did.

I have tried to show you that false doctrines and teachings are a gangrenous cancer that must be opposed and excised. It is uncomfortable to do this and it seems excessive to name names. But let me put it to you this way. Knowing now that false teaching kills the body, let us think of false teaching as a runaway train hurtling toward your town and potentially crashing into the houses and businesses lining the track.

The first thing to decide is, IS there a runaway train, and is it on our track? Have we heard the report correctly? Paul saw that they were not straighforward, and to me this means he had examined the issue up close and had proof. It doesn’t say “Paul heard…” or, “Paul wondered…”If it is a true report of a runaway train, would you stand by and say nothing? Would you say, “Well, the people in the houses are asleep, they will get mad at me if I call them at this hour. I better stay quiet for the sake of peace.” Of course not! But that is what people expect us to do when we spot a false teaching.

Secondly, do you make the call to the house owners in the path of destruction and say this:

“Get out! there is a runaway train coming!”
“Where is it?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
Well, from what direction is it coming?”
“I can’t tell you that either.”
“What is the name of the train? Which train?”
“Sorry, I can’t tell you.”
“What time will it get here?”
“I can’t tell you that as well.”
“Why can’t you tell me the specifics???”
“Because I don’t want to offend the train.”

What good is sounding the alarm if you won’t go into specifics? Failure to be specific on behalf of not wanting to cause trouble for the perpetrators of false teaching is actually saying you prefer to besmirch the name of Jesus because you don’t want to offend satan!

It is not easy to do this though. It is not easy to discern false teaching, it takes prayer and study. It is not easy to stand up to the spiritual leaders and say they are wrong. It is not easy to maintain your convictions in the face of blowback. They will make you quail and they will make you doubt.

But look at our gracious God:

Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD. (Jeremiah 1:7). He was true to Jeremiah and He will be with you as well,

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20). We are to go forth teaching and protecting the sound doctrines of the Gospel in the disciples and He will be with us to the end.
http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jshttp://www.facebook.com/widgets/like.php?href=%20http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-we-name-false-teachers.html

http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=xa-4df8df7d18b59150