Category: God

Posted in God, hell, holy, judgment, torment

Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead

Posted on by elizabethprata

The Glorious Return

29“But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. 31“And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31)

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: (2 Timothy 4:1)

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, (Hebrews 9:27)

But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. (1 Peter 4:5)

The Judgment of Babylon

God will judge all people for their lives. No one these days likes to think about the LORD as judge, not even some Christians. Of course, the difference between Christians and non-believers is that though our lives will be examined and assessed, we will not be judged in wrath. Jesus exhausted God’s wrath for our sins while He was on the cross. There is no condemnation for us now. (Romans 8:1). Even at that, it is still excruciating to think of Jesus staring at our heart and soul with His piercing eyes (Revelation 1:14) and know all our words, deeds, and even motives as He sends our works through the fire to either become silver and gold, or burn away as hay and stubble. (1 Corinthians 3:12)

For those who are not in Christ, the judgment will be terrible. Who can stand?

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; (Psalm 5:5)
The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. (Psalm 9:7)
He rules the world in righteousness and judges the peoples with equity. (Psalm 9:8)

God is holy and He judges. He knows each and every word the unsaved say. He sees all their deeds. He knows motives in the heart. Nothing is hidden from Him.

Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, How much more the hearts of men! (Proverbs 15:11)

Make no mistake. Jesus is a loving God, but He is a holy God who judges all men.

As a part of his sovereignty and authority, God is executor of his righteousness within the created order. Jesus Christ shares in this ongoing work.

(Source: Manser, M. H. (2009). Dictionary of Bible Themes)

He judges individuals, nations, rulers, families, cities, and His own people. The eternal punishment of the ungodly is sure. (certain Ro 1:18 See also Pr 10:24; Isa 13:11; 26:21; 66:16; Jn 5:28-29; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6; 1Th 5:3; Heb 2:2-3. Source: Manser). It will be everlasting,(2Th 1:8-9, Isaiah 33:14), and the wicked will be forever separated from God’s presence.

God is serious business. He means what He says, that all rebellion will be judged and punishments meted out accordingly. I am firm on this today because as I said earlier, man does not like to think of God’s judgments. But we must.

They diminish His holiness by vain talk and babblings about visions, as Beth Moore does when she says God calls her “Honey” and “Babe” in her alleged visions. They besmirch His majesty and His wrath by writing books about erotic encounters, as Anne Voskamp did in her book One Thousand Gifts (“I fly to Paris and discover how to make love to God.” etc.) They blaspheme Him like in The Shack by William P. Young, by portraying God as a female pancake making Aunt Jemimah who says “Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It’s not my purpose to punish it; it’s my joy to cure it.”

Oh, but God does both.

God is a MAJESTIC JUDGE, potent in holiness and coming in wrath to judge all the living and the dead.

The following verses speak to judgment

JUDGMENT.
The General: 1 Chr. 16:33; Job 14:17; Job 21:30; Job 31:13–15; Psa. 9:7; Psa. 50:3–6; Psa. 96:13 Psa. 98:9. Eccl. 3:17; Eccl. 11:9; Eccl. 12:14; Ezek. 18:20–28; Dan. 7:9, 10; Amos 4:12; Matt. 3:12 Luke 3:17. Matt. 7:22, 23; Matt. 8:29 With 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6. Matt. 11:22 Matt. 10:15. Matt. 12:36, 37, 41, 42 Luke 11:31, 32. Matt. 13:30, 40–43, 49, 50; Matt. 16:27 Mark 8:38. Matt. 22:13 vs. 11–13.; Matt. 23:14; Matt. 25:1–14 [Luke 19:12–26.] Matt. 25:15–46; Mark 4:22; Mark 13:32; Luke 10:10–14; Luke 12:2–5; Luke 13:24–29; Luke 20:45–47; John 5:22; John 12:48; Acts 2:19–21; Acts 10:42; Acts 17:31; Acts 24:25; Rom. 2:5–10, 12–16; Rom. 14:10–12; 1 Cor. 3:13; 1 Cor. 4:5; 1 Cor. 6:2; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Thess. 1:7, 8; 2 Tim. 4:1, 8; Heb. 6:2; Heb. 9:27; Heb. 10:27; 1 Pet. 4:5, 7; 2 Pet. 2:4, 9; 2 Pet. 3:7, 10–12; 1 John 4:17; Jude 6, 14, 15, 24; Rev. 1:7; Rev. 6:15–17; Rev. 11:18; Rev. 20:11–15; Rev. 22:12.

According to Opportunity and Works: Gen. 4:7; Job 34:11; Prov. 11:31; Prov. 12:14; Prov. 24:11, 12 Psa. 62:12; 2 Tim. 4:14. Isa. 3:10, 11; Isa. 5:15, 16; Isa. 24:2; Isa. 59:18; Jer. 17:10, 11; Jer. 32:19; Ezek. 7:3, 4, 27; Ezek. 9:4–6; Ezek. 16:59; Ezek. 18:4 [vs. 5–9.] Ezek. 18:19–32; Ezek. 33:18–20; Ezek. 39:24; Hos. 4:9 Hos. 12:2. Amos 3:2; Zech. 1:6; Matt. 10:14, 15 Matt. 11:24; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5; 10:12–15. Matt. 12:37; Matt. 23:14 Luke 20:47. Mark 14:21; Luke 11:49, 50 v. 51.; Luke 12:47, 48 [See parable of the vineyard, Isa. 5:1–6. Of the farmer, Isa. 28:24–28. Of the wicked tenant farmers, Matt. 21:33–36. Of the talents, Matt. 25:14–30.]Luke 13:6–9; Luke 19:12–27; Luke 21:1–4; John 3:19, 20; John 5:45; John 9:41; John 12:48; John 15:22, 24; Rom. 2:5–12, 27; 1 Cor. 3:8, 13–15 v. 12.; 1 Cor. 4:5; 2 Cor. 2:15, 16; 2 Cor. 11:15; Gal. 6:5–10; Eph. 6:7, 8; Col. 3:25; 1 Tim. 1:13; Heb. 2:2, 3; Heb. 10:26–30; Heb. 12:25; Jas. 2:12, 13; 1 Pet. 1:17; 2 Pet. 2:20, 21; Rev. 2:23; Rev. 20:12, 13.

(Source: Swanson, J., & Nave, O. (1994). New Nave’s Topical Bible. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems.)

Why am I writing about judgment? Because it is infrequently discussed these days. It is an unpalatable topic for too many people. But our God is holy and He is glorified in judging the wicked. Judgment in Holiness is one of His sovereign attributes and as such is is profitable for men to ponder His great and mighty decisions.

Anyone not in Christ has not been forgiven of their deeds, which are hostile to God and against Him as enemy. He will judge them and they will then endure eternal torment in hell forever to pay the penalty for those sins. DId you know that…

“And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” (Isaiah 66:24)

Matthew Henry Commntary speaks of that verse from Isaiah-

But our Saviour applies it to the everlasting misery and torment of impenitent sinners in the future state, where their worm dies not, and their fire is not quenched (Mk. 9:44); for the soul, whose conscience is its constant tormentor, is immortal, and God, whose wrath is its constant terror, is eternal. (3.) What notice shall be taken of it. Those that worship God shall go forth and look upon them, to affect their own hearts with the love of their Redeemer, when they see what misery they are redeemed from. As it will aggravate the miseries of the damned to see others in the kingdom of heaven and themselves thrust out (Lu. 13:28), so it will illustrate the joys and glories of the blessed to see what becomes of those that died in their transgression, and it will elevate their praises to think that they were themselves as brands plucked out of that burning. To the honour of that free grace which thus distinguished them let the redeemed of the Lord with all humility, and not without a holy trembling, sing their triumphant songs.

Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1218). Peabody: Hendrickson.

Oh, yes, the gratitude that we are spared! The humble thankfulness with which we sing His praises. Our Redeemer! We are a blessed group, never forget His lovingkindness to those whom He chose for Himself. We are His trophy of grace, and looking upon the wicked in torment, how much more will be fall to our own knees in crushed and broken contriteness and relief to worship such a God!

Why we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear (Hebrews 12:28)

Posted in encouragement, God, grace

So much grace and good gifts from the Father

Posted on by elizabethprata

For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)

Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

For the Lord God is a sun and shield,…. Christ is “the sun of righteousness”, and it is in the house of God that he arises upon his people with healing in his wings, Malachi 4:2 he is like the sun, the great light, the fountain of light, the light of the world, that dispels darkness, makes day, and gives light to all the celestial bodies, moon and stars, church and ministers; he is a “sun” to enlighten his people with the light of grace, to warm them with the beams of his love, to cheer and refresh their souls with the light of his countenance, and to make them fruitful and flourishing and he is a “shield” to protect them from all their enemies; he is the shield of faith, or which faith makes use of, against the temptations of Satan; he is the shield of salvation, and his salvation is a shield which shelters from divine justice, and secures from wrath to come:

The graces of our Lord are manifold. He bestows grace upon grace to His children who believe in Him. What joy we have in worshiping and loving our Jesus.

He gives us the sun and our shield, as Charles Spurgeon says,

“A sun above, a shield around. A light to show the way and a shield to ward off its perils.”

His good gifts don’t stop there, He gives favor and honor, too. Grace upon grace. As T. Guthrie says of Psalm 84:11-12,

Mountains have been exhausted of their gold, mines of their diamonds, and the depths of ocean of their pearly gems. The demand has emptied the supply. Over once busy scenes silence and solitude now reign; the caverns ring no longer to the miner’s hammer, nor is the song of the pearl-fisher heard upon the deep. But the riches of grace are inexhaustible.

Turn to sweet Jesus today, pray for Him to comfort you, enliven your weary heart, to strengthen your legs and straighten your arms for the days ahead. Draw His grace around you as a blanket of eternal love from our wonderful God.

Posted in God, immutability, spurgeon, unchanging

Charles Spurgeon on "The Immutability of God"

Posted on by elizabethprata

The IMMUTABILITY OF GOD – defined,

The unchangeability of God. In biblical theology God is described as unchanging in His nature and in His character. This includes God’s being (essence), purposes, and promises.

Psalm 102:25–27 contrasts God’s unchanging nature with that of the created order. Numbers 23:19 and 1 Sam. 15:29 indicate that God changes neither His plans nor His actions, for these rest on His unchanging nature. James finds assurance of God’s future blessings in that there is in God “no variation or shadow cast by turning” (James 1:17 HCSB). After referring to His constant patience, long-suffering, and mercy, God concludes with a general statement of His immutability: “For I, the LORD, do not change” (Mal. 3:6 NASB).

Source: Johnson, W. (2003). Immutability of God. In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (pp. 810–811). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Since God never changes, we like to think more about His unchanging nature as expressed in endless patience, constant mercy, persistent protection, etc. We love to ponder the ‘good’ outflows from His immutability. In his Sermon #1 delivered at New Park Street Chapel, Southwark in 1855, Charles Spurgeon chose to preach on the immutability of God. After an introduction of extolling what immutability means in terms of the outflow of His other ‘positive’ attributes, Spurgeon said, “But now comes one jarring note to spoil the theme.”

“I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6)

To some of you God is unchanging in his threatenings. If every promise stands fast, and every oath of the covenant is fulfilled, hark thee, sinner!—mark the word—hear the death-knell of thy carnal hopes; see the funeral of thy fleshly trustings. Every threatening of God, as well as every promise shall be fulfilled. Talk of decrees! I will tell you of a decree: “He that believeth not shall be damned.” That is a decree, and a statute that can never change. Be as good as you please, be as moral as you can, be as honest as you will, walk as uprightly as you may,—there stands the unchangeable threatening: “He that believeth not shall be damned.” What sayest thou to that, moralist? Oh, thou wishest thou couldst alter it, and say, “He that does not live a holy life shall be damned.” That will be true; but it does not say so. It says, “He that believeth not.”

Here is the stone of stumbling, and the rock of offence; but you cannot alter it. You must believe or be damned, saith the Bible; and mark, that threat of God is an unchangeable as God himself. And when a thousand years of hell’s torments shall have passed away, you shall look on high, and see written in burning letters of fire, “He that believeth not shall be damned.” “But, Lord, I am damned.” Nevertheless it says “shall be” still. And when a million ages have rolled away, and you are exhausted by your pains and agonies, you shall turn up your eye and still read “SHALL BE DAMNED,” unchanged, unaltered. And when you shall have thought that eternity must have spun out its last thread—that every particle of that which we call eternity, must have run out, you shall still see it written up there, “SHALL BE DAMNED.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Further Reading

Joel Osteen talked about Jesus how many times?

Joel Osteen likes God, he just doesn’t like Jesus

The Shocking Word that Joel Osteen has almost never Tweeted

Posted in astronomy, Bob Ballard, creation, God, science

Star Trek-like force field protects earth from killer electrons

Posted on by elizabethprata

I was raised an atheist. My father was in love with science, Darwin, and everything related to evolution. In our house, Darwin was God. Creationism was dismissed with a sneer and “Science” was worshiped.

In some ways I am grateful for the heavy emphasis on science, because I have an enduring love for it now. I enjoy the scientific process, scientific advances, and the interplay between ivory tower discoveries and boots on the ground impact to societies.

However, the bible is the truth, and in Romans 1 we learn that the glory of God has been revealed to all people. It has been made plain to us in His creation. Growing up, I would try to balance what I’d been taught about the Big Bang theory and evolution and other ‘science’, with what I was actually seeing about the creation.

What was I seeing? A glorious earth, mysterious, complex, delicate but sturdy. I’d see the march of the tides, regular and dependable. I’d see the stars, meteor showers, northern lights, moon phases, and occasional comets and I’d wonder how they all got there and why it was so orderly. And so beautiful.

Polar Lights. The Graphics Fairy

I was born in 1960 and I vividly remember the old black and white television set showing ticker tape parades for the early astronauts who went into space and returned alive to tell the tale. The first moon landing…I’d muse about my grandmother, born around 1900 and died around 1980. She was born when man was earth-bound and she watched us as a species leave the ground through flight and eventually leave earth and hurl ourselves into space. The twentieth century was an amazing time to be growing up.

I’d wonder, what is it about man that makes him restless, and wanting to know more, pursue frontiers, go into the dangerous and enticing starry deep?

Bob Ballard was huge too. His pursuit of knowledge from another frontier, deep ocean, captivated me. In the 1970s and 1980s he and Jacques Cousteau kept my interest with reports of yet another ‘previous unknown species’ from the deep. Who were these creatures? Why don’t we know about them? How many more are there? What’s going on down at the deepest levels of the ocean?

My childhood home in RI was not far from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) and the University of RI offered a solid course in oceanography. RI is called “The Ocean State”. Ocean stuff was all around. Therefore, I was curious about the discovery of the deepest ocean mysteries, the hydrothermal vents, discovered in 1977 by Dr Ballard in his submersible Alvin. WHOI explains,

In 1977, scientists diving in the submersible Alvin made a stunning discovery on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean: vents pouring hot, mineral-rich fluids from beneath the seafloor. In addition, they also found the vents were inhabited by previously unknown organisms that thrived in the absence of sunlight. These discoveries forever changed our understanding of Earth and life on it.

That turned my perspective upside down. Organisms that live on magnesium and sulfur and acids?? Organisms that do not need the sun nor photosynthesis? How can this be? How does a cludgy and unwieldy theory such as evolution account for such earthly variety?

It doesn’t, as I came to learn when the Lord regenerated my heart.

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:19-20).

They are without excuse because they suppress the truth. (Romans 1:18). I understand this personally and dramatically because the more I looked around me at creation, the more it was plain that God must exist.

Here is some news that shows plainly, once again, that God is showing Himself as Creator.

Earth’s Invisible ‘Star Trek’ Force Field Protects You From Killer Electrons

The Earth is surrounded by “killer electrons,” and it turns out one of the only things protecting us from them is an invisible force field of the type usually seen in sci-fi flicks.

These electrons, part of the two Van Allen radiation belts that surround the planet, can knock satellites out of commission and threaten astronauts. But in a new study in the journal Nature, scientists say they’ve discovered that these electrons suddenly stop at about 7,200 miles above the surface of the Earth. 

“It’s almost like theses electrons are running into a glass wall in space,” professor Daniel Baker, director of CU-Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and lead author of the study, said in a news release. “Somewhat like the shields created by force fields on ‘Star Trek’ that were used to repel alien weapons, we are seeing an invisible shield blocking these electrons. It’s an extremely puzzling phenomenon.”

LOL, really. Earth is specifically, uniquely, and wonderfully protected by a shield. Here is an artist’s rendition of how the shield may look and how it works.

Caption: “An artist’s rendition of the Van Allen radiation belts as well as the “invisible wall” that blocks electrons from the Earth. | Andy Kale, University of Alberta“.

source

Here is how I like to imagine the same scientific scene in spiritual terms. God’s hands personally protecting us, His people, on the planet He created for us to inhabit and work it and take care of it. (Genesis 2:15).

The scientist said in another article, “Things we thought in the past were true simply are not correct.” (source)

Lol, really.

Science is wonderful and I am for science. Christianity and science are not mutually exclusive. Science has given us penicillin, DNA understanding, X-rays, space travel, even the internet that fuels this laptop.

However I’d like to say two other things also. The bible is not a book of science. It refers to natural history and other scientific processes, but ultimately it is not an apologetic for human science. It is a book which recounts deeds of a mighty Creator.

Secondly, the bible transcends science. It is always true. Time and again, men and women pursuing an understanding of how earth or ocean or space works, find that they must revise or even abandon their theories. While it can be said that a ride on a scientific theory is like hanging on to a tiger by its tail because it changes so often, ultimately, truth is found in God and in His Bible, and that ride is constant. It is always true. It never needs revision.

People who cling to science as exalted highest knowledge eventually become disappointed because ‘Things we thought in the past were true simply are not correct’. Ultimate truth and ultimate resting in that truth is not in science, it is in God. He never changes. (Hebrews 13:8). There is no shadow of turning in Him. (James 1:17).

The worship of Abraham to God and Jeremiah’s and Micah’s and Peter’s and Paul’s and Calvin’s and Spurgeon’s and MacArthur’s and mine is a constant because it’s toward an unchanging God. He is the same. The world around us changes, and our understanding of it lessens and deepens as we see the science advance and retreat in its hurtling through this frontier or that. However, Moses worshiped the same God I do. This is a comfort.

I never need to restlessly pursue this theory or that, only to find the scientists are changing it all again! What joy to see revelations of our Creator through men like Dr Baker who pursue knowledge of how and why our earth works as it does.

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

Posted in faith's checkbook, God, psalm, spurgeon

Spurgeon Archive: The Unfailing Watch

Posted on by elizabethprata

From the Spurgeon Archive.

Thursday, November 13, 2014
Faith’s Check Book, Daily Entry
C. H. Spurgeon
November 13
The Unfailing Watch

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:4)

Jehovah is “the Keeper of Israel.” No form of unconsciousness ever steals over Him, neither the deeper slumber nor the slighter sleep. He never fails to watch the house and the heart of His people. This is a sufficient reason for our resting in perfect peace. Alexander said that he slept because his friend Parmenio watched; much more may we sleep because our God is our guard.

“Behold” is here set up to call our attention to the cheering truth. Israel, when he had a stone for his pillow, fell asleep; but His God was awake and came in vision to His servant. When we lie defenseless, Jehovah Himself will cover our head.

The Lord keeps His people as a rich man keeps his treasure, as a captain keeps a city with a garrison, as a sentry keeps watch over his sovereign. None can harm those who are in such keeping. Let me put my soul into His dear hands. He never forgets us, never ceases actively to care for us, never finds Himself unable to preserve us.

O my Lord, keep me, lest I wander and fall and perish. Keep me, that I may keep Thy commandments. By Thine unslumbering care prevent my sleeping like the sluggard and perishing like those who sleep the sleep of death.

Posted in believer, bible, discernment, evolution, God, truth

"Scientists discover that atheists might not exist, and that’s not a joke"

Posted on by elizabethprata
 

This is an interesting article. It expresses a truth that goes even deeper than the scientists know.

“Scientists discover that atheists might not exist, and that’s not a joke”
Metaphysical thought processes are more deeply wired than hitherto suspected…

WHILE MILITANT ATHEISTS like Richard Dawkins may be convinced God doesn’t exist, God, if he is around, may be amused to find that atheists might not exist. Cognitive scientists are becoming increasingly aware that a metaphysical outlook may be so deeply ingrained in human thought processes that it cannot be expunged.

While this idea may seem outlandish—after all, it seems easy to decide not to believe in God—evidence from several disciplines indicates that what you actually believe is not a decision you make for yourself. Your fundamental beliefs are decided by much deeper levels of consciousness, and some may well be more or less set in stone.

This line of thought has led to some scientists claiming that “atheism is psychologically impossible because of the way humans think,” says Graham Lawton, an avowed atheist himself, writing in the New Scientist. “They point to studies showing, for example, that even people who claim to be committed atheists tacitly hold religious beliefs, such as the existence of an immortal soul.”

We’ve heard what the heathens say. What does the bible say?

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,g in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)

Gill’s Exposition of Romans 1:19 explains how even the Heathens (as Gill terms them) can have knowledge of God-

there are some things which may be known of God, without a revelation. Adam had a perfect knowledge of him; and his sons, though fallen, even the very Heathens have some notion of him, as that there is a God; and by the light of nature it might be known that there is but one God, who is glorious, full of majesty, and possessed of all perfections, as that he is all powerful, wise, good and righteous:

and this is manifest in them, or “to them”; by the light that is given them: it is light by which that which may be known of God is manifest; and this is the light of nature, which every man has that comes into the world; and this is internal, it is in him, in his mind and conscience, and is communicated to him by God, and that by infusion or inspiration;

All men have knowledge of God. But they suppress it. How do they do this, then? The article demonstrates this very thing by what the author says next:

If a tendency to believe in the reality of an intangible network is so deeply wired into humanity, the implication is that it must have an evolutionary purpose. Social scientists have long believed that the emotional depth and complexity of the human mind means that mindful, self-aware people necessarily suffer from deep existential dread. Spiritual beliefs evolved over thousands of years as nature’s way to help us balance this out and go on functioning.

‘If spirituality exists, it MUST have an evolutionary purpose’. See? Not, ‘if spiritualism exists in all of us, there MUST be a God.” Suppressed!

Since the heathens acknowledge the truth that there is a consciousness of God and they attribute that truth to evolution, not to God, they beg the question, which is, why does man, and only man, have a sentient, self-awareness of his own being? And included in this self-awareness is his position in the universe under some Higher Being. But they do not care to answer the problem of consciousness, and with it the knowledge of a spiritual element to our existence. They simply ignore that and go on to explaining that our evolution must have generated this spiritual element in man to aid our ‘existential dread.’

This existential dread has existed in man since the Fall, when we see it rearing up in Cain.

Cain and Abel

Cain had just slain his brother Abel. God is cursing Cain and pronounced the verdict of Cain’s punishment upon him: Cain was to be exiled, never more work the ground successfully, and be a fugitive and a wanderer. (Gen 4:12) Cain cried out that this was more than he could bear. To wander meant that his life would be taken. God assured him that vengeance would be upon anyone who would kill Cain, and then Cain went out.

Cain knew that to wander as a fugitive meant that he would be easy prey to the obviously greatly increased population. Why dread fellow man? Why fear that he would be killed? Cain knew man was to be feared. After all, hadn’t Cain just slain Abel?

From Cain’s line and many that came after Cain from other lines, they knew God but they acknowledged Him not.

Yet the deep need to express ourselves under a Higher Being, or a force, or a spiritual element in our lives still existed. So they took to idols.

Idols are specifically mentioned in the bible first when Rachel took her father’s household gods. (Genesis 31:9). But actually the Tower of Babel was man’s first attempt to worship falsely. Cain worshiped incorrectly (by offering what he knew to be a wrong sacrifice) but not falsely. The Tower of Babel was about man trying to worship unfaithfully. (Genesis 11:4)

How soon men forget the most tremendous judgments, and go back to their former crimes! Though the desolations of the deluge were before their eyes, though they sprang from the stock of righteous Noah, yet even during his life-time, wickedness increases exceedingly. Nothing but the sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit can remove the sinful lusts of the human will, and the depravity of the human heart. God’s purpose was, that mankind should form many nations, and people all lands. In contempt of the Divine will, and against the counsel of Noah, the bulk of mankind united to build a city and a tower to prevent their separating. Idolatry was begun, and Babel became one of its chief seats. (Matthew Henry’s Commentary)

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

How will we each respond to the eternity that is set in our heart? We cannot fathom the unfathomable, as Job acknowledged. (Job 42:3) But we can know what God intended us to know about Him, in the specific revelation of His word. We can also see His glory expressed through His general revelation to all men through His creation.

Idolatry is the ultimate unfaithfulness to God. We all have knowledge of Him in us. The question is, will we rightly attribute that knowledge to His planting of it, or to an impersonal universe evolving in us a mere chemical soup? The answer of course is that greatest glory is to see Him as God, Highest and Mighty. He is El Olam- The Everlasting God!

And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. (Genesis 21:33)

Public Domain
Posted in dallas, disease, ebola, God, hazmat, wrath

Daily Mail: Man without a hazmat suit helps second Ebola nurse board plane; "Who’s the idiot with the clipboard?"

Posted on by elizabethprata

UK Daily Mail reports,

Disbelief and panic as mystery man WITHOUT a hazmat suit helps second Ebola nurse board her plane to Atlanta, disposes waste and then climbs aboard

As news helicopters swarmed over Dallas’ Love Field this evening to watch the second U.S. nurse to contract Ebola board a private plane bound for Atlanta, one lone mysterious man stood out from the pack. Holding a clipboard and directing the transfer, the unidentified man seemed to be the only person on the tarmac without protective clothing, wearing just a button down shirt and trousers.

While Ebola is not an airborne disease, his presence so close to patient Amber Vinson’s medical team sparked fears after he was seen grabbing a container and hazmat trash bag from one of the workers’ in full-protective gear and later boarding the flight. It is believed he flew with Vinson and the other hazmat-suited medical staff to Atlanta and local television crews spotted him with the stricken nurse as she disembarked at the airport in Georgia to be transferred to Emory University Hospital. When the plane landed in Atlanta, the man had still not donned any protective clothing and was seen openly interacting with Vinson and the other medical professionals caring for the nurse

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Clipboard man appears to have flown on the same flight as infected Miss Vinson,
as he is seen in footage of her getting into an ambulance at an airport in Atlanta

Video at link.

CDC has been telling us that ‘extra margins of safety’ have been followed, yet we learn that the first patient in Dallas was turned away from the hospital, even after reporting he had just returned from Liberia.

We’re told that the CDC is on it, but then we learn that 2nd Dallas nurse Amber Vinson had a fever when she flew, but was allowed to fly by the CDC (whom she called) because the fever was 99.5 and not 100.4, putting her into the ‘low risk’ category.

We are told that an ‘abundance of caution’ is the watchword, yet our border and inbound air flights are wide open to all comers.

We are told that Ebola is not and can’t be caught through the air, yet this doctor says it can be

We can go on and on pointing out the inconsistencies the Government and other Authoritative Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) tell us, but one fact remains, we cannot control disease and it goes where God wills or allows.

God’s goal in pandemic diseases is always restoration and repentance. He did before and He still does display His wrath through disease to show His power and might and holiness. As Ebola has instilled fear in the world population, one would hope that the fear of the disease would turn to fear of God accompanied by repentance. A repentant person with God will live forever. An unrepentant person fearing only the disease will die and die forever, over and over and over throughout all eternity.

This ongoing Ebola fear also shows us another thing, the only One we can fully trust is God.

God showed His love through Jesus, and through illnesses such as devastating pandemics, (which Ebola is not yet) God also shows His wrath and His power. Please read the following essay.

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Further Reading

What Does The Bible Say about Pandemic Diseases?