Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ (Jeremiah 6:16)
Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. (Proverbs 4:26)
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:6)
My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. (Job 23:11)
All our righteous walking with Jesus is not without intervention by angels, strength of the Holy Spirit, and the will of God, because satan the adversary always tries to hinder us. He attempts to knock us off the path. He works to misdirect us.
because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. (1 Thessalonians 2:18)
Gill’s Exposition says of the Thessalonians verse,
Satan does all he can to hinder the preaching of the Gospel, the hearing of the word, the profession of religion, and the saints coming together, and having spiritual conversation with each other; being, as his name “Satan” signifies, an enemy to Christ and his interest, and to the souls of men: indeed he can do nothing but by divine permission, nor can he hinder the will of God, and the execution of that, though he often hinders the will of man, or man from doing his will; he hindered the apostle from doing what he willed and purposed, but he did not hinder the will of God, which was that Paul should be employed in other work elsewhere.
Stay true to the Lord and His ways. Stay in the Word, and stay praying. God promised to those who walk in His paths that they will find rest for their souls. Though as we see in the Jeremiah verse, some refused to walk in His ways.
The old way isn’t the popular way! It is being abandoned daily by people who have decided that new is better. They are leaving the Bible, the old songs of the faith, old fashioned worship, praising the Lord, and preaching. Seeker services are replacing old time worship of the Lord. Yet, God has not changed, Heb. 13:8. I can find no room to change myself. I think I’ll ask for the old paths and walk in them. How about you? The enemies are changing the signs, but the Lord will knows the way. Let’s ask Him and He will lead! (source)
Amen!
If satan changed the signs on your path, would you still know which way to go?
El Panecillo is a tourist attraction in Quito Ecuador. I was in Quito some years back and I snapped a photo of the famous statue. Then I messed with it in Photoshop and it came out like this:
Kind of end of the world doomish, don’t you think? I always titled it in my writings or categorized it in my files as “Angel of Quito”. Here is my original:
Here is the statue from wikipedia, full-on:
But before I even was saved, or knew Jesus, or knew the background of the statue, I was interested in it. I learned that it was called “The Woman of the Apocalypse.” But then I learned even more about the statue and what I learned made me sad. Because it is all wrong, I tell you, all wrong. Here’s the scoop.
The statue is not of an angel. It is of Mary, Jesus’s mother and termed in Catholic circles, The Madonna. Traditional iconography of Madonna statues is that she is standing on the globe and stepping on a snake, which indeed she is in the Quito statue. More unusual, are the wings. Madonnas are not typically adorned with them. The circle above her head is the circle of twelve stars as referred to in Revelation 12:1–18. Protestants usually interpret the verse describing the woman with 12 stars as mother Israel and her 12 tribes of sons.
However the iconography that the Catholics ascribe to Mary is heinous in the extreme. For example, transferring the commonly understood interpretation of the woman as a sign of Israel, to her instead being Mary is very bad. Secondly, the twelve stars are the tribes, but to Catholic tradition, she is Mary, Queen of Heaven. “The Catholic teaching on this subject is expressed in the papal encyclical Ad Caeli Reginam, issued by Pope Pius XII. It states Mary is called the Queen of Heaven because her Son, Jesus Christ, is the King of Israel and heavenly King of the Universe. The Eastern Orthodox churches do not share the Catholic dogma, but have themselves a rich liturgical history in honor of Mary. The title Queen of Heaven has long been a Catholic tradition, included in prayers and devotional literature, and seen in Western art in the subject of the Coronation of the Virgin, from the High Middle Ages, long before it was given a formal definition status by the Church.” (source).
There is only one Monarch in heaven, Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Mary, of course, is not royalty and her station as shown above the world is a false elevation of who she really was: a forgiven sinner just like us.
Worst of all are the iconic depictions of her stepping on the snake. In Genesis 3:15 we read, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This is the prophetic pronouncement from God to Adam and Eve in the garden of the coming hope, Jesus Christ. Switching HIS work to crush sin and death (Dan 9:24; Rev 20:14) to Mary’s work is idolatry in the extreme.
As Matthew Henry said in his commentary of the crushed snake and bruised heel, “A gracious promise is here made of Christ, as the deliverer of fallen man from the power of Satan.” Mary does not deliver us from sin, though the cumulative iconography and traditional teachings of the Catholic Church is that she does.
So all that time when I was in Quito and I had been looking at this iconography in statuary and paintings, I never knew how wrong it was. After having snapped the photo and worked with it on my computer, I never knew how dishonoring it was to the Lord. But now that I am saved, I detected immediately the erroneous parts that made up a dastardly whole.
I don’t quite know what I’m trying to say here, other than how easy it is to be deceived. As a non-believer of course, the things of God make no sense and that person is not expected to be able to detect the nuances or differences between true and false doctrine, symbols, or idolatry vs. true worship. But as an unsaved person, I absorbed those false views, and after salvation I had to work at dispensing with the false notions that had littered my mind and heart.
Even Christians though, are often fooled by religious works that mirror something that seems full of truth but isn’t really. I have been surprised lately when mentioning some of the false things contained within Roman Catholicism, that fellow believers are not aware that they are even false in the first place, never mind being able to point to the bible on how or where.
Please always stay within the Word, in prayer, and in fellowship with Christians in these troubled days. We need each other, the false is everywhere and the true is harder to find. Bless His name, though, because on the Last Day, He will not be hard to find. He is coming in great power and glory (Rev 1:7) to demonstrate in power and glory (Mt 24:3) that HE IS FAITHFUL AND TRUE! (Rev 19:11). He is the only true God and there is no other. (Is 45:5).
Sometimes people have a hard time believing that satan is god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4). It doesn’t mean satan is outside the sovereignty of God, or that he is equal to God. It just means that he has been given authority for a time to operate freely in influencing humans.
GotQuestions explains it this way: The 2 Corinthians verse means that it “is a major influence on the mind-set expressed by the ideals, opinions, goals, hopes and views of the majority of people. His areas of influence also encompass the world’s philosophies, education, and commerce. The thoughts, ideas, speculations and false religions of the world are under his control and have sprung from his lies and deceptions.“
Since satan’s original sin was pride, it is natural that he would want to see himself reflected in anything and everything. He wants to use the earth as a personal mirror, reflecting himself back to himself in as many human endeavors as possible. To this end, he has been fairly successful.
For example, the names for the days of the week originate from Roman, Greek, and Norse mythical false gods. Anything from an ancient myth from any culture is not from God but in fact is satan’s attempt to create a false religion apart from God.
The days of the week are named after false gods in satan’s image.
Sunday:The name comes from the Latin dies solis, meaning “sun’s day”: the name of a pagan Roman holiday honoring the sun god, whom Romans called Mithra and Apollo.
Monday: The name comes from the Anglo-Saxon monandaeg, “the moon’s day”. This second day was sacred to the goddess of the moon.
Tuesday:This day was named after the Norse god Tyr. The Romans named this day after their war-god Mars
Wednesday:The day named to honor Wodan (Odin). The Romans called it dies Mercurii, after their god Mercury.
Thursday:The day named after the Norse god Thor. In the Norse languages this day is called Torsdag. The Romans named this day dies Jovis (“Jove’s Day”), after Jove or Jupiter, their most important god.
Friday:The day in honor of the Norse goddess Frigg. In Old High German this day was called frigedag. To the Romans this day was sacred to the goddess Venus, and was known as dies veneris.
Saturday:This day was called dies Saturni, “Saturn’s Day”, by the ancient Romans in honor of Saturn. In Anglo-Saxon: sater daeg.
The planets are named after Greek gods, corporations and technologies are named after characters and gods in myths (Delphi, Oracle, Amazon, Aetna, Ajax, Juno, Nike, Pandora radio), the elements on the periodic table are named after gods, (Mercury, vanadium (Vanadis) and thorium (Thor); titanium was named after the Greek Titans.
“The name of the titanium dioxide mineral, which has been approved by the International Mineralogical Association, honors Pan Gu, said in Chinese mythology to be the first living being who created the world by separating yin from yang (forming the earth and sky).”
It is amazing how satan has saturated all cultures with things that divert from the one True God. (Matthew 16:22-24). It’s like the old subliminal advertising, subtly and not even consciously absorbing what satan wants you to absorb. As Christians operating in the power of the Holy Spirit we can see these ploys for what they are, and use our armor to ward off encroaching worldiness. But as a mental exercise, try to keep how many things in our world are named after false gods and you will be amazed at how long the list gets, very quickly.
God has all the power and the victory. He won and He will prevail at the end of days. Satan’s day will end and he will be tossed into the lake of fire, there forever to be tormented for his sins. (Revelation 19:20). In the meantime, let’s continue praying for the people who are deluded into thinking that the false gods are real and the real God is not, and for revival of many hearts in these days of Noah.
And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ —Matthew 4:3
Did satan not know Jesus is the Son of God? Of course satan knew. We see that he and his demons knew this in Luke 4:41,
And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.
And we see that the demons knew that Jesus is the Son of God in Mark 5:7,
And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”
And James 2:19 says even the demons believe, and shudder!
Throughout scripture we read that satan knows full well who Jesus is. So why would satan begin his temptation by saying, “IF you are the Son of God…”?
Because he wanted to get Jesus to doubt. Ergo, satan’s question is a deceptive skepticism.
Satan himself has no doubt whatsoever that Jesus is the Son of God. However, satan’s issue is that he thinks he can beat Jesus in a contest of wills. Satan believes he can usurp Jesus from His position as King of KINGS and Lord of LORDS. We know satan knows that God is highest, and we read satan’s conviction that God won’t be God on his throne forever, that satan himself will usurp Him. These are the five “I wills” of satan in Isaiah 14:13-15. Satan doesn’t doubt a thing.
Satan isn’t skeptical of God’s existence nor is satan skeptical of who God is. Neithr is satan unsure of himself. Satan’s scheme is to get US to doubt.
Scripture warns us repeatedly about deception-
fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock… (Acts 20:29)
We picture a fierce wolf with fur standing up and fangs bared. But that is how they are inwardly. If we saw the fierceness in the wolf, we would know he was a wolf. What we see in false teachers is a pleasant demeanor, smiles, apparently helpful and meek. A Joel Osteen, not a Hulk Hogan. The false ones are disguised.
false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13)
What they bring, however, is philosophy and empty deceit (Colossians 2:8)
Their disguise and pleasant demeanor hides a purposeful destruction-
false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies (2 Peter 2:1).
We see the philosophy and empty deceit in the tactic satan used with Christ, “IF you are the Son of God…”
Sowing doubt is an age-old tactic of satan, and why not? It works. However there has been a shift from false sowers who sow doubt about God’s word, (like Rob Bell) to those who claim to be Christian but sow doubt about God’s existence. (Like the IF:Gathering). It is a significant shift.
Ten years ago Rob Bell made headlines. He was a self-proclaimed ‘Evangelical’ who sowed doubt about the inerrancy of scripture as God’s perfect word. Bell was the perfect ‘Hath God said?’ guy. His method was to ask questions under the guise of sincerely seeking truth but what he was doing was actually sowing doubt and using dishonest skepticism to do it. There is a difference between honest questioning and dishonest skepticism.
The women of the IF:Gathering, a subject on which I’ve written a three-part series, question the existence of God. No, these women are not atheists. They are not Wiccans believing in goddess power. They claim to be Christians, and claim to study God’s word, IF He exists, that is.
Doubt in a believer happens occasionally. Doubting one’s salvation temporarily is natural. Doubting an interpretation of a doctrine is all right, until you work it out under the illumination of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit eventually supplies confirmation of all of the above, if you pray and seek Him.
Permanent skepticism, though, is not noble. Being skeptical of God’s existence is not all right. But what we see from the dishonest questioners is the ignoble doubt of God’s existence. Ignoble because God has shown Himself to all people and those who fail to accept His existence are suppressing that truth in unrighteousness. (Romans 1:18-19).
It is satan’s assault on our own faith and the baseline truth it rests on: God is One and there is no other. He is real. Believers don’t doubt God’s existence. If you doubt He is real, you’re not a believer. It is not a faith question, then, but a problem of deliberate suppression of the truth that brings wrath.
Believers are held responsible even for sincere or temporary doubts. Priest Zechariah was rendered mute because of the doubt he voiced when the angel foretold that he and Elizabeth would bear a son in their advanced age. (Luke 1:18-20). He was a priest, well versed in the scriptures, and an angel was telling this to his face, but Zechariah still asked how this is possible. The angel responded,
And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day when these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.
Jesus rebukes us for our doubts, even when they are honest, sincere, and soul-searching. Either pointedly as in Matthew 14:31 to Peter, or gently, as in John 20:27-29 to Thomas.
We are told that when we ask for wisdom,
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)
Dishonest skepticism emanates from a false worker of iniquity. It is a satanic tactic designed to get you to doubt what you know and thus diminish your faith. Learn the difference and avoid any person, teacher, or organization that systematizes either skepticism or doubt.
Sometimes people have a hard time believing that satan is god of this world. (2 Corinthians 4:4). It doesn’t mean satan is outside the sovereignty of God, or that he is equal to God. It just means that he has been given authority for a time to operate freely in influencing humans.
GotQuestions explains it this way: The verse means that it “is the major influence on the mind-set expressed by the ideals, opinions, goals, hopes and views of the majority of people. His areas of influence also encompass the world’s philosophies, education, and commerce. The thoughts, ideas, speculations and false religions of the world are under his control and have sprung from his lies and deceptions.” Continue reading “You’d be surprised to see how many things are named after false gods…”→
I love prophecy. I always have. It is glorious to read in the Bible, uplifting me even when the Prophets pronounce doom. This is because I worship a God who prophesies, and He prophesies because He is Master of all history. He Prophesies because He can. He is the only One who can. And it’s especially uplifting when the prophecy comes true, namely, in the form of the Messiah who came and died and was resurrected on the third day.
remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ (Isaiah 46:9-10, emphasis mine)
We worship a God who is that powerful. He ordains every event, every heart, every minutiae throughout the entire universe. Yet He tells us – His created creatures – what He is doing and will do.
For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7).
but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name. (John 20:31).
In the Word of God AKA the Bible, God has set down a progression of past and future history which we can read and study and understand. This is what is called fulfilled prophecy and unfulfilled prophecy. Prophecy remaining to be fulfilled includes (but is not limited to),
The Rapture of the Church
The Great Tribulation
Jesus’ Second Coming to Earth
Vanquishing of the Armies at Armageddon
All Israel Will be Saved
The Millennium Kingdom
Satan Bound in the Pit during the Millennium Kingdom
Satan released
Great White Throne Judgment
Destruction of earth and universe, New Heaven and New Earth
Eternity
?
EPrata photo
What a powerful God. The word for that concept is omnipotent. Let’s get back to using proper Bible words for things, such as justification, sanctification, glorification, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotent, transcendence, immanence, etc.
Omnipotence is an attribute of God alone. It is the quality of having all power (Psalm 115:3). He can do all things that do not conflict with His holy nature. God has the power to do anything He wants to do. However, God cannot do that which is contrary to His nature. For example, God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).
Omnipotence is referred to in Job 42:2.
I know that you can do all things and that no plan of yours can be thwarted.
As Jesus returns and protects all the recently converted Jews at Petra at the end of the Tribulation, and swings over to Armageddon and slays the collected armies, then lands on the Mount of Olives which then splits in two, Jesus subsequently sets up the kingdom on earth which will last for a thousand years.
The Millennium Kingdom is a period of time where all the promises to Israel about inhabiting their promised lands without need for fighting to keep it or to fend off attacking armies will be fulfilled. The Messiah will personally rule and reign and the world will be in peace.
The people who are alive at the end of the Tribulation will include both saved and unsaved. In order to determine who will be allowed to enter the Kingdom (saved) Jesus will gather all the nations in front of Him, and He will separate the believers from the unbelievers. This is the Sheep and Goats judgment, as explained here. (Matthew 25:32-33).
Jesus will also have an angel cast satan (and by implication, his demons) into the pit to be sealed in for 1000 years- the entire period of the Millennium Kingdom. (Revelation 20:1-2). Imagine those who are born into the Millennium Kingdom living with Jesus reigning perfectly and peacefully, and no satan or demons around to tempt them or to deceive the nations!
However, just because believers enter the Kingdom, it does not mean that their offspring will necessarily be believers. As people are born and grow up, they live on the planet under Jesus’ rule and outwardly submit, because He rules with a rod of iron. (Revelation 2:27). Inwardly they are rebelling. This is because people are still sinners with a sin-nature. Not all are glorified yet.
But Jesus knows this, and he has a plan.
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. (Revelation 20:1-3, emphasis mine).
The Master’s Seminary published an essay in Spring 2014 addressing the question, why must satan be released?
As with all previous “must statements,” it is not only that Satan will be released, as seen with the future tense in Rev 20:7 (“And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison,”), but also Scripture plainly states that after the thousand years are over, Satan “must be released for a short time.” Chafer considered that, “No small mystery gathers around the fact that Satan is released from the abyss even for ‘a little season.’” He further refers to it as “this strange release.” Based on the normal use of “must” in other Scriptures, many scholars also mark its use in Rev 20:3. Thomas writes in regard to Satan’s release, “It is a divine necessity. . . for the dragon to be released ‘after these things.’” Swete concurs, writing in reference to the future release that “it must come; there is a necessity for it (dei).” Alford refers to the usage as “the dei of prophecy; must according to the necessity of God’s purposes.”
For it is written of satan’s final defeat:
And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:7-10).
The Master’s Seminary article continues:
In addition to the other reasons, Satan must be released to deceive the nations and bring about not only the final rebellion, but also the final deaths of all humans who reject the Messiah. Further, God’s promise “to curse the ones who curse you” actually relates to all enemies of Israel and not only to the Gentile nations. In keeping with God’s Word, God curses Satan and throws him into the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). Then when death has been abolished forever and after the Great White Throne judgment of the eternally damned (Rev 20:11–15), when all evil will have been divinely eradicated, then the new heavens and new earth—and New Jerusalem—will arrive.
Jesus said I AM seven times. Satan said “I will” five times. There is a big difference between I AM and I will.
Jesus said,
“I am the bread of life. (John 6:35).
“I am the light of the world. (John 8:12).
“I am the door. (John 10:9).
“I am the good shepherd. (John 11:25).
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6).
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser” (John 15:1).
In Isaiah 14:14-15 it is said of satan,
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart,
I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will be like the most High.
Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. (Isaiah 14:14-15)
Jesus declared himself I AM out loud, before many, Satan wished, quietly in his heart. Jesus declares the reality, Satan declares his individual desire. Jesus is eternally I AM, satan was created and began to generate ambition later.
Jesus was, and is, and is to come (Revelation 1:8) and what He purposes will come to pass (Isaiah 46:10. Satan WILL NEVER, EVER, EVER HAVE ANY OF HIS WISHES, HOPES, AMBITIONS, GOALS, OR PURPOSES ULTIMATELY COME TO PASS. (Revelation 20:10).
Jesus did it all, He paid it all, it is finished.
Friends, remember, satan is a defeated foe. He is active, but moot. He is around, but vanquished. Those of us in Christ are victorious through Christ’s eternal act of submission, crucifixion, and resurrection, His love, and His will.
UPDATE: Another unexploded ordnance was found in another National Forest, this time, in Spokane WA. The following is from Spokane News, December 18-
Fairchild Air Force Base main gate, highway 2 briefly closed due to unexploded ordnance brought to base visitor center FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. – At approximately 4 p.m. base security personnel closed the main gate while Washington State Troopers later closed a small section of U.S. Highway 2 outside Fairchild AFB. A cordon was established when a civilian brought a live 60mm mortar round into the base visitor center in an apparent attempt to safely turn the ordnance over to Air Force officials. The 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team safely removed the device from the main gate area and the gate and highway were reopened to traffic at 4:50 p.m. The mortar round was reportedly discovered by a local resident while he was hunting two hours away from base. The incident is currently under investigation.
When the world geography class at Riverheads High School in Staunton rolled around to the subject of major world religions, homework on Islam asked students to copy religious calligraphy.
It read:
“Here is the shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, written in Arabic. In the space below, try copying it by hand. This should give you an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy.”
The illustrative classical Arabic phrase was the basic statement in Islam. It translated to: “There is no god but Allah, and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah.”
When students took it home, it was like a spark hitting a powder keg. … Calls and emails flooded the school. Some of them demanded the teacher be fired for assigning it. … The county school system reacted. It removed the shahada from world religion instruction. “A different, non-religious sample of Arabic calligraphy will be used in the future,” it said.
Of course it was an attempt to indoctrinate students. Of ALL the Quran or Hadiths one could have asked the students to copy “as an example of calligraphy”, the workbook the teacher said she took it from had THAT particular sentence. If we translated this news story into one that said the exact same things but used a Christian example, it would go like this:
Here is the Isaiah 45:5 verse, the Biblical statement of faith, written in Hebrew, and the 1 Timothy 2:5 verse, written in Greek. In the space below, try copying it by hand. This should give you an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy.”
The illustrative classical Hebrew phrase was the basic statement in Christianity. It translated to: “I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; and the Greek verse reads, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”
Imagine the outcry. Read the rest of the article linked above for the security part and why the School Administrators felt the need to close all their schools for the day.
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For no particular reason, I’ll post this next graph. It struck me. From Marketwatch:
Just because the news media focuses more on a topic, doesn’t mean it is happening more. But in the case of terrorism, your eyes may not be deceiving you. New research produced by the University of Maryland’s National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland has identified a big surge in mass terror attacks. The chart here doesn’t take into account the Paris or Mali terror attacks, or indeed any that have occurred this year. [2015] (There were 11 in the first half of [2015].) The terror group that claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks, Islamic State, is also the leading perpetrator of all attacks between 2000 and 2014, accounting for 12% of the total.
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Did you know there are a series of highly suspicious and unusual events occurring in Mid-Missouri?
In and around December 10, 2015 we learned that there was a spate of suspicious bulk cell phone buys in the wee hours of the morning at various Wal-Marts. Some men of Middle Eastern aspect attempted to purchase 20 or 60 or more cell phones at a time. Cell phones of this type make tracing calls very difficult, and cell phones also are used to detonate bombs. The FBI is looking into to it.
We also learned that week that there was a mysterious spate of propane tank thefts in the same area. In and around December 11, 2015, we read of the thefts.
KANSAS CITY, MO – Many are on edge after several law enforcement agencies notified the FBI about bulk purchases of cell phones at Missouri Walmarts. Now, another incident has some worried about terrorism. A large number of propane tanks have been stolen from several locations near Kansas City. WDAF-TV reports that a BP gas station in Lee’s Summit had 18-20 tanks stolen from outside cages last month. A CVS reported the same crime on the same night. Two weeks later another CVS in Independence was hit and 28 tanks were stolen from that location.
A viral picture of a strange man walking in the woods in Missouri — combined with a number of suspicious cell phone purchases elsewhere in the state — have many believing the two may be connected to a possible terror plot. According to KFVS-TV, residents have described odd encounters with the man, who was caught on a trail cam in Madison County, Missouri.
From what I understand, the area is rural, the entry to the national forest at that location is remote, no car was found, he was not dressed for hiking or camping, and he disappeared. Which is interesting, because of this next news item from, you guessed it, Missouri. This is from October 2015.
WAYNESVILLE, Mo. -Pulaski County sheriff’s department investigators are trying to find who left explosives in the Mark Twain National Forest in. A hunter found them early Saturday. More from KY3-
The hunter is an Army combat engineer from Fort Leonard Wood. He recognized his discovery as explosives and immediately reported it to the sheriff’s department. “The first shock went off just like ba-boom! Rocked my house. And then about another 15 seconds later baboom! It was even worse than the first one, rattled the windows and stuff in my house,” said Eugene Davis, who lives near the discovery.
On Missouri 17, south of Waynesville just inside the national forest, there’s a little dirt path used by hunters and campers. In a clearing just a few hundred feet from the highway, a hunter found a box containing a significant amount of explosives. A bomb squad from Fort Wood used a robot and found commercial explosives and decided it could not be moved and had to be detonated there. The sheriff’s office warned neighbors in the area and, about 15 minutes later, two large explosions rattled windows in the area and left two craters each about two feet across. Leaves were blown off trees and the explosion set a small brush fire that was quickly put out by firefighters.
Apparently the explosives are the kind “that cannot be purchased easily.” Officials are not saying if they were homemade bombs or IEDs.
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Next up, we have this stupidity. I mean, really.
We have an adversary. He is the devil, satan, that old dragon. (1 Peter 5:8) He has schemes. (2 Corinthians 2:11) He is relentless, for his hatred drives him. This hatred was demonstrated at the time he entered Judas (the only human alive that the Bible records satan himself possessing) all to betray Jesus. (Luke 22:3-6). He steals, kills, and destroys. (John 10:10) He knows his time is short (Revelation 12:12) and thus strives to do everything possible to continue his rebellion against God (Isaiah 14:13-154) by attempting to destroy humanity’s relationship with God (remember, humans were created in God’s image. Angels weren’t).
So it should not surprise us that satan is using God’s enemies to work his will of evil and chaos and terror. We love Muslims individually as sinners in need of the Light of salvation. However we’re rightly suspicious of Islamic terror groups who have sworn our national death and are engaged in persistent, confirmed and credible attempts to fulfill their threat. Perhaps God will use the Islamic State as a hammer of judgment against America, as He used the Assyrians and the Egyptians and the Babylonians against the Israelites in their time of punishment for rebellion.
Share the Gospel – it is the only hope for most of the earth’s inhabitants. And be prepared to see acts of terror even more heinous than the ones we have seen since 9/11 and San Bernardino etc. We are not surprised that satan is alive and well and at work. But we have the mind of Christ, His promises through His word, His son’s atoning work and intercession in heaven as our priest, and the Holy Spirit to sustain and energize us in His holy work, even if (when) things get grievous in our nation.
Though the spirit of the age is at war with us Christians, and the pagans of this age war with us Americans, we have peace.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27).
Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ (Jeremiah 6:16)
Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. (Proverbs 4:26)
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:6)
My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. (Job 23:11)
All our righteous walking with Jesus is not without intervention by angels, strength of the Holy Spirit, and the will of God, because satan the adversary always tries to hinder us. He attempts to knock us off the path. He works to misdirect us.
because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. (1 Thessalonians 2:18)
Gill’s Exposition says of the Thessalonians verse,
Satan does all he can to hinder the preaching of the Gospel, the hearing of the word, the profession of religion, and the saints coming together, and having spiritual conversation with each other; being, as his name “Satan” signifies, an enemy to Christ and his interest, and to the souls of men: indeed he can do nothing but by divine permission, nor can he hinder the will of God, and the execution of that, though he often hinders the will of man, or man from doing his will; he hindered the apostle from doing what he willed and purposed, but he did not hinder the will of God, which was that Paul should be employed in other work elsewhere.
Stay true to the Lord and His ways. Stay in the Word, and stay praying. God promised to those who walk in His paths that they will find rest for their souls. Though as we see in the Jeremiah verse, some refused to walk in His ways.
The old way isn’t the popular way! It is being abandoned daily by people who have decided that new is better. They are leaving the Bible, the old songs of the faith, old fashioned worship, praising the Lord, and preaching. Seeker services are replacing old time worship of the Lord. Yet, God has not changed, Heb. 13:8. I can find no room to change myself. I think I’ll ask for the old paths and walk in them. How about you? The enemies are changing the signs, but the Lord will knows the way. Let’s ask Him and He will lead! (source)
Amen!
If satan changed the signs on your path, would you still know which way to go?
Satan is targeting your children. You know this. But do you really know it?
We read the newspapers about what the world is doing to children in schools, with the teachings on the false theory of evolution, with gender-neutral bathrooms, the homosexual agenda in “sex ed.” But outside of schools behind the scenes there is monstrous pressure, relentless, shark-like never ending pressure to succumb to evil. Here is an excerpt from an unsolicited email I received this week. It is one of many I receive from authors and publishers wanting me to promote their books. If they are sending me, a small, insignificant blogger, emails like these, you can be sure they are papering their doctrines of demons from wall to wall, top to bottom.
I would love to send you a new book that teaches The Law of Attraction, and other metaphysical ideas, to children. The author is a Reiki Master and proficient in the Bowen Technique, as well as has a diploma in Energetic Healing. Even if you do not typically review books, we did want to offer the book to you in case you felt so inspired to share it with the children in your life, and, if they enjoy the book, perhaps post about it on social media or in your newsletter or recommend it among like-minded friends.
It’s gut-wrenching and startling to read something like this, isn’t it? Satan is at work, prowling like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. Be honest, when you read that verse, you picture in your mind that satan is going after you, or friends- adults. But instead, picture satan the lion devouring a child. He rips their little souls to shreds, their innocent faith crumbling under massive badgering to see the world satan’s way.
From the beginning of the Bible, we see that human-kind understood that children are a blessing from God, given by Him. Eve said,
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” (Genesis 4:1).
In Genesis 33:5 we read,
Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.
The LORD thinks highly of children. He blesses a family by giving a child to them! Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. 4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth.5 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate. (Psalm 127:3-5)
So if children are a blessing, a heritage, and a reward, how should we be raising them? In the knowledge of the LORD and His ways, of course. But these days, easier said than done.
Now, I do not have kids, so even commenting on parenting children and raising them in the Lord is a tough row to hoe for me. However, I am an educator in an elementary school and have been since 1983. I’ve seen the decline of morality, and the foundation of family crumble, from a mass perspective if not a personal one. in looking at classroom after classroom of wide-eyed innocents. Let me tell you, the decline is precipitous.
So given how high-risk these days are, and given how hard satan is going after the children, here are a few good resources for parents and relatives to peruse and perhaps use in contending for the spiritual safety of the kids.
The church is not the only place our children should be taught biblical truth. Parents can do many practical things to combat the evolutionary indoctrination their children face. In addition to ensuring that their children receive meaningful instruction from church, parents are responsible to build a biblical worldview in their children on a daily basis.
On. A. Daily. Basis.
Don’t wait until the children are one year old, or two years old. Or entering daycare. Or wait until Pre-Kindergarten. From birth, teach Jesus on a daily basis. AND live it in front of them.
Michelle Lesley wrote a series entitled The 10 commandments of Parenting.
One of the most common questions I get from Christian parents is about parenting. They want specific and practical advice for rearing their children in the very best way. Couples usually understand their general parental responsibility, but will often speak of the need for help in specifically framing their biblical commitments to optimally shepherd and train their children.
Children don’t know when their innocent and correct worldview is being chipped away at. But it is, since the first moments they take a breath. Guard the kids!
the-end-time.org 
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