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arminianism, calvinism, doctrines of grace, easter, resurrection

Understanding the Doctrines of grace in the face of the death, burial, & resurrection of Christ

Posted on April 4, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

This Holy weekend we focus on the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I offer these thoughts and this sermon by Phil Johnson which is actually a brief overview of church history with a focus on the doctrines of grace, which most people know as ‘Calvinism’. Initially one may wonder how these two streams of thought are intertwined, but as you will see, they are intertwined so tightly that a clearer understanding of Jesus and the faith he secured for us through His death, burial, and resurrection will be made manifest.

Perceiving that Christ is in total control of each and every salvation, through understanding these biblical doctrines, will hopefully do several things in the reader’s and listener’s heart. One, is that the dear reader will never, ever again use the terrible phrase, “decisions for Christ.” We do not decide to become a Christian. The author and finisher of our faith is Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 12:2).

Secondly, on this most precious of weekends, understanding the biblical doctrines of grace will offer a clearer view of Jesus and His love for humanity. Here is a very good teaching by Phil Johnson. He gives an overview of church history which illustrates when the eruption between the two camps originated. It was 410AD. The two camps are: we decide for Jesus vs. God’s sovereignty in salvation AKA Pelagianism vs. Calvinism. Hopefully, you will understand that the opposite camp, Pelagianism, minimizes the seriousness of sin and nullifies the need for Divine grace. This weekend is about grace!

Pelagianism was declared heresy in 430 AD. Yet its ideas remained, modified somewhat, and then was called Semi-Pelaginaism. This also was declared heresy in 529 at the Council of Orange. Still not firmly stamped out, strains of Semi-Pelagianism ideas advanced and nowadays modern Arminianism is the result of those debates from earlier centuries. If you hear the phrases walk the aisle, pray a prayer and decide for Christ, it’s from Arminianism.

The synopsis of Johnson’s teaching is below. I’m sorry, I was not able to find a transcript. It is audio only with powerpoint slides.

I want to emphasize, WE DO NOT DECIDE FOR CHRIST. On this most important of weekends, understand who Jesus is and what His death, burial and resurrection means, by understanding the full expression of His work in authoring and finishing our faith. Phil Johnson biblically lays this out.

Calvinism is not some quirky anomaly in the history of Christianity. It is not a recent departure from the mainstream that is headed off in some bizarre direction. The truth is these ideas have always belonged to the mainstream of sound theology throughout church history. It is one of the distinctive doctrines of Christianity itself. It is the anchor of sound doctrine that our faith is the result and not the cause of God’s work in our hearts. ~Phil Johnson

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

Synopsis of the teaching-sermon: The Christian doctrine of ‘Election’ has caused more difficulties to believers than any other. It is indeed one of the most frequently misunderstood of all Biblical teachings. Many have been distressed by what they think this teaching means. But rather than causing Christians concern, this doctrine is actually one that should fill believers with comfort and a much better grasp of the great and sovereign God that they serve. … a very helpful overview of Calvinism and its history, which actually sets the doctrine of election in the context of the Biblical teaching with which it is most commonly associated. Once correctly understood, election is seen to be actually a demonstration of the Lord’s love for his people. These two recordings will be a great help to those who are struggling to understand this most difficult, yet wonderful, doctrine.

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

Guest introduction by R. Craig Fulford:

Given it is Easter weekend you might expect me to post a tremendously dynamic sermon on the resurrection. But I’m not!

Instead I have chosen to share with all of you a sermon delivered by Phil Johnson entitled “The Story of Calvinism”. Now before you run screaming for the exits, allow me to explain.

For the most part, in today’s Church environment, any mention of the term Calvinism is met with an almost automatic response of “thrown up hands” and criticism. And that has been the result of many years in Biblical doctrine being compromised in favor of the belief that somehow man is in control and can make his own decision about whether or not he will accept God’s grace and His gift of salvation. The belief that a lost and spiritually dead man somehow has the “free will” to control his own salvation is now epidemic.

Phil does a tremendously effective job of diffusing the animus which exists between those who adopt the Arminian (Synergistic) view and those who are committed to the Monergistic (Reformed) view. Or at least he makes a strong attempt in trying to accomplish that goal without sacrificing Biblical truth.

Monergism says that the Holy Ghost acts independently of the human “will” in the work of regeneration. Monergism is the position in Christian theology that God, through the Holy Spirit, works to bring about the salvation of individuals through spiritual regeneration without any cooperation (interference) from the individual.

Synergism is the position of those who hold that salvation involves some form of cooperation between divine grace and human “free will”. Synergism is upheld by the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches and by the Methodist, Episcopal, Charismatic and Pentecostal traditions of Protestantism. It is an integral part of Arminian theology and is simply the belief that the human can and might choose to cooperate (influence) with the Holy Ghost in His “work” of regeneration.

It’s important to note that “free will” is never once mentioned in Scripture nor is the concept. I know, neither is the “Trinity” but the truth of that concept is unmistakably taught.

So, you must be asking yourself, are there born again believers in churches that have adopted the Arminian doctrine? And if God has already pre-destined those who will be born again, why should Christians ever bother to witness? I mean, “What difference does it really make”?

Listen to Phil’s message and see the slides to have these kind of very serious questions answered! It only seems appropriate, while our minds are on His resurrection this weekend, to examine what it means to us as sinners in need of a Savior. It is too important that we understand what His sacrifice and victory over death represents to get it wrong!

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Particular atonement: Christ’s death had a particular purpose, and a special reference for the elect, so that God’s design was first of all to save them, and Christ’s death secured the guarantee of their salvation. Christ’s death accomplished everything God designed it to accomplish. ~Phil Johnson

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Further Reading:

Altar Calls: Why You Should Refuse to Walk the Aisle part 1, and 2, and 3.

What is ‘decisional regeneration?’

A holy Saturday

prophecy, resurrection, scripture

He will not let His Holy One see corruption!

Posted on April 4, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Vyrso Verse of the Day

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.

(Acts 2:27, Psalm 16:10)

He describes his resurrection: God loosed the pains of death, because it was impossible that he should be holden of it; ōdinas—the sorrows of death; the word is used for travailing pains, and some think it signifies the trouble and agony of his soul, in which it was exceedingly sorrowful, even to the death; from these pains and sorrows of soul, this travail of soul, the Father loosed him when at his death he said, It is finished. Thus Dr. Godwin understands it: “Those terrors which made Heman’s soul lie like the slain (Ps. 88:5, 15) had hold of Christ; but he was too strong for them, and broke through them; this was the resurrection of his soul (and it is a great thing to bring a soul out of the depths of spiritual agonies);

this was not leaving his soul in hell; as that which follows, that he should not see corruption, speaks of the resurrection of his body; and both together make up the great resurrection.” Dr. Lightfoot gives another sense of this: “Having dissolved the pains of death, in reference to all that believe in him, God raised up Christ, and by his resurrection broke all the power of death, and destroyed its pangs upon his own people. He has abolished death, has altered the property of it, and, because it was not possible that he should be long holden of it, it is not possible that they should be for ever holden.”

Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 2069). Peabody: Hendrickson.

crystal cathedral, deception, hour of power, robert schuller

Robert Schuller – Dead today

Posted on April 3, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Robert Schuller, Crystal Cathedral megachurch, founder, dies

The Rev. Robert H. Schuller, a California televangelist and author who beamed his upbeat messages on faith and redemption to millions of followers from his landmark Crystal Cathedral only to see his empire crumble in his waning years, has died. He was 88. Schuller died Thursday at a care facility in Artesia, daughter Carol Schuller Milner said. He was diagnosed with terminal esophageal cancer in 2013.

Schuller had a bigger effect on CHristianity than many are aware. The effect was assuredly negative. Mr Schuller taught many false things, wrapped in positivity, self-esteem, and church growth strategies. Rick Warren is a spiritual child of Schuller. See links at bottom.

For now, here is a Guest Post by R. Craig Fulford in which he encapsulates my sentiments exactly. It is printed with permission

——————————————–

Today was the DOD for Robert Schuller. Many probably said, “Well now he will get what he deserves”! Or something close to that.

But my reaction was very different. I actually found myself with tears in my eyes because his death reminded me that none of us “deserve” God’s Grace and the fact that Schuller lead so many people down the road leading to destruction while knowing that Pastors are subject to even a higher standard regarding the truth means that Schuller is particularly suffering God’s wrath. And that is no cause for joy nor is it a cue for born again believers to say he deserved what he got.

It is, however, especially significant that his death occurred on the weekend that Jesus paid the price for his sins and yet Schuller never came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. To the contrary, he was one of the most heretical teachers in recent history and laid a foundation for other false teachers to follow.

So today we see an epidemic of “seeker sensitive”, universalistic, easy believism churches that teach “relativism” as the accepted norm and totally misrepresent God’s word in favor of the doctrine of “pragmatism”. And that false doctrine is not just limited to the Charismatic and Pentecostal churches. The same liberal influences have infected the traditional mainline denominations as well.

And yet another less publicized beneficiary of all of this liberal and non-Biblical heresy are those who look at what is now considered to be Christianity and understandably view it as something closely akin to the “Twilight Zone”. And who can blame them?

Biblically sound Churches are becoming almost impossible to find and many “wanna be believers” are settling for doctrines they believe are close enough. But as Spurgeon so famously said:

Schuller’s death could very well be the catalyst born again believers need to realize the spiritual consequences both our friends and even members of our family face. It’s indeed ironic that Schuller died close to three days before Jesus was resurrected. Just saying!

Schuller’s death has caused me to pray, with a new conviction, that those I know and love who are deceived and don’t realize they are, will be convicted unto regeneration by the Holy Spirit. And that God will enable me to speak to them under the control of the Holy Spirit.

I know that my efforts are not sufficient in any way shape or form. But I also know that I’m commanded, not asked, to make sure His word is heard because faith comes by hearing. The rest is up to God!

HE IS RISEN

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What happens when we can no longer trust the mass transportation drivers who carry us?

Posted on April 2, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Source

Yesterday while on break I was speaking with the teacher with whom I share a classroom, about the Germanwings co-pilot who drove the passenger airliner into the ground. I have been mulling the sea-change his act ushers in.

We have seen hijackers, terrorists, and suicide bombers rush in to kill and destroy. That is horrific. Yet now, the stealthiness of one who is inside, trained to protect lives because they are precious, also killing and destroying, is even more heinous because of the trust that is broken. The very people into whose hands I place my life and assume they will regard it as worthy of protection, have become the ones who treat it as least and worthless. Being trapped on a rapidly moving mass transport and totally helpless to protect myself, get to safety, or help any other person, doesn’t bear thinking about.

I thought of the self-centeredness of the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, wanting to take his own precious life that God gave him, but also 150 others’. I thought about the Costa Concordia, the largest cruise ship ever wrecked, (in 2012) and its Captain Francesco Schettino’s inattention and series of ridiculously amateur decisions and as a result stoving in his ship on a rock. As the vessel was sinking, the captain abandoned ship, leaving 4200 passengers and crew to their fates. He did not assist in the evacuation or the rescue in any way. The confusion caused by a 6-hour evacuation resulted in 32 deaths and trauma for the rest. Vanity Fair has an excellent article on the event.

“We’ve abandoned ship,” Schettino told him.
De Falco was startled. “You’ve abandoned ship?” he asked.
Schettino, no doubt sensing De Falco’s dismay, said, “I did not abandon the ship … we were thrown into the water.”
When De Falco put down the phone, he stared at the officers beside him in amazement. This violated every tenet of maritime tradition, not to mention Italian law. “The captain had abandoned ship with hundreds of people on board, people who trusted him,” says De Falco’s boss, Cosma Scaramella. “This is an extremely serious thing, not just because it’s a crime.” For a moment he struggles to find a word. “This,” he goes on, “is an infamy. To abandon women and children, it’s like a doctor who abandons his patients.”

Costa Concordia nestled on a rock, site of cowardice, bravery, and death

I thought about the Santiago de Compostela rail disaster in 2013 and the conductor driving the train at twice the posted speed, resulting in Spain’s worst rail disaster in 40 years, the deaths of 79 people and injuring scores of others. The driver had previously boasted of how fast “his” trains would go. The driver was later charged with homicide by professional recklessness and numerous counts of causing injury by professional recklessness.

Derailed cars at the site of a train accident near the city of Santiago de Compostela

Like the Dutch pilot who ‘predicted’ Germanwings crash in article about returning to a locked cockpit door weeks before disaster, saying, “I seriously sometimes wonder who’s sitting next to me in the cockpit. How can I be sure that I can trust him? Perhaps something terrible has just happened in his life and he’s unable to overcome it” I was also thinking about who I can trust with my life. There is a funny scene in Woody Allen’s 1977 movie Annie Hall that I never forgot. It shows Allen, Christopher Walken and then Diane Keaton in a car after Walken’s confession. It’s 1:27 minutes long.

I was thinking all these things and discussing them yesterday, deciding to write about it. But Tim Challies beat me to it.

And I’m glad he did. He wrote a piece called The Way The World Works and he discusses the things I’d been pondering: putting ourselves in the hands of others for our safety and our lives, life is precious, the broken trust. Challies did a very good job – much better than I would have done of course – and I commend the piece to you. Here is a taste:

And it is not just our own life that we regard as precious, but all life. Just as we make decisions to protect our own lives, we make decisions to protect others’. We tighten our children’s seatbelts. We put the knives up high. We pay the salaries of police officers. We stop and help when we spot even a stranger in distress.

Life is the most precious thing. The world only works when we maintain this tacit agreement that life is precious, that I will do all I can to preserve both mine and yours, that you will do all you can to protect both yours and mine. Both civilization and civility stand or fall on this simple agreement.

The alternative is unthinkable. The alternative is cars swerving to meet oncoming traffic, bicycles drifting out of the bike lane, toddlers roaming at will, hospitals empty and unstaffed. The alternative might even be a pilot setting his aircraft so that it gradually coasts straight into the ground.

The world reacted with horror—justified horror—when they learned that Andreas Lubitz had deliberately crashed Germanwings flight 9525, taking his own life and the lives of the other 149 passengers and crew members. The reason for our shock is that he violated the agreement. He chose to take life instead of preserve life.

Life is precious. We are made in His image. He formed us in the womb. God is intimately involved with us. Reckless, wanton abandonment of even the most basic precepts of our neighborly co-existence with one another, that we agree life is precious, is just so sad.

“You created every part of me; you knit me together in my mother‛s womb. When my bones were being formed, carefully put together in my mother‛s womb, when I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there – you saw me before I was born. The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began. Psalm 139:13-16

A.D. the bible continues, discernment, dr david jeremiah, roma downey, the bible series

(Updated) Why I won’t be watching the miniseries A.D.: The Bible Continues (And I hope you won’t be either)

Posted on April 1, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Two years ago I wrote “Why I am Not Watching History Channel’s ‘The Bible‘. That was the hugely popular, smash-hit television series produced by Roma Downey and husband Mark Burnett broadcast on The History Channel, purporting to show major biblical events from Noah to the Crucifixion of Jesus. In ten hours.

The series writers “took many artistic liberties to compress the story lines while hoping to remain true to the story. A public relations manager for the project described the liberties to me as “extra-biblical but not contra-biblical,” CNN Blogs reported.

What people fail to understand is extra-biblical IS contra-biblical. Anyway, we don’t need to rehash all of that, except to remark that the duo’s movie theater version of biblical events called “Son of God” was equally atrocious. Now the duo is back with a continuation from 2013’s televised cable series. This time the series will be on regular broadcast TV, on NBC. It will begin on Easter Sunday.

In ‘A.D. The Bible Continues’ the story presented to the world has admittedly even less content taken from the actual bible, and admittedly is even more human-centered rather than Jesus/Gospel focused. The following quote is from an Associated Press story whose title is ‘A.D. The Bible Continues goes beyond the biblical epic’.

This new series, however, goes for a more gritty and human approach that tries to understand the characters as humans caught up in the politics of the day. Only about half of the material comes from the Bible, with the rest from historians of the period.

Downey said,

“If anyone comes to it expecting to see only the Bible, they will be interested to see that we have created a much larger and historic and political contest to set that story in, … I think what it does it allows you to have a fuller understanding of that story because when you see the oppression of the times that they are living in, when you understand that danger lurks in every alley, and the inhumanity of the times.”

So we have already see the following strikes:

The show’s writers and producers are pagan and not Christian, therefore they have nothing to say to us about spiritual things (1 Corinthians 2:13, John 14:17)
They chose to destroy the sufficiency of scripture by adding extra biblical material, thereby ‘improving on God’, (Genesis 3:1-2)
They shifted the focus from Jesus coming to atone for sins to Jesus’ sent ones coming to help the oppressed in their inhumanity (WHY are we inhumane? We sin, something the show divorces from the reason for Jesus’ coming and the Apostles’ going),

And now this reason:

Feminism

The article reports,

The series has several strong female roles in it, including Leah, the ambitious wife of High Priest Caiaphas (Richard Coyle), who pushes her husband to amass more power.

Phew. I’m glad that the writers rectified what was obviously a glaring omission in the bible of strong female roles and invented a few so we wouldn’t have to take up our pitchforks or fire off ‘strong’ emails. Dorcas, Lydia, Phoebe, Anna, Mary, Susanna, Mary Magdalene, all the mothers who raised the Apostles, Elizabeth (mother of John the Baptist), Candace, Rhoda…etc were obviously either not women (lol) or not “strong” enough for the writers’ tastes.

The bible of course records the story of Old Testament Leah. Biblegateway synopsizes her story, “The Woman Lacking Loveliness Was Yet Loyal, Scripture References—Genesis 29; 30; 49:31; Ruth 4:11”. Deliberately naming a fictional woman in a New Testament tv show the same as a famous Old Testament saint is duplicitous. I notice that the writers also created a fictional male character and chose to name him Boaz. Doing this sows confusion.

Anyway, the wife of Caiaphas is not named in the bible nor is she even mentioned. The reference is in John 18:13, and only to introduce the fact that Annas and Caiaphas were linked through marriage. That’s it. She as not named nor did she have a role in the New Testament, but she gets screen time, unlike REAL women in the bible, who won’t get screen time. The quote from the article continues,

The role of Mary Magdalene is also central. While she doesn’t quite attain the status of head of the nascent church given her by Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code,” she is clearly one of the key members of the group as it tries to figure what comes next after the crucifixion.

But here is the revealing reason women are given such prominence in the series. It is sickening and is one of the many reasons I won’t watch the show

“Our interpretation is that while many organizations are fronted by men, women were the ones that kept the cogs moving,” said Chipo Chung, the actress that plays Mary

Aha. So while the chosen and called male apostles, prophets, and disciples risked their lives, glorified God, suffered and died grisly deaths, these men were only front men while the women did the real work.

So you see, it only takes a moment to read up on the background to the show, investing a bit of time to see what their agenda is. Their agenda is-

not to tell the story of the Gospel as spread by the ambassador Apostles and the early church
not to glorify Jesus and His monumental work of building the church composed of Jews and Gentiles and enduring persecution and staying strong despite man’s puny political machinations,
not to accurately and with integrity share the stories of the men and women who laid the foundation of the faith.

Their intent is obviously to:

twist the bible to conform to fleshly, cultural, world tastes (Psalm 56:5, 2 Peter 3:16)
deny the sufficiency of scripture (2 Timothy 3:16)
reduce the message of Jesus from Deity atoning for our sins to nice guy helping the oppressed recover their humanity (2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:6)
confirm feminism and vault women to roles and political/cultural stature that proportionately reduces men in stature (Genesis 3:16)

So? Do not watch. The bible commands it.

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. (Romans 16:17)

PS: Remember, this is the show that Dr David Jeremiah is promoting and broadcasting on his Turning Point channel. On Easter.

UPDATE. And the agony continues-

This Hollywood Star Is Reportedly Set to Play the Apostle Paul in Major Motion Picture

Actor Hugh Jackman, who has starred in a plethora of well-known films, including “Les Misérables” and the “X-Men” series, is set to reportedly add yet another major motion picture to his resume: “Apostle Paul.” Hugh Jackman will reportedly play the Apostle Paul. The faith-based project will center on Saul of Tarsus…Following the announcement, Jackman’s own religious views were given some attention. As noted by the Guardian, he told Parade Magazine back in 2009 that he follows the School of Practical Philosophy, a belief system that focuses in on the power of wisdom, though it appears that he has some evangelical Christian roots. His told the outlet at the time that his father took him to see famed evangelist Billy Graham when he was a child. “[My dad] takes his religion very seriously and would prefer I go to church. We’ve had discussions about our separate beliefs,” Jackman said. “I just find the evangelical church too, well, restrictive. But the School of Practical Philosophy is non confrontational.”

Well he’s a perfect person to play the fierce and confrontational Paul.(1 Corinthians 4:21, 2 Corinthians 13:2). Not

discernment, encouragement

Tips for introducing false doctrine in your life, Sunny Shell on shallow prayer, Mission from Mongolia, Vidal Sassoon Jesus, more

Posted on March 31, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Spring Break coming up in four days. The last school break we had was January 21, a three day weekend for Martin Luther King’s birthday. It has been A LONG HAUL. I’m tired, is all I can say.

I’m looking forward to sitting in the lawn swing, watching the birds, picking the wildflowers that are blooming already, reading, studying the word, playing with my photos and using the Pixlr tutorials to learn how to edit them in hipster-beat-retro fashion, and taking naps. Naps. Naps.

As for the photos, For example, here is one that I liked a lot, and below that, my own clumsy attempt at replicating. You can see why I need an entire week off to learn more.

this one by Steve York

Anyway, here is some good stuff I hope you think is good stuff as well.

This was tongue in cheek good fun and informative as well. From “The Messed Up Church”.

“Want Some False Doctrine in Your Life? Try These Handy Tips!”

Don’t be shy about it-admit it: false doctrine is fun and, well, it just feels good. Here are some handy tips to keep you fully deceived and incapable of discernment:

We recently had a mission report at our church from a missionary we support. He serves in Mongolia. This article thus interested me. You can always be encouraged by a good mission report!

James Gilmour of Mongolia

Originally from outside of Glasgow, Gilmour (1843–1891) decided to dedicate his life to bringing the gospel to the people of Mongolia. His giftedness and zeal were evident to his friends in college, and some were surprised that he would choose to work in obscurity in a physically difficult place. From his base in Peking (Beijing), Gilmour repeatedly went into Mongolia with little equipment, encouragement, few or no companions, but strong conviction…

As always Sunny Shell has good thoughts on prayer, this time, shallow prayer. I think we’ve all been there.

When My Prayers Are Shallow

As I was considering why my prayers are sometimes shallow, I realized they stem from one source: lack of consistent reading, meditating and studying God’s Word.

We are not passive consumers of ‘meat’. We who are in the pews have a responsibility too.

The Listener’s Responsibility in Hearing an Expository Sermon
What responsibilities do Christians have to expository preaching? In an age when shallow preaching is common, both shallow hearing and personal application are also common. Jay Adams has observed,

Too many laymen speak about the preaching event as if it were a one-way street, as if the responsibility for what transpires when the Bible is proclaimed rests solely on the shoulders of the preacher. But that’s not so! Effective communication demands competence from all parties.

Understanding expository preaching would not be complete without a word about the listener’s responsibilities in the expository process. Everything culminates in the hearers. The science and art of producing an expository sermon are empty efforts if no one hears and assimilates the message. Three vital principles will aid the listener who wishes to gain the most from an expository message. They are at the same time his responsibilities as well as his privileges.

David Murray wrote a glowing review of A Readable And Enjoyable Book On Apologetics! If you’re searching for a good book on apologetics, that is.

IVP sent me this book a couple of years ago and it went straight to my shelves unopened. I mean, 750 pages on apologetics! Who wants to read that unless they really have to? But a couple of weeks ago I had cause to take it down,dust it off, and have a look inside. And I was stunned. Despite its intimidating size, and despite it being an apologetics textbook, it was one of the best reads I’ve enjoyed in a long time. I know, it’s hard to imagine putting these three words in a headline – apologetics, readable, and enjoyable – but, really, that’s what this book is…. Instead of interacting with alternative Christian apologetic schools of thought (there are only a few paragraphs on Van Til’s presuppositionalism). Groothius’s agenda was to write a comprehensive and accessible book on classical Christian apologetics. He has succeeded magnificently.

Don’t forget Adam Ford’s continuing good work on Christian visual theology in the form of comics. Like this one:

Praising the Savior for oceans, tides, harbors, inlets, currents, seaweed, …

Lubec Narrows. EPrata photo

barack obama, confirm a covenant, end time, israel, prophecy, satan

Obama’s Israel hate, his next moves could involve a covenant at the UN dividing Israel’s land

Posted on March 30, 2015May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

Left, Israel’s Netanyahu, right, Obama in 2012.
Their relationship has not improved since then. Source

Today Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, chief rabbi of Efrat, compared US President Obama to the biblical figure of Haman, enemy of the Jews. The Jerusalem Post reports,

“The president of the United States is lashing out at Israel just like Haman lashed out at the Jews,” he said. “I’m not making a political statement,” he clarified, “I’m making a Jewish statement.” … Just as Mordechai was focused on saving the Jews of Persia from destruction, he said, so Netanyahu is focused on saving Israel and the world from destruction.

Rabbi Riskin is a prominent Rabbi in both the US and in Israel. Wikipedia lists Riskin’s associations and accomplishments:

“Riskin is the founding rabbi of Lincoln Square Synagogue on the Upper West Side of New York City, which he led for 20 years; founding chief rabbi of the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the West Bank; dean of Manhattan Day School in New York City; and founder and Chancellor of the Ohr Torah Stone Institutions, a network of high schools, colleges, and graduate Programs in the United States and Israel.”

In the article, Rabbi Riskin was referring to a recent round of nuclear talks between Israel and Iran with the US as mediator. The JPost article reported,

The World Values Network, founded and run by American rabbi and public figure Shmuley Boteach, took out a full page advertisement in The New York Times on Saturday comparing the deal being drawn up with Iran on its nuclear project to the Munich Agreement signed in 1938 by British prime minister Neville Chamberlain with Adolf Hitler, widely seen as an act of appeasement that emboldened the Nazi leader.

Foreign Affairs cover, 2012.

Six world powers and Iran are at work to meet a deadline Tuesday (March 31, 2015) for an agreement that would constrain Iran’s nuclear program or best case scenario, put it completely out of Iran’s reach. The nations meeting to discuss this are the US, represented by Secretary of State John Kerry, Iran represented by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Britain’s Philip Hammond and top diplomats of Russia, China, France and Germany. This is the first time they are meeting since November. The Iran/Nuclear issue has actually been on the table as a UN agenda item for 12 years.

The issue is that Israel and the West claim that Iran is working assiduously to obtain a nuclear bomb. Iranian scientists are hard at work underground like worker bees with spinning centrifuges and scientific advances that will allow them to create and presumably use a nuke, presumably against Israel. Israel believes this is an existential threat against their existence because Iran has said many times that it wants to wipe Israel from the earth. Iran’s use of a nuke on the tiny country would certainly go a long way toward that dastardly goal.

The other issue is that the 6 mediating nations, including the US, are taking Iran at their word when they say they will not use the bomb, that their pursuit is for “peaceful purposes.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blasted the impending nuclear deal between the P5+1 world powers and the Iranian regime, calling the accord a historically bad agreement that lets Iran race towards nuclear weapons development.

Worst, it has become clear that Obama is an enemy of Israel and a friend to Iran. The Jewish Press goes so far as to say that Obama’s behavior toward Israel, our only Middle East ally, is actually a declaration of war against the Jewish nation. The American Thinker said today that Obama creates chaos and calls it peace. Of the proposed nuke deal with Iran, Fox News asks if Obama wants Israel to commit suicide.

And now we are back to that interesting quote from the Rabbi with which I opened this article Obama as Haman-type and Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu as a Mordecai-type.

In the bible, you might remember the book of Esther. The historical characters of Esther, Haman, and Mordecai are recorded in those 4 chapters. The Jewish Encyclopedia summarizes:

Son of Hammedatha; chief minister of King Ahasuerus (Esth.iii.1-2). As his name indicates, Haman was a descendant of Agag, the king of the Amalekites. On account of his attempt to exterminate the Jews in the kingdom of Ahasuerus, he is frequently called “the persecutor of the Jews” ( ; Esth. iii. 10; viii. 1; ix. 10, 24). His machinations against the Jews and his downfall are remembered during the Feast of Purim. Filled with annoyance because Mordecai did not bow before him, Haman resolved upon the extermination of the Jews throughout the whole kingdom. He drew lots to determine the day of the massacre, and the lot fell on the 13th of Adar (Esth. iii. 4-7). He offered the king ten thousand talents of silver for permission to do with the Jews as he pleased. The permission was granted, and he accordingly despatched letters to all parts of the Persian kingdom to massacre the Jews on the 13th of Adar (iii. 8-15). His intrigues, however, were baffled by Esther.

The Triumph of Mordechai, by Pieter Pietersz Lastman

It is interesting that the Rabbi would liken Obama to one of the most well-known of historical figures seeking to destroy all the Jews. In the end, Haman was hung on the gallows he had erected for Mordecai’s hanging. Of course we know Hitler wanted to destroy all Jews, and actually killed 6 million before the Allied powers got to him. In history, another Hitler-type was Antiochus Epiphanes who also massacred many Jews (167BC). None of these and other historical-political Jew-haters were ultimately successful, and the antichrist who will also seek to kill all the Jews in the future won’t be successful either. (Revelation 12:13-14).

The prophecies state that Jerusalem will be a burdensome stone at the time of the end, (Zechariah 12:3a), that Israel’s land will be divided, (Joel 3:2), that there will be no friend left to Israel, (Zechariah 12:3b, Zechariah 14:2) and that Israel’s enemies will cry out to wipe Israel from the map (Psalm 83:4). Some of these prophecies have been partially fulfilled and some will be fulfilled at the end of the Tribulation, AKA Time of Jacob’s Trouble.

There is another prophecy concerning the antichrist and the covenant he will institute with Israel and then break, triggering the Great Tribulation. It’s seen in Daniel 9:27.

And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.

What Daniel recorded is the time of the end, when antichrist will lull Israel into a false sense of security by signing a covenant or decree. Israel will be given a place to perform sacrifices again, and will do so for three and a half years. Israel will be so lulled they will not have bars or walls up and will be living in peace. (Ezekiel 38:11). That’s when the antichrist will go after the Jews, invade, seek to destroy, and massacre. Satan of course is behind this. See Matthew 24:15 where Jesus also speaks of this yet-future event.

Jackson Diehl, Deputy Opinion page editor of the Washington post wrote an analysis opinion piece today titled Obama’s Next Earthquake:

President Obama’s rhetorical assault on Benjamin Netanyahu last week was in part the product of pique. But it also set the stage for what could be another crockery-breaking bid by Obama for a foreign policy legacy, on a par with his opening to Cuba and would-be nuclear deal with Iran.

By declaring Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations dead and blaming Netanyahu, Obama laid the predicate for a decision to go forward with a U.S.-backed U.N. Security Council resolution that would set the terms for a final peace settlement. Envisioned as an updating of U.N. Resolution 242, which has been part of the framework for the Mideast “peace process” since the 1960s, the idea would be to mandate the solution to the questions Israelis and Palestinians have been unable to agree upon for decades, such as the future status of Jerusalem. Not incidentally, it would provide Obama with the Mideast legacy he has craved since his first day in office. Whether or not it accelerated Palestinian statehood (and most likely it wouldn’t), Obama’s initiative would set off an earthquake in U.S. foreign relations and for Israel’s standing in the world.

Rush Limbaughcommented on Dieh’s Op-ed today. It is additionally interesting because as far as I know Rush isn’t a Christian and doesn’t really pay attention to prophecy or biblical things.

One of the sidebar news stories about the Iranian nuclear talks is that Obama, there’s a credible train of thought, folks, that is percolating inside the Beltway and up to New York, the New York-Washington corridor, that Obama is officially, within the next few months or so, is officially going to abandon Israel as a United States ally. The way it would happen, you know, we’ve been negotiating the Middle East peace process …

The scuttlebutt inside the Beltway and up to the New York corridor is that Obama is going to solve the Middle East peace process by going to the United Nations, getting a resolution demanding a two-state solution and divvying up Jerusalem and giving part of it to Palestinian or the Palestinians, which would be a total sellout of the Israelis.

Make no mistake, taking this route would not be taken to protect or to enforce the rights of Israelis here. Obama would do this because Netanyahu will not agree with Obama, what Obama wants. And Obama now doubly insulted, not only will Netanyahu not cave, Netanyahu came and showed him up with that joint speech to Congress. So it’s get-even time.

Now, I’m here to tell you, I don’t know if there’s any truth to this, but with Obama the experience teaches us never to discount these kinds of things, because they actually make perfect sense if you put them in context of the US foreign policy mission and directives during this administration. Folks, this is an act of hate. I mean, I hate to be so blunt about it, but that’s what this is.

I did get chills when I read that. Satan does hate God’s people and Israel with a white-hot, 6000-year-plus fury, which will be allowed to be fully expressed during the Tribulation. That satan is behind Obama’s hate of Israel there is no doubt.

Our job as Christians is to persevere, pray, continue to be the Light of truth and good works in His name. The Lord will return in the air to gather His bride when He is ready. Is He getting ready? I hope so. I know I’m ready.

How can you be ready? By having confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior, asked forgiveness of your sins, understanding and believing Jesus was killed for the sins of His people, absorbed all of God’s wrath for it, then rose again on the Third Day.

Here is a good resource called Getting the Gospel Right, it outlines what the Gospel is and isn’t.

When the Lord comes for you and me, what a glorious day that will be.

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Easter story movie clips

Posted on March 29, 2015 by elizabethprata

As we go into Passion Week, here are some video clips from the Resurrection story for you. Each one is a snippet from events during the week.

Here is one from The Jesus Film of His Triumphal Entry to Jerusalem: Palm Sunday.

Matthew 21:9 Mark 11:9 Luke 19:28, 35-41 John 12:13

discenrment, dr david jeremiah, false roma downey

Dr David Jeremiah’s shocking apostasy, Updated

Posted on March 28, 2015June 11, 2018 by elizabethprata

A few days ago, a friend emailed me a link to an invitation and announcement of an event at Dr David Jeremiah’s Shadow Mountain Church. I was saddened but not surprised. It was indicative of the grievous trajectory one displays when one begins to depart from the faith. But first, let’s go back and do some groundwork.

Apostasy – the Lord prophesied a massive falling away from the faith during the tribulation, and a ramp-up preceding it. (2 Timothy 3:13, 1 Timothy 4:1). Apostasy, according to Theopedia, is

what one commits when they denounce, reject, or fall away from their faith (i.e. religion). A person who commits apostasy is called an apostate.

People reject Christ. They always have. They always will. This rejection comes in different flavors. It is the flat-out atheist who says there is no God, and that he, the atheist, doesn’t sin. There is the Catholic-Buddhist-Hindu-Wicca-New Age-Muslim who claims to believe something, as long as it isn’t Jesus, the blood, resurrection, personal sin or wrath for it.

And there there is the false Christian. This is a person who is a tare that is mixed in with the wheat. The person whose heart was thorny ground or rocky ground when the word was delivered, and seemed to have thrived for a while, but then faded away. (Luke 8:6-7). Some people fall away from the truth quickly, like Charles Templeton. Others, like Billy Graham, take a lifetime to reveal themselves. Either way, for the person who doesn’t truly believe, no matter how hard they try to blend in, their sheep mask will someday slip and reveal the wolf.

It is the case with Dr David Jeremiah.

There are many detailed examples I could give. I won’t. I’ll give three. They should be enough to demonstrate that the pastor of Shadow Mountain church and narrator at Turning Point television and radio is no longer to be trusted.

1. TBN

Jeremiah regularly appears on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) alongside Paul Crouch (when he was alive) during their fall Praise-A-Thon. TBN is a broadcaster of heresy, an exporter of error, and a brood of vipers. Their prosperity Gospel, false claims of holiness healing, charismania, greed, and pure unadulterated contempt for the people watching is grievous. One look at their regular programming schedule from today is pretty bad.

Below is a screen shot from the November 2014 TBN Praise-A-Thon where Jeremiah is ‘preaching’ the sowing principle. Also known as ‘sowing a seed,’ in this still pic, Jeremiah was urging people to send money to TBN based on the sowing principle. He said that even God believes in the sowing principle, you know, He sent His Son to be sown into the world and now we are reaping the harvest.

At the crawl along the bottom of Jeremiah’s ‘sermon’ was a promise that a donation of any kind will result in the donor being sent a bottle of “Psalm 45 perfume”, fragrances from the Bible bottled in an attractive container…and there were phone numbers along the top for people to call now. Gross.

At GotQuestions we read of the seed sowing principle

A person wrote to GotQuestions about the doctrine of sowing a seed to reap a financial harvest. … The central theme in seed faith giving is the money you give to spread the gospel God would multiply back to you thirty, sixty, and one-hundredfold.

TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network) not only sponsors these false ministries but has unreservedly adopted the gospel of greed heresy. TBN is a major media portal to the world, responsible for sending the gospel of greed heresy to hundreds of millions of unsuspecting people, and taking what little money they have. The gospel of greed has become a means of livelihood for prosperity preachers who live lavish lifestyles while telling you to send money to get more money. Jan Crouch, in her soft sugary voice said on TBN, “God has a special blessing for the little women who have caught the vision of giving, even if only their grocery money.” While there are many Christians who see TBN and its association with the gospel of greed ministries as an abomination, many others (not well versed in the Bible) believe in the heresy and fall prey to its deception.

It is hard to find what was a bigger heretic than Paul Crouch (now dead). GotQuestions on Word of Faith movement that spawned this seed giving principle:

Word of Faith teaching is decidedly unbiblical. It is not a denomination and does not have a formal organization or hierarchy. Instead, it is a movement that is heavily influenced by a number of high-profile pastors and teachers such as Kenneth Hagin, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Paul and Jan Crouch, and Fred Price.

And not only is Jeremiah partnering with them, but is urging people to send money so the unbiblical heresies can continue being exported and the deception can be continued.

2. Roma Downey/Mark Burnett

Jeremiah was asked by the Downey/Burnett duo to write a companion book on Acts as a sequel to their miniseries titled “The Bible”. The new tv show is called A.D. The Revolution Continues and will be broadcast on Easter. The married duo also produced The Son of God movie seen in theaters. You might remember Roma Downey in the long-running tv show Touched By An Angel. Pastor Justin Peters said that the TV series The Bible was so lacking in a Gospel presentation that it wasn’t even accidentally given.

Below, Jeremiah and Downey/Burnett are at Shadow Mountain Church discussing the new tv show A.D. and Jeremiah’s new companion book based on the biblical book of Acts. The interview was held on March 12, 2015 at the church.

From Shadow Mt. Church Facebook page

This is not surprising since Downey and Burnett aren’t Christian. Downey says she is a devout Catholic and is also a mystic. She “sees God in everyone” and utters claptrap such as “The language of God is in the silence.” She attained a Master’s Degree from a New Age college in Spiritual Psychology. Her beliefs are not even close to being evangelical, born-again Christian. Further, she practices divination. She participated in a psychic show and allowed the medium to ‘call up’ her dead mother from the nether-realms and Downey talked with ‘her’. This is divination and necromancy, part of a cadre of sorceries that God hates with a holy hatred. God said,

Thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of [the] nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord. (Deuteronomy 18:9)

If a person performs any of these sorceries, that person is detestable to God. That person is an abomination to God. And lest someone wrongly claim that the Deuteronomy verse is outdated just because it’s Old Testament, sorceries are also forbidden in the New Testament. Revelation 18:23 and Galatians 5:19-21 strenuously forbid such practices.

Downey and Burnett have produced a TV show that twists the Bible, presents another Jesus, fails to offer the Gospel, and they themselves have participated in New Age, direct revelation, mystical practices, and sorceries. Yet a supposedly astute and mature Bible teacher such as Jeremiah has invited the duo to his pulpit and interviewed them in order to promote the next TV series, A.D. and by the way, his new book.

In the interview Jeremiah flatly said that the duo creates shows that honor the word of God and doesn’t pervert it. Justin Peters was astounded to hear Jeremiah say this. Peters remarked that Jeremiah is well-versed in the Bible and he knows when it’s being twisted. The only possible explanation for Jeremiah saying that “The Bible” mini-series honors God’s words is that he is being deliberately dishonest. If you know Justin Peters, you know he never says anything lightly, and rarely if ever, does he ever say anything like that. He was truly shocked.

As for Jeremiah’s partnership on TBN with the Crouches et al, and with Downey/Burnett et al, the Bible says

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God... (2 Corinthians 14-16a).

With Jeremiah, there is instead repeated partnership with darkness, evil, and error. He has no excuse.

3. Reading his own book from the pulpit

A friend who likes David Jeremiah was fully engaged in Jeremiah’s recent series on Revelation. Knowing I enjoy studying prophecy, he urged me to tune in to the sermon series. I did. As the sermon opened I was assaulted by pounding music and slick graphics. Then Jeremiah began reading. I could not understand where he was reading from because the passage didn’t sound like the Bible. I thought I must have missed something. I listened a bit more and then turned it off.

I tried again the next week, and I realized as I listened to Jeremiah read a lengthy passage, and I mean for 10 or 15 minutes, he was reading his own book, called Agents of the Apocalypse.

How dare any person substitute or equalize man’s words from the pulpit instead of God’s.

Can you picture the momentous scene described in Nehemiah 8:1-2?

The public reading of the Scriptures was required by the law to be made every seventh year; but during the long period of the [Babylonian] captivity this excellent practice, with many others, had fallen into neglect, till revived, on this occasion. ~Jamiesen-Fausset -Brown Commentary

And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. 2 Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. (Nehemiah 8:1-2)

How tremendous! The people are all gathered for the first time in generations, eager to hear the word of God. They were joyous in being able to celebrate His holy word and adopt His statutes. What if Ezra had ascended the stairs, opened the scroll, took a deep breath, and said, “Before I launch into a reading of the word, let’s listen to an excerpt from a book I wrote on traveling mishaps on the way to and from Babylon. It’s called “Agents of the Captivity,” and it is on sale in the temple bookstore.”

Ezra Reads the Book of the Law, David Martin, 1659

How dare he! Is there no gravitas? Is there no pastoral respect for the pulpit? Is there no submission in fear of God? Is there no place one can bask in unadulterated holy scripture and not be pressed into buying something associated with it? Worse, is this message from Dr Jeremiah:

On Easter Sunday, Turning Point Television will begin airing our new series, A.D. The Revolution That Changed the World. This teaching series is the “Scripture behind the story” of the dramatic NBC television event, A.D. The Bible Continues.

Hollywood overtakes Shadow Mountain Church.

I am indeed sad that many people who like Dr David Jeremiah will be grieved to read this news, myself included. However, the work of the Christian is to uphold the glory of Jesus, to warn of apostates, and to encourage each other in the Word. When a man alleging to be an under-shepherd of the Lord hawks his book from the pulpit during Sunday service, presses the poor to sow a seed so TBN can continue promoting doctrines of devils, and when he pollutes his own stage with a necromancer, we must call a spade a spade and glorify the Lord by warning about Dr David Jeremiah.

Please take these things under consideration, and continue to pray for wisdom and discernment as more and more men and women are revealed who have fallen prey to satan. Pray for them, and pray for your fellow church members. We are sheep among wolves.

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16). As Jamieson Commentary says of the above verse,

Alone, the wisdom of the serpent is mere cunning, and the harmlessness of the dove little better than weakness: but in combination, the wisdom of the serpent would save them from unnecessary exposure to danger; the harmlessness of the dove, from sinful expedients to escape it. In the apostolic age of Christianity, how harmoniously were these qualities displayed! Instead of the fanatical thirst for martyrdom, to which a later age gave birth, there was a manly combination of unflinching zeal and calm discretion, before which nothing was able to stand.

Let us in this age do the same.

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UPDATE

Berean Research has posted the following today, October 6, 2015:

Birds of a feather? David Jeremiah teams up with Osteen and Meyer at the big Jump Start conference in Chicago this May

So … Joel Osteen … Joyce Meyer … and David Jeremiah. It seems since this was originally published the downhill apostasy slide has increased its velocity, sadly.

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Passover Pesach 2015 Seder Rube Goldberg Machine from Technion in Israel

Posted on March 26, 2015 by elizabethprata

OK, this is fun… 🙂

Technion students get ready for Passover, the festival of freedom, and let their imagination run wild. Watch closely as this Rube Goldberg Machine created by students from the Faculties of Mechanical Engineering and Architecture and Town Planning relates highlights of the Passover story. Filmed in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in The Sydney & Shirley Gendel and Emanuel Friedberg Family Creative Design Student Laboratory, a Project of the American Technion Society, Cleveland Chapter