Posted in history channel, sassa, sexting, the bible

(UPDATED) ‘The Bible’ producer caught sexting and checking out escort sites: summarily fired

Posted on by elizabethprata

“Scott Sassa, the producer of the History Channel series, “The Bible” quickly exited his $6 million position as president of Hearst Entertainment & Syndication this week over a sexting scandal with a stripper. The New York Post reports that there’s more to Sassa’s exit than just sexting explicit messages on his company phone. The publication’s sources state that the former Hearst executive was also checking out the “high class” escort site, Kingzzz.com while on the job.”

The LA Times reports, “Sassa’s resignation was confirmed Thursday after the New York Post published a story saying Sassa had been cavorting with strippers and one — in partnership with her boyfriend — had tried to blackmail him and sent texts he’d written to senior officials at the magazine and television company. … Sassa also oversaw Hearst’s partnership with powerful producer Mark Burnett, whose latest program — “The Bible” — has scored big ratings for History.”

In 2011, Hearst hired “The Bible” producer Mark Barnett to form a parnership with the ousted Sassa for the purpose of creating hit television shows. One of these, apparently, is “The Bible”. It reminds of of Peter’s warning in 2 Peter 2:3: “And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.” They are exploiting us with false words in order in their greed to make merchandise of us, aren’t they?

I had asked in one of the blog essays about this tv series “The Bible”, can anything good come from leaven that was kneaded by people who are enemies of God?

Answer: No.

As we see with this unfortunate story about the producer who was fired.

As for the people and organizations who say that The Bible series can be a useful ‘hook’ to get people interested in Jesus and holy things, well, if the producer who is intimately involved in shaping the series like a nurtured child and bringing it to fruition was so immune to The Bible’s charms, what hope has someone else to come away from the series with a right view of the righteousness of Jesus? Not so much, if you ask me.

Posted in hearing God, jesus calling, thomas manton

Jesus Calling review, and why ‘hearing’ God is a bad thing

Posted on by elizabethprata

Here is a review of the book Jesus Calling by Michael Horton. I liked the review and liked just as much the clarification comment Mr Horton made at the comment section, which I excised and placed after the link to his review. Jesus Calling is another book which calls for your discernment because of the casual way the author ‘hears’ God and uses His word to legitimize what is beyond scripture. This blog entry is also an overall caution about hearing audible or inner ‘voices’ in either yourself or from other teachers.

FYI, here is the link to a very thoughtful and biblical review of this book.

Review of Jesus Calling
By Mike Horton

Excerpt: “In terms of method, then, Jesus Calling is a “something more” book. At the very least, I believe that it encourages believers to see God’s Word as hum-drum and to ascend into the heavens or descend to the depths to discover a word that will make Jesus more present in our daily lives. According to the Reformation stream of evangelicalism, God speaks to us in his Word (the arrow pointing down from God to us) and we speak to him in prayer (the arrow directed up to God). However, Jesus Calling confuses the direction of these arrows, blurring the distinction between God’s speech and our response.”

In the ensuing discussion of the book review in the comment section, there was a growing outcry from the commenters who began vehemently disagreeing with Mr Horton’s stance that God does not speak audibly today, in this era. Mr Horton made the following response in clarifying his stance and responding to the objections–

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

Thanks for the interaction.

A number of responses have objected to restricting the Spirit’s communication to his Word. We don’t seem to disagree over whether Scripture is the infallible rule, but whether it’s sufficient: that is, whether we need or should expect other avenues of divine communication today. Let me first clarify the point and then defend it briefly.

It’s not a question of what God can do, but what he’s promised to do. Tomorrow morning, Jesus could speak to me in audible words outside of Scripture, but why to me and not to someone else? Scripture is a public book that may be accessed anytime. Jesus, who rose again publicly in history, certified the Old Testament and commissioned his apostles to speak his words in his name. Preaching is a public event. This public character of the gospel distinguishes Christianity from every other religion. I’ll leave it to others to discern whether Sarah Young tends to treat Scripture and preaching as “humdrum,” given her clear statement in the introduction that she was seeking more communication—something more personal—from Jesus than she had found in reading the Bible. (She doesn’t even mention preaching, as I recall.)

Now to the defense. To be sure, there are myriad examples of God speaking directly to people in the Old and New Testaments. After all, that’s how we got Scripture in the first place. However, Jesus equated the words of the prophets with the very word of God and submitted himself to the Scriptures (Mt 4:4, 7, 10; 5:17-20; 19:4-6; 26:31, 52-54; Lk 4:16-21; 16:17; 18:31-33; 22:37; 24:25-27, 45-47; Jn 10:35-38). He also drew a qualitative distinction between “word of God” and “the tradition of the elders” (Mt 15:2, 6). The one is God’s infallible word and the other is a fallible interpretation of God’s word. Yet the words of Christ and his apostles in Scripture are also the very word of God for the new covenant era: “God-breathed” and therefore sufficient (2 Tim 3:16). The Old and New Testaments form the biblical canon—like a constitution—that cannot be altered (Dt 4:2; 12:32; Rev 22:18-19).

Like the era of the prophets, the era of the apostles is unique. Paul distinguishes between the foundation-laying era of the apostles and the ordinary ministers who follow (1 Cor 3:11-12). The scriptures are inspired by the Spirit; we are illumined by the same Spirit to understand them. Just as the prophetic era was followed by the teachers (rabbis) who interpreted their inspired writing, the apostolic era was followed by pastors and teachers. The apostles said and did things that the Spirit did not deem necessary for us to know, as did those who prophesied in the Book of Acts. However, Paul warns, “Do not go beyond what is written,” since appeals to private revelation breed factions (1 Cor 4:6).

Churches of the Reformation hold that when this Word is faithfully preached, Christ himself speaks. “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). It is through the preaching of the gospel that the Spirit creates and sustains our faith in Christ (Is 55:10-11; Ezek 37; Acts 2:14-36; Rom 1:16; 2 Cor 4:3, 6; 1 Pet 1:23-25).

In short, as Luther and Calvin both said, to look for another path, another means of communication from our Lord, is to “seek him outside the way.” The only safe place to find a holy God in mercy, clothed in his gospel, is where he has promised to meet us in peace.

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

I thought his review (linked to his blog, above) and the clarification of the audible or inner hearing of God as a voice was extremely well-articulated. I have great concern when I hear and see the elders of our faith going forward with audible voices and lengthy, specific conversations with Jesus. Beth Moore is one of those. Pastor Mike Abendroth addressed her penchant for conversations with God in his 90-second video here. Basing doctrine, decisions, writings, teachings, or theology on supposed audible or inner hearings of God denies the sufficiency of God. Puritan Thomas Manton wrote in the mid-1600s of apostasy,

“The apostasy from the Lord will be determined chiefly by these two things: — (1.) By undermining his authority; (2.) Or destroying the interests of his kingdom. By these two we may understand the falling away, which is to come first.”

By claiming that God speaks to you personally it destroys the interests of the kingdom by making private the word of God (since as Mr Horton reminds us, appeals to private revelation breed factions, 1 Cor 4:6), and undermining His authority, by which God spoke through His Son. (Hebrews 1:1-2.)

Posted in history channel, the bible

The scarlet thread: present in the Old Testament, absent in "The Bible"

Posted on by elizabethprata

This article is on Dr. Adrian Rogers’ website “Love Worth Finding.” There is a button to share it on blogger so I am taking advantage of that to present this essay to you. Dr. Rogers is in heaven now with the Lord, but his work remains and continues to bear fruit for the kingdom.

If you read the essay then at the end I make a remark about something in today’s culture.

The Scarlet Thread through the Bible
Dr. Adrian Rogers

Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by…and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him. Joshua 2:18-19

Rahab, the woman spoken to in this passage, was a harlot in the city of Jericho. As the Israelites came to possess the land, her city was destined for destruction — and she along with it. But she was delivered, and her life transformed, simply by tying a scarlet cord in her window.

This cord represented the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it pointed toward the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. In fact, all of the Bible is about Jesus Christ and His blood redemption, and you will find this scarlet thread throughout the Word of God.

The Prophecy of the Blood

From the very beginning of human history, it is revealed. When Adam and Eve sinned, God shed innocent blood in order to make them clothes from animal skins (Genesis 3:21). This is a picture of the covering of righteousness that we receive when the Lord Jesus Christ died for us.

In Genesis four we read that Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. They instinctively wanted to worship God. Cain sacrificed the fruit of the ground. Abel had already learned that God demanded blood, so he brought a lamb. God accepted the blood of Abel’s lamb, but He did not accept Cain’s offering. Why? Because “without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin” (Hebrews 9:22).

And God told Abraham to sacrifice his long-awaited son Isaac (Genesis 22). Just before Abraham plunged the dagger into the quivering heart of his son, an angel stopped him. Abraham saw a ram caught in a thicket. Isaac was set free, but an innocent animal’s blood was shed instead.

Then, God wanted to deliver His people from bondage in the land of Egypt. On the night of the Passover, God instructed each house to slay a lamb and put the blood on their door. God said in Exodus 12:13, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”

And in the tabernacle and later in the temple, thousands upon thousands of sheep, oxen, and turtle doves were killed and their blood spilt as sacrifices for sin.

And finally, the Lord Jesus Christ died upon the cross. His death was the fulfillment of all the prophecy and promises. Revelation 13:8 proclaims that He was slain before the foundation of the world. He came to die; He planned to die; He lived to die; and He was born to die.

Blood is throughout Scripture, but what does Christ’s blood mean to us?

The Power of the Blood

His blood redeems us. There was a price against us that we could not pay, but the blood of Jesus redeemed us. 1 Peter 1:18-19 says, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things…. But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”

His blood brings us into fellowship with God. According to Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” Without the blood of Christ, man is a long way from God.

His blood makes peace with God. Man, by nature, is at war with God; and we can only come to God on His peace terms — the blood atonement. The Bible says in Colossians 1:20, “And, having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself….”

His blood cleanses. Not only does it remove the punishment of sin, it removes the pollution. I don’t care what sin you’ve committed; “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin (1 John 1:7).

His blood gives power over the devil. It’s the blood that Satan fears. Revelation 12:11 says, “And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb….” The devil doesn’t want you to learn about the blood. He hates it!

Before this planet was ever swung into space, God had determined in His heart that He would send His Son to die upon the cross. How wonderful it is to trace the scarlet thread of the blood of Christ woven throughout the Bible! How much more wonderful to experience its redemption personally. Praise God for the blood of His Lamb!

~~~~~~~~~end Dr. Rogers~~~~~~~~~

I want you to understand how important the Old Testament is. The scarlet thread runs throughout it. There are pictures and shadows and copies of the Messiah to come. See these verses

Hebrews 8:5
They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”

Hebrews 9:24
For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Hebrews 10:1
Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All – For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.

HE is the scarlet thread and woe be upon anyone who removes Him from the Old Testament as well as the New.

Yet the producers who created the History Channel’s series “The Bible” have removed this scarlet thread. We heard nothing of the promise of a redeemer as Noah recited the early Genesis verses. Passover was not explained. The sacrifice of Isaac was not explained and they made a monumentally blasphemous substitution of the lamb for the ram. The sin of Sodom was removed.

As the series unfolds, the doctrines which the series presents are crafty and subtle, just as we would suspect satan to be (Genesis 3:1-2). It subtly overemphasizes man’s acts, underemphasizes God’s sovereignty, and worst, underemphasizes man’s sin. Noah is responsible for reconciling man to God after the flood. Saul is responsible for uniting the two kingdoms. Sins are ‘mistakes’, and judgment comes because of ‘bad decisions.’

As the series moves forward, the reason for the coming of Jesus is repeatedly stated that men will “change the world.” Paul is going to change the world. Peter will change the world.

However, Jesus came to save the world and the second coming will be to punish the world. Nothing about Jesus’s intentions are to ‘change the world’ yet that thread is the one which the series creators have replaced the scarlet cord with. And who will change the world? Men.

It is very well to be aware of the doctrinal problems in The Bible miniseries, but it is hard to use the bible to see what isn’t there. It is always harder to detect what is missing than what is present.

The Jesus we know and love and honor is missing, and that is because His scarlet thread is plucked out of the perfect tapestry of the interwoven Word. And you know what happens when a thread unravels from the piece: it comes apart.

Posted in eschatological, rapture, tribulation

Where the vultures gather

Posted on by elizabethprata

I’m sure you’re familiar with this verse. It is in Matthew 24 and here from Luke 17

“Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” (Luke 17:33-37).

The above is a real photo that I took when driving along in my hometown in GA. They are indeed vultures, turkey vultures, and I thought the composition was interesting. They didn’t budge when I stopped my car under the branch and snapped a few photos. Then I inverted it, changed the mode to B&W and voila, spooky birds.

Vultures always seem kind of spooky, don’t they. While camping in the Everglades, the buzzards used to glide in and stand on the picnic table, staring at us. They are huge birds, made all the more spooky by knowing they eat carrion. Or live things, it doesn’t matter. We kept our cat holed up in the VW pop-up while we were there. The birds just seemed way to interested in chomping either her, us, or our lunch.

And that is the point of the verse. So many people think that it is a rapture verse. It is not. The Lord had spent the bulk of the Matthew passage explaining the labor pangs of the Tribulation to the disciples, in order and in detail. Luke has a shortened version of it. Then in Matthew, the Lord explained the Abomination of Desolation, which is the unveiling of the antichrist at the Temple, calling himself God. Then He said when you see that happen, do the following, and He delivered instructions to the Jews.

He concluded with “Immediately after the tribulation of those days…” and gave a couple of parables to finish it off. The verse is contained in the section at the end of Matthew 24 and Luke 17, where the Lord tells us that no one will know the day nor hour of His coming. The world will not know because the sun is dark, no one knows what day it is, the antichrist had sought to change times and seasons. They lose track of what day it is. THEN the Lord will come in a blaze of glory.

The people taken are those non-believers taken alive who displeased God, and those who are left are those believers who pleased God. He takes the non-believers away to judgment. He cements this thought by saying they will be where the vultures gather. Vultures are carrion birds which gather where the (spiritually) dead are. Believers are left to enter the Millennial kingdom on earth. Jesus concludes with reminding us that where the carnage is, the spiritually dead and the physically dead in judgment, there the vultures gather. It is the wicked who are taken- to judgment.

Any person can escape all these things by believing on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He came to save the world and make the payment to God for our sins, taking on God’s wrath instead of allowing it to be poured out on us, as it should have been. He was crucified and died. He was buried but by the power of God, who was pleased with His son, resurrected Him from the dead. Jesus is in heaven now, reigning on His throne, and will come again to earth to judge the living and the dead.

If you are still not sure about the interpretation of the Matthew 24 passage as a Tribulation and not rapture passage, and also the Luke 17 parallel passage, here is a lesson at Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) on How to Interpret the Bible and they use these exact verses to share how to interpret a passage. It will lead you through it verse by verse and step by step.

If you believe you are a sinner disqualified from entering heaven, and believe that Jesus is our savior and Lord, you can be saved. Saved from what? His wrath. That is what the Luke and Matthew passage refers to, the spiritually dead who are already under God’s wrath and which will come fully one day to judge you. Pray to the Holy Spirit, Who is also God, for more information, as you read more here too: God’s Simple Plan of Salvation. Or speak to a local pastor of a bible believing church. You are spiritually dead and are gathering where the vultures are. The miraculous grace of God can regenerate you alive. Think on these things- they are real issues and eternal, too.

Posted in iran, north korea, tribulation, war

North Korea and Iran’s war drums are beating so loud the US responds

Posted on by elizabethprata

“Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with You.”

OK, I took a liberty, changing the intent of the Stealers Wheel’s lyrics to add the capital Y to indicate God in the lyric.

I am concerned in watching the militaristic beating of the war drums to our “left” – North Korea, and to our “right” – Israel and Iran. Yet God is in control, He is in the middle of us. (Matthew 18:20).

Let’s take a look at the situation of North Korea first. Drudge put this up yesterday:

Always crazy, always unpredictable, North Korea is the one nation in the world which may indeed use nuclear weapons as a matter of curse or just for no reason. You never know what they may do, and that is because they are a closed nation. We are cut off from indicators, diplomatic channels, hints or feints. We are shadow boxing with a mirage when it comes to North Korea. They are closed to journalism, economic exchange, and communications. China is their only ally, and even they are getting exasperated with North Korea.

When you close a people off from the world they have no basis or benchmark to determine what reality is. The North Koreans believe that the US is poised to lob a nuke at them and that NK is right to defend themselves by lobbing one first.

The NK leaders, formerly Kim Jong Il and today’s Kim Jong Un, often make inflammatory statements that have no basis in reality. But no matter, they seem intent on striking the US with a nuclear weapon and they just might indeed do it.

Max Fisher at the Washington Post wrote a few days ago, “Here is a partial list of some of North Korea’s terrifying threats and provocations since the United Nations Security Council imposed new sanctions late last week: nullify the 60-year armistice that had ended the Korean War, sever the emergency communication line with South Korea, order frontline troops to prepare to “cut the windpipes” of their enemies, threaten to “wipe out” a South Korean island and pledge “all-out war.” ” Fisher said that NK loves to threaten WWIII (but probably won’t follow through“. Notice the ‘probably.’ I think they will. But I’m just a schmoe blogging in my pajamas. What do I know?

However, more seriously and ominously, the US apparently isn’t taking any chances. This time NK’s threats caused the US to make a response in action. They deployed missiles.

U.S. to bolster missile defenses to counter North Korea threat: Hagel
“(Reuters) – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced plans on Friday to bolster U.S. missile defenses in response to a growing nuclear threat from North Korea, adding 14 interceptors to a missile defense site in Alaska by 2017 and deploying a radar tracking system in Japan. The decision to add 14 new anti-missile interceptors at Fort Greely in Alaska amounts to a reversal of an Obama administration decision in 2010 to stop expansion of the missile field there at 30 interceptors. The Bush administration had planned to deploy 44 total interceptors. Hagel said the decision to deploy all 44 interceptors came as a result of the growing threats from Iran and particularly North Korea, which tested a third nuclear device last month and launched a rocket that put a satellite in orbit in December.”

A government doesn’t move war materiel for nothing. When you start deploying missiles, it is serious.

Now as to the jokers to the right, Iran is also doing its crazy thing. The nation got daring this week. “An Iranian fighter jet approached a U.S. surveillance drone over the Persian Gulf but broke off its pursuit after the pilot of a U.S. escort plane radioed a verbal warning, the Pentagon said Thursday,” reports HuffPo.

More concerning is the wrangling between Israel and the US. The US says that the nuclear red line for Iran is more than a year away. Israel says it is a matter of weeks (this spring to summer).

Who is right? The mistake is not recoverable. I wrote in February of this year that the bible indicates  more than once that a nuclear war in the Tribulation is likely.

In another war drum beat, The Times of Israel reports that the Intelligence Chief says Syria is ready to use chemical weapons.

I don’t know when war will come. I don’t know from whence it will start. But it will. The bible tells us that in the Tribulation, peace will be taken from the earth. (Revelation 6:3-4; Matthew 24:6). However, I do not know how many wars or battles will take place prior to the removal of the saints in the rapture before the Tribulation begins. We must be prepared.

But that preparation will only last so long. We will be called home soon and whenever that event occurs, blessedly, we will study war no more.

Source

Above, Lesleigh Coyer, 25, of Saginaw, Michigan, lies down in front of the grave of her brother, Ryan Coyer, who served with the U.S. Army in both Iraq and Afghanistan, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia March 11, 2013. Coyer died of complications from an injury sustained in Afghanistan. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

War is an outward indicator of the state of man’s heart. Man’s heart is wicked and deceitful, who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). Man’s thoughts and intents are only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5). Unregenerated man is at a state of war with God, all the time. War on earth is the manifestation of all that.

But when Jesus comes, “He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4)

Cling to that. Man and Savior reconciled, man and nation at peace with themselves and with their Holy God. Hallelujah! (Colossians 1:20).

Posted in comment policy

Non-comment policy

Posted on by elizabethprata

I don’t have a comment policy. I do allow comments. I always appreciate the blogs that allow comments. It feels vertiginous to read something really interesting or provoking in one way or another but not be allowed to satisfy the urge to reply. So I allow comments.

I don’t go in for a complicated comment policy. It’s a blog, my blog, and I’m the boss. That means as a publisher and editor of a writing production, I can choose to make my own editorial decisions. I would hope that readers understand that as a former professional writer and print journalist, I have a method and a sense of fairness as to what comments to allow and disallow. For the most part, I use common sense.

However, I do feel I owe readership an explanation for some things. It is a relationship after all. Once in a while I make an explanation of when or if I edit a comment. I only edit a comment rarely. I do that when the comment is excellent and I feel contributes to a discussion, but has attached to it a link that either does not glorify God in its content or is of low web trust according to the rating system of the WOT add-on I use (I won’t send readers to a dangerous website filled with spam unbenownst to them). In the rare cases I do edit a comment for those reasons, I say so. I have only had to do this a mere five times or so in the last four years.

Once in a great while I close comments for a blog entry. I have the option to do this for individual essays and don’t have to do it for the whole blog. I have only had to do this for a few blog entries, such as the Jentezen Franklin piece, and recently for the Catholic essays I’ve written.

Blastr comment policy

I’m not so popular that I get swamped with comments, lol. But recently the comments have become more pitched as the spiritual battle rages. The piece I did on the History Channel’s series “The Bible” earned five-digit readership in a short time, and I was flabbergasted. The essays on the Catholic false religious system has a high reader interest, too, and has garnered a lot of comments.

For two of the Catholic essays, I closed comments. One reader said it was “strange” that I did that. They made an accusation as to when they sent “proof” that Catholicism was a true religion, I closed comments. Someone will always feel put out when that happens, and there is no avoiding that. I’m sorry if you didn’t get to comment or feel cheated of your chance to reply. Here is my reasoning for closing comments on those two pieces-

“It’s not strange at all. Quite the contrary. First, there is no “proof” that Catholicism is biblical. Second, comments were turning pointless because no matter how often the bible is referred to, the people supporting the false Catholic system refuted it illogically and extra-biblically. Third, there have been numerous comments that never even made it past the moderation stage, which were ad hominem attacks on personalities. I get tired of moderating those. The comments that are simply “you’re a bid stoopid poopiehead” or “you are a sham and a disgrace” are a waste of everyone’s time and are certainly not Christ-like. They are personal and not doctrinal. Comments like those edify no one, except perhaps, satan.

Enough ink has been spilled on each side for people to have expressed their position, and to illuminate any reader who comes along. As an editor I decide that at a certain point, there is no point in going further. Discussions have been fleshed out and the argument (an intellectual process whereby a collective series of statements to establish a proposition is laid out) turns into contradiction (an automatic gainsaying of anything the other person says). So when the intellectual portion of the discussion ends and the conversation turns into “(RCC is false. No it isn’t. Yes it is. No it isn’t…)” I choose to end it.

I will likely close comments on the other essays that discuss the false and satanic Catholic system, too, for the same reason. Even if you personally have not had a chance to comment, likely your thought in some form is already reflected in the comment stream and would be a repeat. That means it’s time to close comments. Good day to you all.”

Ultimately, it is my blog and I am the decider. I am the boss of what is said here. If the comment adds something to the discussion, great. If it provokes thinking in new ways or in a new direction, great. If it is encouraging or uplifting or supportive of the piece’s main point or a reader’s comment, great. If it is incisive and biblical, using verses appropriately, great. Even if it opposes the main thesis of the piece, I respect it if it is respectful and makes a point in a civil way. If it doesn’t, it does not get through.

I’m sorry that not all my decisions please, but though all attempts will be made to remain cordial on behalf of myself and the readers, my ultimate goal is to please the Lord. Sometimes I will close comments and that’s just the way it is. I envision doing that more as the battle rages and hearts darken. Profanity and accusations are more common now than they were even four years ago when I started. Not everyone who reads religion blogs are saved by grace of Jesus and they will behave badly. Blastr made the statement on their comment policy page that sometimes ‘nerd rage’ will creep in and a fury will develop over the most innocuous of topics, like favorite movies. LOL. Nerds behaving badly… funny. Well, at least now you know my reasoning.

I like what John MacArthur has on his blog above the comment box: “Proverbs 17:9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.” (ESV)

And there, wouldn’t you know. The bible has the best comment policy of all.

Posted in obama taster, pope francis, pride

Of popes and kings: Is the pope humble? Does Obama have a cup-bearer?

Posted on by elizabethprata

As the (misplaced) excitement at selecting a new pope dies down, we are left with the litter of conflicting notions of who rules the world, really. The pope claims to be a supreme and infallible authority over every Catholic on the planet and not coincidentally claims that the RCC is the only true church. Infallible means he cannot make mistakes and everything he says is pure gold. He is called ‘vicar of Christ’- A title of the pope implying his supreme and universal primacy, both of honour and of jurisdiction, over the Church of Christ. He is the supreme “another Christ” or alter christus. He is not subject to any government, organization or even to his own church. He is a king and more: he claims to be head of the church. (Only Jesus is head of the church, Colossians 1:18). (Above, the new Pope Francis)

The new pope, Francis, is said to be a humble man. This is incorrect. No man can be humble who thinks he is the head of the church, supplanting Jesus, the true head. No man can be humble who seeks and accepts an office where he is an “absolute monarch on earth, answerable to no temporal power, holding the highest administrative office in existence, and managing the largest non-governmental operation in the world. His power is absolutely unlimited save by divine law, and only death or his own will can remove him from office.” (Carol Balizet, The Last 7 Years)

No man can be humble who seeks and accepts ruling over “the wealthiest institution on earth and the most prosperous global institution on earth. The Catholic church is the biggest financial power, wealth accumulator and property owner in existence. She is a greater possessor of material riches than any other single institution, corporation, bank, giant trust, government or state of the whole globe. The pope, as the visible ruler of this immense amassment of wealth, is consequently the richest individual of the twentieth century. No one can realistically assess how much he is worth in terms of billions of dollars.” (Avro Manhattan, The Vatican Billions).

Pope is a word that comes from ‘papa.’ The problem comes when we attempt to address these august personalities. What do we call such a ‘holy’ and distinguished men among men? Father? Holy Father?

However, the bible says there is only one Holy Father and we are not to call anyone else father. “And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.” (Matthew 23:9).

The Jewish people had a hard time with this too. So they decided on apifyor.

“The Catholic Church has a new leader on the Chair of Saint Peter – Pope Francis. But in Hebrew we don’t call him “pope” or “papa,” but rather apifyor (api-FYOR). Until the 16th century, Jews called the pontiff as their Christian neighbors did: papa, a name that since the 12th century was reserved for the Bishop of Rome but before that referred to any high ranking church official. It derives from the Greek papas – a term of endearment a son gives his father. Apparently some creative soul back in the 16th century thought it was improper for Jews to refer to the pope with such deference and decided to come up with a new term instead. This anonymous Jewish scholar picked the obscure word apifyor from the Talmud and fit it to the task. By the 17th century the word “papa” had all but disappeared from Hebrew.”

Yes, there is so much confusion that results when men think they are God. There will be one who will come who WILL call himself God and cause all to worship him. His title is the Beast, or the antichrist. (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Meanwhile this current “holy papa” is an antichrist, a little forerunner to the one who will fulfill prophecy by becoming the man of sin. In the 1600s, Puritan Thomas Manton (1620-1677) preached three sermons about the coming man of sin. This excerpt is from the third sermon: (below, Rev. Thomas Manton)

“Now why did they call Antiochus the man of sin? Because he sought to alter the religion of the people, and by cruelty to introduce a change of worship and idolatry, and such laws as he would set up. Now, according to this pattern, Antichrist is a man of sin; that is, either a man given up to all sin eminently, a sinner addicted unto sin, and a ringleader of others unto sin, either by fraud and violence; or as he giveth encouragements and encitements to sin; or as a special kind of sinner, a usurper and invader of the empire of the Son of God. So was Antiochus. So was Antichrist. Now, how much open sin is practised, allowed, and maintained in the Papacy, I do not wish to proceed into; their own stories speak enough; — the sodomy, blasphemy, incest, adulteries, sorceries, murders, treasons, parricides, which they have authorised and countenanced. Histories witness that hardly hath the world yielded a more abominable sort of men, than have sat in that chair of pestilence. This I am sure of, that a man can sin nowhere at so cheap a rate as in Popery, where, what by dividing their sins into mortal and venial, and these expiated by a little penance, accompanied with a single attrition, and bare grief and trouble, because of the punishment; what by faculties, pardons, licenses, dispensations, indulgences, sin is distinguished out of the conscience.”

Thinking one’s self as king supreme always leads to destruction. We have a little king problem in the US right now, with Barack Obama.

Did you know that Obama has a cup-bearer?

In the bible a cup bearer is a personal taster to the king and his butler. Pharaoh had a cup-bearer we read in Genesis 40:2. That was the one who told his dream to the incarcerated Joseph. (Genesis 40:1). Nehemiah was a cup-bearer to the king of Persia. (Nehemiah 1:11). A cup-bearer, or a taster, had a duty to serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues, a person must be regarded as thoroughly trustworthy to hold this position. He must guard against poison in the king’s cup, and was sometimes required to swallow some of the wine before serving it, or so says Wikipedia. Cup-bearers are mentioned further in 1 Kings 10:5; 2 Chronicles 9:4, where they, among other evidences of royal splendor, are stated to have impressed the Queen of Sheba with Solomon’s glory.

In keeping with this royal splendor, we read today that Obama refused to eat of the GOP luncheon because he didn’t have his royal cup-bearer taster with him.

Nehemiah the cup-bearer,
bible encyclopedia

Barack Obama agreed to meet with a group of GOP senators yesterday. But, he wouldn’t eat their food.
He didn’t bring along his royal taster. No joke. The Daily Caller reported:

President Obama was offered a feast of Maine treats, including University of Maine lobster salad and Wild Blueberry Pie when he visited Senate Republicans for a Capitol Hill luncheon on Thursday. But he didn’t touch a bite, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters following the 1:30 PM eat n’ greet. That’s because the President didn’t have a food “taster” with him, said Collins, who was responsible for the menu.

Sen. Collins said she told Obama that they were all eating the lobster and pie, and that if it was poisoned they’d all keel over, but Obama refused to bite. Now, to be fair, there does seem to be a regular call for the use of a taster for all US Presidents, or at least, some kind of security detail which monitors food and silverware when the President is off turf. But the image of cup-bearer to the one who has already been called pharaoh, was too much to resist remarking upon.

It is always a problem when kings and popes become too full of themselves. Fortunately we know to whom we owe allegiance as the real king. Though we are called to submit to earthly authorities because God has set them up, (1 Peter 2:13) we know our King is the Righteous One who comes in all glory. On the last day, He will reign supreme in all goodness and perfection.

It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 1:2-3)

What a privilege it is to know the REAL Holy Father! The Real King! Our High Priest! Jesus

Posted in kimani gray, passover, sacrifice, sky angel

Passover sacrifice at Temple Mount denied, sky angel, Kimani Gray, love

Posted on by elizabethprata

A news article about seriousness.

The following article from Israel National News surprised me. They have done sacrifices at the Temple Mount during Passover before.

Temple-Times Passover Sacrifice Nixed by Government
“Israel’s Veterinary Services will not authorize the planned public ritual sacrifice of a goat in honor of Passover this year, Veterinary Services representative Zohar Dvorkin said Thursday. Jewish groups dedicated to the Temple Mount and Temple renewal are planning the sacrifice as a reminder of what Passover looked like in Temple times. The ritual slaughter is to take place in Jerusalem, in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood opposite the Temple Mount. The organizations planning the sacrifice were unpleasantly surprised at the Veterinary Services’ response. The Veterinary Services has authorized previous sacrifices in honor of Passover, including one held in Jerusalem last year.”

But coming on the heels of the wrangling over the Temple Mount and the recent violence there with a firebombing, maybe it is not so surprising. The activity in and around God’s holy ground is getting more severe. Expect more articles of this kind in the near future. The fighting is not over the actual mosque or temple, it is satan trying to prevent God from occupying His designated spot. For a short while in the near future, satan will be allowed to place himself there, to allow sin to run its full course. We are fast approaching that time now. It all will come down to a narrow, laser-point focus on Jerusalem.

“who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:4)

“The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.” (Daniel 11:36).

“He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” (Daniel 9:27).

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Now we go from seriousness to silliness. This is of the “I saw the face of Jesus in my corn flakes” variety of craziness.

Angel-Shaped Cloud Appears In Florida Sky After New Pope Is Announced
“Some say it’s nothing. Others believe it’s a message from heaven on a big day for the Roman Catholic Church. Just hours after Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio made his first appearance as Pope Francis at the Vatican, Florida resident Jodi Guthrie snapped a photo of a stunning cloud shaped like an angel hovering in the sky over Royal Palm Beach.”

Facebook/Ginger Teixeira Richmond

There’s no denying that it is a very pretty cloud and an unusual shape. But it’s in…Florida, and has nothing to do with the Pope from Argentina who lives in Italy. If anything, it is a false wonder designed to delude people, not a sign from God. I would tend to think lightning striking the Vatican twice on the day of the pope’s resignation is more from God than this cloud in Florida is.

On the other hand, it’s very good that people are looking around their world and wondering of the religious things happening have anything to do with the natural things happening. That is a good connection to make. However, the imbroglio at the Vatican has nothing to do with God and everything to do with satan, so it is a missed connection. We can pray that as people lift their heads and look up, they make the proper connection. The right things to think in these days are that Jesus is coming soon to judge the living and the dead. He is active and involved with the world in His general revelation (Romans 1) and will soon be appearing in His special revelation (Ezekiel 39). If it causes a person to wonder how they may fare before a holy God then good. If it causes a person to think this is praise for a new pope, then it is bad.

While we are on the topic, we can ask the question, “Do angels have wings?“

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

There is a situation occurring now in Brooklyn NY that you may not be aware of. A 16-year-old teen named Kimani Gray was shot by Brooklyn police. He was shot 7 times, which infuriated the black community. He pointed a loaded gun at police and threatened to shoot, which infuriated the peace officer community. There’s been three nights of rioting, and more police have been deployed to the neighborhood. 45 people were arrested after protests last night and the UK Daily Mail’s headline is a little more inflammatory but quite vivid: “It sounds like a war zone’: Chaos in Brooklyn as 100 teenagers ‘riot’ on the streets following vigil of 16-year-old who was shot dead by NYPD plainclothes cops”. The situation has become a powder keg, reports The New York Times. There have been mobs marauding the streets, vigils, speeches, and now apparently martial law. Or what they call “A State of Exception.”

Iran’s PressTV reports,
“The NYPD turned the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn into a ‘State of Exception’ on Thursday, arresting over 45 people including the sister of slain 16-year-old Kimani Gray.”

http://www.usnews.com/

Tensions in civil life between those in authority and those who perceive themselves to be oppressed rise exponentially when there is economic hardship. Put another way, people are angry and more often they unhesitatingly take it out on other people. Whether the police acted badly and took it out on “an innocent boy” simply adjusting his waistband, or the boy was angry and took it out on “brave and ethical police” protecting the public good and have commendations to back up their long and distinguished careers, is an age-old discussion and not new. However, the reaction to the issue is. The go-to solution used to be discussion, meetings between parties, and civil resolutions through procedures such as inquests or Internal Affairs. Now, people just riot. It’s an indication of taking the law into their own hands, and ignoring the thin veneer of civil authority that used to hold the lost sinners at bay, but now as the Restrainer slowly lifts His hand, is more quick to surface.

Here is a peek at our world today:

Today’s photos, March 14, 2013

Above, a Bahraini anti-government protester is engulfed in flames when a shot fired by riot police hit the bomb in his hand that he was preparing to throw during clashes in Sanabis, Bahrain. Hasan Jamali/AP. It has been two years since Arab Spring and Saudi-led forces quelled unrest in Gulf island. Protests mark the date

Above, thousands of students, teachers, and concerned citizens protested in Madrid against cuts in education, and rising tuition fees imposed by the Minister of Education. The demonstration ended in front of Ministry of Education building.

Anti-nuclear rallies took place across Japan,
on the eve of the second anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster,
urging Japan’s new government to abandon nuclear power.

 

Above, March 9, 2013–  Pakistani demonstrators torch Christians’ belongings during a protest over blasphemy in a Christian neighborhood in Lahore. More than 3,000 Muslim protesters turned violent over derogatory remarks allegedly made by Sawan Masih, 28 against the prophet Muhammad in a Christian neighboorhood in Badami Bagh area.  Arif Ali / AFP/Getty Images

Amid all this violence and protests as to the way things are, want to see what love is? It is still on earth, sometimes hidden among the cracks of a crumbling society, like a flower emerging from the concrete crack in the sidewalk, but it is still here. Watch this very moving 4-minute clip- and enjoy your day in Jesus. Days with Him are always good.

Posted in cheap grace

"A Compromised Gospel Produces Compromised Fruit"

Posted on by elizabethprata

This article in Ministry Magazine is written by Dr. Michael L. Brown. I am absolutely struck by how each word is dripping with truth and wisdom. Please read and take to heart as your discerning ears listen to sermons and read books in today’s Christianity:

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

“The dawning of the 21st century finds the church of America in a moral and spiritual crisis. Decades of self-centered living and worldliness have taken their toll. Years of compromise and toothless gospel preaching have had their effect.”

Thirteen years ago in 2000, I wrote that admonition in my book The Jesus Manifesto. Ten years before that, in 1990, I sounded a similar alarm in my book How Saved Are We?:

“For years, we have preached a cheap gospel and peddled a soft Savior. We have taught salvation without self-denial and the crown without the cross. We have catered to the unsaved and compromised with the world. Now we are paying the price.”

Tragically, what I and others warned about has now run its dangerous and deceptive course.

You don’t have to look too far today to hear Christian leaders teaching that it’s wrong to expect born-again believers to change their conduct, calling those who do “religious” (as if that’s a bad word) or, worse still, “legalistic” if they preach repentance to the church and to the lost. Today, you can practice almost any sin, work in almost any ungodly profession and still be accepted as a follower of Jesus Christ.

How in the world did we depart so far from the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus?

Consider these examples:

–A glamorous spokeswoman for conservative Christian values explains that, “I am a Christian, and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos.”

–A well-known rapper claims a conversion to Christianity and states, “I love God, Jesus Christ is my savior, and I’m still out here thuggin’.” He has been baptized, attends church regularly and says, “I still love the strip club, and I still smoke and drink. I’m faithful to my family, so I wanted to make an album where you could love God and be of God, but still get it poppin’ in your life.”

I am not making this up.

And we don’t dare call out anyone on their sinful, public lifestyle lest we be guilty of what is now considered the worst sin of all—judging. Yes, these days it’s considered worse to judge someone for sinning than it is to commit the sin.

With regard to the lingerie model and, even more so, the rapper, it would be one thing if we said that they were spiritually and morally confused, totally immature in their faith, in need of serious discipleship and a real encounter with the Lord. But so often that’s not what you hear. Instead, many believers in America today find nothing wrong with the idea of a “Christian” lingerie model or a “born-again,” profanity-using, smoking, drinking rapper who frequents strip clubs. What kind of nonsense is this?

The New Cross for Sinners

More than 50 years ago in his classic article, “The Old Cross and the New,” A.W. Tozer wrote, “The old cross would have no truck with the world. For Adam’s proud flesh it meant the end of the journey.” In contrast, he noted with profound insight, “The new cross does not slay the sinner; it redirects him.”

Today we could take his insights one step further and say that the new cross does not slay the sinner; it empowers him or her: Jesus came to make you into a bigger and better you. Jesus came to help you fulfill your dreams and your destiny. Put another way, the gospel is all about you—not Jesus.

Scan the programming on Christian TV and listen to the latest “hit” sermons, and take note of how often you hear messages about all the wonderful things God can do for you—including prosper you financially. Contrast that with how seldom you hear messages about the wonderful things we’re called to do for the Lord. And see if you can count even five times in the last year that you heard a message challenging you to sacrifice and service for Jesus (and I’m not talking about making a financial sacrifice for the TV preacher).

Yet Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it” (Luke 9:23-24, NIV). When is the last time you were stirred to the core of your being with those words? Yet their message runs throughout the Gospels and forms a fundamental part of the message of the Lord. (See Matt. 10:37-39; 16:24-25; Mark 8:34-35; Luke 14:26-33; 17:32-32; John 12:24-25.)

“Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus,” Paul wrote to Timothy (2 Tim. 2:3), as opposed to, “Enjoy personal success with me as a good entrepreneur of Christ Jesus.” And he exhorted Timothy to use the Word to “correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction,” warning him that, “the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” (4:2-4).

The Gospel of Hyper-Grace

We are living in such a time today, a time in which the gospel of personal success has been merged with the gospel of hyper-grace, thereby rendering the listener impervious to warning or correction or rebuke: “If it doesn’t make me feel better about myself, it’s not from God. If it draws attention to my sin, it’s not from God. If it challenges me in any way, it’s legalism, it’s bondage, it’s the law.”

According to the latest version of the message of hyper-grace:

  • Nothing you do will negatively affect your relationship with God.
  • As a believer, you never need to confess your sins to God or repent of your sins.
  • God doesn’t see your sins; He always sees you as perfect through the blood of Jesus.
  • You can follow Jesus effortlessly.

And still, there is more. We have become obsessed with the need to be “relevant,” trying to become like the world to win the world. We want lost, confused sinners to know we are just like them: “Is your life messed up? Our lives are messed up, too. You will feel completely at home in our church. And you will really be able to relate to our pastor. He’s up on the latest hit movies—even the raunchy ones—and sometimes he spices up his sermons with off-color language. We are not uptight religious people here.”

Misleading Our Young People

Moreover, as young people leave our churches by the droves, we compromise our message even more. We fail to realize that young people are leaving our churches because they have not seen us living out the gospel. We haven’t told them the truth, and we haven’t ministered to them in the power of the Spirit.

But where the gospel is going forth with power and conviction, young people are flocking to hear the Word and be changed. The more we water down the message, the fewer disciples we will produce and the less God will back us.

During the days of the Brownsville Revival, I wrote a little poem called “Pablum From the Pit.” It seems apropos to share it again now:

Cootchie, cootchie, cootchie-coo,
God loves me and God loves you!
Smile sinner, don’t be sad;
God’s not angry; He’s not mad.
Even when you leave the path,
There’s no hell and there’s no wrath.
So don’t you fear, just do your best.
Judgment Day won’t be a test.
God sees your heart and that’s enough.
The Judgment Seat won’t be that tough.
For you can’t sin away His grace
Or take that smile from His face.
’Cause God is love and love is good:
He’ll treat you like you think He should!
Just trust me, sinner, to the end.
My name is Satan, I’m your friend.

May God awaken His church again today beginning with us, His leaders. And may we take up the cross and preach the cross regardless of cost or consequences.

In more ways than we realize, the fate of the nation is in our hands. And if a compromised, watered-down message could bring death and destruction, an uncompromising, Spirit-empowered, compassion-birthed message could bring life and transformation.

Now is the time.

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

Dr. Michael L. Brown is president of FIRE School of Ministry and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show, The Line of Fire. His classic book on holiness, Go and Sin No More, has just been reprinted.

Posted in false, pope

Reprise: The ‘Gospel’ According to Rome

Posted on by elizabethprata

Nathan Busenitz serves on the pastoral staff of Grace Church and teaches theology at The Master’s Seminary in Los Angeles. He is part of the team of writers at The Cripplegate. Today he wrote,

“With a new pope elected, the eyes of the world are on the Roman Catholic Church. No doubt many evangelicals find themselves confused as to the critical differences between the biblical gospel and the gospel according to Rome. Hence today’s post-“

And he goes on to outline in five bullet points the major doctrinal differences, using Roman Catholic primary sources as quotes. He also presents the biblical case. The essay is short, clear and undeniably convicting.

He concludes:

“Before evangelicals rush headlong to enthusiastically embrace the new pope (pretending as if the Reformation never happened), they should stop and remember the fact that the Roman Catholic Church teaches a gospel that is utterly incompatible with the biblical gospel of grace. In the same way that Paul denounced the false teachings of the Judaizers (Gal. 1:6-9), the gospel according to Rome deserves unhesitating words of condemnation. That means that those who promote Rome’s false gospel, including the new pope, ought to be confronted for their part in the propagation of damning error.”

I encourage you to read more at their blog.