The Greek Geek Aπολύω: Divorce

Republished from blogos.org

By Chris Conner

Jesus said, "And I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." Matthew 19:9

Stop. Before you read this give it a chance. You might find more grace and mercy on this subject than you ever knew. We are going to talk about divorce, but we're going to talk about it in context, which will provide some very interesting insight.

"The man who hates and divorces his wife," says the Lord, the God of Israel, "does violence to the one he should protect," says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 2:16 (NIV)

First: in Malachi 2:16 the personal pronoun "I" is not in the Hebrew or the LXX text. Even though it may not say, "I hate divorce, says the Lord," we all know that God hates the breaking of covenants. The better rendering of this would be: "'The man who hates and divorces his wife,' says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'does violence to the one he should protect, says the LORD Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.'"

The word "divorce", or ἀπολύω (transliteration: apolyo; phonetic pronunciation: ap-ol-oo-oh) means "to free fully, i.e. (literal) relieve, release, dismiss (reflexive depart), or (figurative) let die, pardon, or (specifically) divorce; (let) depart, dismiss, divorce, forgive, let go, loose, put (send) away, release, set at liberty.)"

Now from the beginning we know that God only wanted one husband for one wife: "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement'" (Genesis 2:18). The ideal in life is: "One man for one woman." The reality is: "We live in a real world in which there are many divorces." The Bible not only acknowledges the concept of divorce but also legislates it: "If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something improper about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house" (Deuteronomy 24:1). This verse never demanded divorce but allowed it to take place. A person does not have to divorce; he/she may want to forgive that person and be reconciled. Moses' legislation would have discouraged divorce because, now, you had to take the time to write up the bill, get witnesses, take it to the proper authorities etc. This would allow you time to "cool off" and re-think the issue.

To read further, click Blogos - The Greek Geek

FOR WHOM THE BAAL TROLLS (Pt 1)

FOR WHOM THE BAAL TROLLS (Pt 1)

John Haller Prophecy Update - January 17 2016

Scripture speaks of at least two distinct marks.

One in the Book of Ezekiel, the other in the Book of Revelation.

One is good, while the other is...well...not so good.

Both signify allegiance, one to the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, and the other adversary who would be King.

Join John on an intense analysis of the Man Who Would Be King and his aspiration to become the UN Secretary General, a look at the Islamization of Europe (with a brief analysis from Bill Warner at www.politcalislam.com) plus a survey of the world economic crisis and much, much more.

The signs are clear, the warnings present, the stage is set. Which mark will you bear when the true King returns?

Mosaic magazine: Does Europe Have A Future? http://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2016/...

Wall Street Journal: Europe’s New Medieval Map http://on.wsj.com/1RX8seB

Caroline Glick’s column: The Obama Administration’s Most Covert War http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Column-o...

Caroline Glick’s column: Our World – In Pakistan They Trust http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Our-Worl...

Link to the Video promoted by Carolyn Glick https://www.facebook.com/carolineglic...

Watching and waiting - The Omega Letter

Monday, January 11, 2016
Pete Garcia 
Republished from omegaletter.com
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV

Have you ever been talking to someone about bible prophecy, and how the signs we are seeing today are all pointing to Christ’s soon return and they mockingly correct you by saying ‘my great grandmother thought Christ would return in her day and He still hasn’t come’?

I know I’ve heard that used on me a number of times as an attempt to discredit my concern for the lateness of the hour in which we find ourselves in.  More often than not, it’s from well-meaning Christians who perhaps don’t know any better due to their denominational upbringing.  But from others, the condescending nature of their rebuttal seems as if there is a hidden resentment against the very idea that Christ would have the audacity to return. 
There are three instances in the New Testament that the Apostles themselves called the times in which they lived either the ‘last times’, or the ‘last hour’.  Even Paul expected Christ in His day when he concluded on a number of occasions by using the wording “we” and “us” as being included in the group that could see Christ return.  We know that the Apostles (Paul, John, and Peter in particular), didn’t write what they wrote arbitrarily, but rather, by inspiration from God the Holy Spirit…so it’s not there by mistake.

It was their deeply held belief in the imminent return of Christ for the Church, which could happen at any moment.  Since then, it has been some 2,000 years since Christ’s departed planet earth, and if they thought they were in the Last Days, how much closer are we? 

"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” Luke 18:8

The departure from expectancy was not missed by Christ.  He foresaw the way the world would become even before He laid the foundations of the earth.  He knew all that would transpire between Adam and Eve’s fall from grace to the conditions the world would be in prior to His Second Coming.  He even knows what will happen 100 billion years into even our future.

Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 1:8), and although He has not returned as of yet, He will.  He is God and cannot lie, therefore, when He said I will come again and receive you to Myself (John 14:3), we must take Him at His word.  That day will be the trigger to usher in the final stage of human history, in which the wrath of God is poured out on a Christ-rejecting earth.  As P.T. Forsyth once stated;

“The non-intervention of God bears very heavy interest, and He is greatly to be feared when He does nothing. He moves in long orbits, out of sight and sound. But He always arrives. Nothing can arrest the judgment of the Cross, nothing shake the judgment-seat of Christ” (in The Justification of God).

Assessment

And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” Daniel 2:44-45

As the Holy Spirit moves over the face of the earth, explosions of revival breakout in former demonic strongholds along the way.  This is the case today in places like Nigeria, Iran, and China where millions have turned to Christ.  In response, Satan dials up the persecution to quell the outbreak of Christianity. This has been the case over and over for the past two thousand years. 

It is primarily here in the West, where Christianity has long been incubated, that Satan has been most effective.  He has been conducting a long war of doctrinal attacks aimed at corrupting the foundations of the Christian faith with things like; skepticism, eastern mysticism, replacement theology, human secularism, and Darwinian evolution.  And while these have been very effective in knocking down formerly Christian strongholds within governments, educational institutions, media, and even the public arena of ideas…what Satan has found most effective within Christianity is simply getting man’s focus off our eternality and back onto the here and now.

Satan’s tool of choice in distracting man with the here and now has been to relentlessly attack true, biblical eschatology by offering a human solution to the idea of “the Kingdom”.  Instead of a ‘blessed hope’, we were told we have a ‘sacred duty’ to build Christ’s Kingdom in the here and now, which sounds impressive but is misleading in its end state and is ultimately aimed at helping Satan building his. 

Simply look at how Amillennialism drives men to try and establish a Kingdom here on earth.  If Amillennialism were true wouldn’t the “Kingdom” have already been built?  I mean, we have had the “Vicar of Christ” (i.e…the Pope) since the 6^th century AD.  We’ve had crusades.  We’ve had the Protestant Reformation.  We’ve had the Puritans who settled in their new American homeland.  We’ve had the 1^st and 2^nd Great Awakenings.  We’ve had the Restoration movement.  We’ve had the Social Gospel movement. 

We’ve had in more recent times; the Toronto Blessings, Lakeland Revival, Third Wave, Latter Rain, New Apostolic Reformation, and Kansas City Prophets.  We’ve had a renewed push for ecumenism between Mormons and Evangelicals.  Between Roman Catholicism and Evangelicals.  We’ve had Purpose Driven, Seeker Friendly, social-gospel, name it-claim it, emergent church, Promise-Keepers, and everything in between.

All of these groups and movements were supposed to be earth shattering, kingdom-building, and man-centered efforts to transform the world we live in into some type of Christian utopia.  These groups also share similar eschatologies which are either of the Amillennial or Post-Millennial purview, redefining the Kingdom on man’s terms.

If we were to judge the fruits of Amillennialism we would have to contend with Preterism, which is a byproduct of Amillennial teachings.  What Preterism introduces is skepticism onto Scripture.  Preterism seeks to dismiss any possibility of Christ’s physical return to earth to establish His Kingdom by either spiritualizing it, (as does Amillennialism) or by redefining everything within Revelation to fit their narrative.

If we were to judge the fruits of Post-Millennialism we would largely from the aforementioned list above, which seeks to force change on a culture by assuming control of the Seven Mountains (or some variation thereof), in order to make society conform through their Christian influence. 

While the intentions might have been in the right place, and some may have been saved in the process, none of these programs and movements ever built anythingexcept perhaps more confusion within the body of Christ.  (See 1 John 5:19, Luke 4:4-6, or 2 Cor. 4:4)
Skeptical theologians and scholars love to state that Eschatology is simply a second rate issue that has no bearing on our salvation.  That is true in as much as how it affects Christians.  However, it (false eschatologies) can be highly destructive toward the saving faith of those who are not yet Christians.   Simply look at the damage that date setters such as William Miller and Harold Camping have put on Christianity as a whole and have turned away unknown numbers of potential converts. 

What they also don’t tell you is, holding to or promoting false eschatological beliefs, side-tracks that unwitting believer into following a path which ultimately ends in failure, spiritual emptiness, and ultimately disillusionment with the faith as a whole.

False eschatological views also breed a tendency towards militancy, skepticism, and anti-Semitism by confusing the Church with Israel (or vice versa).  And if your end-times view has you going through the Tribulation, your focus now is not on waiting on Christ, but on stocking up, gearing up, and hunkering down waiting for all hell to break loose.
Needless to say, Satan has been busy.

So that is how we have arrived here in the final moments of human history, with Israel back in her land (as prophesied in Scripture), wars and rumors of war, earthquakes, pandemics, starvation, advancing technology, world government, and the overall convergence of signs, all while the church is asleep at the wheel. 

Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.  Revelation 3:3

Be of Good Cheer
For those of us who study Bible prophecy regularly from a Pre-Tribulation viewpoint, might feel discouraged at times because we are always talking about it and Christ said that He would come at a time when we ‘think not’.  We (I) tend to neglect the reality that we (as a community of believers) make up a tiny percentage of the total number of Christians who are actively watching and waiting for the Lord to return.

When you compare us as community to humanity as a whole, our numbers are even significantly smaller and probably microscopic in comparison.  While those who are waiting on the Rapture is not a prerequisite for salvation, it is indicative of the ‘state of the church’ when Christ returns.

For those who are frantically working to build up some kind of kingdom here on earth, often accuse us of being lazy, head in the clouds, starry-eyed doom and gloomers, who are too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good, prophecy nuts.  Here is the will of God…that we believe on the One whom God has sent.  (John 6:29)

As believers, we are instructed to share the gospel, to work quietly in whatever field God has put us in, to be workman who needeth not be ashamed and ready to give a defense of the hope that is in us, to love one another, to mature in the faith, and to watch and be ready for when our Lord returns.  For those who ignore Christ’s imminent return because they are so focused on trying to build their kingdom in the here and now, I would gently remind them… 

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. 1 John 2:15-17

About Pete Garcia
Last week: 2016: The Year in Review

J. D. Farag Mid-East - 01 10 2016

Delusional narcissist or Christian writing star?

The latest issue of Relevant magazine features a profile of Millennial author Donald Miller, titled "Donald Miller is Growing Up." The piece, by Tyler Huckabee, is a remarkably fawning example of what old-time journalists called "glow-jobs." Witness the lead: "For Christians of a certain age, Donald Miller is a household name. He's an A-list celebrity, one…

Obama's Bid For U.N. Secretary-General Has Begun

Reblogged from investors.com

05/28/2014 06:55 PM ET

Multilateralism: It is commonly observed that President Obama never started governing because he never stopped campaigning. He campaigned in his West Point speech all right — for United Nations secretary-general.

We've got a president who has unblushingly told us he's "a better speechwriter than my speechwriters," knows "more about policies on any particular issue than my policy directors" and is "a better political director than my political director."

Not to mention that "like any politician at this level, I've got a healthy ego." Uh, no kidding.
An intellect that enormous must feel confined by merely leading the free world (or, more accurately, not leading). Such boundless cerebral prowess deserves a real challenge, such as running the whole world.

The president obviously agrees; his address to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Wednesday sounded much like the launch of a campaign for still-higher office: presiding over the hopelessly corrupt, tyrant-dominated United Nations.

After briefly giving lip service to the U.S. using "military force, unilaterally if necessary, when our core interests demand it," Obama quickly placed America under the U.N. umbrella. When faced with crises that "do not directly threaten us," he said, "we must mobilize allies and partners to take collective action."

Great wartime presidents never had to boast of U.S. power; they used it. But "those who think America is weak are wrong" was the theme of Obama's speech.

Those "who suggest that America is in decline, or has seen its global leadership slip away, are either misreading history or engaged in partisan politics," Obama claimed. "Think about it. Our military has no peer."

There's a similarity to Jimmy Carter's 1979 "malaise" speech, touting "the outward strength of America, a nation that is at peace tonight everywhere in the world, with unmatched economic power and military might." Six months later, Soviet tanks rolled into Afghanistan, and less than a year after that Ronald Reagan was called in to rebuild the Pentagon and a battered U.S. economy.

"I believe in American exceptionalism with every fiber of my being," Obama told the cadets, but he defined that as the willingness to affirm "international norms ... through our actions."
The Nobel Peace Prize Committee gave Obama its award on spec, less than nine months after his inauguration in 2009, to promote "multilateral diplomacy" and an "emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play."

Now the U.N., acting similarly, can make him "president of the world." Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's term expires in early 2017. If Obama were his successor, the U.S., even under a Republican administration, might not veto an ex-U.S. president in the Security Council.

Who would the U.N. like better as secretary-general than an American who wants the world's lone superpower placed firmly under the rules made by the U.N. General Assembly, the vast majority of whose members are undemocratic and pine for redistributed U.S. wealth?

A secretary-general who can get the U.S. to accept U.N. rule.

Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials/052814-702509-obama-campaigns-at-west-point-to-be-united-nations-secretary-general.htm#ixzz3wk04UTvC

 
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The Evil Day

Posted by STLloydJanuary 4, 2016

Reposted from servehiminthewaiting.com 

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Obama’s lawlessness is clearly not going to be curtailed.  Spying on Congress,  spying on our closest allies,  Israel.  Today his efforts are focusing on outlawing guns by “royal edict”.  There is clearly a whole lot of delusion already going on.

We have gotten through the insanity of the yearly “holidays” now, and  my expectation is that 2016 will be just another verse of the same song and dance, only maniacally “up tempo”!
We still aren’t hearing anything at all in the news about the development out in Oregon, like the Bundy Ranch incident, where the militia again is in play, but if you do hear anything in the “mainstream media” it will sound like this WaPo article  which portrays the whole thing as a bunch of anti-government kooks seeking to bring down local government to make a political statement.

I am not saying much these days because frankly, to me, what else is there to say about what is happening in this nation and our world?  The Jews are being gathered home.  The armies of the Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, and Ezekiel 38 battle are lined up.   Other things have yet to fall in place for the Biblical sequence of events to play out, but it would seem only to require little more than a random “sneeze” to startle one of the key players, and set off the fireworks, so poised are they at this moment.  There is a literal genocide of Christians taking place  in the Middle East and the coup that has overthrown the American  Constitutional Republic in allegiance with the Marxists and Jihadists is certainly not interested in offering them any protection or safety.

I don’t think I need to state the obvious, but I guess I will anyway.  Having been awake for a while, even if I don’t have it all figured out, it is clear to me that as the curtain rises on the 2016 stage, the scenery promises fast-paced action and an intensity level hitting the stratosphere.

As to the presidential election, my personal expectation is that Donald Trump will actually get the Republican nomination, but will not win the presidency.  I think Hillary is going to be the next president, if there is going to be a next president.  By hook or by crook, as they say, unless Obama and the current PTB prevent the election from taking place, and I do still think that is a possibility.  Regardless of what plays out, it’s a safe bet that this election will be the most cutthroat in our history.  If we thought the Black Panthers with bats were bad, I shudder to imagine the face-off that sees the Black Panthers, the Black Lives Matter, the Pagan biker gang, retired vets, the various militia, and average Joe citizen with side-arm, and everything else in between, in the streets.  Will it get that bad?  Would you be surprised if it did?

The only believers I know of who are still holding out for some miraculous turnaround at the final hour, are the ones who ignore/disdain/avoid Bible Prophecy, (head in the sand) or possibly the Dominionists, who are completely deceived and deluded in regards to the way that the Lord’s Kingdom on Earth is to be established.

This hour that we are in right now, is so full of deception that it takes a great deal of continual research and study of the Bible to ensure that we are not drawn into false teaching.  At the same time, as I have said before with the explosion of Bible “versions” and the corruption of the seminaries, the itching ears have a smorgasbord of choices, such that if what one of the versions has to say happens not to set well with them, there’s always another one. This generation is scarcely acquainted with general Bible truth, much less prophecy.

The only truth is God’s truth.  He is near to them that call upon Him in truth.  That means, you don’t come with your ideas for Him to affirm, you come believing that He means what He says and  never lies.  We don’t get to decide what is true about Him and what is not.  But many people are worshipping and “following” a God they  have entirely invented.

The danger for true Bible-believing Christians in this perilous period before the tribulation, is not from non-“Christians” but from professing Christians.  Sure the atheists hate Christians, but the real ally of the atheist, is that “professing Christian” who has bought into the social gospel and “tolerance” being the only mark of a “real Christian”.

So getting back to the elections, look at the role that faith and religion are taking in the Republican side of the race.  Donald Trump claiming to love Jesus and the Bible and promising to make America great again, well, that’s pretty much the entire package most professing “Christians” are looking for.  A guy who is influential, has money to back up his campaign, and this guy is looking a whole lot more attractive for most “professing Christians” than Ted Cruz.  And then there is a group of Christians who are lining up behind Cruz.  Not ashamed or hesitant to say the words “My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”, this fact alone is, for many, indication enough of Cruz’s sincerity.

I agree that when you elect someone to civil office, it is not as though you are electing as pastor.  So it’s not necessarily about the specific religious beliefs of any candidate, however, pause a moment and think about Ted Cruz’s background in regard to his religious convictions, since He is clearly making it the centerpiece of his campaign.

I would love to see a truly God-fearing man in the presidency, and Ted Cruz does seem very sincere and unashamed. But it is my understanding that Ted Cruz has a Dominionist eschatology.  He subscribes, as does Sarah Palin, to the idea that the Christian church will rise up and take dominion over the whole earth and subdue it for Christ, thus having secured the Kingdom for Him, so that He can return to reign.  That is in no way what the Bible tells us will happen.  It is simply not there. It is a complete fabrication! And that makes it a dangerous doctrine of demons.

This Dominionism isn’t new.  It’s been around a while, and to me, it seems to hold the potential to aid and abet in the merging of the so-called “Christian Church” with the future global religious system we know is coming down the pike.

So many aspects of prophecy are multi-faceted, in that what they contain for us is dispersed throughout the Word, and even when one knows to pick up a thread and see what it connects to in some other book of the Bible, there is also the dimensionality of it to consider.  Layers.  Applications and types.  It’s all there, but it can take a long time for some of us, me included, to see it all.  And it takes diligence and a hunger for the answers.  God gives some a great gift of pulling it all together and of digging and connecting.

I was telling my husband last night that I have the ability to see things in scripture, but I don’t have as great an ability to make the connections that tie everything together for the cohesive and comprehensive “whole”, so I often recognize something as significant, while taking still longer yet to figure out exactly what that significance is.  I also don’t feel I have a gift of teaching, even when I can somewhat grasp things for myself.   Still overall, a God-given intuition  combined with Biblical understanding and the Holy Spirit within me, have served pretty well to steer me away from things that I can discern  “aren’t right”, even when I may not be able to articulate why.  This is not to say that is the case with Dominion Theology.  The errors are pretty blatant.

I do know that in Dominionist theology, there is a principle of seven areas of “authority” in this world which these professing Christians believe God has given them a direct mandate  to conquer “for the Kingdom”.  The areas are listed as Business,  Government,  Media,  Arts and Entertainment,  Education,  Family, and Religion.

Now, whatever we do, we are to do heartily, as unto the Lord.  But God has never instructed His church to go take “dominion” of the Business realm.  He has not given us any “marching orders” related to arts and certainly not entertainment.  Media?  The only media when the Bible was written, was papyrus.  You get the idea. So where do these supposed dictates originate?

Ever had someone come up to you and say “the Lord gave me a message for you”.  As if the airwaves aren’t jammed enough with all the signals out there, people actually believe they are receiving transmissions from Heaven that are, apparently as far as they are concerned, a continuation of the Bible.  On par with, equal to, and alarmingly enough, even in contradiction of the Bible.  Just read the final chapter of Revelation and that is all cleared up.
I am not saying the Lord, by the Holy Spirit, does not guide us, but there is absolutely no reason for God to go whisper something “for me” in your ear when He can put it into my own heart and mind directly, and even so, it will never, EVER contradict His already given Word.  What is this God that whispers in ears?  A shy third grader?

It really does not take a whole lot of familiarity with scripture to know that there is no place in the Bible in which God gives His church these commands, and no place that allows for this direct revelation in the present day.  And yet, there are literally hundreds of thousands of professing Christians who subscribe to this notion.  How can that be?
A famine of the preaching of the Word.  For one thing.

Anyway, if this is where Ted Cruz is coming from, I do not see his eventual election to the presidency as an encouraging possibility to contemplate.  When we consider that Babylon the Great, or the Great Harlot, is going to be a religious system the Antichrist uses to subdue the world, I am going to be leery of anything with “seven mountains” symbolism.  And that is what these Dominionists refer to these areas of authority as.  Seven mountains.

Will it be the Roman Catholic church?  Will it be the Vatican?  Will it be a literal seven mountains, or seven areas of “dominion” or authority?  I think it is possibly both! Together. Combined.  The Dominionists may be the aspect of evangelical Christendom that merges with the rest of the world’s religions, while Rome will represent the Catholic faction.  When the rules of logic go out the window, which they will in the time of the great delusion, a lot more possibilities become “feasible”.

If Cruz does get the nomination, and the presidency, his Dominionism probably merits further examination. (The woman who rides the Beast is also described as a city that “sits on seven hills”) The church is depicted as a woman, but we know the church is divided into two units, the false church and the true church.  The true church is the Bride, the false church is the harlot of Babylon.

Rubio is a lapsed Catholic, converted to Mormon, reverted to Catholicism.  If that isn’t confusion, I don’t know what is.  But either way, both of those systems of belief line up better with the false prophet and the world religious system (not to mention the aims of the elitists) than with true Scripture.

Of course Bush is a Bush, so, no need to really even go there about what his beliefs are.  No one wants third Bush.

A decade ago I began to notice that it seemed like people in general were getting to be much more open and interested in “things spiritual”.  It was not my imagination.  But it was a new openness to spirituality that is “divorced” from the God of Abraham, and the Jesus of the Cross.

In the course of time I have been blogging, there have been individuals who are interested and involved in the topic of prophecy, many of which clearly have extensively studied the scriptures, who have slightly new or different conclusions from any I have previously ever  heard.

I am naturally skeptical, and advisedly cautious when it comes to those “new insights” because lets face it, one of the classic hallmarks of apostates include the claim that one has been “uniquely chosen” to receive special revelation which they believe they must in turn give to all Christendom.   Christendom is a pretty broad category that, even by scriptural definition, includes counterfeit “believers”, who look so much like the genuine article that God instructs us to leave the winnowing to Him.  That is a very important thing for us to keep in mind right now as we enter this new year.  You know how professional pilots have to know how to fly by the instrument panel alone, in case of extremely poor visibility in atmospheric conditions?

It’s real foggy out there at this point, and the forecast doesn’t indicate any letup.  If you can’t fly by the instrument panel of the Word and the Spirit within you (think of it as your internal homing device), you’re going to be in trouble.

Your most important survivalist supply to be “laying up” right now, is faith.  Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing cometh by the Word.  Fellowship for exhortation and encouragement is great, but prone to false hope, especially in the climate of scriptural illiteracy of today.  The question, though, is not whether or not you have big faith, it is whether or not your faith is in Christ alone.  Calling upon Him in truth, means you have to agree with God on what He says is sin.  You have to repent from your former mindset that allows you to decide what is right and wrong, true and not true.  You have to concur that God is God and you are not, that He is Holy and His standard of “good” is complete Holiness and absence of all sin and guilt. If you concur, then that leaves you in a bit of a bind, because you yourself are a sinner. God is good and He is just.  He must deliver the penalty for sin.  The penalty for sin is death.  Jesus is innocent, and never sinned, and He is an infinite being.  We are infinitely sinful and condemned and only someone both sinless and infinite, could bear the penalty for our sins in our stead. Jesus did that.   Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the light.  No man cometh unto the Father but by me”.  Jesus is the only access point to God. Our oAnly advocate.  Man cannot become God, there is no such thing as the “Christ Consciousness”, we are not “all gods”.  Those are lies, propagated by Satan, who is jealous of God, and who wants to take your soul with him into the Lake of fire which he knows is his eventual destiny.
Whether you believe that or not, doesn’t change anything.  Doesn’t make it false.  You don’t get to determine that.  Contrary to what you may have been told.

So what do I expect in 2016?  I expect global war, the beginning of sorrows, rising tide of evil, more natural disasters, famine, upheaval, civil unrest, and the shielding hand of God over His own, and His provision for all the needs of His children.  If you have received Christ as your savior, you have nothing to fear.  Even though it sounds scary and will be tumultuous, you need to decide right now, and make up your mind; do you trust Him?  Because don’t bother to call upon Him in half-truths and in doubts.  Boldly take hold of His documented promises, and don’t turn left or right, but keep your head lifted up.

Is every seeming pause or delay going to undermine your determination?  Or are you willing to accept that be it two more weeks or five more years, God is going to be faithful? 

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Jesus is coming, and we will escape the wrath that will soon be poured out.  But in the meantime I think it is safe to say that…
.
The evil day is here!AA

John Haller prophecy update January 03 2016

Prophecy Unfolding In Front of Our Eyes with Return of Bnei Anousim to Jewish Fold

Reblogged from breakingisraelnews.com

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz January 3, 2016 , 1:30 pm

“Therefore say: Thus saith the Lord God: Although I have removed them far off among the nations, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet have I been to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they are come; Therefore say: Thus saith the Lord God: I will even gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” (Ezekiel 11:16-17)

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/jerusalem-day-flag-israel-parade-damascus-gate.jpg

(Photo: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The books of Zephaniah and Obadiah are found in the collection of 12 Prophets in the Bible. Notably concise – Obadiah is one chapter while Zephaniah is three truncated chapters – they are easily overlooked. Nonetheless, included in them are direct references to the Messianic import of the return of Crypto-Jews, also known as Bnei Anousim, to the Jewish fold.

The Bnei Anousim are descendants of Jews who, despite being forcibly converted to Catholicism in Spain and Portugal in the 14th and 15th centuries, continued to practice Judaism in secret. They were then subjected to persecution and oppression under the Inquisition and the latter’s efforts to snuff out their brave attempts to cling to their Jewish identity. 

This historic injustice is now being partially rectified as Spain and Portugal offer citizenship to descendants of Jews who were expelled from Iberia at the end of the 15th century. In Israel, the government and private institutions have introduced initiatives to reach out to the millions of people with Jewish roots. 

The resurgence of a Bnei Anousim movement is an unprecedented event in human history in which a nation is reunited and a long lost branch revived. It would be surprising if such a miracle was not mentioned in the Bible, but in fact, it is explicitly described. The last two verses of Obadiah detail this event, explicitly naming Spanish and French Jews who will return to the nation and land of Israel:

“And this exiled host of the children of Israel who are (with) the Canaanites as far as Zarepath (France) and the exile of Jerusalem which is in Sepharad (Spain) shall inherit the cities of the south (Negev). And saviors shall ascend Mt Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the Lord shall have the kingdom.”(Obadiah 1:20-21)

Today, French Jews are moving to Israel in record numbers while more and more Spanish Jews are exploring their Jewish roots in unprecedented efforts.
Rabbi Isaac ben Judah Abravenel, known as the Abarbanel, was the leading Torah authority in Spain at the time of the Expulsion in 1492. He was also a wealthy financier and statesman with close ties to the royal court. Born in Portugal, Rabbi Abravenel fled the country as a result of political intrigue against him. When King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella banished the Jews, Rabbi Abravenel unsuccessfully worked to avert the decree, even offering to pay the monarchy, but was banished with the rest of the Jews.

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/useful_banner_manager_banners/214-IsraelBible-CompleteSet-600WIDE.jpg

After witnessing the expulsion of the Iberian Jews firsthand, Rabbi Abravenel described their prophetic return in his introduction to the Book of Kings. In his commentary to chapter 20 of Ezekiel, he explained that the prophesied ingathering of the exiles that precedes the messiah will certainly include the Jews who were forced to abandon their faith and convert to Catholicism.

“In the End of Days,” he wrote, “the prophet foresaw that God would awaken in the hearts of the Anusim a desire to return to Him.”

Michael Freund, Chairman of Shavei Israel, the largest organization in the world working with Bnei Anousim, sees this prophecy unfolding every day. His organization helps lost tribes and hidden Jewish communities to return to their roots in Zion, in a process referred to by the prophets (Ezekiel 11:17) as the Ingathering of the Exiles.
“Incredibly, this prophecy is now coming to life before our very eyes,” Freund told Breaking Israel News. “We are at the beginning of an historic turning point, one that will see millions of people throughout the Spanish and Portuguese speaking world reconnecting with their Jewish roots, and I believe it is time for the State of Israel and the Jewish people to reach out to them.”

Freund’s organization sends emissaries around the world to provide thousands of Bnei Anousim with educational and religious resources to find their place in the Jewish Nation. He has recently published a free e-book in Spanish and Portuguese entitled, “Do you have Jewish roots?” with the aim of providing people with a practical guide for rediscovering their ancestry. It has been downloaded more than 30,000 times in the first two months since publication.

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/shavei-israel-bnei-anousim-colombia.jpg

Shavei Israel founder and director Michael Freund (front row center) with Bnei Anousim in Colombia. (Photo: Shavei Israel)

“This,” Freund noted, “is a clear sign of the vast potential. After all, God promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that their descendants would be as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sand on the beach (Genesis 22:17), so we must do our utmost to reach out to the lost Jewish souls that are out there and bring them home again.”

Ashley Perry (Peres), the President of the Reconectar organization and Director-General of the Knesset Caucus for the Reconnection with Spanish and Portuguese Jewish Communities, explains that bringing about this Biblical prophecy also requires a pragmatic approach. 

“The Jewish People have never let historic circumstances prevent us from achieving the seemingly impossible, and the reestablishment of the State of Israel is the greatest example of this. So too, reconnecting with the part of our people that was violently torn from us centuries ago,” he told Breaking Israel News. “It is not only a moral imperative, it is also, according to many rabbis throughout the ages, from Rashi, Rambam, the writers of the Shulchan Aruch, to Rabbis Soloveichik and Yosef, in our generation, a halachic (Jewish legal) requirement. According to these rabbis, Anousim, who can trace Jewish ancestry and customs, who wish to return to our people and land, should be encouraged to do so.”

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/57814/prophecy-unfolding-front-our-eyes-with-return-bnei-anousim-jewish-fold-jewish-world/#uLXGlMJDEqx4RbSC.99

J. D. Farag Mid-East Prophecy

Iran: ‘We’ll make missiles for as long as US supports Israel’

Revolutionary Guards head hits back at US threat of sanctions over weapons tests, says regime has so many missiles it doesn’t know where to put them

By Times of Israel staff and AFP January 1, 2016, 10:45 pm

IRGC Deputy Commander Hossein Salami said during a February 9, 2015 interview that after years of research, Iran tested the use of a ballistic missile against a ship when he was IRGC air force commander. (Photo credit: YouTube screenshot)

More on this story

• White House: Iran to finish nuke deal work in coming weeks
• White House said to delay new Iran sanctions

Iran will keep producing missiles for as long as the United States supports Israel, the head of the Revolutionary Guards Corps vowed Friday, as a war of words between Washington and Tehran continued in the aftermath of Iranian rocket tests last week.

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The US had warned that the tests violated the terms of previously signed agreements as well as those of a July 2015 nuclear deal struck between Iran and world powers, and could result in fresh sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Washington has since said that plans for new sanctions were on hold. 

“Today the Americans speak about Iran’s missile development program and they want to impose new sanctions on Iran,” the semi-official Fars news agency quoted General Hossein Salami as saying in a speech during Friday prayers in Tehran.

“We tell the Americans that we will further expedite enhancement of our missile capabilities as long as they massacre the Palestinian children, as long as they bury Yemen’s oppressed children in their houses, as long as they displace the Muslim nation of Syria, as long as they attack the houses of the Pakistanis, as long as they occupy the Islamic lands and as long as they support the Zionist regime to bomb Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.”

Iranians hold mock missiles bearing anti-Israel slogans during a rally in Tehran’s Azadi Square (Freedom Square) to mark the 36th anniversary of the Islamic revolution on February 11, 2015. (photo credit: AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE)

Salami also said that Iran had so many missiles that it had nowhere to store them, AFP reported.

“We lack enough space in our stockpiles to house our missiles,” he said. “Hundreds of long tunnels are full of missiles ready to fly to protect your integrity, independence and freedom,” he told worshipers in Tehran, promising to never “stop developing our defense deterrent.”

Iranian state television aired in October unprecedented footage of such an underground missile base.

Tehran on Thursday accused the United States of lying about it test-firing missiles near a US warship, as anger rose at the specter of new sanctions. The US has said that it has shelved plans for fresh sanctions.

The Revolutionary Guards denied that its naval forces had been involved in the December 26 incident, in which the US said missiles came close to the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ordered his defense minister to speed up the production of missiles, following the US warning of new sanctions — the first since the landmark nuclear deal was signed in July.

Rouhani said Iran would not accept any curbs on its missile program.

A US military official said an Iranian vessel had test-fired several ballistic missiles near three Western warships, including the aircraft carrier. A French frigate and the USS Bulkeley destroyer were also in the area.

Though the missiles were not fired toward any warship, their proximity to them and several commercial ships — reportedly around 1,500 yards (meters) — was “highly provocative,” said the US official, who was not authorized to be named.

Revolutionary Guards spokesman General Ramezan Sharif, quoted on the Guards’ website, accused the US of fabricating the incident — which reportedly occurred after Iranian naval forces announced via radio that the test-firing was to begin.

“Publishing such lies in the current situation is more a psychological operation,” Sharif said.

“The security and peace of the Gulf is of serious strategic importance to Iran. The Guards conduct exercises to increase our required preparedness at due times, based on our own schedule.”

Ballistic missile tests by Iran are prohibited under Security Council resolution 1929, which was passed five years ago and remains valid until July’s nuclear deal goes into effect. At that point, in line with another Security Council resolution, passed immediately after the summer’s nuclear deal, Iran will be “called upon” to refrain for up to eight years from any work on ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear weapons.

Both countries agree that the missile program is separate from the nuclear deal, which rewards Iran’s agreement to curb its nuclear program with the lifting of sanctions.

The Strait of Hormuz, a strategic Persian Gulf waterway, sees nearly a third of all oil traded by sea pass through it and has been the scene of past confrontations between America and Iran, including a one-day naval battle in 1988.

The Myth that Religion is the #1 Cause of War

Reblogged from carm.org

by Robin Schumacher
edited by Matt Slick

Atheists and secular humanists consistently make the claim that religion is the #1 cause of violence and war throughout the history of mankind. One of hatetheism's key cheerleaders, Sam Harris, says in his book The End of Faith that faith and religion are “the most prolific source of violence in our history.”1

While there’s no denying that campaigns such as the Crusades and the Thirty Years’ War foundationally rested on religious ideology, it is simply incorrect to assert that religion has been the primary cause of war. Moreover, although there’s also no disagreement that radical Islam was the spirit behind 9/11, it is a fallacy to say that all faiths contribute equally where religiously-motivated violence and warfare are concerned.

An interesting source of truth on the matter is Philip and Axelrod’s three-volume Encyclopedia of Wars, which chronicles some 1,763 wars that have been waged over the course of human history. Of those wars, the authors categorize 123 as being religious in nature,2 which is an astonishingly low 6.98% of all wars. However, when one subtracts out those waged in the name of Islam (66), the percentage is cut by more than half to 3.23%.

That means that all faiths combined – minus Islam – have caused less than 4% of all of humanity’s wars and violent conflicts. Further, they played no motivating role in the major wars that have resulted in the most loss of life.  

Kind of puts a serious dent into Harris’ argument, doesn’t it?
The truth is, non-religious motivations and naturalistic philosophies bear the blame for nearly all of humankind’s wars. Lives lost during religious conflict pales in comparison to those experienced during the regimes who wanted nothing to do with the idea of God – something showcased in R. J. Rummel’s work Lethal Politics and Death by Government:

Non-Religious Dictator Lives Lost

• Joseph Stalin - 42,672,000
• Mao Zedong - 37,828,000
• Adolf Hitler - 20,946,000
• Chiang Kai-shek - 10,214,000
• Vladimir Lenin - 4,017,000
• Hideki Tojo - 3,990,000
• Pol Pot - 2,397,0003

Rummel says: “Almost 170 million men, women and children have been shot, beaten, tortured, knifed, burned, starved, frozen, crushed or worked to death; buried alive, drowned, hung, bombed or killed in any other of a myriad of ways governments have inflicted death on unarmed, helpless citizens and foreigners. The dead could conceivably be nearly 360 million people. It is though our species has been devastated by a modern Black Plague. And indeed it has, but a plague of Power, not germs.”4

The historical evidence is quite clear: Religion is not the #1 cause of war.
If religion can’t be blamed for most wars and violence, then what is the primary cause? The same thing that triggers all crime, cruelty, loss of life, and other such things. Jesus provides the answer very clearly: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man” (Mark 7:21–23).

James (naturally) agrees with Christ when he says: “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel” (James 4:1–2).

In the end, the evidence shows that the atheists are quite wrong about the wars they claim to so desperately despise. Sin is the #1 cause of war and violence, not religion, and certainly not Christianity.
           _____________________________________________________________

• 1. http://books.google.com/books?id=XP_86itwp2IC&pg=PA27&lpg=PA27&dq=sam+harris+%22the+most+prolific+source+of+violence+in+our+history%22&source=bl&ots=sdpOO04g1D&sig=asL3JyvcaRp9zWRI9a4oVyoPU2E&hl=en&sa=X&ei=d9CKT92fGYqogweQgsXfCQ&ved=0CFgQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false
• 2. http://books.google.com/books?id=sF8wv_Y54j8C&pg=PA104&lpg=PA104&dq=encyclopedia+of+wars+%22Almohad+conquest+of+Muslim+Spain%22&source=bl&ots=VBRkLHXHj3&sig=XLT88ICr2Lu98L1_eldxRwMPgIY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=SdKKT4jLHIr1gAf8vNjiCQ&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=encyclopedia%20of%20wars%20%22Almohad%20conquest%20of%20Muslim%20Spain%22&f=false
• 3. http://books.google.com/books?id=sK5CJFpb2DAC&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=stalin+42,672,000&source=bl&ots=Tw7FJG9OnR&sig=aSUiodXqC4euU2UTyVNlnFkwyRE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fc2KT7rnNcipgwe9tL3mCQ&ved=0CFMQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=stalin%2042%2C672%2C000&f=false and http://books.google.com/books?id=mbnLn6A3q-4C&pg=PA178&lpg=PA178&dq=Zedong+37,828,000&source=bl&ots=-VlfCns1xy&sig=2TrcOYMxZTjr653ULLdNkIkltwU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2c6KT-G7BYGXgwf63-3kCQ&ved=0CEsQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Zedong%2037%2C828%2C000&f=false
• 4. http://books.google.com/books?id=N1j1QdPMockC&printsec=frontcover&dq=death+by+government&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WcyKT5TBDITiggfdpO28BQ&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Almost%20170%20million%20men&f=false

Book Review: 'Repentance: The Most Misunderstood Word in the Bible' by Michael Cocoris

 Reblogged from bibleprophecyblog.com
Thomas Stegall Duluth Bible Church 

What does it mean to "repent"? Throughout the history of Christianity, great confusion has surrounded the condition for eternal life and what it means to "repent." Is repentance a separate condition from faith? Does it mean to do penance for one's sins? To feel sorrow or remorse for sin? To forsake all and follow Christ? To stop sinning or resolve to do so? In the new book, Repentance: The Most Misunderstood Word in the Bible, author, pastor, and teacher, Dr. Michael Cocoris cuts through the confusion and provides concrete, biblical answers to each of these questions. He concludes:

"Repentance is a change of mind—period. A change of mind should result in a change in behavior, but the word repent looks at the change of belief, not the change in behavior. Repentance is the root; change in behavior is the fruit."

Cocoris's "change of mind" view agrees with the opinions of other classical Free Grace authors on the subject, such as C. I. Scofield, Lewis Sperry Chafer, Charles Ryrie, Richard Seymour, and a host of others. According to Cocoris, the Bible does not teach that the nature of repentance itself involves the emotion of sorrow for sin, or an act of penance or turning from sin, or even a decision of the will to turn from sin. While sorrow for sin and turning from it may follow a change of mind, these should be considered as separate from repentance. True repentance, according to the Bible, is a change of mind regarding Christ in contexts dealing with the condition for receiving eternal life; and in contexts dealing with fellowship between the believer and God, it is a change of mind about sin.

This understanding of repentance is vital because, when salvation is made to be conditioned on feelings such as sorrow for sin, this effectively shifts the focus of the gospel away from faith in the objective finished work of Christ to subjective inner feelings and religious experiences. Cocoris concludes that people are then led to measure the validity of their salvation by the intensity of their anguish; and such sorrow for sin or turning from it constitutes a meritorious work that contradicts salvation solely by God's grace. 
 
'Repentance: The Most Misunderstood Word in the Bible' by Michael Cocoris 

While dozens of books already exist on the subject of repentance, most of these contain the personal opinions and endless sermonizing of the authors. What sets this book apart is not only its grace-oriented content but its sound methodology. Cocoris is first of all an exegete and expositor of God's Word. Though he interacts with other viewpoints throughout, he bases all of his conclusions upon an inductive study of the terms "repent" and "repentance" as they are used throughout the Bible. He examines how these terms are used in the Gospels by John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as in Acts-Revelation by the Apostles Peter, Paul, John, and the writer of Hebrews. The result is a refreshing treatment of repentance that is based upon the authority of God's Word rather than human, religious tradition.

Though this 100 page paperback is written in clear, easy-to-understand language; it also contains three appendices covering the use of the Hebrew terms shub and nacham, along with the Greek terms metanoia and metanoeo. It concludes with a bibliography and Scripture indexThis book is ideal for anyone seeking to know what the Bible, rather than tradition, teaches about repentance, all in a format that is thorough but not overly technical or exhaustive. I highly recommend it.