The latest Catholic craze: praydreaming, and discerning why it is false

Today I woke up and read a devotional a friend and pastor wrote on his Facebook page. It was filled with gratitude. It reminded me that it is refreshing to read of gratitude and to be grateful all the day long. The main thing that jumped out at me though was his phrase "pray for wholesome desires." That hit me.

Not that I haven't been praying along those lines, but the succinctness of the phrase was tremendous. It brought clarity to my mind of good desires and bad desires. It was a wonderful thing to meditate on. And meditate I did. No, I didn't go 'OHM' in front of lit candles, I turned to the bible. When you want to read about proper desires and how to slay the old man, where else are you going to go but to the Psalms and Romans? I did a word search on the word desire, I read widely about desires in context, and I prayed. Then I wrote a response to the initial devotional, and it appears here:

Praying for Wholesome Desires

In the midst of that, a blog commenter wanted to know what I thought about the blending of New Age and Roman Catholicism into the world's prophesied final religion. I researched about the RCC Mystics, and put together a long response. It got me thinking about Catholicism and its patron saints, mysticism and how mysticism really points the person back to one's self, the opposite of what praying for wholesome desires does. I did some more thinking on good desires vs. evil desires.

As I finished both the blog entry and the long comment back to the commenter, I started to web surf. Immediately I saw an essay from AmericanCatholic.org by Mark E. Thibodeaux, S.J., "a spiritual director, retreat director, high school teacher and Jesuit priest. He holds a Master of Divinity from Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is the author of Armchair Mystic: Easing Into Contemplative Prayer". The essay is called,

Praydreaming: Key to Discernment

Praydreaming? And what does that have to do with discernment? It sounds New Age. It seems like Mysticism.

It turns out that praydreaming is the exact opposite of what I had been researching and thinking of all morning. THAT is how the Spirit works. He is amazing!

Now I will write about "praydreaming". I am writing this to you so that when you hear of this practice, and you will, just like you have by now heard of contemplative prayer, you will know what it really means.

The blog entry I wrote earlier today is an examination of how our internal desires are bad. When we read in the bible the word desires, it is usually spoken of in a negative way. Our heart's desires are only bad and bring us into judgment. (Ecclesiastes 11:9).

As depraved people we have no hope of changing our desires to good ones that will please the Lord. The only hope we have is first salvation, and then, sanctification. We aid the Spirit in His sanctifying work by relying on HIM and HIS desires for us. We ask Him to instill in us wholesome desires and the strength to resist our own evil ones. This is what it means to be conformed to His likeness. (Romans 8:29). We are gradually transformed by the renewing of our minds and the rejection of being conformed to the pattern of this world (Romans 8:22) with all its evil desires.

Praydreaming is the opposite. The. Exact. Opposite. In this way, it is a component of a successful false religion (Catholicism) because it turns our mind and heart from Jesus back to the sinful desires of our own selves. It offers the false notion that our desires are good and we can instill them into our selves by ourselves by searching deep within ourselves. This lie forms the basis of every false doctrine. To be clear: avoid praydreaming like the gangrenous infection that it is. (2 Timothy 2:16-17). Here is why-

Praydreaming comes from St. Ignatius of Loyola, a Catholic priest in the 1500s and a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation. The counter-reformation was the push-back to the rejection of the Pope's absolute authority that Martin Luther and others began in the reformation. Loyola's devotion to the Catholic Church was characterized by absolute obedience to the Pope. Ignatius was a Catholic's Catholic. The article in American Catholic about praydreaming explains Loyola's teaching on praydreaming and it begins like this:

"We Christians don’t just decide things, we discern them. That is, we do our best to figure out what God is calling us to in every situation. We do our best to say yes to that divine invitation. But how do we discern God’s will for us? That’s the tricky part."

1. Catholics are not Christians.
2. We do decide things.
3. God's will for us is not tricky to discern. Discernment comes from being in His word, not from any other source, because no other source can be trusted. Within the first sentence he sets up a straw man.

But look how the article goes on.

[Loyola's] insight was this: “Good discernment consists of prayerfully pondering the great desires that well up in my daydreams.”

See how already the Catholic pushes upon us the notion that discerning what is good and what is evil comes back to ourselves? And that what we spontaneously think of in our hearts is worthy? It is a false path he is leading you down. Good discernment prayerfully ponders the WORD, not our desires. The article continues:

"Are desires good or bad? Many spiritual writers of Ignatius’ day spoke of desires as obstacles to God’s will. One solution was to suppress one’s desires—to eliminate them whenever possible. Ignatius, on the other hand, held the radical notion that God dwells in the desires of a good person."

Good people do not exist. "There is no one good, no, not one." (Romans 3:10, Mark 10:18).

The article continues, "Not only are desires not evil, but they are one of God’s primary instruments of communicating his will to his children. God enflames the heart with holy desires, and with attraction toward a life of greater divine praise and service. Ignatius did not seek to squash desires, but rather sought to tap into the deepest desires of the heart, trusting that it is God who has placed them there."

The primary way God communicates His will is the Word who is Jesus Christ. The primary way He communicates to us is the bible, that is where we find His will. It is written down in the bible. Blindly trusting that any particular desire we have comes from God- whatever it is- is a false notion. Satan inflames our hearts with desires, too.

"For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come--sexual immorality, theft, murder..." (Mark 7:21)

Now look how the author redefines what evil desires ARE.

"A teenager may want badly to have sexual relations with a girlfriend or boyfriend. Spouses may become sexually attracted to people outside of their marriage. Are these evil desires? No, they are merely disordered desires. Why do any of these people want intimate sexual relations? Because each craves oneness with another—each is created by God, for the experience of unity."

By his definition, a priest's desire to have sex with an altar boy is not evil, merely disordered.

Yet those are evil desires- they are fornication. They're evil because they do not honor Jesus. The lust of the heart breaks a commandment and that is evil. (Matthew 5:28, Exodus 20:17). Colossians 3:5 says to put to death what is evil in us, and sexual immorality is one of those evil desires. What's more, it is idolatry! "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."

Nowhere does it say that all desires are good but some are disordered, to just discern the desire under the desire, and praydream it! The bible is clear in describing what evil desires are, because it lists them. Then we read commands to slay these desires, not coddle them by peeking under them to find more and granting them light of day in God's name.

Anything that does not honor Jesus is evil. There is good, and there is evil. It is an old trick to call evil good and good evil. Isaiah spoke of this in Isaiah 5:20-

"Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!"

Pulpit Commentary explains, "This is the fourth woe. There are persons who gloss over evil deeds and evil habits by fair-sounding names, who call cowardice caution, and rashness courage, niggardliness thrift, and wasteful profusion generosity. The same men are apt also to call good evil; they brand prudence with the name of cunning, call meekness want of proper spirit, sincerity rudeness, and firmness obstinacy. This deadness to moral distinctions is the sign of deep moral corruption, and fully deserves to have a special "woe" pronounced against it."

Doesn't that say it all? The Catholic essay about praydreaming promotes a deadness to moral distinctions, and woe will be upon him. In the article, after giving a couple more examples of how what is clearly sin is not really sin, the article continues,

"We fall into sin when we are ignorant of the desires beneath the desires. Consider this way of understanding personal sin: We sin, not because we are in touch with our desires but precisely because we are not in touch with them! This is one of Ignatius’ most profound insights."

Well he is right- now it is getting tricky. According to praydreaming methods promoted by Loyola, first, I have to discern my desires. Then I have to discern whether the desire is holy by mulling it over within myself. Then if it is unholy I have to discern the desire underneath that desire. How do I do all this? Via praydreaming, as we read next.

"How, then, do I tap into these great desires? I daydream, that’s how! I fantasize about great and beautiful futures. I let God dream in me and I sit in silent awe and wonder as these holy dreams come to life before the eyes and ears of my soul. Now that’s a different approach to prayer than most of us know. But that’s what St. Ignatius taught."

He goes on at length in a teaching manner of how to praydream, by giving many different examples of life scenarios. I don't recommend you read it because it will cause confusion and there is no profit in learning how to praydream. The author unwittingly reveals that Loyola's method always brings a person back to themselves. The phrase "my dreams" occurs a lot. The upshot is, it is a method for dreaming what you want to do in the flesh and using God as a method of permission to accomplish them.

Finally, he says that when you praydream and discern properly what decision to make, a sweet inner peace will be "the telltale sign" that it is the right decision.

I have warned against a so-called 'inner peace' as a tell-tale sign before. There is a difference between confidence in God and an inner peace. Often, I have to do things that are outside my comfort zone, or are difficult, and I have a lot of angst about it. Feeling a sweet inner peace for me often means that I am making a wrong decision, because the calm feeling leads me to my own comfort zone which exists inside the circle of my own desires. Though sometimes I do have an inner peace, I do not have a sweet inner peace about many things I must do, but I do them anyway because I am a slave to Christ and I know that He is with me to help during the hard times.

As an example, do we think that any of the martyrs as they were led to their doom, had what Loyola says is a feeling of "sweetly, lightly, gently, as a drop of water that enters a sponge”? Tradition says that Peter's wife was crucified before his eyes. Do we suppose that Peter's decision to remain true to Jesus at that moment gave soul his gentle drops of water on his heart? Even Paul agonized over doing the right thing, and asked that the thorn in his side be taken from him because it was painful. Paul certainly felt peace, and he certainly felt angst, but neither of those feelings are a telltale sign of proper discernment for any given decision he made.

Beware of relying on feelings as the sole arbiter of discernment. Our feelings usually lead us falsely.

Even at the end of the article as the author explains how Ignatius urges the person to pray for confirmation of their decision, the method once again points the person to their own selves.

"Once we feel that we have reached a point of decision, Ignatius suggests we place that decision before God and await his confirmation. How will this confirmation come? In the same way that our initial discernment came. It will be through pondering the stirrings of our heart as we begin to take the first tentative steps toward our new option."

The stirrings of our hart is the sign that I have made a right decision? But the bible says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).

Not once is the authority of scripture mentioned. Not once was the Catholic person urged to consult the word to see what it has to say implicitly or explicitly about a situation.

However, we born-again believers must believe in sola scriptura, the doctrine that "sola Scriptura has to do with the sufficiency of Scripture as our supreme authority in all spiritual matters. Sola Scriptura simply means that all truth necessary for our salvation and spiritual life is taught either explicitly or implicitly in Scripture. ... it means that everything necessary, everything binding on our consciences, and everything God requires of us is given to us in Scripture." (Scripture, Tradition, and Rome")

Discernment comes by knowing the word of God from the bible alone, and obeying it. Jesus is called the Word, and He is The Word of God. (John 1:1, Revelation 19:13). We discern it by reading the word of God and by submitting to that as our sole authority. Not daydreams, not desires, not feelings, not the heart. We are called to be holy, in fact, to be patterned after Jesus who is Holy (1 Peter 1:15). If we can't imagine that Jesus had a certain desire, then it is an evil desire.

There is a famine in the land and is it because of methods like praydreaming that we are hungry. Rev. Matt Slick writes,

"Spiritual discernment is lacking in the Christian community. Though there are faithful pastors and Christians who take the word of God seriously, there is an increasing number of Christians who are abandoning the clarity and commands of Scripture and substituting political correctness, feelings, and tolerance for biblical truth and its sometimes difficult revelations. They want to make Christianity more palatable so that the gospel offends no one, but they fail to realize that the gospel that offends no one is not the gospel of the Bible. Though we are not to purposely offend, in the name of truth offenses will come and we are not to shy away from them."

"So, what do we do to develop better spiritual discernment? First and foremost, you must be born again (John 3:3; 2 Cor. 5:17) so that you may have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16). Second, you must study the Word of God and believe it. Third, you need to develop a proper biblical theology that includes the sovereignty and holiness of God found in both the person of Christ and in the Bible. Proper theology is the bedrock of discernment."

The Foreshadowing

By Jan Markell
April 3, 2013 

Reblogged from

www.olivetreeviews.org  

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If the strong delusion that is racing across the globe doesn't shock you, something is wrong! Whether it was the ecstasy on thousands of faces in St. Peter's Square waiting with adoring eyes for their new Pope, or the shenanigans in Israel a few weeks ago, it's a scary time. It's both a privilege and a challenge to be born for such a time as this.

The Bible speaks extensively about delusion! It is on overdrive in the last days. And you saw deluded college students in Tel Aviv, Israel on March 21. When Barack Obama suggested that they had to give away more land, the Leftist students applauded for a full minute. Though the land give-away has never worked, I guess this time, they thought that Obama delivering the idea in person in Tel Aviv was the magic trick needed! This time world, just watch, it's a go!

Keep in mind that rockets were raining down on Israel as Obama spoke! Yet, this idea, that is, weakening their own security, was still a good idea to them.

"For I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land," declares the Lord. "For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for gain, and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely.  They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace." (Jeremiah 6:12-14)

An American president screamed, "Peace! Peace! Give up more land for it! The hour is at hand. I have the magical formula. Hear me out. This time, I guarantee, it will work."

Could you imagine with me the Antichrist speaking to Israelis as he will some day, just like this. He will offer Israel a peace covenant in a manner similar to this. Was the March 21 speech a dress rehearsal? A dry run? I am not suggesting that Barack Obama is the Antichrist as we don't know who it will be. But a man talking about peace journeyed to a land occupied by people who long for it, although they haven't a clue how to bring it about other than land exchanges.

   

Keep in mind that in the Palestinian territories, there are streets, public squares, summer camps, high schools, and even a kindergarten named after suicide bombers and other mass murderers. So much for the notion that if only Israelis would care about Arab kids, peace would be possible.

  

Israelis have wanted nothing more than peace and security for all the children. That's why they accepted the 1947 U.N. partition of British Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state. Unfortunately, the Arabs said no. To this day, the Palestinians have rejected every peace offer that leaves a Jewish state standing.

Since we're smack-dab in the midst of these incredible last days, how many e-mails does this ministry get wailing that churches will no longer address the subject? Well, legions of e-mails and even calls.

Back to my strong delusion commentary. The Bible foretells through Paul to the Thessalonian believers that in the last days, a time in church history would come when God would send "strong delusion." In like manner, Paul even warned Timothy that in the last days, there would be a group of demons who would infiltrate the churches with false and mixed doctrine, capable of even causing some to, "depart from the faith" and give heed to devilish false teachings.

God instigates this. It's not just the increase of evil that brings this on. Yes, Satan ratchets up his evil in the last days, but God sends the delusion. I think He gets mighty disgusted and just sends the delusion as a judgment! He washes His hands and turns His back.  

You don't want to be on the back side of God as He does this. Those Israeli students were on the back side of God and they were blinded.

  

Our times are way too perilous to be this unprotected.  

  

So, we've had a foreshadowing of the blind and strong delusion that will play out unchecked during the Tribulation. We're having lots of dress rehearsals these days. Most of them are around dark events. That's why the Bible reminds us to stay yoked to one another and to God at the end of the end.  

There are even murkier waters ahead. Look up and not around!

A Woman Rides the Beast - Dave Hunt

Evil men and impostors

Reblogged from Elizabeth Prata´s  the-end-time.blogspot.com

 

"Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Timothy 3:12-13)

There is a lot packed into these two verses! Our Lord is truly great in the way He speaks in such depth in so few words!

The verse is connected with a comma and the word "while". It is plain- Christians are going to be persecuted. And persecution is going to happen because evil men and impostors flood the world and the church in ever increasing numbers. So no, it is not your imagination that things are getting worse. It is because they are getting worse.

The verse says evil men "and impostors" will go on. The word impostors is Greek, "goētes". This is translated as "shameless cheat pretending to use supernatural power; an actor (cheap impostor), looking for self-gain, i.e. posing to be someone he isn't...'a charlatan', used only in 2 Tim 3:13, refers to a seducer (properly, a wailer) – a fraud who "sounds off" like a whining enchanter. This person uses their verbal spells and incantations to give the (false) impression they can do miracles."

The entire comment is linked to the description at the start, a long list Paul records for Timothy, and us, to be warned by. He'd  mentioned Jannes and Jambres, two of Pharaoh's sorcerers who (for a while) copied God's miracles He performed through Moses. What we should be wary of is the fact that we're being told that these aforementioned evil men are going to use their verbal skills to deceive, and I'm not just talking about the obvious ones like Benny Hinn or Joyce Meyer. Or even Joel Osteen. These were sorcerers who can charm you and deceive you like no others. Remember, the two that Paul mentioned copied God's miracles one for one during the first few plagues! They are powerfully deceptive.

Paul had said that the deceivers are evil. MacArthur wrote, "They are evil. That's poneros, it's used of Satan in Matthew 13:19, they're as malicious and wicked as he is."

OK, so that's pretty evil.

And they are going to get worse and worse. Each individual man will wax worse and worse, and the general deceptions will get worse and worse. Attendant with the deceptions will come persecution.

Barnes Notes explains,

"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse - That is, it is the character of such men to do this; they may be expected to do it. This is the general law of depravity - that if men are not converted, they are always growing worse, and sinking deeper into iniquity. Their progress will be certain, though it may be gradual, since "nemo repente turpissimus." The connection here is this: that Timothy was not to expect that he would be exempt from persecution 2 Timothy 3:12, by any change for the better in the wicked men referred to. He was to anticipate in them the operation of the general law in regard to bad men and seducers - that they would grow worse and worse. From this fact, he was to regard it as certain that he, as well as others, would be liable to be persecuted. The word rendered "seducers" occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means, properly, a "juggler, or diviner;" and then, a "deceiver, or impostor." Here it refers to those who by seductive arts, lead persons into error."

The Latin phrase 'nemo repente turpissimus' is translated "No man becomes a villain all at once."

And the last part of the verse, 'being deceived" is explained thus by Barnes Notes,

And being deceived - Under delusion themselves. The advocates of error are often themselves as really under deception, as those whom they impose upon. They are often sincere in the belief of error, and then they are under a delusion; or, if they are insincere, they are equally deluded in supposing that they can make error pass for truth before God, or can deceive the Searcher of hearts. The worst victims of delusion are those who attempt to delude others."

MacArthur wrote,

These are dangerous times...dangerous times. The closer we come to the time of our Lord's return, the worse men get. And the worse their influence gets and the accumulation of all the lies and false teaching mounts and escalates and we're in dangerous times. And dangerous times call for strong people."

Are you strong? Jesus said in Matthew 12:29

Or how can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house."

You ARE strong! Barnes tells us, "A man could not break into the house of a strong man and take his property unless he had rendered the man himself helpless. If he had taken his goods, it would therefore be sufficient proof that he had bound the man. So I, says he, have taken this "property - this possessed person" - from the dominion of Satan. It is clear proof that I have subdued "Satan himself," the "strong" being that had him in possession."

Jesus is the strong One in you! He has busted satan out of your house (your body) and delivered you from the dominion of darkness! There is no one more strong that Jesus, and it is He that is in you. He is the best,t he top, the most, the superlative among all superlatives. There is no possible way you could be stronger than to rely on the Strong One who is inside you and loves you and made you His child. It is He that is in us who resists satan and overcomes that old serpent. No charms or deceivers can come if you rely on Jesus because even though things on the outside of us go from bad to worse, HE IS ALWAYS THE SAME. (Hebrews 13:8)

Victory in Jesus!

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

1 Corinthians 15:57

End Times Truth: Avoiding Deception

 Nathan Jones - http://www.lamblion.us/2013/01/end-times-truth-avoiding-deception.html

 Reblogged from Prophecy Update

How do we avoid deception in these last days?

This question was put to me recently by Doug Harris from Britain's apologetics television program "Simply the Truth." In this first episode of Doug's new show "End Times Truth," he sought along with me and other guests to define what the Last Days are and how we should live in them. The following is an excerpt of that program.

The Last Days Interview

Doug Harris: First Timothy 4:1 warns the believer to pay attention so as not to be deceived by deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. It becomes very obvious if people pay attention to these things that sooner or later they will want to communicate with these evil spirts and will want to draw closer to that which is deceitful - the doctrine of demons.

Just how can we test out what is truly from God and what is taught by demons when things are spoken of concerning the End Times. How can we begin to test these things out? What can we do to insure that we are not led astray?

The answer is clear - we certainly need to bring everything back that we've heard to the Word of God. If what's being said is clearly found within the Word of God, then there is absolutely no problem with that end times teaching.

If, however, what you've learned is not found within the Word of God, but it's also not denied by the Word of God, well we might not be able to be so sure. We end up holding those teachings up and conclude they're probably true, but debatable.

Stand strong on the belief that anything that is not clearly taught within Scripture, or is clearly denied by Scripture, means we cannot build our future upon it. We need to be discerning. The Bible advises us to be diligently seeking. I hope that's something we always do from the Scriptures and with others.

However, even at this point we are not left helpless, because 1 Timothy 4 goes on to give the antidote to avoiding deception and the accepting of wrong teachings. The answer is that we are to be nourished by the words of faith and of sound doctrine. Just how vital is that today? How should we be living in these days?

Nathan, what do you have to say? In 1 Timothy 4:6, we get in the King James this phrase about being "nourished." I'm very interested in that phrase. Just how are we to be nourished in these last days? When I think of nourishment, I'm reminded that nourishment always gives you strength. Nourishment always gives you the ability to do things. We as believers in Christ are going to face difficult days. We are in fact even now facing difficult days, knowing that we are going to face even more difficult days to come. How do we get nourished and be able to face them?

Nathan Jones: The Apostle Peter gave us a great description of what being nourished looks like. Second Peter 3 is an entire chapter dedicated to talking about living in the "last days" or "latter days." Peter gives us ten points that we can follow to be nourished and to exist wholly in these last very difficult days.

1. Peter tells us to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the commands given by our Lord and Savior through the Apostles. We should remember the words of Jesus. Remember the words of the Apostles. In other words, read your Bible!

2. Understand that in the last days scoffers will come. Peter was telling us that in the last day people would declare that Jesus isn't coming back. They'll claim such a belief is nonsense and not to believe in it. They'll scoff at the Bible. They'll scoff at God even existing. And, they'll scoff at primarily the Creation story. In other words, Peter is prophesying the advent of the teaching of Evolution.

3. Peter warns us not to forget God's promise that He'll return. We are to abide in His salvation and model His patience. That Jesus is so patiently waiting for everybody who is supposed to in this age come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and get saved demonstrates God's amazing love.

4. Peter reminds us to live holy and godly lives. While we are here on this earth, as Christians we are to live holy and godly lives while we wait for Christ's return.

5. Look forward to the day of God. Look forward to the time when we live with God up in Heaven with dwell with Him forever. That's really something to look forward to! And, it will give you hope and perspective.

6. Speed the Lord's coming, Peter says. In other words, get the Gospel out. Share the Good News with people so they may hear the Word of God and get saved. Time is short, so be active in evangelism.

7. Look forward to the New Heaven and New Earth, which is the home of the Righteous. We are here in this world only temporarily. This here is a temporary home. Our real home, though, is the New Jerusalem. That's Heaven! Heaven will come down to earth one day so that God will dwell with redeemed Man. Such knowledge gives us believers great hope and something to look forward to.

8. Peter says we are to be found spotless and blameless and at peace with God. Again, live those holy and spotless lives, but strive to live at peace with one another. Christians are an ornery bunch, but we need to practice peace with one another now, for we'll be spending eternity with each other later.

9. We need to be on guard so that we may not be carried away by the error of lawless men. During the Last Days, one of the main signs that Jesus gave is that we would know His soon return is coming due to the proliferation of false prophets and false teachers. That's why Peter warns the Christian to be on our guard and be prepared for battling doctrinal error. To be able to do that, we need to know our Bible so that we can refute the false doctrines that are being taught.

10. The last nourishment Peter gives us is the directive to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Grow in the grace of God and become more Christlike.

That there is the ten "nourishments" Peter gives.

Doug Harris: Brilliant, brilliant info! Two points came out to me there. It's sort of like you almost were talking about both a looking back and looking forward. We are to look back to what God has said in His Word; never forgetting what He said, never forgetting what's written down, and never forgetting what's there. But, also, wherever we are, we're to be looking forward to what is yet to come. As Paul had said, this difficult time that I am going through now is nothing compared to what glory is to come. So, Peter is giving us two directions to pay attention to: looking back and looking forward. That's very important.

Nathan Jones: Amen! As difficult as the world is now for Christians to live in and growing worse every day with the massacres in Nigeria, the concentration camps for Christians in North Korea, and the loss of our freedoms in the Western world; it's going to get worse. Conditions are going to get worse because evil hates God. Evil hates the thought that we represent God and so wants to destroy our belief in Christ. But, Jesus says that even as bad as it is now and how tough our last days' time period is, it's nothing compared to the last of the last days, which is the coming Tribulation.

Doug Harris: Wonderful words! I hope all believers understand the need to be nourished by the Bible's words of faith and sound doctrine.

 In the third part of this interview on End Times Truth, we will discuss what worldly fables lead us away from the truth of Jesus Christ.

The Real Crisis

by Terry James
 Reblogged from www.raptureready.com 
 
Crises and potential crises surround us during every waking moment. Except for those who are oblivious to what is going on in this nation and world today, the cultural and societal pathway ahead disappears into the anxiety-laden darkness of the unknown. Rather than take on the entire world and its problems in this regard, I will, for our purposes in this commentary, stick to analyzing the fearful future of this nation I love.

Most in America--and sadly, in the church (born-again believers)--falls into that category of the oblivious. Therefore, the crises, from their perspective, don’t exist. All the forewarnings of coming disaster seem issued to ears that will never hear and presented to eyes that will never see. Yet, at the same time, the crises, themselves, do create undercurrents of worry. Even the otherwise diverted masses notice, at least for fleeting moments, when societal dangers disrupt their world of shopping and entertainment–for example, the murder of the children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Then, it is back to buying, selling, building, marrying, and giving in marriage, and the thousand and one other things that matter most to them.

Crises dominate the horizon politically, economically, and morally. As a matter of fact, they intertwine in such convolution as to now be inseparable so far as discerning where one aspect begins and the others end. There has developed, because of the incessant progression of assaults by evil actions, desensitization that affects the masses like a venomous bite by a deadly serpent.

The analogy is more than coincidental. It is a precise description of what has happened. The serpent of Genesis, chapter 3, has successfully injected much of America’s population with the same sort of morality-paralyzing toxin that separated man from God those many millennia ago. We have indeed reached the point of becoming a people like those at whom Isaiah the prophet pointed the finger of condemnation: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20).

This crisis of moral decay was brought home to me as I listened to the minister who was selected by the 44th president to read a prayer during the Obama inauguration on January 21. He, we are supposed to presume, prayed to the God of Heaven for Him to bless the gay lifestyle in that prayer for inclusiveness and tolerance in America.

This is the same administration that has made homosexuality and those who fight for the right to openly display the debased, debauched activities of that community in a very public way as the equivalent of the black community crusading for those people’s civil rights. This is the same political entity that will pull all the levers of governmental power at their disposal to protect the young of wildlife, thus to impose as much control as possible over individuals and businesses, under the guise of environmental concerns. These will, at the same time, do everything within that power to facilitate the murder of babies in their mothers' wombs for the sake of placating a voter base that desires to expediently get rid of unwanted fruits of their pleasure-seeking indiscretions.

While America sleeps, liberties are eroded one at a time, and the powers that be viciously seek to marginalize all who would disagree with their seizing by “executive action” constitutional powers the founding fathers built into the nation’s safeguards through checks and balances. Even those who have until recently adamantly opposed such a power grab seem now to be shrugging shoulders and going along with the mainstream media mantra that it is just the new norm.

But the dumbing-down of the American public and apparently, too, many of those constitutionally elected to represent it, in convincing that the new norm is just the hope and change that is the natural progression of such an advanced, sophisticated culture –thus the moral implosion that continues to take its toll-- isn’t the real crisis.

The real crisis is wrapped up in the following: the Church in this crucial hour is asleep, and if there is no preacher, how shall they hear? (Romans 10:14).

The Lord of Heaven might have just about reached the limits of His patience with a nation peopled by a populace that has lived the most materially–and even spiritually blessed—existence in the history of mankind. Proof that we might be near the outer limits of God’s tolerance for national rebellion is the fact that there seems a collective mindset now developed like that forewarned by the apostle Paul.

Please consider with all gravity the Word of the living God. I believe it is the equivalent of Isaiah’s finger pointed at my beloved United States of America:

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. (Romans 1: 21-32)
--Terry 

Pssst -- Wanna Know a Secret?

In Defense of the Faith
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Reblogged from Jack Kinsella - Omega Letter Editor

One of the more interesting phenomena of the last days is the sudden "discovery" of all kinds of new truths of Scripture that have somehow eluded theologians and scholars for thousands of years.

The internet is crowded with "startling new views" on traditional interpretations of the major Prophets like Ezekiel and Daniel, the date of the Rapture, the length of the Tribulation and so forth.
It is startling, really. Especially when one starts hearing these internet perspectives being echoed from the pulpit. The study of eschatology touches on a number of different disciplines, but being schooled in one discipline does not make one an expert in another.

Eschatology is future history, and like history, it is constructed on an edifice of interconnected events that cannot be fully understood outside of the overall context.

For example, one cannot fully understand the historical assassination of Abraham Lincoln without a thorough understanding of the context in which it occurred.
Each event from the opening salvo on Fort Sumpter that started the Civil War, on through Gettysburg, Antietam and Sherman's rapacious march to Savannah played a role in the assassination.
Booth's triumphant cry, "Sic semper tyrannis" ("thus always to tyrants") makes no sense devoid of the context of the Civil War. Americans revere Lincoln as a great liberator and hero.

Context is everything when examining history, and as already noted, Bible prophecy is simply the history of events that have not yet taken place.
And because much of Bible prophecy has not yet taken place, some of the context in which prophesied events will unfold has not yet been established.
And so the old adage, "a proof text without a context is a pretext" applies.

Have you ever watched a short-change artist at work? He'll ask for change for a twenty, give the clerk a ten, take it back, hand the clerk two fives or five ones, changing and rechanging the currencies until the clerk is hopelessly confused and the short-change artist leaves with both the change for the twenty and his original ten.

Some of the "I know a secret nobody else does" theology puts me in mind of that. There used to be a guy who every year would warn me that the Rapture would take place this year, accompanied by page after page of complicated calculations that "proved" it.

When I asked him about Jesus' admonition that the Rapture was incalculable, he agreed that it was there, but immediately challenged me to show him "one more place" in Scripture that CLEARLY showed the timing of the Rapture was incalculable. Once was evidently not enough.

I got an email the other day from someone asking me about the length of the Tribulation. He had run across a website arguing that the traditional understanding of seven years was all wrong. To prove it, he quoted Daniel 9:24 which he claimed was "the only place in the Bible that can be twisted by the theologians to indicate a seven year tribulation."

"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined."

Apart from wondering why theologians would want to "twist" Scripture, the Bible couldn't really make it much clearer. Especially in this case.
The Tribulation is the 70th Week of Daniel. The first sixty-nine "weeks" are demonstrated by history as well as linguistics as "weeks" of years. Daniel says the remaining week is reserved for "the prince that shall come".

"Once again we are confronted with a decision to make; shall we continue to believe what our priests, pastors, teachers, scribes, scholars, luminaries, dignitaries and theologians TELL US it means, or shall we listen to what the bible (sic) says?"

(In other words, "Can you give me change for a twenty?")
Then he goes on to quote three verses that clearly indicate that the Tribulation is divided into two periods of 1,260 days, (which is precisely half of seven years) before arguing that isn't what it really means at all!

I looked around a little more at the website and discovered it was dedicated to a "new" look at all kinds of doctrines. It turns out that theologians "twisted" Scriptures about hell. It isn't really eternal.
Oh, and the Bible tells us 24 times that we should celebrate the new moon. And of course, there is the usual Rapture "challenges".

The problem with all of this is that it is true that in the last days, the Scriptures will become more clear and many of the traditional views actually will fall as more pieces of the puzzle come into view. So it is possible to actually come up with a new understanding of how events will unfold.
But for some folks, that seems to mean they have license to reinvent doctrine, as well.

One of the first things that the Lord said would constitute a sign of the times would be a preponderance of false Christs, false teachers and false doctrines.
The very first warning sign to look for is when somebody claims that all traditional theologians have "twisted" Scripture to suit their own nefarious ends, but that the one making that claim has not.

Everybody wants to know a 'secret' that nobody else knows. It is all part of our human nature. But the Bible doesn't contain secrets nobody else can figure out. It isn't just for special initiates to understand. There is no one person who has the "real" truth that nobody else could see until now.

When somebody claims they have discovered "the truth" that nobody else has, there is one thing you can be absolutely sure of.
They haven't.

Newsweek depicts Obama's second inauguration as the Second Coming of Christ

Reblogged form Elizabeth Prata´s  the-end-time.blogspot.com

Well, this is just gross. Newsweek calls Obama's next presidential term, The Second Coming.

I've discussed before that the Messianic language and pictorial representations of Obama abound. They have been foisted on us since 2007 when Obama first ran for President. He has been called Pharaoh (in the nicest, most king-y way), Messiah, and The National Groom. He has been depicted with halos, in crucified pose, as part of nativity scenes, and ministering to his adoring proselytes. He's been called the New Hope, the Last Hope, and Hope and Change. He even discovered a likeness of himself on an Egyptian tomb. He's been called the Healer-In-Chief.  He has been proclaimed savior outright. You can see many, many of the Obama halos here.

One accidental depiction, OK. One wayward artist, fine. One lapdog photographer, I understand. But please note that the media has purposely and constantly presented this man as Messiah for five years. It is not an accident.

Obama says these things himself about himself. His campaign slogan was "Believe". He said in NH in 2008, "“... a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany ... and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama” (Barack Obama, Lebanon, New Hampshire, Jan. 7, 2008)"

OK, so those were the facts. The media, whose power to influence and reflect a skewed reality is immense, has for years shown us and told us Obama is a messianic figure here to save us. What does all this language and Obama-idols mean?

It means America (and parts of the world) are deep into idolatry. It also means that America (and parts of the world) have a monumental gullibility that satan will monumentally exploit. First, our nation's gullibility.

The unsaved population is under satan's sway. They will believe anything. The bible says that deception in the last days will abound.

--"while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." (2 Timothy 3:13)
--"Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly." (2 Timothy 2:16)
--"and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people." (Matthew 24:11)
--"and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:10)

It's clear, deception abounds to all those who refuse to believe the truth.

All the unsaved believe satan's lie. The bible shows us that they are the most gullible people in the world, ever. That gullibility will find its final expression by the time Revelation 13 comes to pass:

"One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?" (Revelation 13:2-4).

"The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)

Aside from the gullibility of the unsaved, at eternal risk from satan, the second meaning of all this Obama-worship involves idolatry. Credible watchmen and mature pastors recognize and preach Romans 1 in terms of the biblical statement on the downward progression of a society. Sexual sins and homosexuality/lesbianism are the benchmarks by which it is written that judgment comes.

However, let's not forget the sin of idolatry. Idolatry will kill a society faster than you can say "Barak Obama".

GotQuestions deals with the topic of idolatry: "The definition of idolatry, according to Webster, is “the worship of idols or excessive devotion to, or reverence for some person or thing.” An idol is anything that replaces the one, true God."

And wouldn't you know it, we're right back to Romans 1 and read that the Omniscient Lord knew that our tendency is to worship the created and not the Creator.

Holman Standard says it well:

"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen." (Romans 1:23)

When people worship a person, whether it be Lance Armstrong sports star, or Oprah Winfrey media darling, or Hitler the political genius, or Obama the savior, they're engaging in a most dangerous practice. When the majority of a society idolizes something or someone besides God and gives it worship, Romans 1 comes into play. What that means is, judgment looms.

Deluded Americans dangerously heap Godly worship unto Obama, who gladly accepts this false glory. What can one expect of a nation and/or an individual who do these things? Well, when Herod accepted Godly worship unto himself, he died.

"Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last." (Acts 12:20-23)

Nebuchadnezzar took the glory that was God's and put it onto himself. And the judgment came and was swift:

"All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you,..." (Daniel 4:28-31).

It is a dangerous thing for a society to replace the one True God with any idol, whether it be persons living or dead, image or animal.

We are living in the Age of Grace. How wonderful to have a Savior who bestows so much grace to us while we are still sinners! Who even replace Him with craven images and sinning men! The Age of Grace is upon us!

Jesus is so wonderful. His grace abounds. You don't have to believe the damnable lie, but bask in His grace and believe the truth. We worship the ONE God and no other. And with a God as glorious as He is, why would we need another?

"But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." (1 Peter 5:10).

Why Conservatives Should End the Debt Ceiling Debat

By Dr. Albert Mohler
AlbertMohler.com
 


Watching the American scene in the 1960s, historian Daniel Boorstin, invented the idea of the "pseudo-event." The rise of television and modern mass media had produced a transformation of the news business, so that what now mattered was not if an event was important, but only if it was "newsworthy."

"The pseudo-event is the driving force of American political life today"

As Boorstin explained, the pseudo-event was orchestrated and planned to receive maximum public attention, even if the event itself was really unimportant. Pseudo-events merely look important, because the media and the public agree to act as if they are. As Boorstin explained, the pseudo-event is not something that happens by accident, like a train wreck or an accident. It is something "planted primarily for the immediate purpose of being reported." Lastly, Boorstin asserted, the pseudo-event is "intended to be a self-fulfilling prophecy."

Sound familiar? The pseudo-event is the driving force of American political life today, and it is a game increasingly played by both major political parties. The "fiscal cliff" was the most embarrassing recent example of a pseudo-event. Democrats and Republicans alike conspired to create a fake political crisis that each party thought would work to its own advantage. Both parties gambled that public outrage over the loss of Bush-era tax cuts would create a manufactured political crisis that would give the party and its allies political leverage.

Democrats gambled that they would get new tax revenues out of the crisis, while Republicans hoped for spending cuts. In the end, the negotiated "fix" for the pseudo-crisis was a weak combination of increased tax revenue and promised, yet unspecified, spending cuts.

The entire enterprise was tantamount to a war game played with live ammunition. Both sides claimed a modicum of victory and promised to play the game to better advantage next time. Neither side was willing to deal with what the real crisis of governance represents. The "fiscal cliff" was just a dramatic distraction from the real crisis.

As columnist David Brooks argued, "Far from laying the groundwork for future cooperation, it sentences the country to another few years of budget trench warfare. There will be a fight over drastic spending cuts known as sequestration, then over the debt limit and on and on."

As Brooks predicted, the same debacle is now being played out with the debt limit pseudo-event. Both parties are jockeying for position. The nation has already exceeded the $16.4 trillion borrowing limit previously set by Congress. A bit of financial finagling by the Department of the Treasury has bought just a bit of time before Congress must raise the debt ceiling once again. Otherwise the United States will default on its debt.

How did this happen? Congress approved the spending, as did the President. The spending, which necessitated the borrowing, was approved by the very people who will not debate whether to pay the bills they themselves created.

Federal law requires Congress to establish a limit to national borrowing, but the U. S. Constitution requires the government to pay its debts. The debt limit requirement is merely a matter of law. The pledge to pay the nation’s debt is a mandate of the Constitution. The debt ceiling is now a political abstraction, used by both parties to create a pseudo-event.

Conservatives should be particularly unwilling to participate in such a charade, and yet many do so, thinking they can use the pseudo-event to their advantage. It is a losing game, dishonest politics, and a failure of governance.

It is intended to direct the nation’s attention away from the real crisis and onto the pseudo-event. It avoids dealing with the real disaster that looms before us.
Once again, David Brooks nailed the real issue:

"Public debt as a percentage of gross domestic product was around 38 percent in 1965. It is around 74 percent now. Debt could approach a ruinous 90 percent of G.D.P. in a decade and a cataclysmic 247 percent of G.D.P. 30 years from now, according to the Congressional Budget Office and JPMorgan."

But, do politicians bear all the blame? Not hardly. The public has an insatiable appetite for pseudo-events and a horrified aversion to the truth. Why? We are approaching the point that voters will not deal with the issue because it will cost them their entitlements. They will be glad for their children and grandchildren to pay the catastrophic debt.
As Brooks explains:

"Ultimately, we should blame the American voters. The average Medicare couple pays $109,000 into the program and gets $343,000 in benefits out, according to the Urban Institute. This is $234,000 in free money. Many voters have decided they like spending a lot on themselves and pushing costs onto their children and grandchildren. They have decided they like borrowing up to $1 trillion a year for tax credits, disability payments, defense contracts and the rest. They have found that the original Keynesian rationale for these deficits provides a perfect cover for permanent deficit-living. They have made it clear that they will destroy any politician who tries to stop them from cost-shifting in this way."

Given this political reality, fiscal conservatives are insane to believe that these pseudo-events play to their advantage. Each "solution" to a false crisis actually lets the American people and the political class claim a false victory—even as the real crisis grows far worse.

Conservatives should just point out that the Constitution demands that the nation pay its debts, and that Congress and the President must take responsibility for the spending—and the massive borrowing—that their actions mandate. Conservatives should point to the real crisis, stand on principle, and refuse to distract themselves and the American people with false crises and pseudo-events.

In the end pseudo-events only serve to make the problem worse, never better. We cannot deal with the real crisis, if we keep playing the game of the pseudo-event.

Hereges são pessoas legais que ganham o ouvido e enganam o coração

 Hereges são pessoas legais que ganham o ouvido e enganam o coração

 Fonte: Site do autor

Por Josemar Bessa

Por que foi tão difícil para Paulo e os outros apóstolos combaterem os falsos mestres em seus dias?

Muitas pessoas esperam que aqueles que deturpam e torcem as verdades bíblicas sejam pessoas não amáveis, sem simpatia, sem carisma… Paulo disse aos coríntios: “E não é maravilha, porque o próprio Satanás se transfigura em anjo de luz.” – 2 Coríntios 11:14 – “Mas temo que, assim como a serpente enganou Eva com a sua astúcia, assim também sejam de alguma sorte corrompidos os vossos sentidos, e se apartem da simplicidade que há em Cristo”. 2 Coríntios 11:3

Em toda a história da igreja homens que propagaram heresias destruidoras eram amáveis, simpáticos, falavam em amor ao próximo, se empenhavam em caridade… hoje é assim como sempre foi. Podemos ensinar doutrinas antibíblicas enquanto falamos em ajuda aos pobres, missão integral, igreja relevante… Na verdade, todas as religiões podem falar sobre temas simpáticos, agradáveis, caridosos… sendo mesmo assim o oposto da revelação bíblica. Podemos passar horas lendo Confúcio, Budismo… Mas nossa questão aqui são heresias que saem da igreja, de líderes na igreja, simpáticos, caridosos… Paulo quando fala sobre líderes que ensinam doutrinas heréticas e desviam homens da verdade, diz: “e com suaves palavras e lisonjas (bajulações) enganam os corações dos simples.” – Romanos 16:18

Falsos mestres são simpáticos, amáveis e adoram falar sobre amor. Mas o amor que é proposto é um tipo de amor completamente diferente do que a Bíblia ensina. É um sentimentalismo que põe a verdade de lado em nome do que chamam amor. Qualquer amor que é destrutivo para a verdade total do evangelho (com todo seu lado ofensivo ao homem natural), qualquer amor que ignora a verdade e a vê como um obstáculo, chamando-a de dogmatismo… qualquer amor que é tolerante com o erro ou propaga o erro… tem que ser completamente evitado e combatido… porque isso não está nem próximo da essência daquilo que a Bíblia chama de amor. Toda conversa sobre amor, caridade, missão, união… que põe a verdade de lado é exatamente o trabalho dos falsos mestres, falsos profetas… Como é doce ouvir “paz, paz…” – “E curam superficialmente a ferida da filha do meu povo, dizendo: Paz, paz; quando não há paz.” – Jeremias 6:14 – É isso que Paulo enfatiza: “e com suaves palavras e lisonjas (bajulações) enganam os corações dos simples.” – Romanos 16:18

Na história da igreja homens que ensinaram doutrinas terríveis eram homens simpáticos e amáveis. Ário (Arius 256-336) negava a divindade de Cristo. Ele defendia que o Logos e o Pai não eram da mesma essência, que o Filho era uma criação do Pai, que houve um tempo em que o Filho ainda não existia… Era um líder cristão em Alexandria. Mas é dito sobre ele que era um homem simpático, amável… Era descrito como – brilhante, companheiro, atraente… um tipo de cidadão que todos gostariam de ter ao seu lado em causas nobres. Um tipo de homem que todos gostavam de ver ensinando a Bíblia… ele foi imensamente popular nos seus dias… Exatamente o que Paulo disse: “e com suaves palavras e lisonjas (bajulações) enganam os corações dos simples.” – Romanos 16:18

Outro homem que ensinou as mesmas heresias foi Socino (Fausto Socinus 1539-1604) – Seu ensino rejeitou os pontos de vista ortodoxos teologia cristã no conhecimento de Deus, sobre a doutrina da Trindade, divindade de Cristo , e na soteriologia… Mas ele em si era um cara legal e simpático, amável… Ele é descrito como um verdadeiro cavaleiro. Sua moral estava acima de qualquer suspeita e era conhecido por sua cortesia infalível. É descrito como muito mais cortês do que os Reformadores que viveram na mesma época, Calvino, Lutero… Enfim, Socino é descrito como homem exemplar.

Eis o motivo porque raramente é ou será popular combater e resistir os falsos mestres. Eis o motivo porque Paulo teve grandes problemas para combatê-los em Corinto, na igreja dos Gálatas, e em todas as outras igrejas. Falsos mestres, hereges… são amáveis, falam muito sobre o amor, em ajuda aos necessitados… são simpáticos, falam sobre “paz paz..” – então eles quase sempre são vistos como uma benção para a igreja. Eles sempre tem palavras cativantes. Eles são atenciosos. Eles falam o que muitos querem ouvir. Eles estão prontos a adaptar a verdade. Eles são cavaleiros… Então Paulo diz: “e com suaves palavras e lisonjas (bajulações) enganam os corações dos simples.” – Romanos 16:18

“Suaves palavras” – A frase significa discurso suave. Eles sabem falar de forma inteligente. O diabo coloca os erros mais devastadores não na boca de hereges óbvios… ele não coloca esses erros na boca de homens que são um desastre para o objetivo dele. Palavra suaves e lisonjas. A palavra é eulogia, como elogio. É a ideia de uma eloquência falsa, mentiras bem escolhidas e que tem um som atraente e enganam o coração dos ingênuos, é o que Paulo diz. Inteligente, eloquente, polido, de fala suave, elogiando, lisonjeiro, abraçando causas nobres… Ele ganha o ouvido e engana o coração.

Nunca, nunca será popular resistir falsos mestres na igreja, eles são vistos como benção e não tragédia!

LEARNING TO BEWARE OF FALLEN ANGELS IN FEMALE DISGUISE

 Reblogged from: St.Lloyd: servehiminthewaiting.wordpress.com

Posted on December 2, 2012

 

By Pastor Joseph Chambers

I. THERE ARE SOME INCREDIBLE FACTS WE WILL DISCOVER ABOUT FEMALE ANGELS.
They are not really female but disguised as females to better represent their hatred for the masculinity of the Heavenly Father. We must learn that fallen angels still possess the great powers they possessed before they rebelled against God. Angels that have fallen from their pure state in which they were created can manifest in many ways. They can manifest as or in animals, male persons, female persons, inanimate objects, books, storms in weather patterns, houses dedicated to their activities, and even over nations like Haiti.

A. Fallen angels appear to almost always demonstrate an effeminate nature. “And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Romans 1:23-25) (Corruptible: To deprave, defile and destroy)

B. The female masquerade of fallen angels delight in showing their hatred of the Fatherhood of God. They repulse the Father’s authority and masculine character. They are clearly deceptive, occultic and depraved.

C. The female nature of these demons is to corrupt everything and change or twist every form that God has created.
* Homosexuality is a twisted form of manhood.
* Lesbianism is a twisted form of womanhood.

“And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers…” (Romans 1:27-29)

D. These fallen angels twist the created nature of themselves and do so to change our view of angels from a masculine view of great authority. They want men to see the world of angels as wimpy creatures, giddy and silly.

2. The Word of God provides a perfect example of evil angels in feminine disguise.
 Here are three such distortions preparing for the powers behind the coming “New World Order.”
“Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance through all the earth. And, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead: and this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven.”
(Zechariah 5:5-9)

The city that is their destination is ancient Babylon or the Land of Shinar. The Economic System (fallen angel in the ephah) is carried by the first fallen angel controlling the “One World Religion,” and a second fallen angel controlling the “One World Political Order.”

3. Goddesses are unquestionably fallen angels. Here is a description of Sophia and Gaia:
A. Sophia: Worshipped By Many Americans and Churches:

A Leader in the Deception By Fallen Angels: Who is Sophia? Literally she is Wisdom, because the Greek word Sophia means “wisdom” in English. More than that, Sophia is the Wisdom of Deity. She has been revered as the Wise Bride of Solomon by Jews, as the Queen of Wisdom and War (Athena) by Greeks, and as the Holy Spirit of Wisdom by Christians. She is known as Chomah (pronounced HOK-man with the H being said like-ch in the name Bach) in Hebrew, and Sapientia in Latin.
Sophia is found throughout the wisdom books of the Bible. There are many references to her in the book of Proverbs, and in the apocryphal books of Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon (accepted by Catholics and Orthodox, found in the Greek Septuagint of the early Church.) She is Wisdom Incarnate, the Goddess of all those who are wise.

B. Gaia: Called the mother of the Gods

Loved By the Deceived New Agers: Great Mother of the Gods, in ancient Middle Eastern religion (and later Greece, Rome, and W. Asia), mother goddess, the great symbol of the earth’s fertility. As the creative force in nature she was worshipped under many names, including Astarte (Syria), Ceres (Rome), Cybele (Phrygia), Demeter (Greece), Ishtar (Babylon), and Isis (Egypt). The later forms of her cult involved the worship of a male deity (her son or lover, e.g., Adonis, Osiris), whose death and resurrection symbolized the regenerative power of the earth.

Gaea, in Greek mythology, the earth; daughter of Chaos, mother and wife of both Uranus (the sky) and Pontus (the sea.) She was mother, by Uranus, of the Cyclopes, the Titans, and others, and, by Pontus, of five sea deities. She helped cause the overthrow of Uranus by the Titans and was worshipped as the primal goddess, the mother of all things.

4. New contemporary music has a dominant femininity in both the lyrics and the beat. To the strong and Godly men and women it sounds like sissified music. The dominant theme of past musical sound and theology was masculine and authoritative.

5. The facial and body makeup, and the jewelry of this last generation has gone far beyond beauty and natural appearance and has taken on a goddess like character.