A Generation Void of Outrage

Jul 16, 2012

A Generation Void of Outrage http://www.raptureready.com

One of the most frustrating aspects of being an end-time believer is dealing with the reality that society is doomed to become increasingly wicked as be we get closer to the Tribulation hour. Bible prophecy doesn't give us the excuse to just sit back and watch the world burn. When we stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ (Bema), the Lord Jesus will want to know what we did to combat the works of the devil.

Rather than fighting each problem, I see a common link in the way our society is sliding relentlessly toward judgment. The key problem is that we have become a generation that is lacking in outrage. We see evil and yet don't respond with enough anger to make a difference.

The battle against immorality is much like the battle against flood waters. Because many of our structures are built on waterfronts that are below the natural waterline, we need to run pumps 24/7 to keep them from flooding. The city of New Orleans and the New York subway system are two such examples. If there were a breach or if the pumps were to fail, they would be quickly flooded. Unless Christians maintain their steadfastness against sin, the enemy will flood in and corrupt society.

In recent years, the lack of outrage has reached levels I didn't think possible. One example is the case of Bishop Eddie Long. He is the head of an Atlanta mega church who was recently alleged to have sexual relations with underage male members of his parish. Long has denied wrongdoing, but has paid money to silence his accusers.

This past December, Long said he would be taking a leave of absence from his ministry after his wife, Vanessa Long, filed for divorce. Long's leave of absence lasted less than a month. He returned to the pulpit on New Year's Eve. If a minister can brush off allegations of sexual misconduct with young boys, one has to wonder if there is any transgression left that could automatically force a pastor to step down.

Church leaders have no backbone when it comes to standing up for biblical morality. In May, President Obama endorsed same-sex marriage and was proclaimed as the "first gay president" by Newsweek. A few days later, Obama had a meeting with a group of southern black pastors. They collectively told him that they were troubled by his support of gay marriage. I call hogwash on this outrage. I don't know of any time when these black churches have separated themselves from the moral corruption of the Democratic Party. Obama could have given a far better challenge by saying he's a satanist who consults with Beelzebub on major policy decisions.

Even on the secular front, there is a shortage of outrage. World leaders claim to be vexed by the endless massacres taking place in Syria, but no one is offering to take any action. President Bashar al-Assad has been branded as a murderer, but there was no break in the deadlock among world powers over how to bring about an end to the bloodshed. There is even word that the Syrian military is getting chemical weapons ready for us against the revolt. Of course, this more proof that Assad sees the West as a paper tiger.

People who neglect to show their outrage need to realize there is no neutral ground in the battle between good and evil. If we don't show our outrage against the forces of darkness, they will manifest their outrage against you. Chick-fil-A has found this to be true in its support of family values. The fast-food chicken chain gave $2 million to seven anti-gay groups and the left is trying to get the firm removed from nearly a dozen universities. Chick-fil-A recently lost a bid for a vendor spot at Northeastern University because of its moral stance.

Another thing that makes a quick response urgent is the fact that outrage cannot be sustained over a long period of time. Most people only oppose the type of sin that brings them immediate satisfaction. When is the last time you heard a minister preach about the evils of divorce and booze? You don't, because they know the subject has become boring to the public.

I see the lack of outrage as one of the greatest indicators of how close we are to the Tribulation hour. The whole reason for the seven-year judgment period is to convince mankind to repent of his sinful nature. The apathy of our day can only provide evidence to the Lord that it is time to move towards judgment.
 
"And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts" (Revelation 9:20-21).

“Super Event” Warned Near As Weather Chaos Pounds Planet

“Super Event” Warned Near As Weather Chaos Pounds Planet

Posted by truther on July 10, 2012 

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A grim report prepared by the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) for President Putin on the catastrophic flooding in the ‎Krasnodar region that has killed at least 144 people warns that our world is fast approaching what is termed as a “Chizhevsky Super Event” due to the rapidly growing number of sunspots that continue to hurl M and X Class Flares towards Earth causing continued and massive global weather chaos.

A “Chizhevsky Super Event” is named after famed Russian scientist Alexander Chizhevsky (1897-1964) who founded “heliobiology” (study of the sun’s effect on biology) and “aero-ionization” (study of effect of ionization of air on biological entities). Chizhevsky was also was noted for his work in “cosmo-biology, biological rhythms and hematology.”

 Chizhevsky is most notable for his use of historical research (historiometry) techniques to link the 11 year solar cycle, Earth’s climate and the mass activity of peoples, research that was confirmed by Western scientists earlier this decade in two important studies titled Amplifying the Pacific Climate System Response to a Small 11-Year Solar Cycle Forcing and Synchronized Northern Hemisphere climate change and solar magnetic cycles during the Maunder Minimum.

Important to note, this report says, are the “four components” of Chizhevsky’s eleven year cycle and their approximate lengths: 1) a three year period of minimum activity characterized by passivity and autocratic rule; 2) a two year period during which masses begin to organize under new leaders and one theme; 3) a three year period of maximum excitability, revolution and war; 4) a three year period of gradual decrease in excitability until the masses are apathetic.

Of these “four components”, this report continues, our world has now entered into the Third Period: A three year period of maximum excitability, revolution and war.

According to Chizhevsky’s research, RAS scientists state in this report, the defining characteristics to be looked for when our world enters into a Third Period “Super Event” timeline is a rapid overturning of existing weather phenomena combined with an equally sudden major changing of the global social-political power structures all occurring during a period of Solar Maximum.

Interesting to note about the current Solar Maximum we are in was the 23 March 2009 scientific article titled Space Storm Alert: 90 Seconds From Catastrophe published by New Scientist that eerily describes somewhat exactly what is now occurring in the United States following their East Coast region being struck by what is being called a “derecho” storm that, in part, says:

“It is midnight on 22 September 2012 and the skies above Manhattan are filled with a flickering curtain of colourful light. Few New Yorkers have seen the aurora this far south but their fascination is short-lived. Within a few seconds, electric bulbs dim and flicker, then become unusually bright for a fleeting moment. Then all the lights in the state go out. Within 90 seconds, the entire eastern half of the US is without power.”

According to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center web site, a derecho (pronounced “deh-REY-cho”) is a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms.

Chizhevsky’s research, however, states that derecho storms are but a precursor to the much more damaging events associated with a “Super Event”, a finding made even more terrifying with the 2008 news that NASA’s five THEMIS spacecraft had discovered a breach in Earth’s magnetic field ten times larger than anything previously thought to exist. Solar wind can flow in through the opening to “load up” the magnetosphere for powerful geomagnetic storms.

RAS scientists in this report blame this “loading up” of the magnetosphere caused by solar flares for causing not only the catastrophic Russian floods, but also our present global weather chaos, to include: 1.) The unrelenting heat wave hitting the United States that has caused at least 30 deaths, hundreds of forest fires and billions in crop damage. 2.) The torrential floods and rain continuing to batter the United Kingdom. 3.) The catastrophic floods that have hit India leaving nearly 100 dead and millions homeless. 4.) The historic and severe drought that has hit northern and central Mexico. 5.) The historic drought that has ravaged Brazil’s northeast.

Most important to note about a “Chizhevsky Super Event”, this report concludes, is that while no one is able to predict exactly what the “main event” may be, the historic record leaves no doubt whatsoever that it is coming with terrifying suddenness and will most certainly upend the entire world as we know it.

Of particular concern for this particular “Chizhevsky Super Event”, say RAS scientists in this report, would be the sudden outbreak of global war combined with an equally catastrophic global flu outbreak such as that which happened last century during the Solar Maximum decade of 1910-1918 that saw the outbreak of World War I and the Spanish Flu Pandemic that combined killed estimated 500 million people.

Not known to but a few researchers was that in 2001 Canadian researchers warned that influenza epidemics are more likely to sweep the globe when the sun develops spots and sends its excess energy barreling toward Earth such as it is doing now.

“Epidemics are four times as likely during solar maxima,” said Ken Tapping, a solar physicist with the National Research Council, pointing to the striking correlation between flu pandemics and the peaks of the 11-year sunspot cycle, also known as the solar maximum. He and two colleagues have compared flu and solar records dating back to 1729 and found a statistically significant connection. There were flu epidemics, some of them fatal to millions of people, in 1729, 1830, 1918, 1957, 1968 and 1977, years when solar activity and flares bombarded the Earth with extra radiation and cosmic rays.

The effects of solar cycles on influenza epidemics is especially important to note as along with the current global weather chaos the highly deadly Bird Flu virus has once again emerged in Mexico, China and Indonesia.

Of greatest concern, however, to global health authorities is the mysterious respiratory and neurological disease that has killed, so far, at least 64 Cambodia children this past week that is feared to be a Bird Flu mutation more deadly than any ever seen before.

Purim Prophecy

Purim Prophecy

posted byjfletcher

Jerusalem is a city of mystery, to be sure. I learned just how mysterious one afternoon, having lunch with a friend who is a retired diplomat. He’d taken me to a place off the beaten path.

As we ate, he told me a story so amazing, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. It concerned the Jewish holiday of Purim, commemorating the deliverance of the Jewish people from the plot of the evil Haman.

My friend told me that not only is the Purim story told in the book of Esther, but that there is a “hidden” prophecy that looks far into the future…to the time of the Nazis, another barbaric group determined to eliminate the Jews. It seems, so my friend told me, that in Esther 9:6-10), we read of Haman’s 10 sons, who were hanged on the gallows intended for the Jews.

It seems that three letters in that series of names—Taf, Shin, and Zayin—are written smaller than the rest, and that this represents a prophecy, as the letters correspond to the Hebrew year, 5707 (or, 1946).

In October, 1946, 10 Nazi war criminals were hanged at Nuremberg. As the notorious Julius Streicher was led to the gallows, he blurted out, “Purim, 1946!” It was as if he almost involuntarily screamed the fulfillment of the prophecy, that he somehow understood.

A prophecy, or weird coincidence? Not surprisingly, I believe it is clearly the fulfillment of a strange and electrifying prophecy. The Lord’s anger at the enemies of His people burns hot, and He Who knows all things provides humans with a great gift of proof of His existence…prophecy.

Julius Streicher, at Nuremberg

Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/isittheendoftheworld/2012/03/purim-prophecy.html#ixzz20cYW4kMe

A MORTE DA IGREJA DE JOHN WESLEY E GEORGE WHITEFIELD‏

A MORTE DA IGREJA DE JOHN WESLEY E GEORGE WHITEFIELD‏

Openness to the Gospel exploding in tense Egypt

Openness to the Gospel exploding in tense Egypt
Mission Network News

Egypt (MNN) ― Egypt's president and military remain at odds after President Morsi defied a court ruling and convened Parliament. Tom Doyle with e3 Partners says the standoff could mean civil war as soon as next week.

Doyle just left Egypt a few days ago. In an e-mail, he reveals, "The mood in the country is extremely tense. Even though we were here in May...everything is different."
For the last year, the interim government of Egypt was run by the Egyptian military. Right around election time, the military dissolved the Muslim Brotherhood-dominated Parliament. Mohammad Morsi won the election, and this last Tuesday 0ordered parliament to reconvene. Doyle says that on Tuesday night Tahrir Square was jammed with thousands of protestors in favor of Morsi.

Doyle says since the military has threatened to remove Morsi from office if he does not dissolve parliament next week, civil war could erupt instead.
In the midst of disaster though, Doyle notes, "Egyptians have never been more open to Jesus."

Doyle says over 1 million Muslims have now become believers and have a deep love for Jesus. Recently an Egyptian official even went on television saying that 3 million Egyptian Muslims have left Islam and are now following Jesus.

These new believers are risking their lives to follow Christ. Doyle says 82% of Egyptians believe that if a person leaves Islam, they should be killed. Muslim converts to Christians are often killed, with no response from the government.

Yet believers are excited about their new-found faith, and record numbers seem to be meeting Christ in dreams and visions. As Egypt's political structure crumbles, its church presence is building brick by brick into a beautiful kingdom. The 10 national leaders that make up e3 Team Egypt have planted about 50 churches in the last six months, says Doyle, and eight of those are in villages which had no church until now.
The Spirit is moving in Egypt. Pray that in uncertain times more and more Egyptians would cling to the hope found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Israel is on its own in war against terrorism

Jewish World Review July 13, 2012/ 23 Tamuz, 5772
Israel is on its own in war against terrorism
By Diana West
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | The Washington Free Beacon reported this week on the continuing omission of Israel from a U.S.-sponsored organization called the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). At a recent forum meeting in Spain, Maria Otero, U.S. undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, delivered a speech titled "Victims of Terrorism," but, in her roll call of victims, she didn't mention Israel. The conference at which she spoke was described as a "high-level conference on the victims of terrorism," but Israel wasn't a participant.

It bears repeating because it is so fantastic: At an international conference devoted to victims of terrorism, the world's leading victim or, better, leading target of terrorism -- Israel -- was nowhere in sight, or mind.

Welcome to the GCTF -- U.S. counterterrorism's new "normal." This 30-member organization got its official start last September as a "major initiative" of the Obama administration when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced its launch in New York.
It was quite an occasion; Hillary curled her hair. Seated next to her Turkish co-chairman, ensconced amid ministers from Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and 18 other miscellaneous member-states plus the European Union, she then said the magic words: "From London to Lahore, from Madrid to Mumbai, from Kabul to Kampala, it's innocent civilians who have been targeted ..."
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Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Ashkelon? Poof, gone. And that's the point: This new counterterrorism organization, with its related counterterrorism center coming soon to Abu Dhabi, is Judenfrei. Not coincidentally, it is also heavily Islamic. Eleven member-states -- slightly more than one-third of the organization's membership -- also belong to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a bloc of 56 Islamic countries working to impose Islamic law (Shariah) on the world. Six of those 11 members additionally belong to the Arab League. Both groups have defined "terrorism" to exclude Israeli victims (sometimes U.S. soldiers), and "terrorists" to exclude groups dedicated to the destruction of Israel, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. It is no wonder the Arab-Islamic members would now unite in "counterterrorism" without Israel.
What is both shocking and shameful, however, is that the U.S. would, too. It shows that the U.S. has implicitly but clearly accepted the Arab League/OIC definitions of terrorism and terrorists.

As in Libya, where the U.S. supported the jihad-linked side, as in Egypt (same), as in Syria (same), this side-switching sparks scant comment. Oh, sure, there was some media yapping last month when Hillary jetted to Istanbul to pronounce another Israel-free incantation about efforts to "defeat extremist ideology." Two -- count 'em, two -- U.S. senators (independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois) wrote her letters. But such complaints are nothing next to the smiles and cooperation coming our way from the Islamic core of the GCTF. And it was so easy! Why didn't we think of this before? All we have to do is see things the way the Islamic world does; pretend things like Israel don't exist (just as maps in Arab countries already indicate); and insist that Islam is a boon to mankind -- not the animating doctrine of global jihad against Israel and the wider West.

I would like to say this is all something President Barack Obama initated, but such appeasement goes back a long way. If we look to the Gulf War in 1990-1991, we see this same denial of Israel's existence take shape in the makeup of President George H.W. Bush's "international coalition" -- sans Israel. The same is true in 2003 with the formation of President George W. Bush's "coalition of the willing" in Iraq (also Afghanistan) -- sans Israel.

These omissions were in no way due to Israel's unwillingness to join the "war on terror." They were due to the same Islamic pressure in force today. Both Bushes bowed to it, accepting a state of dhimmitude (inferiority of non-Muslims under Islam) for the high privilege of spilling American blood and treasure into the ungrateful desert. Israel, both Bushes agreed with their Islamic "allies," just wasn't fit to fight on Islamic sand. Thus, Israel was excluded from these wartime alliances.

Such dhimmitude only intensifies, as the latest developments show. Under the Bushes, after all, while Israel was not permitted to fight alongside coalition forces, at least it was still recognized for withstanding more than 60 years of Islamic terrorist attacks. Today, under the auspices of the Obama administration, Israel no longer rates mention even as a victim. "Big Satan" has thrown "Little Satan" to the sharks. Which says two things about Big Satan. Our institutions now see the world from the Islamic perspective, and, as far as the sharks go, we're next.

What’s Wrong With 2 Chronicles 7:14?

What’s Wrong With 2 Chronicles 7:14?
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher

Q. Is it scriptural for one to pray 2 Chronicles 7:14 assuming one is genuinely looking for the blessed hope, has an eternal view, knows the land is not their land and is at the same time desiring for God, by His grace, to soften the hearts of Christians and the unsaved, as a last chance before he passes judgment, like Nineveh responded to Jonah’s message from God? Is the principle of repentance and forgiveness universal in this verse in your opinion?

A. First, we all want all our friends and loved ones to be saved. But 2 Chron. 7:14 is a prayer for a national change of behavior. What our friends and loved ones need is a personal change of heart. In the Church Age, salvation is based on what we believe, not on how we behave. For by one offering He has perfected (made perfect) for all time those who are sanctified (made holy). (Hebrews 10:14).

Second, I don’t believe God sees an American Church, I believe He just sees a Church. And in all the world He hasn’t given the Church one square inch of land. Earth is only our temporary residence. Our citizenship is in Heaven (Phil. 3:20) and we should be longing to go home, not looking to extend our visit here.

Third, I don’t think advocates of 2 Chronicles 7:14 have really thought through the implications of what they’re asking God to do. If we’re in the end times, as I believe we are, and if God answered our prayer and healed “our land”, then what would He do with the rest of the world? Christians in many parts of the world are suffering intense persecution and deprivation that seems to get worse by the day. Would He put all His plans for the Church on hold and let them continue to suffer while we Americans enjoy a few more years of the “good life”? Would He build a big spiritual wall around America and go on with His plans, leaving us here to enjoy our fake heaven while taking the rest of the Church to the real one before bringing judgment on the world? I don’t think so.

Nineveh was powerful in an age where nations could exist independently, and where God treated them individually. Remember, He only had Jonah warn Nineveh of the coming judgment. No other city was involved. But we live in an age where nations are interdependent and where God is in the process of bringing judgment upon the whole world. It’s a whole different set of conditions.

In summary, I don’t think 2 Chron. 7:14 is appropriate for the Church. It was meant for another people in another time. If you want a good Bible passage that is appropriate for our time, I recommend 1 Tim. 2:1-4 instead.
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

The Biggest Financial Scandal In History?

The Biggest Financial Scandal In History?

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com

We always knew that the financial markets were rigged, but this is getting ridiculous. It is now being alleged that 20 major banks have been systematically fixing global interest rates for years. Barclays has already been fined hundreds of millions of dollars for manipulating Libor (the London Inter Bank Offered Rate). But Barclays says that a whole bunch of other banks were doing this too. This is shaping up to be the biggest financial scandal in history, and criminal investigations have been launched on both sides of the Atlantic. What those investigations are likely to uncover could shake the financial markets to their very core. In the end, this scandal could absolutely devastate confidence in the global financial system and it could potentially bring down a number of major global banks. We have never seen anything quite like this before.

 What Is Libor?
As mentioned before, Libor is the London Inter Bank Offered Rate. A recent Washington Post article contained a pretty good explanation of what that means....

In the simplest terms, LIBOR is the average interest rate which banks in London are charging each other for borrowing. It’s calculated by Thomson Reuters — the parent company of the Reuters news agency — for the British Banking Association (BBA), a trade association of banks and financial services companies.

Why Does Libor Matter?
If you have a mortgage, a car loan or a credit card, then there is a very good chance that Libor has affected your personal finances. Libor has been a factor in the pricing of hundreds of trillions of dollars of loans, securities and assets. The following is from a recent article by Maureen Farrell....

These traders influenced the pricing of the London Interbank Offered Rate or Libor, a benchmark that dictates the pricing of up to $800 trillion of securities (yes trillion)

$800 trillion?
That is a number that is hard to even imagine.

 Most American consumers do not even know what Libor is, but it actually plays a key role in the U.S. economy as the Washington Post recently explained....

In the United States, the two biggest indices for adjustable rate mortgages and other consumer debt are the prime rate (that is, the rate banks charge favored or “prime” consumers) and LIBOR, with the latter particularly popular for subprime loans. A study from Mark Schweitzer and Guhan Venkatu at the Cleveland Fed looked at survey data in Ohio and found that by 2008, almost 60 percent of prime adjustable rate mortgages, and nearly 100 percent of subprime ones, were indexed to LIBOR
Who Was Involved In This Scandal?

According to the Daily Mail, in addition to Barclays it is being alleged that at least 20 banks (including some major U.S. banks) were involved in this interest rate fixing scandal....

Hundreds of bankers across three continents are embroiled in the interest-rate fixing scandal that has left Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond fighting to save his job.
As pressure intensified on Britain’s highest paid banking boss to quit, MPs heard a string of other financial institutions across the world were under investigation.
At least 20 banks are believed to be under suspicion, with growing demands for a criminal investigation.

There are also indications that the Bank of England itself may have been involved in this scandal.

What Did They Do?

Employees at Barclays (and apparently at about 20 other major banks) were brazenly manipulating interest rates. A recent Yahoo Finance article described how this worked...

To help the bank's trading positions between 2005 and 2009, and most notably during the global financial crisis of 2007-09, the bank made false submissions to the Libor-setting committee, which agrees rates daily in London.
At the request of its own traders of interest-rate derivatives, Barclays made false submissions relating to Libor and Euribor (the eurozone benchmark rate). By doing this, Barclays personnel aimed to help their trading colleagues to profit by manipulating Libor.
Rigging the world's leading benchmark for interest rates is pretty serious stuff. Indeed, in the words of the FSA, "Barclays' behaviour threatened the integrity of the rates, with the risk of serious harm to other market participants".

Many in the financial world have been absolutely horrified by the details of this scandal that have been emerging.

One recent CNN article declared that "the stench" coming from London is now "overwhelming"....

The Libor scandal has confirmed what many of us have known for some time: There is something smelly  in the London financial world and the stench is now overwhelming.
But It is only when I read the Financial Services Authority report -- all 44 pages of it -- that is became clear just how widespread, how blatant was the fixing of the benchmark interest rate Libor and Euribor by Barclays. Brazen is the only word for it.

The emails and phone calls reveal that on dozens of occasions those who stood to gain by the decisions asked for favors (and got them) from those who helped set the interest rates.

You can read many examples of the kinds of emails that were exchanged between traders in New York and traders at Barclays in London right here.

What Does This Scandal Mean For The Future?

This scandal is making the global financial system look really, really bad. Confidence in global financial markets has already been declining, and these new revelations are not going to help at all. The following is how an article in the Huffington Post put it....

The ballooning interest rate manipulation scandal at Barclays, coupled with stock market instability, is likely to fuel fresh doubts about the integrity of the stock market, insiders said.
“Every time people begin to gain a little confidence, something else comes up,” said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab. “If it’s not Europe, it’s [troubled] IPOs, or JPMorgan or Barclays. Something new blows up and people say, ‘I knew it was rigged.’"

In addition, we are undoubtedly going to see a huge wave of lawsuits come out of this scandal. Those lawsuits alone will gum up the financial system for a decade or more.

So needless to say, this is a very big deal.

Sadly, the revelations that have come out about Barclays in recent days are probably just the very tip of the iceberg. Before this is all over, we are probably going to find out that most of the major global banks were involved.

At a time when the global financial system is already on the verge of a major implosion, this is not welcome news.

This financial scandal is just another reason to be deeply concerned about the second half of 2012. The house of cards is starting to look really shaky, and nobody knows exactly when it will fall, but anyone with half a brain can see that things are progressively getting worse.

A "perfect storm" is rapidly developing, and when it strikes it is going to be very, very painful.

Agree to Disagree: 4 Ways to Know its Time to End Discussions

Agree to Disagree: 4 Ways to Know its Time to End Discussions

by Clint Archer  

Cults don’t foster independent thinking or dialogue. Just agree with the leader, drink the Kool Aid when he tells you and everything will be fine. Christianity, on the other hand, encourages people to engage their minds and ponder truth for themselves.
Jesus’ teachings were characteristically cerebral and logical. He pointed out inconsistencies in the Pharisees’ applications, appealed to the OT as a source of authority, challenged misaligned motives, and dismantled arguments with a flourish (and yes, often punctuated with a miracle).


Because of this liberty, some Christians acquire a taste for theological blood-letting. They get embroiled in extended discussions, which slip into an abyss of disagreements, that implode into a vortex of spiritual paucity.
You’ve all met the seminoid who charges into arenas of theological debate like an eager matador, arrayed in the splendor of his own preparations, and toting a red rag to taunt any equally bovine opponent he can find.
The question is: When is it right to persevere in theological repartee with a goal of convincing someone of your viewpoint, and when is it better that you call the time of death, pull the plug, and move on?

Last week we examined steps to discussing theology amicably. But here are 4 principles for determining whether a discussion has a chance of being profitable or whether its time to shut things down.

Agree to disagree…

1. If your shared authority is not the Scripture.

When a judo practitioner engages a kung-fu fighter, the bout rarely ends well for the judo guy. Why? Because in judo there is no punching or kicking or engaging the face; in kung-fu you’re allowed to use your feet and fists. The opponents aren’t following the same rules.



Paul was able to debate with the Jews at Thessalonica, and prevail, because they both recognized the authority of the Scriptures, which Paul consistently used to “reason with them,” (Acts 17:2).
He commended them for this very virtue in 1 Thess 2:13 ”you accepted it not as the word of man, but the word of God.”

2. If you do not share a common hermeneutic.

When you sniff incompatible hermeneutics, it’s time to hit the eject button on your chat. Hermeneutics is the art and science of interpreting the Scriptures. If one side of the discussion is employing a literal, historical-grammatical set of rules for understanding the Bible, while the other side is relying on experience or tradition as a validation of truth, or perhaps a reader-response system, then both sides will be frustrated and the dialogue will devolve into wrangling about words.
One example in the NT is the Jewish sect of the Sadducees. In Matt 22:29 ”Jesus answered them, ‘You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.’”
Although the Sadducees used the OT Scriptures, they used a liberal approach to interpretation which Jesus bluntly calls ignorance.

3. If the person you’ve engaged doesn’t want to understand.

They might not want to agree with you, but if you can tell that a person is genuinely trying to understand your viewpoint, I reckon the talk is worth continuing. It is understanding that brings change.
This takes wisdom. Often the signal of willingness to learn is if the person asks sincere questions they are grappling to understand. On the other hand, you can usually tell if they are just waiting for you to finish your spiel so that they can launch their rehearsed riposte.
Paul recognized that different folks need different strokes. Sometimes you need a whiteboard, sometimes a stick.
1 Thess 5: 14 ”And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

4. If the discussion keeps derailing.

I’d agree to disagree, and gently implement an exit strategy, if the original issue keeps being derailed into irrelevant tangents. If a person doesn’t wait for a topic to be resolved, but keeps bringing up new topics that then spawn even more red herrings, it may be an indication that this discussion is a runaway train, off its tracks, and heading nowhere fast.
Paul warned his buddy Titus 3: 9 “But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.”

I hope these help. If you disagree with me, feel free to say so. But if I cut you short, now you know why!

De la tête à la queue

jeudi 5 juillet 2012

De la tête à la queue

http://schoenelblog2.blogspot.com

Les élections sont passées, le président et le gouvernement formés, le parlement installé, ouf ! Mais quelle image nos politiques donnent de la France. Après Chirac, un autre président à maille à partir avec la justice. La justice n'a pas laissé beaucoup de répit à Nicolas Sarkozy. Battu à la présidentielle et privé de son immunité présidentielle depuis le 16 juin, l'ancien chef de l'État va devoir s'expliquer prochainement sur le financement de sa campagne électorale de 2007 qui l'avait mené à la victoire. Des policiers de la brigade financière et le juge de Bordeaux Jean-Michel Gentil ont perquisitionné coup sur coup le domicile de Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, villa Montmorency dans le 16e arrondissement de Paris, le cabinet d'avocats Arnaud, Claude et associés, dans lequel Nicolas Sarkozy détient des parts, situé 53, boulevard Malesherbes (17e) et ses nouveaux locaux mis à sa disposition en tant qu'ancien président de la République au 27 de la rue de Miromesnil. Mais n’oublions pas DSK qui aurait dû être à la place de Hollande et qui a fini derrière les barreaux avant même d’être élu. Mais laissons maintenant le père des enfants de l’ex candidate socialiste mener la nouvelle politique du pays avec sa nouvelle compagne, déjà surnommé « tweetweiler »…

Mais ce n’est pas seulement le sommet de pyramide qui est touché, mais tout le corps, car n’oublions pas que les hommes qui nous gouvernent sont élus et choisis par un corps électoral tout aussi corrompu que ceux qui les gouvernent et qui sont leur reflet. Le dernier Marianne y consacre 132 pages…

Romains 1 :22 Se vantant d’être sages, ils sont devenus fous ;… 25 eux qui ont changé la vérité de Dieu en mensonge, et qui ont adoré et servi la créature au lieu du Créateur, qui est béni éternellement. Amen ! 26 C’est pourquoi Dieu les a livrés à des passions infâmes : car leurs femmes ont changé l’usage naturel en celui qui est contre nature ; 27 et de même les hommes, abandonnant l’usage naturel de la femme, se sont enflammés dans leurs désirs les uns pour les autres, commettant homme avec homme des choses infâmes, et recevant en eux-mêmes le salaire que méritait leur égarement. 28 Comme ils ne se sont pas souciés de connaître Dieu, Dieu les a livrés à leur sens réprouvé, pour commettre des choses indignes, 29 étant remplis de toute espèce d’injustice, de méchanceté, de cupidité, de malice ; pleins d’envie, de meurtre, de querelle, de ruse, de malignité ; rapporteurs, 30 médisants, impies, arrogants, hautains, fanfarons, ingénieux au mal, rebelles à leurs parents, 31 dépourvus d’intelligence, de loyauté, d’affection naturelle, de miséricorde. 32 Et, bien qu’ils connaissent le jugement de Dieu, déclarant dignes de mort ceux qui commettent de telles choses, non seulement ils les font, mais ils approuvent ceux qui les font.

Les années passent et se ressemblent donc. Comme la Parole de Dieu l’annonce, dans les derniers jours le péché et le mal vont en grandissant, jusqu’à l’avènement de l’antéchrist. Ce gouvernement va donc lui aussi contribuer à cet avènement. Une des mesures phare prise par le nouveau gouvernement est bien sûr la légalisation du mariage des homosexuels et de l’adoption d’enfants. Il est curieux et paradoxal de constater que les couples normaux selon la Loi de Dieu, sont de moins en moins nombreux à vouloir se marier, PACS oblige, et que ceux que ceux que Dieu condamne l’exigent, l’esprit antéchrist c’est aussi cela. Après la légalisation de l’avortement, des couples libres, les sodomites obtiennent gain de cause. Un signe des temps.

Il est clair que Satan s’attaque à la famille pour la déstructurer, car c’est le noyau qui constitue la première Eglise. Il y a une relation profonde entre le mariage de l’homme et de femme, l’Eglise et Jésus-Christ, Dieu et les hommes. De la Genèse à l’Apocalypse les images se succèdent pour expliquer le sens du geste et du verbe divin au travers de la relation d’un couple. Il y aujourd’hui plus d’enfants qui naissent hors mariage que parmi les couples mariés et les familles monoparentales se banalisent. Les gouvernements successifs accompagnent le mouvement et le légalise. Mais en agissant ainsi, c’est toute la Nation qui se met en inimitié avec Dieu et c’est encore plus vrai quand cette Nation se dit chrétienne. Le résultat est que la grâce se transforme en malédiction, et comme on peut le lire dans le Deutéronome, elle devient la queue et le mal prend la tête.

Il ne faut donc pas s’étonner si parallèlement aux droits des homosexuels, le premier ministre Ayrault annonce un plan de rigueur drastique qui va s’étaler sur l’ensemble du quinquennat. La France passe donc de la tête à la queue dans tous les domaines, économique, social, éducatif, justice, sécurité, etc. Comme je le répète souvent sur ce blog, on ne passe pas brutalement d’une situation heureuse à la malédiction la plus noire, le Seigneur agit de manière progressive en espérant que le méchant change d’attitude. Depuis des années ce pays se comporte en ennemi de Dieu et donc progressivement il décline, il suffit de suivre la courbe de croissance du PIB pour s’en convaincre. Aujourd’hui on est à 0% de croissance et pour les années à venir on va basculer dans le rouge durablement. L’austérité et la pauvreté vont progresser. Toutes les catégories sociales vont être impactés fortement, car des dizaines de milliards vont être prélevés par des impôts nouveaux, uniquement pour couvrir les déficits.

Entre 2004 et 2008, 36 % des Français âgés de plus de 16 ans ont été touchés par la pauvreté, soit 16 millions de personnes. C’est ce qui ressort de l’étude « Pauvreté transitoire, pauvreté permanente », dévoilée par l’ Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (Insee) mercredi 4 juillet. Un chiffre largement supérieur aux 13 % de personnes pauvres recensées en 2008 par le même organisme. Il va de soi que les mesures gouvernementales à venir vont accentuer les choses. L'austérité étant de rigueur dans toute l'Europe, la récession commence à s'installer. Ce qui a un impact sur la consommation de ces pays et donc sur nos exportations. Nous sommes sur une pente de forte destruction d'emplois. En fait le phénomène de désindustrialisation en cours va encore s’accentuer. De la tête des pays industrialisés on passe à la queue. Il suffit de suivre la courbe de la balance commerciale pour comprendre où on est et où on va.

Mais il n’y a pas que la politique ou l’économie qui est malade, c’est tout le pays qui est malade au sens propre du terme. Là encore il suffit de suivre la courbe du déficit de la Sécu pour comprendre l’ampleur du phénomène. Population qui vieillit, cancer et allergies qui progressent, maladies mentales et mal être qui grandissent, etc. A la déchéance morale s’ajoute la déchéance physique. Le système de santé français est à l’image de ses hôpitaux. Service d’urgence saturé, personnel insuffisant et épuisé, heures supplémentaires à gogo et plus payées, tout en étant en déficit chronique.

On pourrait continuer comme cela avec la justice ayant des tribunaux et des prisons surchargées, ou les écoles où le niveau baisse d’année en année. Ces derniers éléments étant à mettre en relation avec une immigration massive à tendance communautaire, dont la chancelière Merkel avouait qu’elle est un échec d’intégration. La chancelière a simplement et radicalement enterré le modèle d'une Allemagne multiculturelle, où pourraient cohabiter harmonieusement différentes cultures. Cette approche «Multikulti» - «nous vivons côte à côte et nous nous en réjouissons» - a «échoué, totalement échoué», a-t-elle lancé devant le congrès des Jeunesses de sa formation conservatrice. Prise de position totalement inverse de celle des socialistes qui vont permettre aux étrangers de voter, tout en augmentant leurs droits sociaux ; Deutéronome 28 : 43 L’étranger qui sera au milieu de toi s’élèvera toujours plus au-dessus de toi, et toi, tu descendras toujours plus bas ; 44 il te prêtera, et tu ne lui prêteras pas ; il sera la tête, et tu seras la queue. 45 Toutes ces malédictions viendront sur toi, elles te poursuivront et seront ton partage jusqu’à ce que tu sois détruit, parce que tu n’auras pas obéi à la voix de l’Eternel, ton Dieu, parce que tu n’auras pas observé ses commandements et ses lois qu’il te prescrit.

Mais face à ce présent et cet avenir antéchrist, il est aussi écrit : De 28:13 L’Eternel fera de toi la tête et non la queue, tu seras toujours en haut et tu ne seras jamais en bas, lorsque tu obéiras aux commandements de l’Eternel, ton Dieu, que je te prescris aujourd’hui, lorsque tu les observeras et les mettras en pratique. La malédiction n’est pas une fatalité, mais une conséquence de l’attitude de l’homme vis-à-vis de Dieu. Cela implique que même si toute la société s’enfonce, si vous individuellement, vous faites face au mal en lui résistant en vous inscrivant dans le plan de salut de Dieu, c’est le principe de bénédiction qui s’applique.

Je vais vous faire mon témoignage personnel pour illustrer la chose. J’ai souvent présenté l’Alsace comme étant une sorte d’anti Israël, une terre satanique où les gens se maudissent eux-mêmes en jurant à longueur de journée et où les piliers de l’autorité financière et politique de la Bête sont présents au nord avec le parlement européen et au sud avec la BRI de Bâle, ils sont l’équivalent contemporain des vaux d’or de Bethel et Dan du temps des royaumes d’Israël et Juda. Autant dire que la charge spirituelle démoniaque est maximale dans la région. C’est dans cet environnement que j’ai connu le Seigneur il y a 35 ans. 

J’ai grandi et été enseigné dans une petite église évangélique dont la sanctification et les dons spirituels étaient essentiels. A cette époque les églises évangéliques étaient rares et nous avons beaucoup prié pour que d’autres églises naissent en Alsace. Aujourd’hui nous avons une mégachurche à Mulhouse dans un quartier à dominante musulmane. Un chapelet d’églises se sont constituées dans l’Axe Mulhouse Bâle à Rixheim, Sierentz, Saint Louis. Même la maison où j’habitais au début de ma conversion est devenue une petite église protestante. Alors que personne ne vienne me dire que le mal progresse sans qu’on puisse le combattre, la preuve. Aujourd’hui on parle de pérenniser la convention des juifs messianique de France à Mulhouse, tout un symbole.

Concernant le matériel. Quand je me suis marié je n’avais pas un sou et j’habitais dans la ZUP de Mulhouse. Ma femme aurait dû être stérile mais nous avons eu deux filles, Virginie et Myriam, (plus tard elles m’ont fait remarquer que cela donne Vierge Marie… Pour un ennemi acharné de l’idolâtrie mariale comme moi, on peut dire que le Seigneur a le sens de la provocation). Les épreuves ne m’ont pas été épargnées, chômage, maladie, crises diverses dans la famille, mais aujourd’hui nous sommes dans le décile de tête pour les ménages imposables. Impôt que nous payons via le KKL à Israël en plantant des milliers d’arbres dans le pays. Nous avons été les premiers à placer une stèle dans le parc de France-Adoulam, projet phare du KKL initié à l’occasion du 60e anniversaire de l’État d’Israël et lieu symbolique à bien des égards.

J’ai baptisé mes filles et nous constituons une église de maison qui reçoit de plus en plus de chrétiens juifs et autres. Les enfants portent régulièrement l’uniforme de l’armée d’Israël dans le cadre du soutien à Sarel et grandissent dans la foi et la connaissance du Seigneur. A 50 ans j’ai arrêté de travailler et consacre mon temps à l’étude ou l’enseignement que je partage à l’extérieur via mon blog et le site. Le Seigneur nous a beaucoup béni spirituellement et matériellement, ce qui démontre de manière factuelle que Jésus est vivant et que si on le veut, on peut passer de la queue à la tête.