JACKSON HOLE & CHRIST

THE ABSURDITY OF ETERNAL DAMNATION IN HELL

2012-01-26T21:45:00.000-08:00

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excerpted from Christ Triumphant by Thomas Allin:

So long as the popular creed and the Bible are held together, so long must this system of untruth continue. We pray to "our Father," to Whom in the next breath we assign acts towards His own children more cruel than any to which the worst earthly parent would stoop. We thus degrade the Godhead below, FAR BELOW, THE LEVEL OF HUMANITY. What is left for us to worship if the truth be a lie - if love essential be cruelty itself - if God be that, which I dare not write? Nor is this all. Having thus assigned to God acts of infinite cruelty, the popular creed goes on to assure us of His tenderness that never wearies - His love that never fails. What falsehood, what cruel mockery is this, coming from those who really mean, that this unfailing, eternal Love watches to all eternity, callous and unsympathising, the undying evil, the endless agony of its own children.

A merchant who has two contradictory measures is dishonest; but what of the theologian, of whom the same is true, is he less dishonest? It is cruel to torment a cat or a dog for five minutes, but to be callous to all eternity about the endless misery of a wife or a child, is quite right and good. The transient wrongs of a chimney-sweep excite the sincerest pity; but the eternal anguish of the lost human spirit awakes not even a passing gleam of pity in the Blessed. Let a criminal be tortured for an hour by human law, and all the civilized world is roused; but let the same criminal pass to torture without end, and these endless pangs do not disturb for a moment the raptures of the inhabitants of heaven. Vivisection is odious on this earth, but is most just in hell. Is it, then, odious when temporary, and most righteous when endless? e.g., is it most righteous for Eternal Love to vivisect for ever, or at least permit to be vivisected, His own children, in the sight of the Lamb, and the Holy Angels - Rev xiv. 10, (for the true meaning of this passage see p. 278-9.)

That Philanthropists (whom we honor) should be unable to bear the sight of the momentary suffering of the outcast here, while they are prepared to accept heaven's joy unmoved by the endless agony of the outcast hereafter, fills the mind with thoughts, for which amazement is too feeble a term.

The apologies offered for the traditional creed are truly worthy of it. Thus many shelter themselves under the phrase, "God will do His best for every man" I can only suppose such an apology meant, not as an argument, but as an ill-timed piece of pleasantry. For what are the admitted facts? An Almighty Being, Who is, on any possible hypothesis, perfectly free to create or not, yet forces on myriads of hapless children of His own the fatal gift of existence, knowing that in fact this life of theirs will ripen into endless misery and woe. To call this doing His best for them is an abuse of language -- could He do worse for them?

THE ABSURDITY

2012-01-25T12:11:00.000-08:00

I write and share many messages within a number of venues on "the absurdity" of the Greco-Roman pagan doctrine of "Hell." There are so may ways to show how ludicrous this accepted belief is and this old writing but demonstrates another rightful point of view. I pray you are enlightened by this anointed message on "pre-mortem only salvation" by M.J. Steere (1861). Truly God's mercy extends beyond the grave.
ABSURDITY: MEN FIX EACH OTHER' S DOOM

Your creed plainly implies, that men, both good and bad, may, and often do, determine the endless destiny of their fellow beings, by determining the length of their probation, virtually putting them into heaven, by cutting off all liability to lose it, or into hell by cutting off all opportunity to escape it. And this, also, seems to me an absurdity.

We have already presented one illustration of the above proposition, in the supposed case of the mother who made the "calling and election" of her infant sure, by taking its life. Another is found in a sad accident, which occurred at one of our New England seminaries a few years since. Two young gentlemen were in their room, amusing themselves with a musket, quite unconscious of its being loaded, when the one innocently shot the other, thereby determining his soul at once to heaven or to hell forever.

And still another illustration is found in the death of the drunken rowdy, who fell, at the head of the rum-sellers' mob, at Portland, a few years ago. The balls which, at the order of the resolute city marshal, laid him low, cutting off all opportunity for repentance, carried his soul directly to endless torment. Illustrations to our purpose are also presented in war. Two armies meet. Fearful are the imprecations! Dreadful is the carnage! Balls and bayonets are the swift instruments of everlasting death!

The soldier perishes forever, who might reform and be saved if permitted to return to his home of piety. At the hand of his fellow man, he falls lower than the grave. Nor may any tell how many of our revolutionary colonists are now, in endless despairs sent there by the hired Hessians of George the Third. Nor how many of those whose bones have been brought from the plains of Waterloo, as a fertilizer of British soil, are now in the endless despair to which they were consigned by British swords.

And this, especially, when it is considered, that, of all conditions, that of a soldier, in active service, seems least adapted to promote fitness for heaven. Of course, it is a mystery to us how orthodox Christians can advocate war, or their chaplains kneel mid guns, and swords, loaded and barbed with everlasting death! For these, in their view, are the terrible arbiters of souls' destiny, cutting off their probation, and thereby saying, as with the authority of the Infinite, You shall have no more chance to escape.

These are they that rise up in the place of God, and "shut to the door" against their victims forever. Alas! for the orthodox advocate of war! Let me do him the justice to say, that I think he believes in his creed less than in humanity and common sense.

But, further, our point finds illustration under the operation of the code duello, — that miserable product of dark ages, — that most foolish, meanest mode of settling difficulties — that wretched footman of chattel slavery, accompanying its desolating car, as it dashes into the fair fields of Christian civilization.

The duel settles more than questions of chivalric honor. Instance a case. A and B meet at a public house, drink, altercate, challenge, and accept, choose their seconds, retire and fight. The question of honor is settled by the death of B. And not only that, but the question of B's endless damnation also. The fatal ball settles both. For, while A blows the smoke from his pistol, and retires a victor, leaving the body of the slain to his surgeon and friends, its spirit, prematurely driven out, and thereby excluded all chance of salvation, is met by evil angels in the threshold of eternity, and dragged down into the pit forever.

Thus, according to your penal view, is a question greater than honor settled by the duel. And what does the highwayman do? He meets the moneyed worldling in the way, robs him of his treasure and his life, and throws his body into the thicket, or leaves it in the ditch. But is that all? O no! He also robs his soul of all chances to repent, and tosses it into the thick darkness of despair — buries it alive in hell forever!

So your creed. But the absurdity we are exposing finds a fuller illustration, in cases in which the murderer repents in prison, and finally dies, regretting that he sent the murderer into perdition. Such cases used to be, by no means, very infrequent.

We recently read of one, but have not the details now at hand. Let us suppose such a case, and see its bearing upon the subject in hand. A young lady, respectable, but not converted, is met and ravished, under a dark night, by a villain, who destroys her life to escape detection. Sent thus hurriedly to her God in sin, she is, by the conditions of your creed, of course, lost. No cycle of eternity but shall witness her unrelieved despair. Her soul is assassinated. Out of a dark night of time, she is hurled into a darker night of eternity. The brutal hand that cut her probation short off, thereby plunged her infinitely below the sphere of possible life, shut her up in woe, bolted the door upon her, threw away the key, and left her to pine in anguish forever.

So your creed! And now, leaving her there in her woe, let us turn to look after her murderer. As "murder will out," he is detected, arrested, executed. But, while in prison, blessed with a probation which he forbade to his victim, he comes to himself, heeds his spiritual advisers, repents, exhorts the multitudes from the scaffold, and swings from it into Paradise. And there, because he had much forgiven, he loves much, and never ceases to give thanks for the prison confinement through which the mercy of God reached him.

Thus in heaven the murderer sings. But the young lady, his victim, where is she all this time? Lost! lost! He may have time for repentance, but not she. That was forbidden her, by the red hand that plunged the dagger to her heart. Mercy may come to his prison, but not to hers. That red hand of his may live to be washed, and forever twine wreaths for the immaculate brow of Him whose wrath she must forever bear.

Now, brother, your creed, taken in connection with the history of crime, obviously involves multitudes of cases, similar to any and all which we have stated above. This, you will admit. And, admitting this, can you, as the heart of a man beats in your bosom, fail seriously to query whether that creed is not at fault? Can you be confident in that theology, which thus makes the frantic mother, the officer of justice, the warrior, the duellist, the highwayman, and the libertine, the arbiters of the eternal destiny of their victims; so that, in the case last stated, if it was the hard fate of the young lady to be abused, scared into frenzy, and murdered, it was her harder one to be, by her murderer's hand, consigned to the bottomless pit; while he, by the grace of God, which he denied to her, has space for repentance, and goes up to sing in heaven!

Be your own commentator upon what I have said. The notion that the Living Father has made the endless weal and woe of men thus dependent upon the frenzy, ambition, lucre, lust, and brutality of their fellow beings, well, "he that can receive it, let him receive it."

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. 1Ch 16:34

God bless you,

Jack

Agape-Love: The Substance of God

2012-01-16T13:35:00.000-08:00

The little group stopped along the highway and looked in silent horror, some queasy with disgust, others growing fierce with rage. A short distance off the road, at the top of a gentle rise, a man had been viciously attacked. The grizzly scene glinted red with blood where the hapless victim had been mortally wounded and left to die. It appeared there was nothing more to be done, as already a small crowd had assembled at the site, presumably to administer first aid.

The travelers stood entranced, caught in the despair of senseless waste. “This is the work of Satan,” the businessman finally thought aloud.

“No, this evil comes from wicked men,” the housewife responded, her eyes transfixed on the scene.

“You don’t know that,” interjected her girlfriend excitedly. “This could be the work of God. It could be that the victim was wicked and this was God’s righteous judgment.”

Another stepped in to calm them, “But then again if God caused this, maybe he meant it for some higher purpose, unknown to us. He might even somehow use this terrible act for his glory!” he offered hopefully.

“Are you crazy?” retorted the preacher. “We worship a God of love! Our God would never allow this!” he stormed, eyes flaring with anger.

The little group buzzed with concurrence, then slowly turned back to the road and resumed their journey, affirming their denunciation of the crime as they continued on their way. All of them oblivious to the Roman soldiers who were gambling for a cloak.

Love is the most misunderstood word in existence. To many it means little more than a physical craving. To others it is an intense emotional dependency.

To some people love is a character trait of God, which is manifest in peace, success, and happiness. It is that special blessing of God that meets their needs and fulfills their wants. Because God loves them, he gives them all the good things of earth to enjoy. To them, anyone who is smiling, or lounging in earthly wealth, is obviously centered in the love of God. For these people, God’s love creates a fondness for the things of earth and a coddling affection for all its creatures, in a soupy, mind-numbing bliss.

But to a few of earth’s voyagers, love is something entirely different, something not of this world. It is a wisdom that energizes every action in the universe, whether it appears as good or evil.

If you had stopped along the road and witnessed the crucifixion of Jesus, would you have recognized it as the supreme love of God? How is the love of God displayed in his slanderous betrayal and murder? Would this be the love of God if it happened to you?

G Russell

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus

2012-01-16T13:18:00.001-08:00

Forgive Them

2012-01-16T09:57:00.000-08:00

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There was this kid who came from a poor family. He had no good options in life so he signed up for the military. After a few years he was deployed to a conflict infested, god-forsaken desert outpost. It was the worst tour of duty he could have been assigned. It was going to be hot and dangerous. Everyday he had to live with a hostile populace who hated his presence and the very sight of his uniform. Plus, the place was swarming with insurgents and terrorists.

Anyhow, one morning the solider goes to work and finds that he's been assigned that day to a detail that is supposed to oversee the execution of three convicted insurgents. The solider shakes his head. He didn't sign up for this. His life just totally sucks. "They don't pay me enough," he thinks, "for the shit I have to do.

"He doesn't know he's going to be executing the Son of God that day. He's just going to work, punching the time clock, keeping his head down. He's just trying to stay alive, get through the day, and send some money back home to Rome.

And this is why, I think, Jesus prays, "Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

"Few of us do.

(copied from R. Beck's blog http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2011/06/tales-of-demonic.html )

Religion vs.The Gospel

2011-11-15T18:09:00.000-08:00

For the Life of Me, I Couldn't Sell a Church Bond!

2011-10-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

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Twenty-five plus years ago, I was appointed to a position as the "motivational personage" for our church bond sale. We were selling bonds, that we might build a new church. Of course, I volunteered to motivate my church mates, in our endeavor. I mean, I was a Gideon and I hobnobbed with all the wealthy Christian businessmen in town. I figured, I had a cornered market and certainly could set an example for others in the "hows and ways of selling of church bonds."

Yeah right!

For the life of me, I couldn't sell a dime's worth of those damn church bonds.

To make a long story short, let me say, God had been dealing with me for some time to quit the organized church system, and the embarrassment, of being the "motivation guy" that could only shoot blanks was the last straw!

Any way, such is my personal introduction to this video below, a message, which I now realize to be wonderfully true. I also know, He works in mysterious ways! I almost want to say, He even works in devious ways - heck I will, because, "God works ALL things to Christ's Glory."

Ain't He the Greatest. Oh, how I love Christ. To Him be all the Glory!

Evil Transformed into Good

2011-09-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

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We understand and recognize Jesus, as the Saviour of All Men and All of Creation, yet we still ponder the purpose of evil and suffering in the world. I certainly don't know, why the prescription of evil, but I do know evil and suffering will one day be recognized, as having been worked toward a perfectly constructed benevolent end. This morning I read this (below), as a morning meditation and I was thrilled. My hope is ever in the "Goodness of God" which is Christ. And Hallelujah, we know Christ is where and in Whom, all things are summed up and find their glorious end.

Christ’s Complete Victory

God is able to turn the wickedness of men into the greatest good … For, when wicked men crucified the Lord, little did they know “that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them” (II Corinthians 5:19). Little did they know, that this event in history – the crucifixion of Christ – would bring “to nought” all this world’s wisdom. Little did they know that God had a secret eternal purpose in Christ:

“Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (I Corinthians 2:8).

Study God’s Word, especially the Epistles of Paul, and discover that Christ is the great Victor over sin, death, the grave and hell. You will also be rejoicing in all that He accomplished on Calvary – “the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory” (II Timothy 2:10), and His “more excellent sacrifice,” to which all the types and shadows pointed. ~ Russell S. Miller

NEAT LITTLE JOKE

2009-12-08T21:11:00.000-08:00

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It was a busy day in heaven as folks waited in line at the pearly gates. Peter stood as gatekeeper checking each newcomer's name in the Lamb's Book of Life. But there was some confusion, as the numbers were not adding up. Heaven was a little overcrowded, and a bunch of folks were unaccounted for. So some of the angels were sent on a mission to investigate things. And it was not long before two of them returned, "We found the problem," they said. "Jesus is out back, lifting people up over the gate."
Shane Claiborne

That sounds like the Jesus I know, as He is the Saviour of the World!

NUGGETS OF PRECIOUS GOLD ..... "Fenelon"

2009-11-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

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Of all the old mystic's writings that I have read, I found Fenelon's maxims, the clearest and most practical. Last night, I stumbled across a fellow by the name of Fred, who has made a friend of François Fénelon. Below Fred and Fenelon share some wonderful insights for our advancement in God. I have highlighted that which I thought exceptional. As a last note, if there be anything I would hope others to know, it would be, "seek the map maker instead of the map." So many fretting souls are about figuring out what's going to happen, when we can be satisfied to know "God is happening ...... and He is happening within our lives right now!"

FRED'S FRIEND FENELON
1. The Presence precedes the plan.
For years younger people have asked me how they could know God's plan for their life. While reading Fénelon and other saints, I find they are not concerned with that question. Their concern is not with the plan but with the Presence. When we have a guide, we don't need a map. Without the Presence we attempt work for God instead of letting God work through us. Fénelon said: Put aside your self-interest and simply let God's will unfold around you. Everything he does for you is for your good. Worship him without having to know and see everything. Continue doing the good things that you do since you feel that you should and you can do them so easily. Be careful that all your extra energy does not lead you into trouble and, above all, live in the present moment and God will give you all the grace you need. He continues, Live your daily life out in the presence of God. He will give you all that you need. God's glory and his purpose are the end of all things. You will find happiness and salvation there but not as an end in itself. It is all for God.

2. Self-love is subtle.
"You will be tempted to speak out in a humble tone of voice to tell others of your problems. Watch out for this. A humility that is still talkative does not run very deep. When you talk too much, your self-love relieves his sense of shame a little."

Fénelon goes on to say: "Self love is proud of its spiritual accomplishments. You must lose everything to find God for himself alone. You won't begin to let go of yourself until you have been thrown off a cliff. He takes away to give back in a better way." "Self-interest and pride cause you to reject the gifts of God, because they do not come in a way that suits your taste. He asks for nothing but death, and you desire nothing but life." "Selfishly loving yourself shunts your spirit. You put yourself in a straitjacket when you are enclosed in self. When you come out of that prison you experience how immense God is and how he set his children free. Be humble. Do not trust the old nature."

He probes even deeper: So to strip self-love of its mask is the most humiliating punishment that can be inflicted. You see that you are no longer as wise, patient, polite, self-possessed, and courageous in sacrificing yourself for others as you had imagined. You are no longer fed by the belief that you need nothing. . . . You no longer think that your greatness and generosity deserve a better name than self-love. However, you are further tormented because you also weep and rage that you have cried at all. What your old nature fears the most is necessary for its destruction.

3. Suffering is useful.
Fénelon speaks of suffering as God's exercise program, his gymnasium: Suffering is necessary for all of us. You will be purified by dying to see your own desires and will. Let yourself die. You have excellent opportunities for this to happen. Don't waste them. . . . God never makes you suffer unnecessarily. He intends for your suffering to heal and purify you. The hand of God hurts you as little as it can. The yoke that God gives is easy to bear if you accept it without struggling to escape.

4. One test of relation with God is peace.
Fénelon recommended Guyon: "Encourage peace, become deaf to your overactive imagination. Your spinning imagination will harm your health and make your spiritual life very dry. You worry yourself sick for no good reason. Inner peace and the sweet presence of God are chased away by restlessness."

Or, consider, "Peace and comfort are to be found only in simple obedience. Remain at peace, for peace is what God wants for you no matter what is happening. There is in fact a peace of conscience which sinners should enjoy as they are repenting. Suffering should be peaceful and tempered with God's comfort."

And regarding the future: "Live in peace without worrying about the future. Unnecessary worrying and imagining the worst possible scenario will strangle your faith."

He warned "there never is peace in resisting God . . . . Allow yourself to be humble. If you are silent and peaceful when humiliating things happen to you, you will grow in grace." And "The point of trusting God is not to do great things that you can feel good about, but to trust God from a place of deep weakness. Here's a way to know if you are actually trusting God with something. You will not think about the matter any longer nor will you feel a lack of peace."

5. Silence brings blessings.
Fénelon: "Try to practice silence as much as general courtesy permits. Silence encourages God's presence, prevents harsh words, and causes you to be less likely to say something you will regret. Silence also helps you put space between you and the world. Out of the silence that you cultivate you will get strength to meet your needs."

6. Growth and change are the work of the cross.
Fénelon has helped me to think of the work of the cross--redemption--as the constant tension of growth and change as the old nature gives way to the new. It is a process that starts with the new birth and ends at the close of our earthly journey, by which time we are hopefully more mature in the likeness of Christ.

Fénelon said to Mme. Guyon, "Bear your cross. Do you know what this means? Learn to see yourself as you are and accept your weakness until it pleases God to heal you. If you die a little every day of your life, you won't have too much to worry about on your final day."

Then with assurance he says, "You and I are nothing without the cross. I agonize and cry when the cross is working within me, but when it is over I look back in admiration for what God has accomplished. Of course I am then ashamed I bore it so poorly."

7. The focused life is the simple life.
"Our hidden agendas can poison the simplicity of a situation. The desire to do a work for God is simple enough, but I greatly complicate it when I add the hidden agenda of wanting to be recognized and appreciated while doing it."

8. Give grace to yourself and others.
I can almost hear Fénelon say, "Lighten up." He wrote: "Do not be surprised to find yourself overly sensitive, impatient, proud, and self-willed. Realize that this is your natural disposition. Bear with yourself, but do not flatter yourself into thinking you are better than you are but wait on God's timing to transform it. Stop at once when your activities become too hurried."

Madame Guyon, a rich and beautiful widow and close friend of Fénelon, woke many souls to share her love for God. For this she was vilified, harassed, imprisoned, and her writings condemned. Fénelon stood by her at great personal cost.

For a brief biography of FENELON

I WAS A BLASPHEMER

2009-10-15T23:26:00.000-07:00

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I was a blasphemer when I attended the organized hellfire churches. I worshiped a weak false god, that was afar from the sovereign God, that purposes and plans everything in love. God touched me and opened my heart to His real love. I then began to see the apostate church was not only wrong about hell, but wrong about everything else. Yes, the prideful whorish church counterfeits everything and stands herself at odds with the true bride of Christ. God help the poor souls bound by such falsity while working like the devil to escape a fictitious hell. Help them Jesus, to see that you leave the ninety nine to gather in your arms the very last one. Open their hearts to know, none will be lost, for you are the saviour of all your creation.

Before there was even a creation, the Lamb was slain. Before there was a sin problem it was solved. THINK ABOUT IT FRIEND!

That we should think that hell

is not also full

of love and mingled with compassion

would be an insult to our God.

By saying He will deliver us

to suffering without purpose, we

most surely sin. We blaspheme also if we say

that He will act with spite or with a vengeful purpose,

as if He had a need to avenge Himself.

The poem is based on the writings of Isaac of Nineveh

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CROWN OF THORNS

2009-10-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

Crown of Thorns

They pressed upon His holy brow
A wicked crown of thorns
That brow knew only innocence
From the day that He was born

He grew up as a tender shoot
A pure and gentle Lamb
And He walked among the sons of men
Salvation in His hands

He healed the sick, He raised the dead
He preached good news to the poor
A kingdom of love and righteousness
Now who could ask for more

But they pressed upon that gentle brow
A wicked crown of thorns
And nailed Him to a cross of wood
Who never did them harm

He called them brothers, called them friends
And even as He died
He prayed , "Father forgive them, they don't know what they do".
While Mary knelt and cried.

But the story does not end there, my friend
For He rose up from the grave
And His arms are opened wide , my friend
Every living soul to save.

Oh Love of God so sure and true
Oh river deep and wide
A fountain opened up for all
On the day that Jesus died

THE PASTOR'S WIFE GETS TOSSED

2009-10-06T08:15:00.000-07:00

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I had a yard sale this last weekend. I only had to drive one person off the property and it was a local pastor's wife. I believe there is no greater foulness in this world, than that which these hellfire pastor's practice. And because they are one flesh, the spouses of these Nicolatan* preachers, carry about a heart full of putrid pride gained by their hubby's elevated position. Oh, how these ministers ride hard the backs of their congregants while preaching their horrid punitive system of theology, where Father God is made to be a tyrant and a terrorist. Their message, in the simplest terms is, "God loves you and if you don't love Him back, he will torture and torment you for ever and ever. Now get to work and give me your money that we might show Him how much you love Him."

Yes, this self righteous woman, with her emblazoned Jackson Hole Bible College jacket, had to go, but not before I asked her a couple questions. I asked her if she believed in a hell, where there was never ending torment, to which she answered in the affirmative. Next, I pointed to the ski mountain that lays at the end of the block and I queried, "and that mountain is only six thousand years old, right?" She replied "yes" again and began a diatribe on the faulty carbon dating system. You see this woman's husband is well known not only for his belief in eternal hell but also his promotion of the ridiculous "new earth" doctrine.

After my questions, it was then I dressed her down with the statement, "because of these crazed beliefs you hold, Christendom is scoffed at by the world." I then suggested, she find a new husband that made an honest living instead of riding and living off the backs of God's children. The last I saw of this self righteous and proud lady, she was exiting the yard, while yelling over the heads of a throng of shoppers, whom carried a deaf ear to the things of God. The poor souls that came to the yard sale care nothing of Christ. This was given evidence by every one of the Spanish and English Bibles, Concordances and Christian books marked "FREE", that remained on the tables at the close of the sale. God help these poor struggling souls and I know He will. I believe Christ is about to take His bride back from these abusive pastors. And while He reclaims the church, He will also turn the world over, proclaiming all creation is His and He loves every ounce of it! I thrill to think of it!

Jack

*Note: “Nicolaitan” means “Victorious over the people; a follower of Nicolaus, a heretic”. It comes from the familiar word “nike”, which is popular in our day. The meaning can be better seen in the phrase: “to conquer the laity” (from “nikos - to conquer”; and “laos” - where our word “laity” comes from).
Rev 2:6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.

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NUTSO !

2009-09-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

nutso = crazy, nuts, weird, insane, nutty, nutsy, wild, annoying.

enough said

IS GOD GOOD ?

2009-09-28T09:59:00.000-07:00

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I thought to add a little fare from our other blog SONSHINE .

As believers, the basic dilemma we are ever confronted with, can be simply identified in the question, "is God good?"

Joian's and my friend Roy, aka Reb, is a saint of God that has suffered greatly in this world. Still, with every correspondence, I have ever received from him, Roy would find a place to share the three words, "God is good." If it wasn't in the message it was in the salutation. I am not much of one to mimic others, but with Roy's example, I hope to follow suit.

Beloved, if God has come to you with a great trial of faith, it is that you might understand God is good. 'Tis the great paradox of the Kingdom ...... we come to know the inexplicable goodness and love of our Father God, through the experiencing and being delivered out of tribulation. This speaks even to the whole of our lives, trodden out through a fallen world.

For a surety God is good, even to the sacrificing of His only son for us, in the greatest trial, any has ever known or even imagined. In this God sets the standard of love. It is one thing lay down your life ......... yes, it is one thing, to lay your own life on the altar, but it is altogether another thing, to give up your child's life as a sacrifice. Who amongst us doesn't love our child more than our self. So it is, that all that is dear to us must eventually find it's place, given unto God, because we believe one thing above all else ...... God is good.

Joian coined the saying, "It's his life for ours. We die, he lives, and then the mystery is that we live again."
So it is the same with our children and to believe that for their lives, certainly is much harder. I personally, know what it is, to come to the place, of actually believing this concerning my two precious children. Oh, the angst, the agony and the unbearable pain I suffered before I finally came to the realization, God is good ..... God is good enough, even for my children.

Dear sweet reader, have you given all to God? Have you like our father of faith, Abraham, placed upon the altar even the promise you thought was yours? Precious brother, gentle sister, all that you have, must become His. To realize this, is the path to peace, an endless life and God All in All.

Friends, Joian sent this video to me this morning. We pray it moves you to know in greater measure, "GOD IS GOOD"

For God had such love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith in Him may not come to destruction but have eternal life. Jn 3:16

Note: For an embellishment of this message we have an
older blog titled, "EVERYMAN A CROSS"

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WHY DO SOME DAMN THEIR NEIGHBOR

2009-09-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

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HELL IS TEMPORAL

God is eternal;
Satan is not.

Love is eternal;
Evil is not.

Light is eternal;
Darkness is not.

Joy is eternal;
Misery is not.

Heaven is eternal;
Hell is not."

"Why is it ever important to Christians that, for their own salvation to be meaningful, some others must be ultimately damned. Do these hard souls not know that scrpture states, the judgement of God begins with His own household. If ever there be a hell, His own will taste it first.

So it is with the latter hell mentioned above; we who truly know Him have suffered judgement as our old nature is being laid to ruin. The closest one comes to hell is in suffering tribulation. Through many and diverse trials, we suffer evil, we suffer darkness, we suffer misery and this makes up hell. To free man from his carnal Adamic nature, all will suffer temporal hell before they enjoy paradise with their eternal God.

THE OLD ORDER AND THE NEW

"Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Acts 14:22

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Rev 21:4

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THE SEDUCER

2009-09-08T01:04:00.000-07:00

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"With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its entrails; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.

And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths; for many a victim has she laid low; yea, all her slain are a mighty host. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death." (from Prov 7:1-27)

Tonight, I saw some one had come to visit our blog by googling " universal reconciliation who is the harlot". It is with great joy, that I find more and more are being stirred and awakened to the truth of God's Universal Salvation. These poor souls are also realizing the hypocrisy in their churches and they hunger and thirst for truth and righteousness. More so, they desire the love of a benevolent Father God that cares for all His children.

So happened, I had just posted a message on a forum dealing with the the subject of the "harlot church" thus I feel led to re-post it here this evening. This is strong language but it needs to be.

SPEAKING OF THE APOSTATE CHURCH

"With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its entrails; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.

And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths; for many a victim has she laid low; yea, all her slain are a mighty host. Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death." (from Prov 7:1-27)

And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a habitation of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury." And I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues." Rev 18:2-4

The "apostate church" is of Babylonian origins and counterfeit. It is different from the "mystical bride/church." Many churches under the banner of Christ worship a different God. Their God is but a soulish invention made for self preservation and comfort. If the Father God of these churches is known to burn and torture the great majority of His offspring, the soulish love practiced there is made up of dead works which is rewarded with self righteousness. And if there are young children in the congregation the ministers of these institutions should be made to register immediately at the local court house.

When will we learn that the paganistic, terroristic hell fire beast of a God is another animal and afar from the benevolent Father who is known as Love. Let us not mince words when it comes to the apostate church system. Let us paint the Narrow Way with straight lines in black and white.

It's the poor children that are dragged into these dens of spiritual iniquity that break my heart. Many will be made to ever live a life that can never appease their angry God. In their quest to find acceptance they will do much work and by varied means keep clean the outside of the cup. For these poor deluded souls, dead works and self righteousness are as an opiate feeding the fearful spirit while dampening the love craved soul.

A dozen years of serving this horrible Deity in such a hell hole, laid waste to all that was once precious in my life. Twas in the end, all purposed and for good that I might warn others. Praise God, my two children are today free from the beast and his whore.

Dear reader, what does it mean to you when Paul commands, "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them"? What does it mean to you when Paul says, "Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty"?

Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. Hbr 13:12,13

In His Sweet Lord Jesus,

John

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CHEZANDLILLY'S

2009-09-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

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Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!
oy! oy! oy!

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Seems the volume of the "Real Good News" ever increases as more and more of the whore's children are awakened from the nightmarish doctrine of " eternal torment in hell". There is no greater blessing, than to see one freed from such a foul doctrine to find the "True God of Love, making a family of all mankind."

So it is today, I share some gleanings from a friend, in Australia, who shares a great message. Her name is Cheza and she has a neat blog, titled "Chezandlilly's." I hope you take the time to visit my sister's site at:
http://chezandlilly.blogspot.com/

Here is some of the fare you will find there:

If one is willing to look, there's substantial evidence contained in the gospels to show that Jesus opposed the idea of Hell. For example, in Luke 9:51-56, is a story about his great disappointment with his disciples when they actually suggested imploring God to rain FIRE on a village just because they had rejected him. His response: "You don't know what spirit is inspiring this kind of talk!" Presumably, it was NOT the Holy Spirit. He went on, trying to explain how he had come to save, heal and relieve suffering, not be the CAUSE of it.

So it only stands to reason that this same Jesus, who was appalled at the very idea of burning a few people, for a few horrific minutes until they were dead, could never, ever burn BILLIONS of people for an ETERNITY!

True, there is a minority of statements that made their way into the gospels which place Hell on Jesus lips, but these adulterations came along many decades after his death, most likely due to the Church filling up with Greeks who imported their belief in Hades with them when they converted.
Rick Lannoye

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FREE WILL ?

2009-08-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

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FREE WILL?
J. A. FREEMAN

BABY MOSES, tucked away in his cradle, floating on the water, {cried}. Was it God's will, or the baby's will?

It was a cry that originated in heaven. The king's daughter was attracted. The child's life was spared. He entered a palace and eventually became the greatest leader of men this world has ever known. He was entrusted with the commandments; he talked with God on the mountain top.

Is any adopted son of God restless or over-anxious? Then let him think of this minute event and its consequences, and let him watch for the Divine Hand in even life's smallest events.

Here lies peace. John the Baptist arrived exactly on time to behold the Lamb of God, and be labeled the greatest of all men born among women. Saul was at the right spot when our Lord Jesus visited him.

All is of God. Life's minutest circumstances are under His control. Therefore, be anxious for nothing. He knows. He loves. He cares. One Captain is competent enough for any ship. We are all only passengers.

"He worketh all things"—absolutely all things, without any exceptions—"after the counsel of his own will." Eph. 1:11

A WORD TO THE ELECT

2009-08-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

. You may rejoice to think yourselves secure;
You may be grateful for the gift divine -
That grace unsought, which made your black hearts pure,
And fits your earth-born souls in Heaven to shine.
But, is it sweet to look around, and view
Thousands excluded from that happiness
Which they deserve at least as much as you -
Their faults not greater, nor their virtues less?
And, wherefore should you love your God the more,
Because to you alone His smiles are given;
Because He chose to pass the many o'er,
And only bring the favoured few to Heaven?
And, wherefore should your hearts more grateful prove,
Because for ALL the Saviour did not die?
Is yours the God of justice and of love?
And are your bosoms warm with charity?
Say, does your heart expand to all mankind?
And, would you ever to your neighbour do -
The weak, the strong, the enlightened, and the blind -
As you would have your neighbour do to you?
And, when you, looking on your fellow-men,
Behold them doomed to endless misery,
How can you talk of joy and rapture then?-
May God withhold such cruel joy from me!
That none deserve eternal bliss I know;
Unmerited the grace in mercy given;
But none shall sink to everlasting woe,
That have not well deserved the wrath of Heaven.
~~~
And oh! there lives within my heart
A hope, long nursed by me;
(And should its cheering ray depart,
How dark my soul would be!)
That as in Adam all have died,
In Christ shall all men live;
And ever round His throne abide,
Eternal praise to give.
That even the wicked shall at last
Be fitted for the skies;
And when their dreadful doom is past,
To life and light arise.
I ask not how remote the day,
Nor what the sinners' woe,
Before their dross is purged away;
Enough for me, to know
That when the cup of wrath is drained,
The metal purified,
They'll cling to what they once disdained,
And live by Him that died.

"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."

1Cor15:22

JESUS NEVER SAID THAT

2009-08-18T21:23:00.000-07:00

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Jesus Never Said That

When did you let
Your religion consume your humanity
I heard you call it
"Christianity"
Jesus never did that.
He never sold out to the rules of men
That's why they crucified Him.
His crown of thorns awarded Him
By the Keepers of the "Same"
There's nothing in a name
When the person named cannot be seen
In it.

So
When did your rules
Become his words in your mind
Vanity
Insanity
Devoid of true humanity
I heard you call it
"Christianity"
Jesus never did that
He never let them hem Him in
That's why they couldn't handle Him
Sinner
Glutton
Drunkard
Hangin out with "them"

You
Pay for the pews
With the bad news
That everyone else is going to burn
Jesus never said that
You did not listen well
He only threatened
The Pharisees with hell
He put the fire of His truth
Upon the ruthless religious leaders
He punished them
Before all men
With parables

His words were jewels
Good News
For the poor, the oppressed, the afflicted
How beautiful the feet of them
that set the captives
FREE
Love is the law of God you see
Service is the call of God so be
A friend of God
Who so loved the world
He sent His only Son
To share His life with everyone

Yea,
That's what Jesus did
Sinner
Glutton
Drunkard
Died for "them"
And when His suffering was through
Cried out, "Father forgive "them"
They don't know what they do
Yea,
He even died for you
When did you let your religion
Consume your humanity
I heard you call it
"Christianity"
Jesus never did that

"let the one with ears to hear ……….
Hear"

anonymous

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UNIVERSAL SOVEREIGNTY

2009-07-02T10:18:00.000-07:00

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"He worketh all things"—absolutely all things, without any exceptions—"after the counsel of his own will." Eph. 1:11

What do the Institutional Church, the New Agers and even a number of wayward ministries espousing Universal Reconciliation have in comon They all are built on a foundational belief in "man's free will." The belief in "free will" finds it origin in the carnal and rebellious soul of man. Simply said, the vain soul ever cries "I will." The doctrine of "free will" attempts to justify that wayward cry.

Think about it sweet sons of God as you read this simple treatise by A P Adams. Also keep in mind how God always deals in simplicity ....... even a child should understand and be able to take comfort in God's word.

Universal Sovereignty
Take still another illustration from the New Testament. The crucifixion of Christ is always looked upon as the most awful crime that ever was committed, and the perpetrators of it are considered as deserving the most severe retribution; and yet they simply did what God's hand and counsel determined before to be done. Acts 4:28. And Peter tells us that Christ "was delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." Acts 2:23. Thus we see how even this stupendous crime was of God, and since we know that He worketh all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11), we can readily understand from the illustrations cited how true it is that "all things are of God." Thus is God's universal sovereignty fully established by the plain teachings of the word. "He doeth according to His will, in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?" Dan. 4:35. See also Isa. 40, the whole chapter, and Rev. 17:17.

To the child of God this truth is most precious and reassuring. It teaches us how absolutely safe we are while we "abide under the shadow of the Almighty." His power extends not simply to the smallest affairs like the hairs of our heads and the birds of the air, but also to greater things--individuals, communities, states, nations, and world--and no creature moves but by His appointment or permission. "All things are of God"; therefore I can understand how all things work together for good to them that love God, and how also all things shall yet turn for good to man, since God loves him. God uses the forces of the world, whether human or otherwise, just as one would move the pieces on a chess-board. They are so many instruments--tools--in His hands. "Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? As if a rod should shake itself against them that lift up, or as if the staff should lift up itself as if it were no wood." Isa. 10:15

"He worketh all things"—absolutely all things, without any exceptions—"after the counsel of his own will." (Eph. 1:11).

Sweet reader does not this scripture speak to there being only "ONE WILL"

Jack

I BELIEVE JESUS IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD

2009-06-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

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I Believe

I believe in "the restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouths of the prophets since the world began." -Acts 3:21-

I believe that the "good tidings of great joy will be to all people." -Luke 2:10

I believe that believers in Christ Jesus are "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God." -John 1:13-

I believe

I believe that God appointed Jesus Christ "heir of all things, and through whom He made the universe." -Hebr. 1:2-

I believe that "no man can come to Christ unless the Father who sent Him draws him." -John 6:44

I believe "God gave Jesus authority over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as God gave him." -John 17:2-

I believe

I believe the Father "has given all things into Jesus' hands." -John 13:3-

I believe that Jesus Christ "was the true light which gives light to every man who come into the world." -John 1:9

I believe that "just as the result of one trespass was condemnation to all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification for all men." -Romans 5:18

I believe one mans sin "brought condemnation for all mankind." -Romans 5: 19-

I believe one mans righteousness brings "right relationship with God, and new life for everyone." -Romans 5:19-

I believe one mans sin made the whole of mankind sinners. I also believe the righteousness of one Man makes the whole of mankind righteous.

I Believe

I believe that Jesus is "able to subdue all things to himself." -Phil. 3:21-

I believe that Jesus came "that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are in earth in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His own will." -Eph. 1:10,11-

I believe "the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering towards us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.' -2 Peter 3:9-

I Believe

I believe "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors as though God was making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God." -2 Cor. 5:19, 20-

I believe that "all nations shall be blessed." -Gal. 3:8-

I believe that "the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." -John 6:33-

I believe that Jesus commanded us to be like himself: "Love your enemies, bless those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." -Matt. 5:44,45

I believe Jesus when he said: "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw [Greek=draw, drag, impel] all mankind unto myself."

I believe that "creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected it in hope, because creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God." -Romans 8:20,21-

I Believe

I believe "the Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hands." -John 3:35-

I believe "since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all died, even so in Christ all shall be made alive." -1 Cor. 15:22-

I believe Jesus Christ "is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created that all in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him." -Col. 1:15,16

I believe that "all shall know the Lord, from the least to the greatest of them." -Hebr. 8:11-

I believe "the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." -Titus 2:11-

I believe I am not to "repay evil for evil."-Rom. 12:17-

Will God ask me to do what He will Himself not do?

I Believe

I believe "If anyone's work which he has built endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved yet so as through fire." -1 Cor. 3:14,15-

I believe "of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen." -Romans 11:36

I believe "all Israel shall be saved." -Romans 11:26-

I Believe

I believe "Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died." -2 Cor. 5:14-

I believe that "the head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." -1 Cor. 11:3-

I believe that "all nations shall come and worship You, for your judgements have been made manifested." -Rev. 15:4

I believe that "when God's judgements are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness." -Isa. 26:9-

I believe that "mercy shall triumph over judgement." -James 2:13-

I believe that "where sin abounded, grace abounded much more." -Romans 5:20-

I Believe

I believe that "God is love." -1 John 4:8-

I believe that "love never fails." -1 Cor. 13:8-

I believe that God never fails.

I believe "herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loves us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." -1 John 4:10-

I believe Jesus Christ "is the propitiation for our sins and not for our sins only but the sins of the whole world. -1 John 2:2-

I believe "God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them." -1 John 4:16-

I Believe

I believe "every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: blessing and honour and glory and power to him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever." -Rev. 5:13-

I believe that "in the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." -Phil. 2: 10,11

I believe "all nations whom God has made will come and worship before him." -Psl. 86:9-

I believe "God's mercy endures forever." -1 Chron. 16:34-

I believe God's Spirit "will be poured out on all flesh." -Joel 2:28-

I believe that "the leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations." -Rev. 22:2

I believe "that there shall no longer be a curse upon anything." -Rev. 22:3-

I Believe

I believe that if we really knew the Lord, we "would not have condemned the guiltless." -Matt. 12:7-

I believe "God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." -Col. 1: 27, 28-

I believe that God beckons us to "Come and let us return to the Lord, for He was torn, but He will heal us, He was stricken, but He will bind us. After 2 days, He will revive us. On the third day He will raise us up that we may live in His sight." -Joel 2:28-

I believe "the Lord makes bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of God." -Isa. 52:10-

I Believe

I believe "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." -Isa. 40:5-

I believe "all creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but by reason of Him who so subjected it in hope." -Rom. 8: 20-

I believe "the whole creation shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption." -Romans 8: 20

I believe that "they" and "we who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves, wait for the redemption of our body." -Romans 8:23

I Believe

I believe that "having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, does he not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost till he find it." -Luke 15:14-

I believe the Lord gathers up remnants of fish and bread, He "gathers up remnants that nothing be lost." -John 6:12

I believe God "will open His hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing." -Psl. 145:6

I believe that God is "gracious in all His works." -Psl. 145:17-

I believe "the earth is the Lord's and all its fulness, the world and all those who dwell therein." -Psl. 24:1-

I believe "all the kings of the earth shall praise You, oh Lord, when they hear the words of Your mouth." -Psl. 138:4-

I believe God "reveals Himself by those who did not ask for Him; He was found by those who did not seek Him." -Isa. 65:1

I Believe

I believe "the Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all the works of His hands. All Your works shall praise You, oh Lord." -Psl. 145:8-10-

I believe "all the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. All those who go down to the dust shall bow before You." -Psl. 22:27, 29

I believe "O You who hear prayer, to You shall all flesh come. Iniquities prevail against me; as for transgressions, You will provide atonement for them." -Psl. 66:3, 4-

I believe "through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You." -Psl. 66: 3, 4

I believe

I believe that "through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness." -Lam. 3:21-24-

I believe that "the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies. -Lam. 3:31,32

I believe "there is no God besides Me, a just God and Saviour; There is none besides Me. Look to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is none other. I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, and all shall be ashamed who are incensed against Him. In the Lord all the descendants of Israel shall be justified and shall glory." -Isa. 45:21-25

I Believe

I believe "in this mountain the Lord of Hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees. And He will destroy on this mountain the covering cast over all nations and all poeples. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord will wipe away all tears from all faces." -Isa.25-26

I Believe

I believe Jesus Christ "ascended higher than all the heavens so that He might fill the entire universe with Himself." -Eph. 4:10

I believe that Jesus Christ is destined to reign until God "has put all enemies under His feet." -1 Cor. 15:25

I believe the end consummates in "abolishing every kind of domination, authority, and power." - 1 Cor. 15:24

I believe the "last enemy to be abolished is death." -1 Cor. 15:27

I believe that "when all things are subject to Him, then the Son himself will also be made subordinate to God, who made all things subject to Him." -1 Cor. 15:28

I believe the subjection of all to Christ Jesus culminates in "God all in all." -1 Cor. 15:28

I Believe

I believe "all nations of the earth shall be blessed." -Gen. 18:18

I believe "all families of the earth shall be blessed." -Gen. 12:3 & Gen. 28:14

I believe "it shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'death is swallowed up in victory, Oh death, where is your sting. Oh, hell, where is your victory.' The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." -1 Cor. 15: 54-58

I believe "it is finished." -John 19:30

"In order that in adoration of the Name of Jesus every knee of worshippers will bow themselves and openly acknowledge with joy, celebration and praise, that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. This profession and confession of His Lordship shall be open and freely proclaimed, acknowledged joyfully by all beings in the heavens, of those on the earth, and those in the underworld. -Phil. 2:10, 11"

arranged by FineLinen
last paragraph paraphrased
by FineLinen

HELL ....... Where's the Respect !!

2009-06-21T03:22:00.000-07:00

USE ANYTHING, BUT LEAVE MY HELLFIRE DOCTRINE ALONE !!

http://videogames.yahoo.com/events/playback/playback-54/1327300

and we wonder why the world scoffs

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PHOBOS and TROMOS

2009-05-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

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" ........ work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Phl 2:12

As long as you have a hellfire fear based religion the translation above would seem to support the fear and angst that drives most Christians. How wonderful it is to discover the alternative where GRACE abounds.

A good brother named Jul, after some research wrote this concerning the familiar scripture quoted above.

"I read an alternate view of this verse which I thought seemed to be supportable. That view stated that the word “fear” can also mean “strong emotion relating to reverence”. Combined with the word “trembling” which was said to mean “trembling with JOY”.

That is to say, that we are to work out our salvation with strong feelings of JOY and REVERENCE so much so as to cause us to TREMBLE with HAPPINESS.

The reason for such a strong reaction is because our salvation is not dependant on our self motivated efforts, rather “for it is God who is working in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure” As such, we are told, “because of this do ye also rejoice and joy with me.”

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Phl 2:13
For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me. Phl 2:18

With this view of the verse there is the feeling of REJOICING AND JOY in respect to our salvation. As opposed to the feeling of ANXIETY and QUAKING IN APPREHENSION in respect to our salvation.

To give credence to Jul's discovery this is another writing on the same subject.

Those two words "fear and trembling" are from the Greek "PHOBOS and TROMOS."

A funny thing with those words, it all depends on the intention or motive of the writer or reader as to what thought is being conveyed. The Greek philosophy was their psychology, this philosophy dealing with mind and emotion was rather simple. The emotion would be a single word, but that single word was the median of two-meanings.

PHOBOS has a positive and negative meaning to the same emotion, the two-sides of the same emotion either mean "dread" or "reverence. The same for TROMOS, it either means "shake nervously in fear", or "shake excitedly in anticipation."

PHOBOS, once again means either "reverence" or "dread", two sides of the same emotion depending on the perspective at the time. The Apostle Paul was genius, because out of the many other words Paul could have used to represent fear, terror, dread, caution, weary, and the like, he used PHOBOS.

In light of this discovery how apropos is this proverb.
It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. Pro 25:2

Brother Jul with some of my thoughts intertwined again writes, "as you read this word think of how those, with ETERNAL HELL AS PART OF THEIR DOCTRINE DOCTRINE, ARE ENGULFED IN DEAD WORKS THAT ONLY BRING FORTH SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS. CONVERSELY THE MAN WHO KNOWS GOD AS LOVE REALIZES IT IS ONLY BY GRACE THERE IS SALVATION". Composing my thoughts, I am thinking in terms of giving an answer to my non Universal Salvation friends. Many of them are stuck in gross legalism. When they read “fear and trembling”, they have feelings of anxiety.

So what does it mean to you, to work out your Salvation with Fear and Trembling?

The way I understand, to put it in technical terms, my salvation is a process of impartation of sanctification. The active ingredient being the Blood of the Lamb. As such the “working out my Salvation” is by Grace alone, not of myself.

I will not be appearing before our Judge with the boast, “Lord I did this....and Lord, I did that.... Far be it from me to bring anything before His Majesty except the cry of, “Grace!, Grace!”. I would feel so ashamed to direct His attention to anything I have done. I totally, without reservation or addition, identify with my Messiah and his righteousness alone.

This I do with great joy and trembling of happiness.

Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, Joy to you and me.

My dear friend how will you stand before Our Righteous Judge, when your life is over. Will you stand in fear and trembling trying to convince God your dead works are righteous. Or might you be found before His Majesty, trembling with happiness and full of great joy. As you point to Jesus will you cry Grace! Grace! O My Father, the Lamb is worthy for He has borne all my sins and performed all my good works. Glory be to the Lamb "who taketh away the sin of the world!"

Oh sweet reader, give up your works of self effort as you try to appease the Hellfire God. Instead, join us as we embrace Jesus who paid the price and gave us GRACE. Discover this Jesus "Who is the Savior of all men, especially those who are believers." 1 Tim 4:10

Jack

CAST YOUR WHOLE CARE UPON HIM

2009-04-28T20:21:00.000-07:00

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Today, Ellie and I were moved and encouraged by an ancient message we were blessed to read today. This excerpt taken from a second century writing is wondrously made for this very hour in which we live.

"The Shepherd of Hermas" (sometimes just called "The Shepherd") is a Christian literary work occasionally considered canonical scripture by some of the early Church fathers. Recorded in this book are five visions granted to Hermas, a former slave. This is taken from the fourth and is sub- titled: "Of the trial, and tribulation that is about to come upon men."

The lesson of this vision is first and foremost that we should cast our whole care upon Him. Should you dear reader be troubled today, please find the time alone laying upon the breast of Our Father. Dare not remove yourself until all your cares are His. Oh, He so desires this of you, dear child of God.

John and Ellie

As I was walking alone...behold somewhat like a voice answered me, Doubt not, Hermas. I began to think and say within myself, Why should I doubt, seeing I am thus settled by the Lord and have seen such glorious things?

I had gone but a little farther, brethren, when behold I saw a dust rise up to heaven. I began to say within myself, Is there a drove of cattle coming, that raises such a dust?

It was about a furlong off from me. And behold I saw the dust rise more and more, so much that I began to suspect that there was something extraordinary in it.

The sun shone a little, and behold, I saw a great beast, as it were a whale, and fiery locusts came out of his mouth. The height of the beast was about a hundred feet, and he had a head like a large earthen vessel.

I began to weep, and to pray to the Lord that he would deliver me from it. Then I called to mind the words which I had heard: Doubt not, Hermas.

Therefore, brethren, putting on a divine faith, and remembering who it was that had taught me great things, I delivered myself bodily to the beast.

Now the beast came on in such a manner, as if it could have devoured a city at once.

I came near to it, and the beast extended its whole bulk upon the ground, and put forth nothing but its tongue, nor once moved itself till I had quite passed by it.

Now the beast had upon its head four colors: first black, then a red and bloody color, then a golden, and then a white.

After I had passed by it and was gone forward about thirty feet, behold there met me a certain virgin, well adorned as if she had just come out of her bridal chamber, all in white, having on white shoes, a veil down her face, and covered with shining hair.

Now I knew by my former visions that it was the Church, and thereupon I grew more cheerful. She saluted me saying, Hail, O Man! I returned the salutation, saying, Lady, Hail!

She answering said to me, Did nothing meet you, O man? I replied, Lady, there met me such a beast as seemed able to devour a whole people, but by the power of God and through his singular mercy, I escaped it.

You escaped it well, she said, because you cast your whole care upon God, and opened your heart to him, believing that you could be safe only by his great and honorable name.

For this reason the Lord sent his angel who is over the beast...and stopped his mouth, that he should not devour you. You have escaped a great trial through your faith, and because you did not doubt for such a terrible beast.

Therefore go and relate to the elect of God the great things that he has done for you. And you will say to them that this beast is the figure of the trial that is about to come.

If therefore you will have prepared yourselves, you may escape it, if your heart be pure and without spot, and if you will serve God all the rest of your days without complaint.

Cast all your cares upon the Lord, and he will govern them. Believe in God, you doubtful, because he can do all things; he can both turn away his wrath from you, and send you help and security.

(sources Wikipedia & Cheryl)
(note: "The Shepherd" fellout of
disfavor because it's doctrine of
'adoptionism' whichis erroneous.
Still a beautiful lesson with this
visionary account.We learn to eat
the hay and spit out the sticks)

LOVE NEVER GIVES UP

2009-04-25T12:39:00.000-07:00

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"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Romans 11:36

Everything and everybody that came out of Him is going to end up going back into Him. This is the "Real Good News." Aren't you glad our God loses nothing and all is filled with His glory. That is the "true love of God."

With humility and with much prayer I believe I have my finger on the pulse of God's workings with the world and the organized church. For some time now I have been sharing that we who know the "true triumph of the Cross of Christ" worship a different God than those that espouse a terroristic God that assigns most of mankind to "eternal torment in a place called Hell." Surely this difference will eventually bring about great persecution as it did with Jesus and the early church. You can touch a lot of things in Christian orthodoxy but you dare not touch the "Hellfire doctrine" where "justified payback" trumps "mercy and love."

Shamefully orthodox Christianity for the most part is but another hate religion in a world gone mad. Nominal Christians believe that it is the fear of Hell that causes a man to eschew sin and follow God. Nothing could be further from the truth, as it is the "payback philosophy of God's damnation" that is borne and bred of a demonic "inward payback spirit" ........... a payback spirit that decries the forgiveness of the "seven times seventy" that Jesus taught.

If one holds within their heart a beast of a God, that throws most of his children into the tormenting infernos of a pagan Hell, what does this say about them?

"For as a man thinks in his heart, so he is" Pro 23:7

We are at the end of the age and I believe as the darkness grows we will see the spirits of this false God, with a payback economy, emerge as never before. God help us and more so, Lord shelter our children in your merciful abiding Love.

Last night I was led to visit a site of a friend of mine, that I used to trade thoughts with some years ago. I pulled some material out of one of his articles to illustrate the foulness of this "pay back Hellfire doctrine." The first part lays out some quotes by leaders of the organized church, both of centuries past and today. Lastly we'll close with Seth's message where he asks, "Eternal Torment: Godly Love?"

May God bless you my friend, as you partake of and share the immeasurable depths of His love toward all His creation,
Jack

The perpetrators
Introduction: The following quotes from early philosophers and Church Fathers prove where the modern concept of a "Hell of everlasting punishment" came from. The quotes also expose those who are still perpetuating those concepts. The first group of quotes represents proof regarding the originators of the concept. The second group of quotations are from Christian leaders who have been instrumental in perpetuating these diabolical thoughts.

Polybius, the ancient historian, says: "Since the multitude is ever fickle, full of lawless desires, irrational passions and violence, there is no other way to keep them in order but by the fear and terror of the invisible world; on which account our ancestors seem to me to have acted judiciously, when they contrived to bring into the popular belief these notions of the gods, and of the infernal regions."

Strabo, the geographer, says: "The multitude are restrained from vice by the punishments the gods are said to inflict upon offenders, and by those terrors and threatenings which certain dreadful words and monstrous forms imprint upon their minds...For it is impossible to govern the crowd of women, and all the common rabble, by philosophical reasoning, and lead them to piety, holiness and virtue - but this must be done by superstition, or the fear of the gods, by means of fables and wonders; for the thunder, the aegis, the trident, the torches (of the Furies), the dragons, &c., are all fables, as is also all the ancient theology. These things the legislators used as scarecrows to terrify the childish multitude."

Tertullian (considered by many to be the father of modern church doctrine) "At that greatest of all spectacles, that last and eternal judgment how shall I admire, how laugh, how rejoice, how exult, when I behold so many proud monarchs groaning in the lowest abyss of darkness…"

Gerhard "The Blessed will see their friends and relations among the damned as often as they like but without the least of compassion.”

Jonathan Edwards "Reprobate infants are vipers of vengeance, which Jehovah will hold over hell, in the tongs of his wrath, till they turn and spit venom in his face!" "The view of the misery of the damned will double the ardour of the love and gratitude of the saints of heaven."

Charles Spurgeon (Commonly called the "Prince of Preachers" for being a preacher of great eloquence) "I further believe, although certain persons deny it, that the influence of fear is to be exercised over the minds of men and that it ought to operate upon the mind of the preacher himself."

Thomas Aquinas "That the saints may enjoy their beatitude more thoroughly, and give more abundant thanks for it to God, a perfect sight of the punishment of the damned is granted them."

Jeremy Taylor "Husbands shall see their wives, parents shall see their children tormented before their eyes…the bodies of the damned shall be crowded together in hell like grapes in a wine-press, which press on another till they burst…"

Richard Baxter "It is not a terrible thing to a wretched soul, when it shall lie roaring perpetually in the flames of hell, and the God of mercy himself shall laugh at them; when…God shall mock them instead of relieving them; when none in heaven or earth can help them but God, and he shall rejoice over them in their calamity ." – (The Saint's Everlasting Rest” 1846)

Reverend J. Furniss, C.S.S.R "The fifth dungeon is the red hot oven. The little child is in the red hot oven. Hear how it screams to come out; see how it turns and twists itself about in the fire. It beats its head against the roof of the oven. It stamps its little feet on the floor." (The Sight of Hell - Quoted from Christ Triumphant by Thomas Allin)

Reverend E.B. Pusey, D.D. "Gather in one, in your mind, an assembly of all those men and women, from whom, whether in history or in fiction, your memory most shrinks, gather in mind all that is loathsome, most revolting * * * conceive the fierce, fiery eyes of hate, spite, frenzied rage, ever fixed on thee, looking thee through and through with hate * * * hear those yells of blaspheming concentrated hate, as they echo along the lurid vault of hell; everyone hating everyone * * * Yet a fixedness in that state in which the hardened malignant sinner dies, involves, without any further retribution of God, this endless misery." (Quoted from Christ Triumphant by Thomas Allin)

I believe the words below, of the French philosopher, succinctly echo the Proverbs scripture I used in my introduction; "For as a man thinks in his heart, so he is" Pro 23:7 . It may take a bit, but that which is demonic will eventually manifest itself.

Voltaire "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

Eternal Torment: Godly Love?
Let's just face the question head on. How many have wondered? Why would a loving God make people he created burn forever and ever for not knowing Him or believing in Him? How can a loving God subject billions of people he loves to endless torment? It's a fair question.

Some Christians will recoil from answering it, fearing an offense to God by showing doubt. Others may jeer, rolling their eyes, having heard that one before, and open their response with "Who are you to..." Some may have a thoughtful reply on hand (complete with a metaphor), having worked it out in their minds that it somehow makes sense. They may point to God's justice, as if polar opposite to his Love. They may even suggest that their version of God's justice is more supreme than God's love.

Yet, deep inside, most of us have wondered at some time. Must God do such a thing? Can't true justice be fulfilled without such a merciless act?

It is not a new question. Many non-Christians openly ask the same thing before renouncing Christianity altogether: How can a loving, all-powerful God let people burn alive forever if he does have the power to stop it? Is that love? It seems strange in light of how the Bible characterizes it:

1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.

According to this high standard, does Love keep no record of being wronged, or does it keep an infinite, never-ending record? How often we resolve that we cannot truly understand the way God loves, and it is better to not even ask these questions. Have you heard that before? Have you said it? Do you understand the way God loves? And the unbeliever goes his own way, bewildered, having been given no satisfying answer from the Christian ministry.

It seems pretty clear that if God were to send people to unrelenting torment for not saying the right words or believing the right thing, then he would not be patient and certainly not kind. He would be keeping a record of us having wronged him. My friends, He would be disregarding the Bible's very own meaning of Love - in addition, failing to save all men, Christ's very purpose in life.

However, if every person is to be saved, nobody is forever lost, and no suffering is eternal, then his death on the Cross would be completely fruitful, and triumphant in what it was meant to do. God would dwell in a fullness. "Love never gives up." (1 Corinthians 13:7)
Seth Tipton

The rest of this article can be found at this link (below). I also hope you explore Seth's site as there is a plethora of great material exposing the "pagan doctrine of Hell." What a blessing to know Seth is a little past thirty and is part of an emerging generation that have had their eyes opened to the "enduring mercies of God" in contrast to the "diabolical absurdities taught by the organized church."

http://mercifultruth.com/the-real-hell.htm

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Confession and Repentance of a former Hell Teaching Pastor

2009-03-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

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An Open Letter to My Former Parishioners:

Dear Ones,

I am so very sorry. I hear the pain in your hearts when you tearfully admit you have a hard time believing God could love you. I now realize I bear a good bit of the responsibility for it. Some of the things I taught and did when I was your pastor harmed you and were a great disservice to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Early on I simply didn’t know any better. I taught you what I had been taught. I was the product of a form of Christianity that has dominated for so long—an institutionalized, clergy led, power preserving perversion of what Jesus intended for his followers. It’s true I had not done the critical research for myself. But, after all, who was I to question what my instructors said was the correct way to believe and “do” church?

When life experiences and personal Bible study exposed some cracks in my rigid doctrinal foundation, I began to suspect there was more to knowing God than I knew. But I deviated little from the denominational tradition in which I was trained and continued to teach things of which I was no longer convinced. It was too important for me to preserve my good standing and keep my denominational star on the rise.

We claimed our mission was to save lost souls from hell by getting them to “make a decision for Christ” and become one of us. More candidly, we were mostly focused on growing the church. By means of sermons and programs of all sorts, I pressured you to try harder. I exhorted you to demonstrate “deeper commitment” to God and the church. I called upon you to be “faithful” and give more money. I taught you that if you wanted to please God you would have to strive to be a better church member. In a thousand different ways I made you think you were still lacking in God’s eyes.

No, I wasn’t mean about it. I usually did it with a smile. I found entertaining ways to say it. Nonetheless, speaking on behalf of God, I made it clear I expected more from you and so did He. No matter how hard you tried I had to keep you motivated and centered in the church. I needed you to fill your seat and bring someone else along to fill an empty one. The church (and I) had bills to pay.

The outcome for so many of you has been learning almost nothing about the abundant life Jesus promised. You live in constant doubt that God could ever be pleased with you. The abundant life is simply not compatible with constantly worrying we might be disappointing God. I taught you he was ready to banish to eternal torment everyone who didn’t find his or her way into his grace. Trying to measure up was why we did most things. Guilt and shame was really the glue that held us together.

Most of our time was spent striving to earn favors from God by praying more, reading the Bible more, doing more in the church and “witnessing” more. I never taught you how to live in the knowledge God unreservedly loves us because of Jesus.

Our church environment was a chronic breeding ground for hypocrisy. We played comparison games and excluded ourselves from anyone who sinned differently than we did. We were hard on each other whenever one of us failed. We thought it was our duty to keep each other in line and maintain impossible standards of “holiness”. We occupied ourselves with debates about whether Christians should dance, go to movies, use alcohol, sleep in on Sunday and miss going to church, wear certain types of clothes, or listen to certain types of music. We quarreled over Bible translations, hymnals, sound system volume and carpet colors. Conformity to group standards was a very high value, as was compliance to membership policies and the pastor’s authority. In the name of maintaining order I rebuked and “disciplined” those who did not comply.

When I began to realize the magnitude of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. I kept it to myself. Not until I was off the church payroll was I willing to declare in no uncertain terms, “that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19 NIV). And, because of this, our mission is to go lovingly into the world around us with liberating good news rather than with preachy judgment pressure people to withdraw with us into our own little subculture.

My constant prayer for you today is that our merciful Heavenly Father will undo the damage I caused in your spiritual development. I pray that God will make himself known to you as the essence of love that he is. Should our paths cross again, think only of me as a fellow traveler—no title, no pedestal, please. And, remember, God loves us and will never give up on us. He has included all of us in his grace through Jesus Christ and never has a single condemning thought toward us, ever. Be at peace.

Repentantly yours,
(Name withheld)

Oh Lord that more pastors would see the light and

be given the heart to repent and apologize.

Whaaaat!

2009-03-07T17:58:00.000-08:00

JJJJ
LLLLL

http://www.octanecreative.com/stainedglasses/

HOPE BEYOND HELL

2009-02-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

Christians, We Have A Problem
With Our "Good" News

Picture yourself as a missionary to the Muslim nation of Senegal, West Africa. The date? September 26, 2002. About a year prior, you befriended your neighbor, Abdou Ndieye, a Muslim merchant. Only a few weeks ago, he graciously accepted your invitation to study the Bible with you. You are thrilled. Abdou is the first Muslim with whom you have begun sharing the Good News.

Today you prepare to explore another portion of God's Word with him, but something terrible has happened. You cannot believe what you are hearing and seeing on the news. The Joola, a Senegalese ferry, has capsized killing almost 2,000 people. You remember Abdou's wife, Astou, and his 14 year old daughter, Fatou, are on that ship. You are in shock and cannot believe - you are seeing—a ship's underside sticking up out of the sea with helicopters hovering overhead. You hurry next door. As you knock on the door, you hear deep groans and wailing. You slowly enter. Abdou is prostrate on the floor. He pleads before Yalla (Wolof for Allah), "Why? Why? How could you let this happen?" He goes into spasms of weeping, beating his hands against the floor.

Feeling utterly helpless, you pray, "God help me comfort my friend."Abdou lifts his eyes, hardly able to recognize you for the tears. "My wife and daughter have died a terrible death! Tell me I will see them again. Tell me they are safe in God's arms! Has your Jesus taken them to His heaven?" You are lost for words. The silence is deafening. "Answer me, Christian, will I see them again? Are they in a better place? Tell me!" You remain speechless. What can you say? Where is the "Good News" when you need it most?

Introduction
Are you at peace regarding the eternal destiny of your children, parents, brothers, sisters, grandfather, grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends? Are you experiencing abundant joy in your "personal" salvation while unsure if some of your loved ones might suffer throughout all eternity? How is that possible? You see, we Christians have a problem, a very serious problem. The problem is in our belief that hell is "eternal" and that most of humanity will go there. Deep inside we know something is not right, but we suppress our questions and doubts because we "think" the Bible teaches it. What inner conflict rages within! It is futile to find satisfying answers to the problems it raises. For example:

*How can an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving God create billions of people knowing most will be tormented in hell forever?

*Why must our free will to damn ourselves be "absolute," greater than God's free will to save us, His property?

*How can Adam's power to condemn us be greater than Christ's power to save us?

*Please do not accept pat answers to these critical questions. Jesus commands us to judge for ourselves what is right (Lu 12:57). What is right about a punishment that never ends? How has this teaching affected the spread of "Good News" - the Gospel? Think about it, an "eternal" hell...

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*Maligns God's character before the world.
*Contradicts His unending and unfailing love for all people.
*Makes our worship stem from fear instead of true affection.
*Denies His unlimited power to accomplish His will.
*Makes man's will greater than God's will.
*Infinitely minimizes Christ's triumph over Satan.
*Denies Christ fully accomplished His mission on earth.
*Violates the divine witness revealed in every conscience.
*Negates the most glorious promises in the Bible.
*Ignores the testimony of the early Church.
*Robs us of peace and joy.
*Affects what we become; - like Father like son.
*Hinders world evangelism. (Remember Abdou?)

"Test all things" (1Th. 5:21). Have you tested this teaching? For most of my life the fear of hell stalked me, ever waiting for an opportune moment to raise its ugly head. Just the idea was like a sword slicing through me. It has been the greatest stumbling block to my faith. In fact, I almost gave up on Christianity because of it.

Hell is a horrifying thought. Millions have been terrorized by it. Some have even killed their children to spare them such a fate. If we would truly grasp the horror of it, we would go insane. Our every waking moment would have to be spent snatching whoever we can out of the fire or nothing but constant guilt would torment us. Can you imagine the horror of suffering "forever?" What is a billion years? It is but a second in eternity. Who could possibly imagine such horror? What if you or one of your loved ones should go there? Does this thought affect how you feel about God?

This theme has gripped my heart as it afflicts millions of people and dishonors God before the world. After years of wrestling with this topic, studying the Bible, and reading the works of others, I have found that hell is a judgment given from the disciplinary hand of a loving Father. Though severe, it serves a good and remedial purpose.

One of our greatest presidents agreed. In the book "Abraham Lincoln the Christian", William Johnson stated:

"Abraham Lincoln did not nor could not believe in the endless punishment of anyone of the human race. He under-stood punishment for sin to be a Bible doctrine; that the punishment was parental in its object, aim, and design, and intended for the good of the offender; hence it must cease when justice is satisfied. All that was lost by the transgression of Adam was made good by the atonement."

That is the message of this book. It is indeed good news for those tormented over the destiny of lost loved ones! Millions in our land can relate. Though the subject is hell, the book is really about God. What is He like? Have you heard the cliché: "God is good all the time?" Well you will find solid support for it here. God is good even in His judgments. They are not infinite and horrendously cruel, but just, righteous, and remedial.

If you find I am manipulating the Scriptures in this book, then please leave it. But if not, be ready to fall in love with an amazing and wonderful God!

The author of the book, "Hope Beyond Hell", Gerry Beauchemin has been involved in full time missions since 1988. He is not only an author but a man with a wonderful and compassionate walk in Christ.

Beauchemin is a Dentist that founded "The Dentistry For Missions"
I was in awe as I read the testimonies of what Gerry is accomplishing in the field of missionary dentistry. Here is one testimony and the link to many more:

http://www.dentaltrainingformissions.com/testimonials.htm

"I am a medical practitioner working in Senegal. I have known Gerry Beauchemin for 10years. When we first arrived in Senegal it soon became obvious that dental problems were a bigger felt need than medical. This was because the medical system is easily accessible but most people are too afraid and cannot afford to go to dentists who are few and far between. People travel up to 50 km to see me. Dentistry has proved to be a very useful adjunct to our ministry, providing contact with the community and a means to express Christ's love to them.

I have sat under Gerry to add to my skills through his Dental Training For Missions course. Through the course, missionaries with no previous dental or medical experience are taught to provide basic dental hygiene teaching, and learn to recognize and treat dental caries using a state of the art technique for filling cavities which only requires simple hand instruments and easily obtained materials. Students are personally tutored through the theoretical material and given practice on dental dummies before treating the dental caries of real people under supervision. All students are supplied with a full kit which will enable them to fill teeth safely in their countries of ministry at the end of the course..

Dr Richard Shawyer
Senegal

These are a few 'Hope Beyond Hell' Book Reviews
(yes, I teared up with the first one.
My God such relief, such love! May we ever delight in spreading this message, until all have found relief from the angry God and found a new Love with a God worthy of all adoration.
Jack)

Hi Gerry,
I downloaded the book and read it. It was one of the best well thought out books I've read regarding the true nature of God and his purpose for us. I lost my son a year and a half ago. I went to an evangelical church that believed in hell. But when my son died he wasn't following Christ. The pain it caused me was unbearable.

I cried out to God to tell me where my only child had gone. I begged God not to desert me, to please tell me where he is. God was so awesome and loving to me. He gave me so much comfort. The thought came into my mind, do you trust me? I gave all my pain to him and he took it, showed me how loving and kind He really is. I began searching intensely, almost ravenously to know the truth….I want to thank you for all your effort. You have been a true blessing from God for me. God Bless You.

Denise McDuff

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As I read Gerry Bauchemin's 'Hope Beyond Hell', I cried for joy. This disarmingly simple yet full-bodied presentation of the whole gospel of the total restoration of all mankind through Christ's cross was a direct answer to prayers I have prayed for many years! I have longed to see a book on this subject that is clear, easy to read, yet scholarly--and a book that deeply impacts the heart as well as the intellect. And I'm convinced that this book you are now holding in your hands is it!

Charles Slagle
Psalmist, evangelist, worship leader, and author.

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"Friends and family listen to two preachers at the old man's funeral. One of them describes the man as a saint who never did any wrong. The other speaks of an eternal torture chamber and suggests that, most likely, that is the current residence of the deceased. Which is right? after all... both preachers are professionals.... they both went to seminary. The family of the deceased needs peace and comfort... How will these "professional" opinions help them? How will each of them wade through this quagmire of emotions and doctrinal contradictions? How will they get past the monster of religion that threatens to steal their peace... and hope? Is there a book you could place in their hands that could, step by step... present the truth to them that could set them free?... give them peace?... offer them hope?... There is, now! 'Hope Beyond Hell' is the single best book in print that explains the facts of God's limitless grace and boundless love. If you're interested in learning the truth.... here it is! Gerard Beauchemin has, painstakingly, put together a book that truly offers hope beyond hell to every man. Buy this book in bulk and carry a case to all funerals!! This is the book I've been waiting for!"

Robert W. Rutherford
Pastor - Teacher Singer/songwriter, author

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Gerry Beauchemin has succeeded in rescuing the Bible from long misunderstood concepts of an angry and vindictive God. His research of scriptural language translation and interpretation is well documented so the reader can follow up personally to make his own decision. Gerry uses scripture to prove that God is completely loving and forgiving and would never condemn anyone to an eternity of endless, senseless torture. Thank God and Gerry for this enlightening book!

Janet Meschi

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As an instructor in Church History, in my opinion Gerry Beauchemin's Hope Beyond Hell is one of the most balanced studies available today of the remedial judgements of God, and the great truth of the restoration of all things in Christ. Quite simply, this is a book about the love of God. Thank you, Gerry, for making such a splendid work available for the perusal of the wider church family. Many will be challenged as they "think on these things". Because of their traditions, some will kick against the pricks, but many others will come to "see" Him as He really is, in all of His Glory and Majesty.

Tarryl Miller
Minister of the Gospel
Former President, Bethesda Mennonite Institute of the Bible
Member, House of Representatives (South Dakota), 1980's

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"The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto that perfect day." Prov. 4:18.

May we come to know in our hearts, that our God is good all the time,
Jack

The Links to Gerry's site and the free on line book "Hope Beyond Hell"

http://www.hopebeyondhell.net/index.php

http://hopebeyondhell.net/Revised_Edition.pdf

(note) Intro. was fictional account set in the

..backdrop of Senegal's greatest tragedy.

MALAMA PONO

2009-02-20T13:13:00.000-08:00

== Malama pono ==

Malama - to take care of, nurture, or serve.

Pono - proper, right, or correct.
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I went to bed this evening and cried out as deep in prayer as I have ever, desiring only to know more of God's glory ...... to see His face. After a few hours of travail where I knew self was being pushed out and more of Jesus was being put in I awoke. Turning on my computer I stumbled almost immediately upon one of my all time favorite songs that is very anointed toward me. Incidentally this same song, effects Joian and some of her girls the same way. Anyway, as I listened I wept, for God was showing me a little more of His face. It also felt like my Father missed me as much as I do Him ....... I speak of the long awaited coming together in the fullness of the Glory of His Kingdom

If you didn't already know, I grew up in Hawaii as a youngster some fifty years ago. There I learned what it is like to never wear shoes, as barefoot was the dress code in school and even church. I also learned a little Ukulele. It was a mandatory subject for all fifth graders. And yes I delighted in learning to dance Hula, which many do not know is also masculine and even a warrior tradition. Lastly, to my father's great delight, I also took up speaking "da pidgin english." He neva like dat (lol). Truly I can think of no where more enchanted, and relaxed a place to grow up than Waikiki during the fifties and early sixties

With my years in the islands I fell in love with the native Hawaiians with their beautiful spirit of Aloha. I believe as a natural race there is not a more happy and hospital people, always engaging anyone that cared to learn of their culture. Sadly, with the influx of tourism and modern means, today the Hawaiian people suffer much as our Native American people do here on the mainland. Epidemic juvenile delinquency, drug use and crime run rampant in many parts of Hawaii. The islands have changed.

With that said, of my background and the trends of Hawaii, I felt led to share the aforementioned song by a revered Hawaiian musician. I hope you might even sense the anointing, as Joian and many others have. This tune is made up of a couple very familiar songs, however I can bet you have never heard anything close to this rendition.

Now you probably won't cry as I did tonight when I listened to it. And knowing that might be the case I found a video of one of Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole's last concerts where "estrangements healed" was the order of the evening. With this second song you might get some "chicken skin" as the Hawaiians call it. You may even catch a vision of the next world, where there is going to be alot of forgiveness taking place and estrangement will become a state forgotten.

Lastly allow me share some background, particularly for the second video. Israel actually grew up in the same neighborhood where I lived and played. He later moved to Makaha on the west side of the island where he joined talents with some braddahs (brothers). They formed a band, "The Makaha Sons" and soon, with regards to popularity, they were Hawaii's version of the Beetles. After some years IZ would break apart from the group and as with most band breakups, there were hurt feelings aplenty. In the second video on this blog, the Makaha Sons after many years of estrangement, reunite with Iz and there is not a dry eye in the audience as the spirit of forgiveness rains down, on all in attendance. Preceding his playing and singing, Iz rebukes the youngsters of Hawaii for their wayward ways ....... their drug use, their crimes, their huffing. This lovable troubadour then shares a word about Jesus that is priceless, before the group reunites, coming together to sing in wonderful harmony. As you will see in this clip, Izzy is on oxygen. This is one of his last concerts before he died at the young age of 38, from complications stemming from his obesity. Morbid obesity is a common condition within the Polynesian race.

I pray you hear God in the voice of this Hawaiian angel. Mahalo!
Jack

"SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW-WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD "

ESTRANGEMENT BROKEN AS FORGIVENESS REIGNS
Hawaiian music at its best! Pure chicken skin performance by the late Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (IZ) at the 1996 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards.

Listen to this message straight from the heart of Braddah IZ. On the biggest evening for Hawaiian music, the Makaha Sons decides to join Braddah Iz on stage and ho'oponopono (forgive deep) all that had happened in their past. As I watched this broadcast I remember being overwhelmed with emotions. It was basically both sides saying sorry through their actions and voices. On June 26, 1997 Israel Kamakawiwo'ole died.

Your music lives on Braddah IZ. Hawaiian Music lovers I share this one with you all. Malama pono

(From Youtube intro)

THE MANY OR THE ONE

2009-02-18T21:48:00.000-08:00

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There were the 5,000 who came to see the miracles and have their belly's made full. Out of the 5,000, seventy were sent out to represent Him to the world. And out of that seventy, there were the twelve He explained the parables to, that they might understand the mysteries of the Kingdom. Then, of the twelve were taken the three to bare witness of Himself transfigured in all His glory. Lastly of the three there was the one of whom it is said, "Jesus loved." That beloved one laid his head on Jesus breast.

One of the great hidden scriptures speaking to God's purpose in the Church Age is found at Acts 15:14.

Symeon has related how God first looked graciously on the Gentiles (nations) to take from among them a people to be called by His name. (Weymouth)

and what of this "name" .......
this "Most Glorious Name"

They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And the nations shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory, and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of Jehovah shall name. And they will call them, "The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD"; And you will be called, "Sought out, a city not forsaken." Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
Rev 22:4 & Isa 62:2,12 & 60:12

Let us reckon, it is always the few and not the many that the Father keeps and deals deeply with. Conversely, do not the scriptures tell us that "the many come to deceive the many"

Lord Jesus, keep us in Truth and make us worthy of Your Precious Name. May we never seek consolation with the multitude, but instead the solace and safety in One.

Jack

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THEY BEAT THEIR CHESTS AND WEPT

2009-02-14T17:06:00.000-08:00

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"God's remnant"

Coming to understand that God always through out the Bible, and even today, has a remnant that He deals with differently and gives greater call and attention to is one of the great freeing truths of His Kingdom. How often I have heard the immature equate the "popular and orthodox belief" as being true and that which is unfamiliar and maybe new to them, being heresy. Without prayer and seeking Him, judgement is often flippantly made concerning doctrine and truth and one usually settles for the comfort of their familiar Deity and religious practices. Such is the common pattern of one that looks upon religious things by the soul/carnal mind rather than by the Spirit.

Often over the last few years, I have often quoted this old line of mine to succinctly express the Truth and principle of "God's remnant."

"Jesus fed the 5,000 and He sent 70 disciples out to preach and He chose the 12 to whom He explained the parables, and of the 12 He was closer to the three He was transfigured before, and yet even of the 3 there was one whom Jesus loved, that laid upon His breast at supper."

This short message below was shared by a dear friend of mine that God used mightily to open up new and deeper views of my Christ along with greater vistas of His Kingdom. After you read this beautiful message I pray you might even take a moment to meditate upon the "remnant" in this account and ask your self whether you are following the crowd, or are you following Christ.

For me, to understand the Old Testament picture of God is that He played numerous roles and dealt mostly with the carnal, fallen man though there were always those that were of that group that he spoke of that He reserved that had never bowed the knee to Baal. He has always had this wonderful remnant, I think, even before the actual advent of Christ two thousand years ago. What He allowed those predecessors to see and walk in I am unclear on. It would take me some time to write out what I feel was accomplished by all the Father did through the Old Testament times but a picture went through my heart recently as I read in some portion of Old Testament scripture of Israel's series of slaughters concerning their enemies around them as they marched through the land. I got a picture in my mind's eye of Israel gathered around campfires following a long day's triumphant battle. Small groups and families playing the tumbrel and harp, rejoicing in their might and victory as given by the Lord. Behind the dancing, celebrating folks in the shadows were piles of bodies not yet burned and buried. Piles of old people, children, women, along with the fighting men they had defeated. As most of Israel was oblivious to the truth and danced on a few of Israel walked through the piles of wasted lives, beat their chests and wept crying out to God, "Is this all we are? Is this true relationship with You?" The Father had planted in their hearts a greater vision and understanding of man's fallen state and their need to rise again. (Roy)

We encourage others to seek Christ free of the clamour and chaos of the organized church with it's corrupt clergy. God in the last days of this age is calling many out of the "harlot church systems" to find Christ outside the gate and away from the camp. Christ is restoring many families through the vibrancy of His Love as they find freedom from the "dead works and bondage of the law" that the false church promotes. Please pray as you come visit us at JH & Christ and if you feel so led, leave a comment. We are not gatherers unto ourselves but desire all to find the healing liberty of a personal relationship with Christ, void of man's carnal institutions and false doctrines.

God bless.

Jack

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Prophecy: A WARNING TO THOSE IN MINISTRY

2009-02-07T19:11:00.000-08:00

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"Be not many of you teachers, my brethren, knowing that we shall receive heavier judgment" James 3:1

"Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: from which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm." 1Ti 1:5-7

"But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers." Matt 23:8

I ran into Doug on an Internet forum some years and I was immediately drawn to him for he was a "no nonsense guy with a hold on the Truth." About a year ago I contacted Doug via E-mail and encouraged him to continue to write. Tomorrow we will visit on the phone for the first time and I am thrilled to learn more of this man of God, who knows well the cost of walking with Jesus. How rare to find such a one, when most seek comfort in religion rather than the Cross of Christ, where it is our life given for His.

A friend shared this prophetic word from Doug Clark's blog with me today and I thought of two blogs I have written here that echo these same words of warning to the church and their ministers. Folks we have entered the Day of Lord and He is separating the sheep from the goats. The tares and wheat have grown up and His fire will not be quenched. For those that know Jesus intimately the Awesome Day of the Lord is a promise long awaited for. For those that have traded Jesus for the comfort of religion it's gonna be a long day.

I pray you truly know Him and have heard in your surrendered heart His promise, that He will never leave you nor forsake you. And if you are a minister, with a title before your name, I would start runnin like the devil. No kidding, because Jesus is coming and He wants His body back!!

May His Spirit within you, give witness to this prophesy and if you know one of these entitled ministers you might copy this word and slip it under his door.

Relinquish All Your Authority to Me!

The following is a prophecy given to Douglas B. Clark:
March 9, 2006

A WARNING TO THOSE IN MINISTRY IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY
This evening the Lord began speaking to me about His authority. I began to sob as He placed the following word in me.

Why have we built altars to the Lord when He has not told us to do so? We bring our praises and godly deeds and place them before Him on altars that we built of our own accord. The altars are part of the construct we call ministry. We try and build His Kingdom using principles of commerce instead of relying only on the Holy Spirit. We boast in our hearts of the great works and accomplishments we have done in the name of the Lord. We see those who are blessed by our ministry and we think this is all pleasing to the Lord. But the Lord says that the altars that have been constructed were not His doing and He is not pleased with our efforts.

Do you not know that many ministries today are like Saul? They are the result of the people crying out for a king to rule them. “Give us a pastor and a prophet to speak to us so we will know the truth and not be deceived,” they say. Do they not know that the Holy Spirit will guide them and keep them? Do they not recognize that I am their Shepherd?

Like Saul, these ministries have kept a portion of the spoil, claiming to use it to build My Kingdom. They have patterned themselves after the commerce of this world. They have made a business out of My ministry. They have put a price on My truth. They have offered up sacrifices in My name and have moved in the gifts of My Spirit, but they have deceived themselves thinking I have given them an authority that I have not. They think that since I am moving in their midst that My blessings are on all that they do.

Relinquish all your authority to Me! The people who you were raised to serve have come into bondage under your authority. Let My people go! Allow My Holy Spirit to give each individual guidance and direction. You have said that you would protect them from the enemy. You must understand that every child must learn certain things on its own. They must scrape their knees from time to time, and when they trip and fall I will be there to help them stand to their feet. Do you not see that this builds character and strength?

You have brought up a generation of children who do not know how to function on their own. They continue to run to the prophet for the word of the Lord. The control you have placed over the people is not of Me. You have established a chain of command, thinking you were doing a good thing, but I did not tell you to do this! If you continue in this way you will miss the moving of My Spirit. I am going to move in a new way. I will pour out My Spirit on those who ask of Me. It will be an outpouring on the individual and not the corporate. I will bypass the system you have established in my name. The time of Saul is almost over. You will hear reports of My anointing in the most unusual settings and places. You will hear about the two or three gathered in My name and how I gave them revelation, wisdom and understanding. You will ask them, “Who has taught you these things?” and they will answer, “the Lord has taught us.” You will hear about the one who was praying while driving in his car and I touched him. You will hear about the woman in the store who suddenly was overwhelmed by My presence. I am going to do something and move upon the people without your help. I am going speak to the individual who asks of Me. I am going to show them mysteries and great revelations that many who claim to know Me have not seen or understood. I am going to show the folly of all your efforts in My name, for your kingdom building is not My Kingdom building!

I am calling for repentance. I am calling you to humble yourselves before Me. I am telling you to freely give what I have given you for this is the way of My Kingdom. My Spirit and My Spirit alone will make the way for My Kingdom. What I do not provide, you must allow it to fall by the wayside for it is not of Me. Your efforts and your ways are like the armor that Saul offered David to face Goliath. My kingdom will not proceed by the covering you have offered to protect My servants. It will be by the might of My Spirit in the hands of those who have been faithful in the small things. Just as the boy David slew the mighty Goliath without conventional training and weapons used by a seasoned soldier, so shall my young men and women of spirit rise up to see the victory of battle. Their power and authority will bring to shame many who have positioned themselves as great warriors and leaders.

You have not seen the error of your ways. You have intended to serve Me the best way you knew and I have allowed it for a time. But now that time is coming to an end. Repent and turn to Me and I will heal the wounds you have unknowingly placed on My body. Do not be deceived by the anointing of My gifts. Though your prophetic words are true you have misused My gifting and anointing and now I call for true repentance. I am asking for humility like you have never known before. Serve your brother as your equal and watch as I build My Kingdom.

You will see new ministry raised up at this time. I have had many of my servants hidden away with Me and now has come the time I will use them. They have been abiding in My Kingdom and living by My Kingdom principles. They will not seek to establish a reputation for themselves, but their only desire will be to glorify Me. They will not put a price on My truth but will give without measure. They will not appoint themselves authority over My people but will point the people to Me.

This is a time for spiritual growth like you have never seen before! As my people become established in My truth I will strip away the traditions, the legalism, the false teaching and the false kingdom-building that has destroyed so many in the past. As My truth abounds you will see a great wonder, for I will cause My truth to spread from person to person, both here and in other places around the world. Many of the giants in the land that you have sought to defeat will lose their footing as I continue to move. They will be defeated from within and not through political power.

Allow Me to write on your hearts. Hear My voice like you have never heard it before. Ask Me to come to you and I will pour out My Spirit and with the authority of My anointing and you will speak to this one and to that one, reconciling them unto Me. This is truly a day of new things and of new ministry.

Douglas B. Clark

This is the link to Doug's site,
"The Inward Journey"
http://www.theinwardjourney.net/blog/about/

In our archive here at JH & Christ you may
browse two blogs that echo the prophetic word
above. They are as follows:

"JACKSON HOLE PREACHER, THIS WORD MAY BE FOR YOU"
http://jacksonholechrist.blogspot.com/2008/09/jackson-hole-preacher-this-word-may-be_18.html

"A PASTOR FINDS THE REAL JESUS"
http://jacksonholechrist.blogspot.com/2008/10/pastor-finds-real-jesus.html

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Let Go of the Tahoe.....

2009-02-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

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I thought to share a neat message by our friend and sister in the Lord, Eliyah. We published this on our "SONSHINE" blog and it thoroughly blessed and encouraged our readers there. With the downturned economy we pray Eliyah's testimony helps you focus on that which endures and is even everlasting. We speak of Christ and His Kingdom.

Let Go of the Tahoe.....

I was quickened of this phrase and felt led to write about an experience that my family had a few years ago hoping it might help someone else with letting go of ‘their Tahoe’.

I smile at the phrase....”you can take the boy out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the boy”....and I can testify that for all of Father’s sons and daughters this does not hold any truth. For after Father has had His way in one that has been apprehended to BECOME a son.....there will be no residue in the heart of longing for the leeks and cucumbers of Egypt.
The world will be crucified to them and them to the world.

My husband Mordekai and I were married on a Friday night in the Month of May and it was a glorious night....the Lord blessed Houston Texas with the atmosphere of Heaven that night.....for there was no humidity or heat but only the coolness of a spring night with the aroma of fresh gardenia and magnolia wafting through the air.
It was truly a magical night as we danced under the stars.....we even left our outdoor reception like you see in the movies....under a canopy of sparkler’s that our family and friends held as we entered our waiting limo to take us on to our hotel....

I share all of that because that was then and this is now. Oh my! How things have changed......and I wouldn’t want it any other way. That wedding was a symbol of Egypt to me.....for it was beautiful but also vain.......everything in the world is focused on the outward senses......and this is even more heightened when it comes to milestones in a person’s life such as a wedding. Today I have a new dream and that is to renew my vows with my beloved Husband during the Feast of Tabernacles.....the true picture and REALITY of UNION.....of Spirit and Soul married......of BEING ONE in the SON.

Truly, Father has taken the girl out of the country and the country out of the girl for her to have written those words above. It was one thing to leave the country of Egypt but quite another to let the things of Egypt go from me. If I were to list all the ‘things’ of Egypt this blog would be entirely too long but needless to say these things came in all shapes and sizes. During those refining years we let go of everything from my $200 salon appointments, to Kai getting his weekly round of golf in.....of eating out at restaurants ....(mexican usually, smile)......etc. but we were determined to not lose the appearance of the upwardly mobile young family.....and for us this meant keeping our Chevy Tahoe with leather interior and DVD player......lol.
We would go on to lose our new house to foreclosure, Kai’s job, and basically most of our pride.....but BLESS GOD we still had our Tahoe! Thinking back on this Kai and I laugh about how riduculously stubborn we were about keeping that Tahoe. We have talked about it often because it was literally one of the hardest things to let go of even though it was such a weight/burden to us. We were spending $450/month in car payments just for appearance sake......and this was at a time when Kai was remodeling homes and we were living on every penny with absolutely nothing left over. But bless God we still had our Tahoe.

It never occured to us to sell it.....to buy a USED vehicle.....the ghastly horror of doing such a thing never entered our minds.....lol......but praise the Lord He is faithful to allow circumstances to come into our lives that will force us to see our folly and will then give us an ‘ I’ve seen the light moment’ which then gives us the courage to correct our stupid decisions. Praise His name!

The circumstances that He allowed to happen to us so that we would finally give up the Tahoe involved our landlord’s sudden request for us to move because they needed their home to live in again. Kai’s ‘well had run dry’ as far as being self employed because there were literally no remodeling jobs to be had in the small town that we lived in. So with having zero money and needing to move but having no moving expenses we saw the writing on the wall that it was time to finally let the Tahoe go.....smile. The Lord was generous to us and granted us favor at the car dealership so that we made a nice profit off our Tahoe to help with moving expenses and paying for our first month’s rent at our new home. Little by little.....this is how He teaches us......and scripture tells us that ‘we are given the land little by little’. We also had enough money left over to buy a used mini-van to accomodate our family. That was a story in itself.....for it just so happened that Kai saw this mini-van in the back lot of a mechanic’s shop and asked if it was for sale.....and the owner of the shop said that it was and that he just wanted what he had put into it for repairs....($1,100). The car was worth a lot more than that and Kai wondered why it was so cheap and the owner told him that some people needed repairs on their car but never came back to pay him....and after several months the shop owner was legally able to get the title and take possession......and so Kai was able to buy the car. The VERY NEXT DAY those people called the mechanic shop to see if he still had their car.....only to find out that it had been sold the day before!

If we had waited one day longer to sell the Tahoe we would not have been able to buy a nice used minivan to accomodate our large family. We were in awe of how the Lord worked that out for us. Even the shop owner was in awe of the timing.....and I am sure the people that left their vehicle for almost a year learned a big lesson upon hearing the news that just the day before their car was sold.

We then went on to realize the joy of not having to make a huge car payment every month! All the sudden we had an extra $450/month to spend on our needs. The Lord had used so many things/circumstances to empty us of pride, vanity, selfishness, that we no longer cared about appearances. It has been years since Kai has played a round of golf and in fact he gave his clubs away.....and it has been years since I have visited a fancy salon and spent hundreds on my hair.....HalleluYah.....lol.....!!
We knew the death of appearances was complete when after six months of having the mini-van I was in a accident that totaled the vehicle (due to the negligence of another person).....and while waiting for the insurance money to come in we were given the use of a suburban......what I like to refer to as the ‘adam’s family vehicle’....lol......this thing was right out of the adams family television show.....or the munster’s.......for it was the biggest mammoth of a vehicle I have ever seen.....and it was the most hideous color (velvet elvis blue with rust all over).....and velvet blue interior with no air conditioning......and for all those familiar with Texas summer heat that in itself is a tribulation....lol.....!
I can proudly say that we were so dead to appearances that all of us as a family would break out in song to the tune of the adam’s family......da da da dant snap snap.....da da da dant snap snap......(except our words were “ their holy and their righteous, so loving full of kindness, they don’t care what you think of them....the Schulz Family”.....snap snap).......lol. We even took a victory lap around a very ritzy, shi-shi, shopping mall in an affluent area....we got plenty of stares from onlookers because the parking lot was accustomed to only high-end vehicles.....not those made in the 1980's that have the sound of a Harley Davidson.....rofl.....and it felt good to be dead to this world’s system.

I told Kai on one occasion that I was glad to have the adam’s family vehicle b/c I started to understand how everything is opposite in the Kingdom......and so that must mean that we have one BLING BLING of a ride in Heaven......since we are driving around in such a dump on earth......rofl!!!

May all those that are hearing the call to ‘let go’ be given the grace to SURRENDER to say ‘yes Lord’.....

It is worth it.....for He is worth it!

He will not let you down.....He has only surprises for all those that dare to choose to get out of the boat.

Let go of ‘your Tahoe’.....

All my love,
eliyah

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WE NEVER KNEW HIM !

2009-02-04T00:20:00.000-08:00

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I have been going through some physical trials of late and as it is with any of these painful episodes, I always find a moment to reflect on what it would be like to go through such pain for all eternity; time without end. I used to erroneously believe that my God and my Father would allow such torment for some of His misbehaving children in the name of holiness and justice. This was the God I was taught, since I was youngster in the organized church. Then one day decades ago I heard of a different Father God who gave His only begotten Son as the Saviour of all men and of all creation. My heart truly sang with this good news! I also cried, "This is a God of love and these preachers and so called Christians have not yet met this wonderful Father God and His beloved Son. Instead, with the help of the traditions of men and the corruption of the carnal mind these church goers have formed a beast of a God, who would allow His children to suffer horrendous pain for ever and ever in a (fictional) place called "hell." What a wonder to escape such a perverted and painful belief system. I am truly thankful everyday, while still saddened to know so many are still caught in the throes of this terrible and fearful charade they call "Christianity."

My prayer and my cry tonight, is for those I love to come out of the foul institutions, wrongfully called churches and find the One True God who proclaims, "99 is not enough" as He goes to seek out and gather the last one. What a wonderful thing to know my Jesus will not lose even one. For His great love will seek out, break and melt the hardest and most contrary of hearts. Oh yes! God's love is truly that great and the blood of His Precious Son washes clean the souls of men on both sides of the grave.

Tonight I was blessed to share with two sisters in the Lord the wonders of resting in the love of such a God. Both have found their way out the gates of the organized church and today they dwell peaceably with their families afar from the religious crowd. Like so many others today, these two dear sisters met the True Father and His Son outside the gate and afar from the camp (Heb 12:12-14) . Today they are free to love as the Father loves, without condition and by the Spirit. They have found rest in a God, so incredibly good and so very loving.

Tonight I dedicate this beautiful prophetic message to the Christ, who lives and loves within and through my two sisters. This beautiful short writing by Elaine Cook was written by the same heart as I have found in Christie and Joian. Oh, that God should give me more sisters that love like these!

We Never Knew Him!

Recently, we heard just one line of a song which grabbed our attention. It was: "Would you expect to find God in a manger?" (Showing His condescension to mankind). We added to that thought; "Why would we think God would inhabit a vessel of clay that His glory might be seen?"
Elisabeth added, "Who would expect to find God on a cross? Would you expect to find God nailed to a tree?"

We stayed quiet before the Lord and He spoke to us: "This is the one thing that the enemy can never duplicate, for the darkness in him cannot permit him to humble himself in any way. By this you may discern the Spirit of God from the Spirit of Anti-Christ."

In recent small happenings in my life I have begun to realize, that though I‘ve walked with the Lord for many years, and known that He is Love, I have not really understood or known the heart of love that He has. These may be small incidents that I will share, but they illustrate the big heart of our Father that we have never fully grasped.

Every Thursday Elisabeth and I drive for a half an hour to visit our post office in Idaho to pick up and send out our U.S. mail. Today Elisabeth suggested that she would like to stop at the Duty-Free Shop to look for some souvenirs to take back home to Scotland. I was casually looking around while waiting for her. I found myself facing a stand with little key chains on it with Canada and its flag stamped on it. Suddenly a name was dropped into my heart: "Joshua." I knew exactly who that was. He is a young lad whose mom phones me from time to time. She is bringing up her family on her own, so this 13-year-old has no Daddy around. Occasionally I send him a little miniature car or train and his mom lets him phone me back to thank me. We don‘t have a lot to say to each other except to reassure each other of our love.

Now, why would the Lord want me to send him a key chain? It is going to be quite a few years before he is going to be needing one (as in driving a car!) Then, I heard the Spirit say: "He needs it now. Put two keys on it and tell him one is the key to your heart. The second one is the key to My heart (the heart of Jesus.)"

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I was so touched that the Lord would make such a tender, loving gesture toward this young lad that I had a hard time to control my tears while we were still in the store. Once on the road, I think I must have cried for the first ten miles. My heart was simply broken up! I thought, —Lord, we have never known You like this! We have never understood that Your heart of love is so personal! We always expect You to look after the big affairs of the world and the universe, but to think of Your showing Your love in such a tender way to a fatherless lad, is almost beyond our comprehension! May I say, "We never knew Him in this way." Yet, this is the day when He is breaking our hearts so that He will be able to reveal His heart of love to us in a way we have never known it! Many are telling me how the Lord is teaching them to love with His Love, so it seems to be one of the operations that is being carried out as we enter the Feast of Tabernacles.

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A few days after this happened, I was in the shower, speaking words of love to my Lord. My heart was still warmed from what He had done with the keys for my young friend Joshua, when He spoke to my heart, "Did you not know that I am a Father to the fatherless (and a Husband to the widow)? This was not simply said OF Me. I, Myself, said it; yet My creation knows Me not! I hurried out of the shower and wrote those words down and the Spirit continued: "They know Me not in the capacity of a loving Father. They see Me foremost as a Judge who will bring retribution upon man's every failing. It was I Who permitted My creation to be made subject to frailty and corruption. (Romans 8:20-21). And it is I Who shall bring him out of it! This is the only way that My creation could know Me. They need to know Me by experience, but in the experiencing would I throw them away as trash–as those who have no value because they are not good enough?

Oh, My children, what joy is coming to My Heart as My small remnant is beginning to know Me as I Am, not as man has said that I Am. These have suffered long and have embraced the cross and have found in My sacrifice for them all they need to live a holy life. They have learned to walk humbly before their God and not only before Him, but as Him, in His nature, before all who know not My Love!"

Elaine Cook

THE TWO HANDS OF GOD

2009-01-28T10:17:00.000-08:00

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How often I have had to endure the foolishness of my friends still bound by the traditions of man and the orthodox church systems. Nowhere is this more trying than when one, speaking of an unpleasant event or circumstance come to their life, rails on Satan as though he reigns unfettered and free to raise all havoc in their world. Often time, to my astonishment, these Christians, of whom, some fancy themselves as teachers, will profess the sovereignty and omnipotence of their God and then make Him weak by giving unwarranted power to the prince of this world. By God! Satan is but a prince ...... a prince that does the King's bidding. He can do no more than allowed, and truth be told, He is directed of our King and Lord in all that he performs.

Yes, it is oft frustrating and even painful to see those you love espouse a large devil and a little God. No wonder, these deluded souls can believe Satan steals the majority of mankind for Hell. With such an erroneous belief system, God is made impotent rather that omnipotent and Christ is marked as failing, as the Saviour of the World. It is my belief this "big Satan, small God complex" is "blasphemy and it is high time it be labeled as such!

Satan steals none! Instead, to God's Glory, all are reconciled and brought to peace through His shed blood and sacrifice on the cross. Lord help us to see and proclaim You as all powerful and all knowing, in your benevolent purpose of creating a loving family full of sons and daughters in your very image.

"Through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His Cross; through Him, I say, whether things upon earth or things in the heavens. Col 1:20

"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive" 1Cor 15:22

Even a child could read the two verses above and understand that "all" means "all"
Christ is the "Saviour of All" and that my friend is the "Good News!"

With that said, please allow me to share part of an enlightened message by Preston Eby. Here, our good brother, who knows the same wonderful Saviour as I do, defines Satan as but a tool in the left hand of God.

"There is a wonderful lesson in nature observable by the biophysical scientist. When one adjusts the lenses of his microscope to watch the individual cells of an organism he sees tremendous struggles going on within those cells with only particular successes and failures, victories and defeats in what appears to be a ruthless "dog-eat-dog" battle. But when he changes the level of magnification to observe the organism as a whole, he sees that what was conflict at the lower level is harmony at the higher: that the very health and wellbeing, the ongoing life of the organism is precisely the OUTCOME of this microscopic turmoil. Ah, my brother, my sister, when our consciousness is raised high enough in the Spirit to see the WHOLE PICTURE, to SEE AS GOD SEES about all the circumstances and events that touch our lives, rather than dwelling upon the particular events themselves with their apparent negativeness, becoming irritated, worried, and upset by what is happening, we will see and know by the understanding HE GIVES that indeed, all these things ARE WORKING TOGETHER FOR OUR GOOD and the ongoing development of our spiritual life is precisely the OUTCOME of all the conflict. Praise His name!

THE HIDDEN HAND

In the New Testament the Greek word for "right" as used with "hand" means THAT WHICH USUALLY TAKES. That is, it is the one that reaches out to take and we can also know that it is the one that usually reaches out to give. It is the far more active hand of the two in the vast majority of people. The left hand seems to be the subordinate member, helping the right hand. There is a wonderful and meaningful statement made by Jesus in Mat. 6:3, often passed over unnoticed. Jesus said, "But when you do alms, don't let your LEFT hand know what your RIGHT hand does." In other words, keep your left hand in the dark as to what your RIGHT HAND is doing! And remember, the right hand is the one that REACHES OUT either to take or to give. Jesus said hypocrites gave their alms openly to BE SEEN OF MEN, and the joy of being seen WAS THEIR REWARD. Such people had their reward already and no further reward would be given them. Their left hand, as it were, had full knowledge as to what their right hand had done and their ego and self-righteousness were fully rewarded in the praise of men received.

But Jesus cautioned His disciples to not let their left hand have knowledge of what the right hand was doing. Their reward would come FROM GOD and not from men. Therefore their left hand, or their ego, self-nature with its self-interests and self-love, would be kept in the dark, left unsatisfied and unfulfilled in the good that was being done. Thus the left hand could in no way deprive them of the far greater reward THE FATHER HAD FOR THEM for their deeds of compassion and love.

In applying this principle to the actions of God's two hands, we find that Satan, wicked men, and all the forces of the negative realm have absolutely NO UNDERSTANDING of what the right hand of God is doing. Those of the left hand cannot perceive or know the PURPOSES AND INTENTIONS of the right hand in doing what it does. With this in mind, what a world of truth opens to our understanding from these inspired words of the apostle Paul, "Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: which NONE OF THE PRINCES OF THIS WORLD KNEW: FOR HAD THEY KNOWN IT, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE CRUCIFIED THE LORD OF GLORY" (I Cor. 2:6-8). None of the princes of this world KNEW! They were the negative force in God's left hand moving against the Christ, that the purpose of God in giving His beloved Son for the redemption of the world might be fulfilled.

"Him, being delivered BY THE DETERMINATE COUNSEL AND FOREKNOWLEDGE OF GOD, YOU have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain" (Acts 2:23). Pilate said to Jesus, "Don't speak to me? Don't You know that I have power to release You?" Hear the answer of Jesus! "You could not have any power at all against Me except it were GIVEN TO YOU FROM ABOVE" (Jn. 19:10-11). For God to bring His redemptive plan into effect, there must be a balance, there must be a negative force opposing the positive power and force of God in Christ Jesus. There must be a Judas, CHOSEN to bring all things to a head in the fulness of time when Jesus must be crucified. There must be a Pilate, GIVEN POWER FROM ABOVE, to take care of the legal side of all that happened on that dreadful night. There must be the soldiers selected to nail Jesus to the cross. There must be those who ridiculed Jesus, who scorned and mocked and cursed Him. Without a Satan, without a Judas, without a Pilate, without a rebellious, hateful nation of Israel, there would never have been a blessed Redeemer DYING FOR US!

Yes, GOD was doing this thing, GOD was in control of each and every action, it was all the work of HIS HAND! But those He moved upon at His left hand moved in darkness and did not know anything of what the right hand was doing, they knew not who the Christ was, why He was here, or what He was doing or would do. Never did they dream, in their wildest imaginations, that He really was the Son of God, that He actually would rise from the dead, that He would pour out the Holy Spirit in mighty wonder-working power and spread His Kingdom from pole to pole! They were doing what God had raised them up to do but they walked in darkness, they didn't KNOW! The left hand was at a great disadvantage. Today, as then, these evil forces do not even realize that it is the hand of God that is directing all of their actions. The forces of evil and the people under their control, have the false idea that they are directing their own steps and doing all things of themselves, and God allows them to think so! So we see them going their way boasting of all they are doing and believing themselves to be masters of their own destiny, marking out their own pathway!

The right hand of God is the ANOINTED HAND of God, for Christ (the Anointed) sits AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. It is this hand of God, the Christ, Head and body, that reaches forth to all mankind bringing redemption, restoration, and blessing. How we praise God for HIS RIGHT HAND, HIS POSITIVE FORCE, and that it is the more active and the stronger of the two! While the left hand is kept in ignorance of what the right hand is doing, the right hand is not always ignorant of what the left hand is doing "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices" (II Cor. 2:11). "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all the children (sons) of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness" (I Thes. 5:4-5). When we realize we are in the light of God and know at least a little something of what is going on, then it is amusing, at times, to be able to watch the foolish moves being made by those used by the left hand of God. Foolish, perhaps, but so necessary to God's plan! How we rejoice to be able to stand by in assurance and confidence, watching GOD work, knowing that God is the One who is the author and finisher of all that happens in between. It is wonderful to be able to walk in at least a measure of light during all those times of testing, trial, proving, and judgment.

There is a further and enlightening application of this truth which we would share briefly. In the Song of Solomon 2:6 the Shulamite maiden says of her beloved King, "His LEFT HAND is under my head, and His RIGHT HAND embraces me." The meaning is clear - the left hand of God is under our head, it is hidden, unseen, the less visible working of God upon our lives, upholding and undertaking for us in all the ways and circumstances in which we do not see the hand of God. God has manifested Himself in history in the figure of the "left hand" - unseen and invisible, when men did not recognize Him. Elisha's servant (II Kings 6:13-17), as well as the prophet Habakkuk (Hab. 1:1-4), and many others, did not see the hidden hand of God, behind the head, away from the front of the eyes, working His plan and will. However, there are other times when the "right hand" of God works in an obvious fashion, before the eyes, in front of the face, performing the supernatural and the miracle right there for all to see. But keep in mind that if we had eyes in the back of our heads, so to speak, we could see both the right and left hand manifestations. We would see that God is there working ALL THE TIME. And all those blessed ones who have the "eyes of their understanding ENLIGHTENED" do see HIM IN ALL THINGS!

How often, in the midst of testing and trouble, we, like Peter, look at the billowing waves and behold not the Lord! When the blessings come pouring in and the glory waves sweep through our souls, we know it is the Lord and we acknowledge and bless Him. But when trouble surrounds us, when adversity comes, calamity strikes, and all hell breaks loose, we fail to see where God's hand can be in THAT! But without that, we could not receive all He would give and do for us with His right hand. The right hand is the hand of His manifest grace and power, His inward love and joy, the smile of His approval with which He encourages and equips us. The left hand, under our head, holds us fast and secretly deals and works upon the clay of the earthen vessel in ways we understand not. The embracing of His right hand is so precious, as He lets His love fall upon us like dew, as He leads us into deeper revelations of Himself and of that which He has prepared for us. As we behold the King in His beauty He perfects that which concerns us and gets us ready to shine forth in His image.

While we rejoice in the embrace of God's right hand of love, let us not despise His left hand; let us yield to Him though He would use the knife upon us and pour the wine into the wound; for He will then pour in the oil and soothe us; He may wound, but He will heal us. Let us not forget, however, that He not only holds us fast and comforts us in trial, but He holds us fast in the fiery furnace, and on the swiftly moving wheel of His purifying and molding processes. How many times we would get out of His hands if He did not hold us fast when He puts us into the purifying furnace, out of which we would take ourselves if it were possible. It is His precious unseen left hand that holds us still as the dross is being consumed."
J Preston Eby

The whole of Eby's four part message on "THE TWO HANDS OF GOD" can be read here:

http://hisremnant.org/eby/articles/kingdom/twohands/twohandsof.html

May God bless you to know all is under His control and all is being worked for good in your life. Praise His Holy Name!

Jack

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THE RAPTURE LIE

2009-01-19T23:54:00.000-08:00

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"When THOU passest THROUGH the waters, I will be with thee; and THROUGH the rivers, they shall not overflow thee" Isaiah 43 :2

The doctrine of escapism produces a weak, impotent, selfish type of people who shrink from pressure and testing which is sent their way, They know nothing of OVER-COMING, and it is high time that this nonsense was stripped away, and people faced up to the process of being developed and growing up in Christ, No more to say, "how can I get out of this," but rather to affirm, "by the grace of God I can come through this thing, and not just somehow, but triumphantly," Amen!

Ray Prinzing

Just as the "age of the Law" ended with the Pharisees and scribes making a mockery of that which God had set in place, so also is it at the end of this "Church age" as we await Christ's return. History repeats itself and today's ordained ministers, for the most part are the modern day version of the Pharisees, scribes and Eli's sons. With that said, today we want to expose another lieing doctrine that these false prophets have shamefully sold to God's children.

As the economy heads south, and world events make Christians step back to ponder whether this be the last days, we see many of these ministers pulling out their hole card, and that being the "rapture doctrine." Oh my brother, my sister, how very far from the truth be this escapist, fairy tale doctrine. With just the tiniest bit of scholarship and study, even a teenager could easily come to the truth of the matter with regard to the "rapture teaching." How amazing it is, that grown men and women that fill the church pews every Sunday can buy into a doctrine that flies in the face of everything the Bible teaches. God doesn't save us from trial and tribulation but saves us in the midst of trial and tribulation. This false doctrine is just another example of why God from the Book of Revelation calls for His people to come out of the "harlot church" which is Babylon. Revelation 18 speaks to those that have ears to hear and it is worth reading because the harlot church's demise is imminent. Those that are caught in the harlot's grip shall find great pain and sorrow when she falls and often my heart is rent when I see so many I love bound by this self aggrandizing wanton woman. I pray, God help our dear friends that still serve this false church which the scriptures call a "whore", for she usurps the position of Christ and His body. If one leaves the religious whorish camp with it's Pharisaical clergy, the Holy Spirit will become one's teacher and there Truth and Life is found. Please dear reader, hear the message found in these scriptures.

The woman saith unto him, "Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."

Jesus saith unto her, "Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: ........... But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Jhn 4:19-24

But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. 1Jhn 2:27

Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. Heb. 13:12,13

Understand this my friend. Jesus is found outside the gates of religion and afar from the apostate camp. The camp inside the gates is a counterfeit church system, which in these last days is just as the world (Rev 18)

Dear ones, Christ Jesus is our escape and even our rest, as He carries us through all of life's tribulations and trials. My hope is that after you read this anointed message (below) by Preston Eby you might have cause to wonder how much else, you have been taught by the false prophets of this age, is just plain wrong and even a lie. God help us in the end of this, the "Church age", to "but see Jesus as our Saviour." Not only is Jesus the Saviour of the world but He also saves us out of the world and I pray the Holy spirit would open your hearts to such a freeing Truth. As men and women faint in the eye of the approaching storm, of which the present economic woes are but part, Jesus is reaching out His hand. He stands even at the door as an "Abiding Peace and Rest" for those that would surrender all unto Him. I'll close with an old saying and it is worth meditating on. "Jesus is either LORD of ALL or not lord at all."

In His Sweet Lord Jesus,
Jack

THE RAPTURE LIE

"The Rapture"! Many an average person on the street may never have heard of it until watching religious programs on television or listening to conversations by "born-again" Christians. "The Rapture"? What's that? But large numbers of Church goers in various denominations hear all about it - often. They live in constant expectation of it. "Christ may come tonight and snatch the Church away to heaven," the preacher assures in revival meetings, in Sunday Church services and on television. "The trumpet may sound before this meeting is over, or before you wake up in the morning," the evangelist warns. When that happens the cemeteries burst open and the dead saints arise, and those still living go zooming off into the sky to meet the Lord. Such a snatching away or "rapture" of the Church, it is claimed, will be the next great prophetic event. And it may take place at any moment. Millions of believers wonder with great concern, "When will it happen? Will it be in my lifetime? Will I be ready? Who of my loved ones will miss it and have to go through the Great Tribulation?"

It is generally supposed to happen this way: Strife, crime, violence and evil doing in the world will become increasingly worse. Civilization will plunge headlong toward a time of intense trouble. Suddenly, just before the world arrives at a period of calamity called "the tribulation," we are told, Jesus will return invisibly and snatch away - "rapture" - all born-again Christians and take them to heaven, or away up in the clouds somewhere, away from the world turmoil, for seven years. It will be a sudden, yet secret event. No one will see it happen. Only the effects - empty cars, empty houses, empty beds, workers missing from their jobs - will be apparent. Some suggest what the newspaper headlines will be like the day after: "Millions Mysteriously Vanish!" "Graves Found Open and Empty!" "Massive Traffic Snarles Due to Missing Drivers!" "Planes Crash, Trains Wreck As Pilots and Engineers Disappear!" "All Children Have Disappeared!" Pictures have been drawn by artists, and distributed by the multiplied thousands, of Jesus standing on a stratocumulus cloud a few thousand feet in the air, while Christians are being lifted out of a city below. Business of all kinds will be disrupted, while tumult, confusion, misery and terror will reign. The airports, trains, bus lines, and the great industrial plants over the world will be hushed, as so many of the head men, the pilots, engineers, managers, foremen, workers and others will be missing. Families will be separated, one taken and the other left; wives will bewail the sudden disappearance of their husbands, husbands will bemoan the loss of their wives. Parents will search in vain with terror-stricken faces for their children.

They go on to describe how all the people who are left on earth will have to go through seven years of terrible trouble and punishment. During this time the great Antichrist will make his appearance and display his power, the apocalyptic judgments the unmeasured wrath of God - foretold in the book of Revelation will be unleased in dreadful fury upon the inhabitants of the world, and there will be a time of unequalled tribulation. Then, at the end of this period, according to the teaching, Christ will return from heaven once again in a great universal public display, bringing all His saints with Him. The reason for this is, they say, because God is far too good to allow His people to go through such tribulation. The implication is that they are far too weak to survive in the face of such demonic power. So they will be called away to attend the "Marriage Supper in the Sky", receive their "rewards" for their labors here, and have a glorious seven years of feasting, singing and celebration - while their unsaved loved ones, their dear friends and neighbors who had not been born again, and the untaught millions of heathen are suffering indescribable agonies on earth. "Good enough for them!" seems to be the general attitude, "they should have listened and gotten prepared, like me. "

THE ORIGIN OF THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE

That's the way the "rapture" is usually presented. But is that how Jesus announced He would return? Will He come back physically in two phases - one, secret and unexpected, "for" His saints, to rapture them away; and a second, publicly "with" His saints? Is this "rapture" really the "hope" of the Church as the preachers are wont to proclaim? Let me give you the history of how this theory got started.

It wasn't until the early or mid 1800's that there was any significant group of believers around the world that looked for a "rapture" of the Church prior to a seven-year tribulation period. It may come as a shock to some who read these lines, but it is a fact nonetheless, that the "rapture" teaching was NOT taught by the early Church, it was NOT taught by the Church of the first centuries, it was NOT taught by the Reformers, IT WAS NOT TAUGHT BY ANYONE (except a couple Roman Catholic theologians) UNTIL ABOUT THE YEAR 1830! At the time of the Reformation the early Protestants widely held and Were convinced that the Pope was the supreme individual embodiment and personification of the spirit of antichrist, and the Roman Church the Harlot System of Rev. 17. This understanding was responsible for bringing millions of believers out of the Roman Catholic religious system. It therefore became expedient for certain Romish theologians to turn the attention of the people away from the Papacy, and this they endeavored to a counter-interpretation to that held by the Protestants. This new scheme of prophetic interpretation became known as FUTURISM. Rather than viewing the drama of the book of Revelation spiritually and historically, they would consign it all to a brief period of time at the end of the age. It was a Jesuit priest named Ribera who, in the days of the Reformation, first taught that all the events in the book of Revelation were to take place literally during the three and a half years reign of the Antichrist away down at the end of the age. Thus Ribera laid the foundation of a system of prophetic interpretation of which the Secret Rapture has now become an integral part.

Later, Emmanuel Lacunza, also a Jesuit priest, built on Ribera's teachings, and spent much of his life writing a book titled "The Coming of Messiah in Glory and Majesty." Lacunza, however, wrote under the assumed name of "Rabbi Ben Ezra," supposedly a learned Jew who had accepted Christ as his Saviour. With Jesuit cunning he thus conspired to get his book a hearing in the Protestant world - they would not even permit it in their homes coming from a Jesuit pen - but as the earnest work of a "converted Jew" they would consume it with avid interest! Within the pages of this elaborate forgery Lacunza taught the novel notion that Jesus returns not once, but twice, and at the "first stage" of His return He "raptures" His Church so they can escape the reign of the "future Antichrist." His book was first published in Spanish in the year 1812 and soon found its way onto the shelves of the library of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London, England.

Now enter the name of Edward Irving. Born in Scotland in 1792, Irving became one of the most eloquent preachers of his time. In 1828 his open-air meetings in Scotland drew crowds of 10,000 people. His Church in London seated one thousand people and was packed week after week with a congregation drawn from the most brilliant and influencial circles of society. There were some among them who by prophetic declaration announced that the Lord was coming soon, and this idea became prominent in their prophetic utterances and teachings. Out of those prophetic declarations some began to study the scriptures in the light of a physical, literal coming of the Lord. Up until that time the coming of the Lord was understood as a coming of the Lord TO His people, and IN His saints, and there was no sense of His fleshly coming. Irving discovered Lacunza's book and was deeply shaken by it, in fact, fell in love with it, translated it into English, and it was published in London in 1827. And at this very time Irving heard what he believed to be a Voice from heaven commanding him to preach the Secret Rapture of the Saints. Then Irving began to hold Bible Conferences throughout Scotland, emphasizing the coming of Jesus to rapture His Church.

About this same time there began the emergence of a new movement which came to be known as the "Plymouth Brethren." The Brethren movement had its beginning in Dublin in 1825 when a small group of earnest men, dissatisfied with the spiritually lethargic condition that prevailed in the Protestant Church in Ireland, met for prayer and fellowship. Soon others joined the fellowship and associated groups sprang up in various places. Though the movement had its beginning at Dublin ' , it was Plymouth, England that became the center of their vast literature outreach, thus the name !'Plymouth Brethren" became attached. Although there was interest from the start in prophetic subjects, the center of interest was on the body of Christ as an organism and the spiritual unity in Christ of all believers - in reaction to the deadness and formalism of the organized church systems and the ecclesiastical Heirarchy. A man by the name of John Nelson Darby was the leading spirit among the Plymouth Brethren from 1830 onward. Darby was from a prosperous Irish family, was educated as a lawyer, took high honors at Dublin University, then turned aside, to his father's chagrin, to become a minister.

Thus Irving and Darby were contemporaries, though associated with different spiritual movements. Another series of meetings were in progress at this time, a group of seeking Christians were meeting in the castle of Lady Powerscourt for the study of Bible prophecy. Many clergymen attended, and quite a few who were Irvingites. The Irvingites came to the meetings obsessed with the ideas of the "Secret Rapture" and the future Antichrist, imbibed from the Jesuit Lacunza's book. J.N. Darby and the other Brethren leaders were invited to these meetings and became participators in them. It was there that he was introduced to the Jesuit teaching of the Secret Rapture and the futurist interpretation of prophecy, as well as the famous book by Rabbi Ben-Ezra, or, actually, Jesuit priest Emmanuel Lacunza! Darby was himself a prolific writer and from that time a constant stream of propaganda came from his pen. His writings on biblical subjects number over 30 volumes of 600 pages each. Darby developed and organized "futurism" into a system of prophetic teaching called "dispensationalism." Darby' s biographers refer to him as "the father of dispensationalism." And the crown jewel in the kingdom of dispensationalism is, of course, the so-called SECRET RAPTURE!

The Secret Rapture teaching was introduced into the United States and Canada in the 1860's and 1870's, though there is some indication that it may have been taught as early as the 1840's. Darby himself visited the United States six times. The "new" teaching was spreading. A Congregationalist preacher by the name of C. I. Scofield came under the influence of Darby and the Plymouth Brethren. Scofield became a strong promoter of the teaching that had been promulgated by Darby, whom he considered "the most profound Bible student of modern times." He incorporated this teaching into his SCOFIELD REFERENCE BIBLE. The Scofield Reference Bible was destined to have a tremendous impact upon the beliefs of many, when, three million copies were published in the first 50 years! Through this Bible Scofield shrewdly carried the teaching of the Secret Rapture into the very heart of Evangelicalism. Some ignorant souls look on the "notes" in this Bible as the Word of God itself! I do not doubt for one instant that many who read these lines have been influenced somewhere in their spiritual lives by the "footnotes" in the Scofield Bible!

There is one final link in the chain of the development and spread of the rapture theory that should be mentioned in passing. I would draw your attention again to the SOURCE, the ORIGIN of the rapture doctrine and the chain of contact by which it has been brought down to us today. It began as a Roman Catholic invention! The Jesuit priest Ribera's writings influenced the Jesuit priest Lacunza, Lacunza influenced Irving, Irving influenced Darby, Darby influenced Scofield, Scofield and Darby influenced D. L. Moody, and Moody influenced the early PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT. How? you ask. The Assemblies of God is today by far the largest Pentecostal denomination in the world. When the Pentecostal movement began at the turn of the century and the Assemblies of God held their first General Council in 1914 in Hot Springs, Arkansas they were a small movement and didn't have their own Publishing House. They needed Sunday School and study materials for their Churches - so where do you suppose they got it? They bought it from Moody Press and had their own cover stitched on it! So what do you think the Assemblies of God people believed? They believed what Moody Bible Institute taught! This had its impact on Pentecostal theology, because in the early years there were practically NO PREMILLENIALISTS IN THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT! Most of the ministers in those early days came from Presbyterian, Methodist, or other historic denominations - men who, being baptized in the Holy Spirit and leaving their denominations, joined themselves to the Assemblies of God or one of the other emerging Pentecostal denominations. That is how the Pentecostal movement became influenced and saturated with the "Secret Rapture" doctrine - by a direct chain right back to the Roman Catholic Church! And now, my friend - you know the REST OF THE STORY!

THERE IS NO RAPTURE!

The church systems are literally filled today with carnal, earthly-minded Christians who sit back in ease and self-complacency and await a future rapture that will translate them out of the midst of earth's Great Tribulation at the beginning of the Day of the Lord. To this generation of Lukewarm Laodiceans the Spirit speaks in certain tones of warning: "Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light" (Amos 5:18). In the vast majority of evangelical circles we are taught that at any moment Jesus will come and secretly, silently snatch away His elect to a heaven in the far-flung skies - to escape the Great Tribulation which shall soon visit the earth. It is not true. The saints shall be "caught up" all right; but it is not speaking of distance in terms of miles or light years, but to glorious reality in the Spirit. When Christ comes to lift our inner-man nature UP into the fullness of UNION IN HIM we certainly know the reality of being raised up and made to sit together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. This is not a place in the sky, but a spiritual position of eminence, glory and authority. Paul says that we shall be caught up "in the air," that sphere of influence, authority and spirit-control now occupied by "the god of this world," the "prince and power OF THE AIR" (see Study #42 in this series).

"Rapture" is not a biblical word. Let all of God's people stop speaking of the "rapture." The word rapture is not in the scripture and is at best very misleading. If instead of the rapture we speak of being caught up in the spirit (Acts 8:39; II Cor. 12:2-4; Rev. 4:1-2), translated into the Kingdom (Col. 1:13), raised up into the heavenlies with Christ (Eph. 2:5-6), and caught up into the throne, the spiritual dimension of the Christ's authority, power and glory (Rev. 4:1-2; Rev. 3:21; Rev. 12:5) we will rid ourselves of much confusion and carnal delusion, and we will have a much better understanding of present spiritual realities and the immediate program of God.

Religionists debate loud and long about WHEN THE "RAPTURE" IS TO TAKE PLACE. Some believe in the "pre-tribulation rapture." That means that God's people will be removed from the earth just before the beginning of the tribulation. Thus they will not be here for any of the seven years of plagues, vials, etc. Bumper stickers state: "In case of Rapture, this car will self-destruct". Tracts for airliners say: "In case the trumpet sounds, be prepared for this plane to crash, your pilot may be a Christian." These are fear tactics. Then there are those who teach the "mid-tribulation rapture." They believe that the Bible teaches that the Church will have to go through the first three and a half years of the tribulation while the Antichrist is warring against the saints, but will be raptured and spared the last three and a half years of the intense wrath and judgment of God. Finally there are the "post-tribulation" people. They teach that the Church goes through the entire seven years of tribulation, and that only after the tribulation are the saints "caught up", as according to I Thes. 4:17. They see a Church being empowered by the Spirit of God to survive the worst onslaughts of Satan and pass through victoriously to the other side. This is an admirable concept, and much closer to the truth, but these still embrace the notion of the rapture.

There is a story of King Charles II of England, that he once puzzled the Royal Society (a society of scientists) by propounding the question, Why is a dead fish heavier than a live one? The men of science debated this question with much acumen, and offered various solutions to it. It however occurred to one of them to make sure by experiment that the dead fish was in fact the heavier; and it was found that it was not. Now this trick of the Jesting Monarch is often played upon us by our own minds. We assume, because the preachers and teachers play the incessant drumbeat, that there IS a rapture. But when one carefully examines "the alleged fact" of the rapture he is led to the astounding discovery that in fact there isn't even any such thing!

A German Prince was once visiting a certain city. When greeted by a deputation from the Town Council he expressed great surprise that his arrival had not been heralded by salvoes of cannon. The Burgomaster, who had a sense of humor, replied that there were a hundred reasons for the omission. Asked by the Prince what they were, he began: "In the first place we have no cannon; in the second we - " "Now," broke in the Prince, "your first reason is so good that I don't want to hear the other ninety-nine." That answer comes to mind as one reflects on the theory of the Secret Rapture. We wait in vain for one strong argument that simply compels us to consider their view. Take a searchlight. Take all the suns and moons and stars, break the rim of the Milky Way and pour the compacted brilliance of its infinite depths of light into every crevice of the good old Book; search every page and chatter and verse and line, from Gen. 1:1 through Rev. 22:21, and you can find no trace of it in teaching, in prophecy, in parable or in symbol. The rapture is simply not found in the Bible! That one reason is so good that we have no need to consider any others!

Since so many Christians are steadfastly looking for Jesus to come FOR the Church, to whisk it away up to heaven somewhere, we need to take a closer look at the Word and see if ANYWHERE in the Bible we can find this expression "coming FOR the saints." This may come as a shock to some, but the Bible NOWHERE speaks of Jesus coming "FOR the saints." Let those who carelessly use this term show us where it appears in the pages of God's inspired Book. Let them search! It cannot be found! Never! Nowhere! Not even once! Surely then, a teaching which constantly employs an expression that is foreign to the Word of God should be subjected to close examination. I can hear some dear saint saying, "Oh, but the Bible does say that Jesus is coming FOR a Church without spot or wrinkle." No it doesn't! What it says is that Christ so loved the Church and gave Himself for it "that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might PRESENT IT TO HIMSELF a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing" (Eph. 5:26-27). It says nothing about taking the Church anywhere. In order to "present the Church to Himself" in a holy and blameless condition doesn't necessitate changing the Church's physical location at all! There is no reference to a journey; the description is of a CONDITION. Our Lord's coming "for" His Church is nothing more than an invention of ignorant minds, hatched up by men who are reading into their Bibles many fantastic tales which they use to uphold their delusions. The sleeping Church, of course, can think of little else except a physical ride into the clouds, being whisked away into an etherial state and experience of their own invention, where they intend to sit around dressed in white nightgowns or something similar, eating - eating - eating what?

But let us forget all this nonsense. Let us come on down out of the clouds and get our feet planted firmly on solid footing, and leave them there. We are not going anywhere: not for a long while, at least. We are not yet ready to go anywhere, in fact. These people who think they are all prepared to be physically caught away to the throne on high and there help God run His universe, are simply manifesting the fact that they are just babes living in a dream-world and are not even capable of eating good wholesome spiritual food. Before we are fitted for running God's affairs and ruling with Christ over His universe, we have got to become proficient at running our little earth. This is our proving ground. And we are going to stay right here until we graduate! Before we are even capable of running an earth we must grow up spiritually and become proficient at living by the principles of the Kingdom and walking out the mind, nature and will of the Father in our own lives. The Church has not yet done even this. The vast majority, including the preachers, are just babies who still need a lot of comforts and soothing syrups, need to have their garments changed quite regularly and their bottle filled and held for them. Of course I know that the Church realizes what a horible mess she has made of things in general, and would like to run away off somewhere to get away from it all. But she is going to stay right here and face the music, whether she wants to or not.

THE GREAT ESCAPE

"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ" (Tit. 2:13). There is a strange thing happening today, for most Christians are not looking for the "coming" of the Lord - rather, they are expecting the "going" of the saints! It is hard to convince men of the truth when for years their minds have been set in a contrary direction. The truth is that the "blessed hope" is not the rapture; it is the APPEARING of the Lord. The "blessed hope" is not deliverance from the Tribulation; it is HIS GLORIOUS APPEARING in His people. We are not looking for a rapture to take people out of this old world, but we are looking for HIM TO APPEAR out of the innermost being of His sons to transform His elect so that they will be able to change the very courses of this world. This is the time of the appearing of Christ in power and great glory. The Lord has confirmed this fact by appearing to us personnally, and to others as well. He is coming and has come to us in His spiritual presence and is uncovering Himself within us to appear through us to the world. With each appearing of our Lord we witness greater growth unto maturity and perfection than we have seen in the past, for the Lord is doing that quick work. This is a very significant hour, an hour of much spiritual activity, accomplished by the arising of HIS LIFE WITHIN.

"Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted WORTHY TO ESCAPE all these things that shall come to pass, and TO STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN" (Lk. 21:36). This verse of scripture has often been misapplied to the rapture theory. However, the words of Jesus are relevant to this hour and should be considered in the light of all present, revealed truth. If the old rapture theory is wrong, as we certainly believe it is, what then did Jesus mean by admonishing us to "pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape" the things that are coming upon the world? Some like to point at Enoch, who was translated that he should not see death, and say that he is a type of those who are raptured before the Tribulation, thus "escaping" the things that are coming upon the earth. But Enoch did not live during the time that judgment was being poured out on the earth in the form of a flood. Enoch had his experience some 669 years before the Flood, and never met Noah. In other words, his translation (and that's another story!) was not for the purpose of helping him escape the flood.

It is NOT Enoch who serves as the type of how one escapes the judgments of God poured out in the earth, but NOAH! Jesus did not say, "As it was in the days of Enoch." He said, "But AS THE DAYS OF NOAH WERE, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came and took them all away; SO SHALL ALSO THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN BE" (Mat. 24:37-39). How the preachers have distorted and mutilated these wonderful words of our Lord! Songs have been written and sermons preached to urge us to be ready to be "taken" when Jesus comes. The great truth is that Jesus is saying the exact opposite! Let us consider what happened in the days of Noah. Who was taken? Who was left? "For as in the days that were before the flood THEY (the wicked) were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and (they, the wicked) knew not until the flood came and TOOK T-H-E-M ALL AWAY" (Mat. 24:38-39). It was the wicked that were "taken" in Noah's day, for the record states that the flood came and "took them all away." And who was left? NOAH! Noah had spent much time and diligence in building an ark in which to "ride out" the storm. Noah went THROUGH the flood, protected by the ark he had prepared and entered into. When the flood waters abated, and the wicked had been taken away, he stepped out of the ark and inherited the purified earth. He and his family now owned the whole planet! Everyone else who had held a deed to a piece of property was GONE, along with the heirs. Noah inherited the earth and there were none to dispute his claim. The previous owners had been "taken" and Noah alone was LEFT to inaugurate the new age. To which fact Jesus adds this significant statement: SO SHALL ALSO THE COMING (PRESENCE) OF THE SON OF MAN BE!

This great type points to far more than merely the inhabitants of the world being blown off the map and just you and me and a few other elect saints remaining. It points to the way of LIFE instead of DEATH. In this hour God's chosen ones are building an ark of obedience and truth, of wisdom and righteousness, that they might LIVE AND NOT DIE. I declare to you that there is a people who shall live and not die! This is not an outer ark of gopher wood and pitch, but an inner ark of the mind of Christ and the ways of God in the SPIRIT. Our "hiding place" is in Christ. "Your life is hid with God in Christ" (Col. 3:3). It is the fearful, the faithless, or the wicked, who seek a geographical hiding place. Some want to leave the earth and fly away to heaven, while some cry for the rocks and the mountains to hide them, and yet others are seeking a hiding place in some natural place, a farm, a desert, a wilderness area, etc. But it will not work. It will not work because it is natural, physical, carnal, earthly. You cannot escape from death that way. You can only escape death by LIFE! And you can only find life by sowing to the SPIRIT! It is the life of God in your spirit which will swallow up all death, enabling you to "escape" the things that are coming upon the world.

George Hawtin penned the following words of truth: "The three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace were living types of the elect of God as they will be preserved through the fires of tribulation. The fire will not hurt them and the Son of God, who was with those blessed three, will be with us also. The elect will be right here in the world, yet they will be caught up to a new realm of spiritual glory and power, a realm where nothing of the earth can really harm them. Daniel was thrown into the den of ravening lions because of his faithfulness to God, but because he lived in a heavenly realm far above all his associates, the roaring lions became as docile as domestic kittens in his presence. It is quite possible that he stroked their manes and listened with pleasure to their mighty purring throughout the night when angels came to shut their mouths, yet these same lions tore his enemies to pieces before they could fall to the bottom of the pit. And thus I think it will be for all God's elect people. They will be in the fire, but never feel it. They will be in the lion's den, but find no hurt. Yea, they will be like Noah, who rode through the great waters of the flood, but came down on side to people a glorious new age, which in our case will be the age of the Kingdom."

Those chosen ones who shall be blessed with that promised ESCAPE shall be delivered, not by being removed from the earth, but by a more glorious transformation. They shall escape the things that are coming upon the world by appearing before the Son of man - by standing before the Son of man - by union with Him in the incorruptibleness of His divine life. When anyone among us is blessed to stand before the Son of man we are changed into the same image by seeing Him as He is. But let not any saint of God think that we speak of an outward event, for the Son of man is WITHIN YOU, and it is there that you behold Him, are changed into His image, and stand before Him, your outer man brought into harmony and oneness of life with the inner, praise His wonderful name!

COME UP HITHER

Another scripture used to teach the pre-tribulation rapture is Rev. 4:1-2 where John heard a voice "as it were a trumpet talking with me; which said, COME UP HITHER, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. And immediately I was in the spirit: and behold a throne was set in heaven..." They say John was a type here of the Church being caught up off the earth into heaven just prior to the wrath of God falling upon the world in the Great Tribulation. But it says no such thing. Oh, what shame! What deliriums! Men, poor deluded and blind children who know as little of the Christ life and spiritual realities as does the father of lies whom they unwittingly serve, yet parade themselves as angels of light and their carnal imaginings as revelation direct from God! No wonder Paul wrote, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine" (II Tim. 4:3-4). No wonder Isaiah wrote, "All tables (from which the Church is fed) are filled with vomit and filthiness, so that there is NO PLACE CLEAN" (Isa. 28:8). God pity the poor victims who follow these wretched blind leaders of the blind, poor nursing infants who know not their right hand from their left, victims of these messengers of the carnal mind, poor helpless babes, who have never, since the day of their birth, had a good square spiritual meal, and who as a result grow weaker and thinner and more anemic spiritually day by day.

A tremendous revelation was given to John on Patmos. John was one of the "three mighties" who walked with the Lord in the days of His flesh; he was with Him in the Mount, he lay in His bosom and, above all others, has received the distinctive title as "that disciple whom the Lord loved." It was fitting that the man who had leaned upon the breast of God's Son and heard the inmost beating of His heart, should become the depositary of His most intimate thought in respect to the course of the Church in this age. And such is the case. This picture is to be found in the book of the Revelation. The seven Churches are saluted by John. He was shown the seven candlesticks "which ARE the seven Churches" (Rev. 1:20). God raised up a prophet that could see and foretell in detail the entire Church age before it could transpire. This is what the messages to the seven Churches in Rev. 2 and 3 are all about.

This prophecy is directed to the seven Churches in Asia as they became the symbolic vehicle by which the Lord quickened a message that is not only to be unto them, but is to be relevant to all Christians throughout the entire Church age. The messages and prophecies that are seemingly directed unto the seven special Churches of Asia actually symbolize and characterize the conditions that have existed in the Church age from the day of Pentecost until now. Seven is the perfect spiritual number of completeness and these SEVEN CHURCHES embody and characterize all the combined conditions that not only existed then, but have existed in one form or another throughout this entire age and are still in some form or another manifested in the Churches today. John beheld the good and the evil of the Church age. He declared the blessings and the curses of this age. He saw the strength and the weakness of the Church. He saw the Church in its beginnings and in its consummation. He beheld the True Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and he exposed the false church systems, the swaggering harlot of this age with her unholy spirit, doctrines, organization and methods. John shows forth the full revelation of all the fullness of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church during the Church age and the ages to come.

If you want to know what the Church of this age is like look at the SEVEN CANDLESTICKS! There you have the divinely inspired portrait of the Church painted in awesome detail by the skillful hand of the Holy Spirit. The outstanding fact is that it is a Church of MIXTURE - imperfect, immature, carnal, idolatrous, lethargic, heretical, adulterous - a realm of mixture and duality. Not only is the Church age an age of mixture, but it is an experience of CONTINUED MIXTURE; as in the parable of the wheat and tares, right up to the end of the harvest the field is a MIXED FIELD; it is a field divided between wheat and tares. There is neither time nor space to explore the meaning and fulfillment of all the symbols attached to these seven Churches, but these seven Churches perfectly reveal WHAT THE CHURCH REALM IS IN ITS ENTIRETY, and history and personal experience testify conclusively that John was shown aright! The early Church itself was a mixture of flesh and spirit, truth and error, law and grace, spirituality and carnality, Christ and antichrist. And I do not hesitate to tell you that from that day to this ALL CHURCHES HAVE SO BEEN. They are today! ALL of them! Yes, YOURS too! precious friend of mine, matters not if you call it a "New Testament Church," "Kingdom Church," "Sonship Church," "End-time Church," "New Day Church," or by some other inventive title if it IS a Church - its portrait is graphically and unerringly drawn in chapters 2 and 3 of the Revelation. Have you been searching for the perfect Church? Forget it! Such a Church does not exist during the Church age. And should this age continue for another thousand years the Church shall not have changed - the Word of the Almighty God declares it! The seven candlesticks ARE the seven Churches and the seven Churches ARE the whole Church throughout the entire Church age. The "New Testament Church" realm can never be different from what John saw in spirit.

Notice now the inspired words that follow: "After this (the vision of the candlesticks) I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, COME UP HITHER, and I will show thee things which must be HEREAFTER. And immediately I was IN THE SPIRIT: and, behold, a THRONE WAS SET IN HEAVEN, and one sat on the throne" (Rev. 4:1-2). An entrance is given to John into the heavenlies of the Most High. A door is opened unto John into the highest spiritual dimension of the divine eternal domain. At the speaking of the trumpet, the spirit translates John into the higher spiritual and heavenly realm of the THRONE OF GOD. I would draw your reverent attention to the wording: "AFTER THIS I looked... Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be HEREAFTER." H-E-R-E-A-F-T-E-R! After what? Why, bless your heart, after the CANDLESTICK REALM! The promises have already been given, NOT TO THE CHURCHES, but to a class in the Churches - to HIM THAT OVERCOMETH. It is divinely significant that not one promise was ever given to even one Church in these Churches of mixture - every single- promise was made to that Church within the Church - the OVERCOMER - the SONS OF GOD. "HE THAT OVERCOMETH shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be MY SON" (Rev. 21:7). Ah, here is a higher realm, the realm of the OVERCOMER. There is no duality, no mixture in this higher realm, no immaturity or imperfection of any kind. And the message sounds forth like the blast of a trumpet: "COME UP HITHER!"

Is it not plain that John is shown TWO REALMS - the candlestick realm and the throne realm? First John is informed about what the candlestick realm is, then he is shown another realm HIGHER THAN THE CANDLESTICK REALM. It is the realm of the overcomer, of the throne (the Lordship realm), of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders. The throne denotes the seat of authority, rulership and dominion. It is the realm of HIS LORDSHIP, and ours with Him. Any person who ever enters into that divine realm of the Spirit in the heavenlies must be in complete and total submission unto that Holy One who sits upon that heavenly throne. And "to him that overcometh will I grant to SIT WITH ME IN MY THRONE, even as I overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne" (Rev. 3:21). It is interesting to note that immediately following this invitation to the throne John is bidden to leave the candlestick realm of the earthlies and ascend IN THE SPIRIT (not a physical "rapture"!) into this HIGHER-THAN-THE-CANDLESTICK-REALM where the Lamb is in the throne.

This is what the brethren don't want to do! How tenaciously they cling to the candlestick realm with its five-fold ministry, New Testament Order, with its limitation, imperfection, weakness, immaturity, mixture, structures, methods, etc. Even so-called "Kingdom" preachers tell me that unless I am joined to some "New Testament Church" I will never make it into sonship. It is a lie. The truth is just the opposite. COME UP HITHER! Actually, you must leave the candlestick realm and ascend into the higher dimension of the Spirit in order to be a son of God! This revelation was given in A. D. 96. The people in the Churches of John's generation refused to leave the candlestick realm and rise to a higher experience in God and within only a few years the great apostasy set in, by the third and fourth centuries the apostasy was complete, followed by a dreadful night of great and terrible darkness. If we would be overcomers, pressing into sonship to God, our ears must hear with joy the challenging call, "Come up hither!" We must arise and forsake the limitation of the candlestick realm to become related to Christ in that inner union where HIS LORDSHIP SWALLOWS UP OUR LIVES. Oh, yes, the Lord is still out there in the candlestick realm, for as long as that realm endures there is "One like unto the Son of man standing in the midst." I have seen Him there in the midst of all the delusion, foolishness and carnality, I have beheld Him blessing, moving, speaking, saving, baptising in the Holy Ghost, healing, imparting gifts, I have heard His voice in the praising, in the preaching, in the prayers. Yes, He is there all right, in the midst, as the light that remains in Babylon, ministering on that level, blessing by His wonderful grace. But, my beloved, I would be remiss if I failed to warn you that He is NOT THERE taking men on to perfection, into the incorruptible life, into the fullness of sonship. The "up hither" realm is where that experience is known. If any man can show me any Church order, including the early Church, or their own, that has ever carried God's people on to perfection and fullness I will recant and gladly join it. If such a Church cannot be produced, then John's estimation of the candlestick realm remains valid and I have no obligation to join myself to that which is totally impotent to minister what is needed in this hour to bring us into the depths of Jesus Christ. Here me now! We are not opposed to gatherings, meetings and ministry! It is just that all these things must be kept in the perspective of reality as the "in part" realm and not over-rated as the vehicle to bring us into fullness.

I hear a Voice, my brother, my sister, bidding me to distinguish between the "dwellers on earth" and the "dwellers in heaven." "Therefore rejoice, YE HEAVENS, and YE THAT DWELL IN THEM. Woe to the INHABITERS OF THE EARTH... for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath..." (Rev. 12:12). In the thirteenth chapter of Revelation we are told that the "dwellers in heaven" are the tabernacle of God. The tabernacle of God is that blessed company of the overcomers - the sons of God. The dwellers in heaven are the 144,000 standing on Mount Zion. The dwellers in heaven are the manchild company "caught up to God and His throne." The dwellers in heaven are the enthroned elders. The dwellers in heaven are the four living creatures in the midst of the throne. The dwellers in heaven are the Kings and Priests after the order of Melchizedek. The dwellers in heaven are the tabernacle of God. The dwellers in heaven are the warriors on white horses who come out of heaven, accompanying the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The dwellers in heaven are the New Jerusalem which comes down from God out of heaven bringing the glory of the celestial Kingdom among men. Yea! and Amen! The more you search the more clear it will become that the "open door" in heaven and the invitation "Come up hither" separates between the candlestick realm in the earthlies, which are the seven Churches, the entire age of Church economy - and the higher realm of HIS LORDSHIP WITHIN, the throne realm!

I say to you today as the trumpet-voice said to John in that long ago, "Come up hither!" We have stood on the sidelines and said, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus, and rapture us out of this world." And He has sat on His throne and said, "Come, My people; enter into my gates, enter into my glory." We have said, "Come and get us Lord Jesus," and He has said, Come up hither, My people; come up into the realm of My Spirit, of My reality, of My glory and power." THE DOOR IS OPEN IN HEAVEN TODAY. You may live in the candlestick or the throne. You may be an earth-dweller or a heaven-dweller. You may be a "Christian" or you may be a SON!

THE TRUE "RAPTURE"

The word "rapture" as used theologically is a misapplied and misappropriated term. Although this word is not found in the Bible, it IS found in the dictionary. The correct rendering of "rapture" has nothing to do with going anywhere. The World Book Dictionary furnishes us with this definition: "A strong feeling that absorbs the mind; very great joy. A feeling of being lifted high in MIND and SPIRIT; being filled with and completely taken up in feeling or delight or bliss." Armed with the true definition of rapture, is it not clear that we have been raptured on occasions too numerous to mention, as we have experienced the life of God in our SPIRIT from glory to glory!

Men gaze steadily into the skies looking for Jesus to come flashing across the heavens to snatch them up and carry them away, but their spirits have never been enravished with these enlightening words: "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and HATH TRANSLATED US into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Col. 1:13). Is that not an illuminating statement? And while the preachers rant and rave and speculate about a "rapture", displaying their carnal charts complete with pictures of automobiles wrecking, trains derailing, and airplanes crashing while the bodies of the saints soar away through the atmosphere, there are some humble sons of the Most High God who have EYES TO SEE and have discovered a process NOW TAKING PLACE in every believer who is earnestly pressing on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. From the far distant mountain peaks of revelation the inspired voice of Paul clear as the morning song of the morning dove sounds forth the message: "Even when we were dead in sin, He H-A-T-H QUICKENED US TOGETHER WITH CHRIST, and H-A-T-H RAISED US UP TOGETHER, and made us sit together IN HEAVENLY PLACES in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:5-6). Blessed be God!

He who writes these lines testifies to those who read them that we have ALREADY PASSED FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN! My God, my God! What words are these that Thou hast bidden us believe? Since, then, we have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of the Son, is it any wonder that we should discover ourselves to be citizens of the true and eternal realm? By His resurrection and ascension we have been raised up and translated. We have passed from the realm where all is earthly and carnal to the realm where all is heavenly and spiritual. Our citizenship in this present age has been revoked and we have obtained a new citizenship in the eternal and undying realm. For this reason Paul wrote, saying, "Your citizenship is in heaven." We were citizens of another land, a dark land of fear, limitation, sorrow, sin and death. We were of different speech and culture, but we crossed over. We have changed our citizenship and our allegiance from one domain to another. We have renounced our existence on the earth-realm in favor of a new life in the heaven-realm. We have renounced our allegiance to this present world system, its customs, life-style, thought processes, wisdom, knowledge, ways, and religion, to become partakers of a new and heavenly citizenship, speakers of its new language, revelators of the beauty of its customs, culture and life-style, partakers of its higher inspiration, its more noble wisdom and knowledge, and manifestors of the wonders of its truth, and the glory of its endless life.

Ah, my beloved, WHAT YOU SEE DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU LIVE. The story is told of a mole who once pushed its head out of the ground and said to a bird who was swinging and singing on the branch above it, "What are you making such a noise about?" Said the bird, "Oh, the sunshine, the trees, the grasses, the shining stream, and the white clouds on the mountainside. The world is full of beauty!" "Nonsense," said the mole; "I have lived in this world longer than you have, and I have gone deeper into it. I have traversed it and tunneled it, and I know what I am talking about, and I tell you there is nothing in it but fishing worms." If all you can see is sorrow and trouble, pain and distress, sin and evil, crime and violence, lust and greed, wrath and judgment, and antichrist and tribulation, then you are living still in the wrong country! "WOE to the INHABITORS OF THE EARTH!"

A "catching up" is taking place today. There is a transference to a new kingdom and a new kind of experience which we have not known before. Unto transformed men today the Spirit is speaking these magnificent words: "If ye then BE RISEN with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God" (Col. 3:1). There is a spiritual rapture with Christ and all who partake of it will find that their affections are being set upon heavenly things ABOVE and not on things on the earth. This can be your experience here and now in this present world. Some will be dismayed by the statement I am about to make, but quite frankly, I care not one whit who anyone thinks the Antichrist is, or when the tribulation will begin, or how long it will last, or what technological or economic development may bring the mark of the beast, or what the Illuminati conspires to do, the world bankers, the trilateral commission, the Pope, the communists, or any other event that men's hearts are failing them for fear in looking after. That may all be interesting information but it is for the "earth-dwellers" to concern themselves with. I have no time for such trivialities and even less interest. None of this is of any significance in the Kingdom in which I now live, and holds nothing for me anymore. It all seems quite childish, speculative and boring. I have higher matters to attend to and greater and more enduring things to pursue in the Kingdom of my Father. Hallelujah! I've been "raptured"! And to one and all I say, "COME UP HITHER!" I am no longer a citizen of this world, for I have risen with Christ and am seated with Him in the higher than all heavens far above all principality and power and might and dominion, praise His wonderful name!
Preston Eby

NIGHTINGALE, NURTURERS AND HELL

2009-01-10T20:40:00.000-08:00

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Florence Nightingale "The Lady with the Lamp"

For a couple of months I have wanted to write a blog that addresses something that bewilders me every time I see it. It seems the mothers and even grandmothers that promote the doctrine of Hell often are the ones that rend my heart the deepest. Mothers should above all understand the nurturing nature and tenderness of a parent toward a child and they should know by the Spirit, within them, that our Father would never torment the great majority of His children forever and ever. It is their stance for a terroristic angry God that most often causes me to weep and believe me, weep I do.

This indeed is a dark and absurd phenomenon where mothers espouse and teach their children the foulest doctrine imaginable where most of God's children are terrorized and tormented in a pagan mythological place called Hell. I have written and shared insurmountable evidence on dozens upon dozens of my blogs refuting the demonic doctrines of "damnation and Hell" yet there are so many women and mothers who refuse to look at or acknowledge the Truth concerning this subject. It truly is baffling when you think of mothers and woman who are ingrained with a nurturers instinct and nature to refuse the "Real Good News," that God loves and is merciful to all his offspring. This I read some weeks ago touched on and graphically exampled this most bewildering phenomenon. Please allow me to quote it now.

"Did you know that upper class Chinese women had to suffer foot binding for around 1000 years! That was an awful thing to do to a child and woman. Common sense and science should have stopped this practice, years before it was outlawed around the turn of the 20th century. Surely mothers must have thought as they broke the toes of their daughters and bound them under the feet, as pus and blood oozed out of the bandages. This tradition of crippling my child makes no damn sense at all.

And yet generations of Christian parents have tucked their children to bed and reminded them that "they are to love god with all their hearts or he will roast them in hell forever." Surely most must have thought at some time or another This tradition of crippling my child makes no damn sense at all" (end quote)

On a personal note this is a short testimony of my experience of coming up against the unfathomable hardness and blindness the enemy has cast into hearts of some mothers. Decades ago, I shared the great hope of "all mankind saved" with my mother in law, a fundamentalist Christian. I shared because I thought it would give her comfort since she had lost her only son, ten years earlier while he, a non believer, was drunk and driving. I will never forget how she rejected the idea, willing rather to see her deceased son in Hell forever.

That was my first experience of seeing this strong darkness and I was baffled and crushed. I would like to say the rejection of this message has gotten easier as I see other mothers reject the Real Good News but instead it hurts even more today. The positive news is that as we enter the last days of the age, the Holy Spirit has opened up anew and in greater measure the truth of "Universal Salvation" contrasting the doctrine of "Hell." I have seen many in the last few years come to find freedom from fear of a terroristic god and be embraced by Our Benevolent True Father. This gives me new hope and thus I have been tirelessly sharing the True Gospel. I am sure I spend seventy or eighty hours doing this most weeks because I have His Heart and Love for His children, your children and my children.

In closing I want to share some thoughts, quotes and a writing by Florence Nightingale, a woman with a nurturer's heart. Florence is one that truly knew the nature of God as "El Shaddai" which translates into "God, the breasted nurturer." She is also known as a pioneer of modern nursing and a noted author. Before leaving you with her profound and heart felt writing allow me to share a little more of her biographical background,

In 1854 Florence Nightingale took 38 "handmaidens of the Lord." (as she called them) to nurse wounded British soldiers in the Crimean War. This was the first time the government had allowed women to do this. Almost all modern nursing systems and techniques we know today can be traced back to her. During the Crimean campaign Florence Nightingale gained the nickname "The Lady with the Lamp", deriving from a phrase in a report in The Times:

She is a ‘ministering angel’ without any exaggeration in these hospitals, and as her slender form glides quietly along each corridor, every poor fellow's face softens with gratitude at the sight of her. When all the medical officers have retired for the night and silence and darkness have settled down upon those miles of prostrate sick, she may be observed alone, with a little lamp in her hand, making her solitary rounds.

The phrase was further popularised by Henry Longfellow's 1857 poem "Santa Filomena":

Lo! in that hour of misery
A lady with a lamp I see
Pass through the glimmering gloom,
And flit from room to room.

As a teenager, Florence was converted to Jesus Christ, writing in her diary: "God spoke to me and called me to His service." Following are some other diary entries that exhibit her deep love of God.

March 7. God called me in the morning and asked me would I do good for Him, for Him alone without the reputation.

March 9. During half an hour I had by myself in my cabin, settled the question with God.

April 1. Not able to go out but wished God to have it all His own way. I like Him to do exactly as He likes without even telling me the reason.

May 12. Today I am thirty--the age Christ began his mission. Now no more childish things. No more love. No more marriage. Now Lord let me think only of Thy Will, what Thou willest me to do. Oh Lord Thy Will, Thy Will.

Florence kept a picture of Christ, crowned with thorns, in her bedroom. The call to relieve suffering was such, said Florence, that we "dishonour Christ when we do not do our best to relieve suffering, even in the meanest creature. Kindness to sick man, woman and child came in with Christ."

God has through out the last two millenia has always had a remnant that have seen God's enduring mercy and love for all His children without exception. They have faithfully carried the True Gospel to our present age and often with great cost, even to martyrdom. I pray you will carry this wonderful message to your children and should the Lord tarry, they also to their children.

Florence Nightingale Quote

"I can't love because I am ordered-least of all can I love One who seems only to make me miserable here to torture me hereafter. Show me that He is good, that He is loveable, and I shall love Him without being told. But does any preacher show this? He may say that God is good, but he shows Him to be very bad; he may say that God is 'Love', but he shows him to be hate, worse than any hate of man. As the Persian poet says; 'If God punishes me for doing evil by doing me evil, how is he better than I?' And it is hard to answer, for certainly the worst man would hardly torture his enemy, if he could, for ever. And unless God has a scheme that every man is to saved for ever, it is hard to say in what He is not worse than man; for all good men would save others if they could. It is of no use saying that God is just, unless we define what justice is. In all Christian times people have said that 'God is just' and have credited him with an injustice such as transcends all human injustice that it is possible to conceive."

God bless and I pray you were moved by this message to realize more fully the Love of our Nurturing Father.

Jack

(some material copied from Wikipedia, Tentmaker,
my freind David and a couple unlisted sources)

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DECEPTION IN THE CHURCH

2009-01-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

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I have often shared with my friends still bound by the organized church that there are two Jesus' and one is false. Everything in the Kingdom of God has a worldly and soulish counterfeit and so is it also with Jesus, the Son of God. I spent decades in the orthodox and organized church; Catholic, Pentecostal and Charismatic and I will tell you point blank, that even though I ministered in these institutions with what would be perceived as "with great success" I had ignorantly fashioned a false Jesus. So today I share the apocalyptic warning with those still bound in organized Christendom, that the greatest challenge in a believer's life is to allow the Spirit to lead in the forming of Christ within. I share from my sad and costly experiences, how the soul of man, known also as the carnal mind, is ever desiring to raise up in rebellion, to form a Christ and a God of it's own making. And with the forming of this soulish false Christ, which in reality is an Antichrist there is also a false church system to accommodate this religeous counterfeit. Such is the place where the great majority of churches and Christians today find their position. It has all become false, apostate and corrupt, as has been prophesied in the scriptures in regard to the times at the end of the age in which we now dwell.

So with that introduction I share the first part of a writing by a Jewish believer who tells it like it is, as he identifies the deception that fills the church today. If I can say anything that, above all, lends credence to a man's message, it is that, "it illustrates the preeminence of Jesus Christ and the centrality of the Cross." I can place this very description on this written sermon by Art Katz.
May God by His Holy Spirit open your hearts to hear this dear brother's warning so timely for the days we now occupy,
Jack

The Anatomy of Deception by Art Katz

I once had the opportunity, by the Lord's providence, to be invited to speak at a "Jesus Rally" in Winnipeg, Canada. An earlier experience some years before at the first of the Jesus Rallies was enough for me. I vowed then to never again be a part of the outdoor, carnival-like atmosphere of men and women in shorts stuffing potato chips in their mouths, while hearing what ostensibly purported to be serious words of God from the platform. The whole atmosphere chilled my soul. But when this invitation came from Winnipeg, I felt that it was God, despite my determination, and I went.

I was not supposed to be a speaker at the general sessions, but as is the format, the morning sessions were given over to the denominational and non-denominational charismatic groups. I was invited to be the speaker at the Baptist charismatic group. How could I refuse so novel an invitation as that? And indeed, those speakings were blessed. On the night of the general meeting, I found myself sitting on the platform, where an internationally known speaker was the message bearer for that session. While everyone entered into the general merriment, I sat there like a glum lump. I was agonizing and mortified at some of the statements that were coming forth. The whole prevailing atmosphere in which the audience was receiving those words reinforced my impression that the whole thing was 'hokey.' I know of no other word for it. There was a sense of artificiality, of things synthetic and feigned, having the appearance of things real, but being somehow false, although real words and meaningful terms were employed such as phrases out of Scripture that spoke of the unity of the Body. There were prophecies being uttered that night from a certain assemblage of men who ostensibly had the gift of prophecy. They would write their prophecies out on yellow legal pads and give them to an overseer who would then call the men to the microphone at the appropriate moment to speak them. The terrible sense of unreality was all the more pronounced because the whole thing was couched in things that were very real. By the end of the night, my spirit was such that I could not wait to leave the platform. Unfortunately, I had been assigned to bring the benediction at the end of the night. I could not, however, lend myself to the things that had been taking place, which would then identify me with it. So I went over to tug the sleeve of the man who was presiding over the platform and ask to be excused from the obligation of bringing the prayer of benediction. But before I could get to him, he announced my name; so I came to the podium in that terrible agony and frustration. All I could do was ask the people to stand up, take off their sunbonnets and visors, come to a posture of respect before God and to sing with me the Lord's prayer. And that was how the night ended.

As I was leaving the platform, a layman who was in charge of arranging the sessions asked if I would be available for the general session the following morning. At first I abruptly said, "No!" But then I said to him, "Okay, but only if the Lord gives me something specific." The next morning we drove to an open park where the rally was being conducted and where I was to be the morning speaker in the Baptist section. I discussed with my colleagues whether I ought not indeed take advantage of the invitation that had been given me and speak a word distinct and different from the kinds of things that had been promulgated. We prayed together because I did not want to fall into that role of always having to bring an ungainly word. Without making any haste to get there, and in fact, hoping that we would be too late, we parked the car and walked to the platform where the public meeting was taking place at the very moment when it was time for the speaker to be announced. They had already assigned another speaker in my absence, but when the man saw me coming up the steps to the platform, he immediately called to me and I was rushed to the microphone. I started with something like, "Is there something grievously wrong with me that prevents me from entering into the spirit of general merriment that has prevailed in these meetings?" I went on to read in the Scriptures where Moses was coming down Mount Sinai with the tablets of the law only to hear a noise, which was not the noise of battle or the noise of victory, but the noise of singing. I went on to say that I had the impression it was this kind of noise that characterized the previous night, and it had much to do with that earlier event of men and women, too impatient to wait for Moses to come down from the Mount with the true thing. Instead, they simulated something like it-a golden calf, a substitute-and danced and pranced around it.

Can you imagine how these words were going forth? Even as I had been walking up to the platform, I heard one of the so-called prophecies in which the speaker was saying, "I, the Lord, have been with you this weekend; I have given you my Spirit and I am going to do this and I am going to do that. . ." But for me it was leaden and without life, and so I said, "It seems that my condition is so bad that I have no witness to the authenticity of these prophecies, and I wonder indeed whether it is not some kind of idiosyncratic thing, where I am some kind of character who always seems to find a negative thing. But if my condition is somehow an expression of the heartbeat of God, we might well ask whether functions such as this are not some kind of massive deception into which we have been inducted unwarily. Just because the sermons have been rich and suggestive, and we have been impressed with the three or four thousand people who have gathered here, and our hearts have panted after true unity in the Body of Christ, we need to consider whether we have been too quick and willing to call this "unity" when, in fact, it is not. As we explore that, maybe we need also to ask about the validity of the whole charismatic phenomenon, whether we in fact have an authentic baptism in the Holy Spirit, and indeed whether we have been born again of the Spirit. Or have we been, from beginning to end, inducted into one of the most colossal deceptions that has ever been perpetrated in the religious world and all history?"

Those were the kinds of questions that I raised, and then invited as many as would, to come to the session where I was to speak on the spirit of truth. There was a cry from my heart for something authentic to take place, that we should not settle for and be satisfied with a plastic counterfeit kind of charismatica, when the cry of God is for authenticity in the earth. Plastic is not a comely substance anyway, but a plastic Kingdom is a tragedy of such proportions that I could break down and weep. For the Kingdom of God to be plastic, subject to pressures and influences to accommodate and suit the needs of men, is inconceivable. We need to be alerted to the kinds of end-time deceptions that will come in the spirit of antichrist ("instead of" or "appearing as Christ"). This booklet is intended to examine the spirit or anatomy of deception, as of the things that are plastic, false, artificial, synthetic, imitative, counterfeit, spurious, feigned and pretended.

Chapter 1 - The Cry for Reality
There is a 'Kingdom of reality' that needs to be demonstrated by God's people. And if we need to be anything as the Church, it is foremost to be eminently real, eminently loving, eminently living in the truth, speaking the truth, walking in the truth, doing the truth, being true. It is much more than merely "being correct," or scripturally and doctrinally sound. It is something that should be suffused right into the marrow and the knit of our makeup. It needs to be in our eyes, in our speech, in the inflection of our voice, our posture and our talk. God has triggered something in my heart to raise the questions of authenticity before the Body of Christ. Are we willing for authenticity's sake and for truth's sake not to grasp at the first straw that floats our way, and which seems to present the possibility of solving our problems? Are we willing to refrain from simulating something out of our own humanity that has the appearance of love, but is not? I want that which comes down from above, however long I have got to bear the terrible agony and reputation of 'lovelessness.' I do not want a saccharine counterfeit. Authentic things do not come cheap. They never have. It is we, as believers, who have been inducted into the spirit of glib, unctuous and facile kinds of doings. We are quick to reconcile that which is not reconciled in God, and thereby suffer the surfacing again and again of problems, issues, and habits that will neither dissolve nor go away. We want a pseudo-resurrection without the ignominy and pain of the Cross. But it is only out of the ultimate agony and devastation of the Cross that ultimate glory comes. Are we lovers of the Cross? Do we love the splinters and the blood and the gore? Do we recognize that there is a cross for us to bear, and it is to this suffering that we are called, and that the resolution of the issue will not be far from us if we seek the things that are authentic and true? Do we have the discernment to distinguish the authentic from the counterfeit? Are we so habituated to success, and so desirous of seeing some visible effect of power that we are not too discriminating so long as we 'get it,' somehow? We want the excitement; we want the titillation; we want the appearance of power; we want to succeed, because the possibility of failure is a form of death we are not willing to bear, thus avoiding the Cross. We ought rather to ask ourselves what is success as God defines it? Nazi Germany put great emphasis on demonstrations of a very impressive kind, such as their meetings at Nuremburg with marches and torchlight ceremonies, almost like pagan practices, that filled the void in German life with emotion and intensity. It was an answer to a need for fulfillment, excitement and engagement. If we do not have a valid apostolic reality in our spiritual life, that void will be filled by other contenders who are only awaiting their opportunity. If we move into the realm of what is false, synthetic, humanly contrived and not the operation of the Spirit, we can move very easily from the charismatic to the demonic. We cannot tell the difference between the hunger for God and the hunger for experience. If we have a real hunger for God, we do not have to go to places where 'signs and wonders' abound. Last Days' deceptions are related to an inadequate view of God by which we interpret the 'blessing' or seeming power as being the evidence of God as we know Him, but the true knowledge of God would have made no room for that kind of understanding, or even the desire for these phenomena in the form in which they have been manifested. The pattern of Acts, chapter 13, shows a very different context: the demonstration of power as the provision of God to demonstrate the authority of His messengers when they were opposed by powers of darkness in the fulfillment of their mission, as opposed to the 'power' demonstrated in auditoriums to Christians who are looking for excitement, or help for their own bodies. This apostolic model is the one that we more rightly ought to look for and expect, indeed, will be the only one effective in the Last Days' final confrontation with those same powers.

Right Perception of God
The apprehension of God is very much affected by how we perceive Him, and therein lies the problem. We bring a distortion out of our own subjectivity and out of our own twist. We see God through a prism of our own being. There are some people who see God as some kind of a lackey or errand boy, who provides the convenience of meetings for this kind of entertainment and so-called 'blessing.'

With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure. . . (Psalms 18:26).

To perceive God rightly requires something from us. If we have any kind of controversy with God, the problem is not God, but ourselves; we are projecting something onto Him and becoming guilty of Israel's sin. The thing that we need is to be transformed into His image, not to project our image onto Him. He is not a convenience for us. He is God. He is the Creator. He is the Almighty. I think those words have lost their cogency. Maybe we have said them too often. They have become a catechism or an invocation of a mechanical kind. Unless we know Him in the place that is too deep for words, then we do not really know Him. Until there is a gasp and a splutter, until we find ourselves prostrate and stretched out as dead, do we really know Him? How many of us will go through an entire Christian lifetime without that knowledge and still be perfectly content, and think that we know Him, and that we can communicate Him? Manifestation phenomena are already perplexing the Church, with many asking, "Is it God?" People seem to receive benefit; they are delivered from hang-ups and depression; marriages are reconciled; people are restored to the faith. There is much evidence of 'good' things, but when the Last Days' deceptions come, of which we have been warned, will they not come with 'good' things? Can we tell the difference between the true and the false, especially when we want so much to be blessed and to have an experience and be relieved of our hang-ups and depressions? How discriminating are we about the source from which the 'blessing' comes? How do we tell whether something is of God, or a contrary spirit who is able to lift the depression that he may well have inflicted in the first place? Here is the key: our authentic knowledge of God, not as we thought Him to be, but as He, in fact, is. Deception is a deception when it contains elements that are dubious and suspicious, and at the same time there seems to be apparent blessing. Who has the acumen and the discernment to see through it except a people of priestly stature whose discernment has been increased by the exercise of it? And who can discern between good and evil, between the profane and the holy? If blessings, so called, can succeed in bringing the Church to viewing benefit as the criterion by which something is judged to be of God, we may well have been brought to the very ground of deception itself. There is something more important than benefits, something more important than being released from depression; it is the holiness of God, it is His name, it is His honor, it is He Himself. Receiving benefit of a dubious kind is too high a price to pay if it is going to throw any shadow upon His great Name. We have lost everything for the sake of benefit when the desire for benefit is, in itself, suspect. We are not in a position to categorically condemn as deception the ostensible benefits to which many testify. God is always free to bless whom He will bless. But if the enemy can succeed in bringing the Church to viewing benefit as the determinant by which something is judged to be of God, we may well have been brought to the very ground of deception itself. So for myself, I would choose to keep my distance from such phenomena, trusting that whatever I might be missing is not greater than what I am protecting and cherishing, and that the Lord is not offended by a carefulness that would rather err in a jealousy for His holiness than to risk subverting what has already been given as pure and true. It is remarkable that, though we are explicitly warned about end-time lying signs and wonders (2 Thess. 2:9; Matthew 24:24), we somehow imagine that it is future, and mindlessly trust ourselves in our greed for experiences, empowerments, or releases, to dubious personalities who have caught the public fancy in incredible overnight popularity. I profoundly respect God' s use of the weak and the foolish thing, but I cannot, for that reason, endorse what is garish, cheap and coarse as being that weak and foolish thing of which Paul speaks. "Holiness unto the Lord" is still the standard of God's House, even when it is unspectacular and unassuming in the eyes of the world, and even in our own eyes.

Waiting is a priestly function, and we need to wait to see if our spirits are hospitable to what is being mediated from church platforms. Is it compatible with our already existing knowledge of God? If it is not compatible, they can stand on their heads, run all over the platform, and every other kind of madness. We are not to mindlessly give ourselves to it at all. Our integrity in God needs to be guarded, and we should not allow ourselves to be influenced, taken up and affected by the current trends, or else we will never have anything significant to give. The teaching of the Scripture is to seek out, through the word and prayer, the root of the problems that come up in life. One will usually find that unacknowledged disobediences are at the root of them, and the correction is accomplished primarily through that part of the Body to whom one is accountable and authentically joined.

But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even
Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies,
according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love (Eph. 4:15 -16).

Revelation 12:11 tells us that "They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even unto death." What has come to us in our relationship with God, our personal history of the knowledge o reproaches that accompany obedience, and the sufferings that come with following the Lord. It did not come cheap. That knowledge is precious and dear. We need to make it the index f all other knowledge, and if present phenomena are not compatible with what we already know, and have tested, as being the knowledge of God as God, then we need to hold at arm's length that which purports to be from God, even if it is a 'blessing' to others. I have found safety in aligning new phenomena with what already is my knowledge of the holiness of God through my forty-year walk. I am jealous over that inward deposit, that residue of the knowledge of God that is beyond words; it cannot be articulated, but I know it to be there, and it is in the innermost place of my being. Everything has to be tested against that. If present phenomena are not consonant with what I already know to be the holiness of God, then I am alerted, and cannot indiscriminately receive what others seem to be applauding. This has been a life-saving provision for me, and it ought to be so for all believers.

It was not too long ago, in a church where I was speaking, that in a moment of time the thought came to me that one does not have to be a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness, or subscribe to some cult to be deceived. One can subscribe to correct Christian orthodoxy and be as effectually deceived in the correctness of that credal statement as if they were embracing false doctrine. And in fact, that kind of deception is the most devious and most powerful of all, because you think you are correct. There is a desperate need in the Church to know God in truth. He is waiting to be sought, and He distinguishes that people, that generation that will ascend the holy hill of Zion, in Psalm 24, as those with 'clean hands and a pure heart,' who have not given their soul to vanity by running to Toronto and other places, as those who will ascend the holy hill and throw the bolt that opens the gate so that the King of Glory might come in. He says, "This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Thy face¯even Jacob" (Psalms 24:6). You do not have to go to Toronto to seek Him; He is right where you are. Be ruthless against yourself in finding time, in sending the kids out, in getting out of the way those clamoring legitimate things that are always clawing at you. Lock yourself in a room, throw the key away. Do something, but seek God and be found of Him. His promise is that if we will seek for Him with all our heart and all our soul, we shall be found of Him.

It is a critical hour for the Church. Deception is rampant!

(Katz writing to be contunued Lord

willing. As a side not I am now

listening to a unbelivably powerful

sermon by Art Katz on the cross of

Christ. It is entitled, "And They

Crucified Him". This is a needed

message for us all and here is the link)

http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/viewcat.php?cid=173&min=40&orderby=titleA&show=20

THE CROOKED PATH OF ETERNITY

2009-01-07T01:22:00.000-08:00

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One day, through the primeval wood,
A calf walked home, as good calves should;
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail as all calves do.
Since then three hundred years have fled,
And, I infer, the calf is dead.
But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.

How could God be so remiss as to not give the ancients a word denoting "eternity"? As we mentioned in our last SONSHINE blog on "time" there has never been found before the time of Christ any word in the ancient languages, artifacts, writings, philosophies or theologies denoting the concept of "timelessness or endless time." To think our omniscient God would have forgotten to give that concept to the Hebrews is amazing don't ya think. How short sighted of Him not to match "eternity" with "punishment" in regard to those that are found to be at enmity with Him. Come on God, what is religion without the whip of "eternal suffering" for those that don't play by the rules.

One author put it this way with regard to such great an omission.

I pause here long enough to raise this question: Is it possible that our heavenly Father had created a world of endless torture, to which his children for thousands of years were crowding in myriads, and that he not only had not revealed the fact to them, but was so shortsighted that he had not given them a word to express the fact, or even a capacity sufficient to bring the idea of the eternal suffering to which they were liable, within the compass of the cognition? He created the horse for man’s use, and created man capable of comprehending the horse; he surrounded him with multitudes of animate and inanimate objects, each of which he could name and comprehend, but the most important subject of all-one which must be believed in, or eternal woe is the penalty, he not only had no name for, but was incapable of the faintest conception of the mere fact! Would, or could a good Father be guilty of such an omission?

ENTER TERTULLIAN, JEROME, AUGUSTINE AND JUSTINIAN TO CORRECT GOD'S OMISSION

Tertullian (160 to 220) set system of theology in Latin replacing the accepted Greek form.

Jerome (347 – 420) translator of the scriptures into the Vulgate, an early Fifth Century version of the Bible in Latin.

Augustine (354 – 430) made eternal torment the 'official' church doctrine, which contributes mightily to the continuance of today's dark age theology.

Justinian (483 – 565) Eastern roman emperor who strengthened the Roman church and Holy See (papal authority) with it's dual hierarchical chaste system of clergy ruling over laity. Eternal reward and eternal damnation were powerful tools in keeping obeisance strong in the church.

These are the main culprits or church fathers that were responsible for the conception and furtherance of that horrendous doctrine we know as "eternal torment in hell." We won't get into the misapplications of the word "hell" for Hades, Sheol, Tartarus and Gehenna but will limit ourselves to the misuse of "eternal" with it's derivatives in regard to God's workings. I will say this. Eternal torment is another glaring example of how everything the church teaches today is wrong. Yes, it is all the opposite of truth; so great is the darkness and so subtle is the wicked heart of the natural and unregenerate man that turns Life into religion. So a word describing the environment of God's dealings with man becomes an antonym, as "aion" in Greek, "olam" in Hebrew and "aevum" in Latin become erroneously "eternal". That which denoted time and age (aion, olam and aevum & derivatives ) now become endless, forever and everlasting. Why was this done?

It is always about power and these brilliant church theologians knew from the get go that you raise the ante for church members by making greater the reward for faithful service and more horrific the punishment for slothfulness and rejection. Of course with this come a "works" mindset that sets in motion "self righteousness" for those that work the hardest. Can there be a better way to build a religious organization. I think not and my personal genealogy stretching back centuries testifies to the natural allure and subsequent captivity by this religious organization. I imagine so it is with many of your family backgrounds also.

So with all that said I want to center my attention on the first of the culprits to promote the concept of "eternity in relation with reward and punishment." I speak of Tertullian and if you share with one still caught in the throes of "hell" of the harlot church this little history is a good one to know and recite. With this lesson, we are getting to the origins of the terrible "hellfire doctrine" that has taken love and grace and and replaced it with fear and dead works. Thus religion is born counterfeit to all that is truth in Christ Jesus. To recognize and know the workings of such deceitful spirits binding and moving men in false religion is to stand in awe, as I am sure John the Revelator did while describing his vision of Mystery Babylon.

On a side note, knowing the apostasy that came in by way of the Roman Church it is not hard to understand why many Protestants would believe Babylon, as being the Roman Catholic Church itself. Sadly those that would make that identification blindly carry no recognition of how their own protestant creeds and beliefs are but a facsimile of that which was laid out by the early Roman Church fathers. Sadder yet is, that these deluded protestants have no clue that Mystery Babylon speaks first and foremost to a heart condition wrought in all carnal men. Yes indeed Babylon is a great mystery to most and one has only to read the words of Revelation 18 to view the wondrously wicked nature of this beast system of carnal soulish worship. We all have felt, glimpsed and experienced the whore and as we walk deeper in the liberty of His light and life does not our vision of the painted lady of religion only grow more incredulous in her allure and power. Oh, the battles we have suffered both within and without as the whore has fallen in our lives.

So without further adieu allow me to share a few paragraphs on Tertullian along with a short word on Justinian as penned by Alexander Thomson in his book "Whence Eternity Slipped In." As I alluded to earlier, should you share with the disbelievers of "a benevolent Father God that reconciles all in Love" this is powerfully good material to mark their error in espousing "eternal torment." How often I sit with Christian men and women brilliant in their fields of knowledge yet they have never taken the time to see where by, the origins of "hell and damnation." The inexplicable nature of such slothful and willful ignorance only proves the power and hold of Babylon the Great!

TERTULLIAN
At this point we must turn to Carthage in North Africa, and in particular to Tertullian, and take careful note of their profound and lasting influence over Christendom. Tertullian lived from about 160 to 220 A.D. Born at Carthage, he became a well-read scholar, an attractive orator and writer, a keen controversialist, and a clever lawyer. What Origen was, about the same period, to Greek or Eastern Christianity, Tertullian was to Latin or Western Christianity. He was the first one to set about systematically to explain the Scriptures in the Latin tongue of North Africa, and the first theologian to establish a technical Latin terminology for Christianity. It is no exaggeration to say that the choice of terms of this Latin scholar has profoundly affected all succeeding theological thought. It is to Tertullian that we owe such terms as trinity, substance, person, redemption, justification, sanctification, sacrament, and many more, including probably such as perdition, perish, destroy, punish, torment, damnation, dispensation, predestination, revelation, priest, mediator, minister, congregation, propitiation,—all terms from the Latin, although it is possible some of these may be due to Jerome. These terms are all different from the Greek words used, although some of the meanings correspond fairly well. Tertullian was the first writer to set out to expound the difficult doctrine of the "trinity," and to use this term, which, however, he does not use as a name for God. Dr. Glover says, "He was the first man of genius of the Latin race to follow Jesus Christ, and to reset his ideas in the language native to that race." Archbishop Benson says, "When Tertullian began to write, theological Latin had to be formed." Harnack says, "What influenced the history of dogma was not his Christianity, but his masterly power of framing formulae." Up till his time Roman Christianity had been essentially Greek in form, but when he embraced it, Latin terms and thoughts were introduced, which gradually but steadily altered the whole character of its teaching, and paved the way for the Roman Catholic system of dogma. Dr. Swete says, "The Church in North Africa was the first Christian community so far as we know which offered the Eucharist for the benefit of the departed." One of the terms introduced by Tertullian was "satisfaction." Harnack says, "He was the first to regard definitely such ascetic performances as `satisfaction' as propitiatory offerings by which the sinner could make amends to God." According to Tertullian, a comparatively brief ascetic punishment inflicted by the believer on himself took the place of what the damned were awarded—eternal punishment. It should prove instructive to glance at some of his other views.

Like many today, he could never come to grasp the important yet elementary fact that God is spirit. That God was conciliated was quite unknown to him and to those who followed in his steps. Being well trained in Roman law he looked on God much more as the Judge who gives the law and must be obeyed, than as the Father of all. All relations between God and man partake of the nature of legal transactions, and thus a good act by man brings satisfaction to God and merit to man. But the fundamental relationship is that of fear on man's part. The great difference between the Greek Church and the Latin Church consisted in this, that the Greek Church looked upon revelation as expressing God in His relation to man, while the Latin Church began with man, and saw primarily man as in relation to God. God's measureless love and grace were viewed as at the disposal of man, or man was viewed as the fallen and guilty rebel measured up before the Judge. The one commenced with God and His love, operating all things in accord with the counsel of His will from past ages for the ultimate good of the race, ever seeking to draw man to Himself and instruct him with a view to his well-being and growth in grace. The other saw man as on probation, and God as the magistrate. Instead of men being gradually instructed in the ways and mind of God, they must subscribe without question or discussion to the Creed, the rigid and crystallized expression of the Latin Church's views. As Farrar says, the centre of Origen's system was God and hope, while that of Augustine's was punishment and sin; whereas Origen yearns for a final unity, Augustine almost exultingly acquiesces in a frightful and abiding dualism.

It was reserved for three great Carthaginians, Tertullian, Cyprian, and Augustine, so to influence the Latin Church that it deflected and declined into a system of dogmatic hierarchy and spiritual despotism. But Tertullian was the individual who set this current in motion. Through his powerful instrumentality Christendom, at the critical juncture, took the wrong turn, and his influence still prevails. Neander says of him, that his mind was often at a loss for suitable forms of phraseology, as he had more within him than he could express, and for this purpose he was obliged to create a language for the new spiritual matter, out of the rude Punic Latin. It has been said that Tertullian often makes use of words not found in general use outside of the very early writers, and that he often imparts to words a new or unusual force.

This, then, is the man in the hollow of whose hands lay the clay which was to be moulded into concrete Latin dogma. This is the man in whose hands reclined the fate of the word eternal. What meaning did he give to it? Its old meaning, akin to the Greek eonian, or something beyond that? Being quite devoid of any understanding of the eons of Scripture, destitute of a real perception of the fact that God is love, unable to view God but as a stern Judge who must somehow or other be "Satisfied" or placated, how was it possible for him to look on the mass of mankind otherwise than as damned? Augustine, who later outdid Tertullian and his doctrines, maintained that the whole human race was "one damned batch and mass of perdition" (conspersis damnata, massa perditionis), out of which a few are elected to salvation, while all the remainder are lost for ever. He beheld evil as a force integral in a universe apart from God, while Origen believed that all is out from God, even evil, which God must undo and banish. One who has no place for eons to come must needs look on the future as a shoreless eternity. Having failed to grasp what God had revealed concerning the eons, Tertullian had no alternative but to impart to the Latin word eternal that sense which it now bears. Not only so, but this special meaning of the Latin word, taking advantage of the steady decline of Greek as the language of theology and the rise and ascendancy of Latin, reacted upon, and was imposed upon, its Greek equivalent eonian, which henceforth in theology was "made to express" the meaning of everlasting.

JUSTINIAN, Emperor Constantinople 6th century
........... he wished it made very plain that the life of the saints was to be everlasting, and that the doom of the lost was to be likewise. Yet he did not argue that the word eonian meant everlasting. Nor did he claim that the word eonian had hitherto been misunderstood. In setting forth the orthodox position of the Church of that time, he did not say, "We believe in eonian punishment," as this was exactly what Origen, three hundred years before, had maintained and believed. In fact, Origen, who exulted in the truth of the reconciliation of the universe, definitely used the word eonian with reference to fire and doom as meaning a limited time. But writing in the very expressive Greek language, Justinian says, "The holy church of Christ teaches an endless eonian (ateleuteetos aiõnios) life for the just, and endless (ateleuteetos) punishment for the wicked." Justinian knew quite well that by itself eonian did not signify endless, and he therefore added a word the meaning of which is quite unequivocal, a word not found in the Scriptures. This letter of Justinian, which is still in existence, ought to convince anyone who is in doubt, regarding the true scriptural meaning of the word eonian. It may be added, that the Council, though expressly convened in order to stigmatize the teachings of Origen, one of which was that punishment was only temporary, condemned his views generally, but did not anathematize his teaching regarding the reconciliation of all. It was not until the year 696, at Constantinople, that a Council publicly condemned this doctrine of Origen for the first time, the glorious teaching being called "drunken ravings as to the future life of the dead."

So it is what it is. A talented disputatious teacher, orator and lawyer Tertullian picks a path and sets a golden calf a trodden. Two millenia later the majority follow that crooked path and you and I will pay hell and high water to convince the crowd, the broad path is destructive and full of death. It was only a couple weeks ago, with tears, I shared with a table full of tradition laden Christians, the message of "the Big Cross that reconciles all". This message of Love and Life was received with eyes glazed over and discomfort filling the air. It seems, as still yet I am not ordained to preach.

The Calf Path
by S.W. Foss

One day thru the primeval wood
A calf walked home, as good calves should;
But made a trail, all bent askew,
A crooked trail, as all calves do.
Since then 300 years have fled,
And I infer the calf is dead.
But still, he left behind his trail
And thereby hangs my mortal tale.

The trail was taken up next day
By a lone dog that passed that way.
And then, a wise bell weathered sheep
Pursued the trail, o'er~vale and steep,
And drew the flocks behind him too
As good bell weathers always do.
And from that day, o'er hill and glade
Thru those old woods, a path was made.

And many men wound in and out,
And dodged, and turned, and bent about,
And uttered words of righteous wrath
Because 'twas such a crooked path,
But still they followed, do not laugh,
The first migrations of that calf.
And thru the winding woods they stalked
Because he wobbled when he walked.

This forest path became a lane
That bent, and turned, and turned again.
This crooked lane became a road
Where many a poor horse with his load
Toiled on beneath the burning sun
And traveled some three miles in one.
And thus a century and a half
They trod the footsteps of that calf.

The years passed on in swiftness fleet,
The road became a village street.
And this, before men were aware,
A city's crowed thoroughfare.
And soon the central street was this
Of a renowned metropolis.
And men, two centuries and a half
Trod the footsteps of that calf.

Each day a 100 thousand route
Followed the zig-zag calf about,
And o'er his crooked journey went
The traffic of a continent.
A 100 thousand men were led
By one calf, near three centuries dead.
They followed still his crooked way
And lost 100 years per day.
For this such reverence is lent
To well establish precedent.

A moral lesson this might teach
Were I ordained , and called to preach.
For men are prone to go it blind
Along the calf paths of the mind,
And work away from sun to sun
To do what other men have done.
They follow in the beaten track,
And out, and in, and forth, and back,
And still their devious course pursue
To keep the paths that others do.

They keep the paths a sacred groove
Along which all their lives they move.
But how the wise old wood gods laugh
Who saw that first primeval calf.
Ah, many things this tale might teach,
But I am not ordained to preach.

Ah but the good report is, that if by the growing pain in my heart for the blind followers of the calf path be any indication the time to preach is close, even on the horizon. That excites me and I hope you also. A new aion is dawning in Christ Jesus!

Jack/John

Note:
From Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, the Greek word aion is said to mean age or a human lifetime.

The Analytical Greek Lexicon (Pub. Zondervan), the Greek word aion is said to mean "a period of time of significant character; life; an era; an age."

William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich's A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, the meaning of aion is "time, age."

Lexicons in Young's and Strong's concordances, the Greek word aion also is indicated as meaning an age or time.

The word "Aionios" by itself, whether adjective or substantive, never means endless" Canon Farrar

"The conception of eternity, in the Semitic languages, is that of a long duration and series of ages." Rev. J. S. Blunt-- Dictionary of Theology.

"Tis notoriously known, that the Jews, whether writing in Hebrew or Greek, do by 'olam' (the Hebrew word corresponding to "aion"), and aion mean any remarkable period or duration, whether it be of life, or dispensation, or polity." Bishop Rust

The word aion is never used in Scripture, or anywhere else, in the sense of endlessness (vulgarly called eternity), it always meant, both in Scripture and out, a period of time; else how could it have a plural--how could you talk of the aeons and aeons of aeons as the Scripture does? C. Kingsley

THE HARLOT CHURCH SYSTEM

2008-11-09T18:23:00.000-08:00

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Decades ago upon Christ Jesus coming into my heart I was quickly gathered up by the "Church System" where myself and my family entered into a world of dead works which produced in us a subtle self righteousness. After a dozen years of serving this system my relationship with my wife was a wreck and there were two young children suffering the ill effects of a family too busy and fractured in service to a demonic entity. Some would say, "Jack, "demonic" is too strong a word." I can only reply that after viewing and studying the church system for thirty five years, "demonic" is not strong enough and if I knew a stronger word I would use it in reference to that which we today know as "Church."

I believe God took me on the path of being wrecked by the system, that now, at the end of the age I might warn others and share the subtleties of how the Church usurps Jesus and becomes the harlot counterfeiting the true body and bride of Christ. I recently discovered a book that does a marvelous job explaining the origins, ways and history of the harlot and I want to share the first chapter here. If you are feeling in your spirit that there is, or has long been, something amiss with your relationship with Jesus, I would hope you might take the time to read this message and also the rest of this book. At the end of this writing I leave a link to the book.

Today, God is bidding many to come out and be free of this horrible harlot that spends the lives of God's children in dead works and self righteousness. I can only pray you hear His voice.

The Harlot Church System "Come Out Of Her, My People"
by Charles E. Newbold, Jr.

"The trumpet of the Lord is sounding an alarm to God's holy remnant to 'come out of her My people, that you be not partakers of her sins and that you receive not of her plagues.'" Revelation 18:4

Zion And Babylon Compared

We often sang scripture songs about Zion. I was a new convert then, gathering with a room full of very Spirit-sensitive believers. Those songs always struck a chord of joy in my heart, but I didn't know why. "Do you know what Zion is?" I asked one of the sisters.

"Yes." She meekly answered.

"Would you explain it to me?" I eagerly asked.

"You'll discover it in time."

"That's it!? You know the answer, but I'll have to wait to discover it myself?" Having no other choice, I waited.

Some years later I came to understand that Zion is a symbolic place in the spirit where Jesus is the only thing there is. He alone takes preeminence.

Then, I came to understand that Babylon meant something as well, that it stood in contrast to Zion. Symbolically, Babylon is all that the carnal (fleshly) mind devises in the exaltation of Self--the preeminence of Self over God. It is a place in us where we think we are IT. We exalt our imaginations and every high thing above the knowledge of God. 2 Cor. 10:5.

Both Zion and Babylon were historical places, yet the scriptures also speak of them as spiritual states of being. Hebrews 12:22 speaks of Zion (Sion, in KJV) in this figurative sense: "But we are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and assembly of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect." 1 Peter 2:6 reads, "Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious; and he who believes on Him shall not be confounded." This Zion is Jesus.

Revelation 14:8 is a good example of how Babylon has been used in this figurative sense: "And there followed another angel, saying, 'Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.'" Most notable is Revelation 17:5 which identifies the mother of harlots as Babylon: "Upon her forehead was a name written, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS, AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

Both Zion and Babylon mirror the condition of our hearts.

Symbolic Babylon is that attitude of the heart that makes us think we can solve all of our problems and meet all of our needs without God. We look to government, politics, science, technology, psychology, sociology, economics, entertainment, and religion for our help--things mankind has invented. Therefore, we look to ourselves to save ourselves.

In this book, however, my reference to spiritual Babylon is limited to the institutionalized, organized, religious church systems which I contend are products of the carnal mind. Please read on to see what I mean by this.

(The word church and the pronoun it when used in italics in this book refers to this Thing we call church. When it is not in italics, I am referring to buildings that have been dedicated to the worship of a deity, or I am directly quoting other sources.)

SPIRIT AND FLESH

In order to understand these two "spiritual states of being"--that is, Zion and Babylon--we must understand the difference between Spirit and flesh.

In the context of this book, the difference between the body of Christ and this Thing we call church is that difference between Spirit and flesh--what is of the Spirit of God and what is of our old man nature of flesh and sin, even the carnal mind.

Zion represents the Spirit; Babylon represents the flesh. The body of Christ needs very much to discern between what is Spirit and what is flesh, for that which is of the flesh is an enemy to the Spirit. True believers in Christ have been given the power of the Spirit to live a life separated from the flesh. This separation is what we call sanctification.

The word flesh is used in both the Old and the New Testament in reference to the natural, physical existence of all mankind such as we see it used in Matthew 24:22: "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened."

Flesh has also been used in reference to an individual's human body. After His resurrection and before His ascension, Jesus appeared to His followers and said, "Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have." Luke 24:39.

However, the kind of flesh written about in this book is in reference to that fallen nature of sin within all mankind that came about when Adam rebelled in the garden. Paul wrote regarding this, "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery [which is witchcraft], hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God." Gal. 5:19-21. Flesh is capable of committing the most vile evils without conscience even while having an awareness of what is good and evil. Such occurred in the days of Noah. Gen. 6:5-7. These practices are not the deeds of the physical body, but of that fallen sin nature that resides in us.

Paul had already established in Galatians 5:17 that "the flesh lusts [sets its desire] against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." Romans 8:7 attests that "the carnal mind is at enmity [hostile] against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be."

The carnal mind and the Spirit of God speak languages that are foreign and unknown to each other. The carnal (fleshly) mind cannot speak Spirit and the Spirit of God cannot speak flesh. The carnal mind has no ability whatsoever to understand the things of God which are Spirit. 1 Cor. 2:12-14. When inspired things of God are reduced to rigid doctrines, systems of theology, reasoning and logic, they are no longer Spirit but have become flesh. And if flesh, then deception. The carnal mind is at total odds with the Spirit of God; it is hostile to God.

THE DEATH SENTENCE

The sentence of death has been pronounced over the flesh. The flesh nature of man is separated from God who is life; therefore, the flesh is dead and all that comes from the carnal mind is death.

Nevertheless, flesh has a life of its own. It is earthly, sensual, self-centered, and at war with God. Its life is born out of the seed of death. It has an inherent drive to preserve itself at all cost. It fears annihilation. Yet, it cannot save itself because it is destined to self-destruction. The flesh nature rules a person until the life of God in Christ is planted within his spirit, at which time the old seed of flesh and sin is understood to be what it already is--dead. Unfortunately, even after we are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and while we remain in this life, we carry about both seeds: the seed of flesh and death, and the seed of Spirit and life.

THE HARLOT OF SELF

The flesh loves Self. Self with the capital "S" is the term I use throughout this book to refer to that the self-centered, self-indulging, self-absorbed, self-willed, self-serving nature of fallen flesh. The flesh nature of Self turns in on itself. It is selfish, prideful, arrogant, haughty, vain, narcissistic, manipulative, controlling, dominating, impatient, stubborn, insensitive, resentful, angry, unteachable, rebellious, fearful, anxious, complaining, disagreeable, judgmental, negative, critical, cynical, indifferent, greedy, lustful, sensual, envious, covetous, jealous, fault-finding, dishonest, and deceitful. It is deceived and suffers from delusions of grandeur. It always asks, "What's in it for me?"

The harlot, broadly defined, is anything for Self. I refer to these Things we call church as the harlot church system because they have been created out of our fleshly minds and desires for Self. Churches as we experience them today have no basis in scripture. They are icons of self-worship. Moreover, they are idolatrous, deceptive, and dangerous.

A TROUBLING MESSAGE

I will hit hard on the idolatry of the church system as we know it and experience it today. If you are not prepared to hear this message by the Spirit, you will no doubt take serious offense to it. The message of this book will be troubling to many of you who are victims of the church system, but will be most troubling to those of you who depend upon the church system for your livelihood and who find your significance, identity, validation, recognition, power, and security in it.

If you choose to continue reading this book, it will take you where you may think you do not want to go. You will journey beyond the facade of that Thing we call church and see how it is an invention of flesh. You will discover the demons that empower it. If you go the distance, you will hopefully find, with Abraham, that "city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is the Lord." Heb. 11:10. You will "come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels; to the general assembly and assembly of the firstborn, who are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirit of just men made perfect." Heb. 12:22-23.

ZION AND BABYLON

Before I plunge forward into exposing the idolatry of this harlot system, I want to abbreviate some comparisons between spiritual Zion, where Jesus is the only thing there is, and spiritual Babylon (the harlot), where the carnal mind of Self exalts itself, in order to provide a better point of reference for what follows. Many of the thoughts below are developed further throughout this book.

Zion refers to the true body of Christ, the bride, the ekklesia; Babylon refers to the false church system of men's traditions and religions. (Ekklesia is the Greek word in the New Testament which has been mis-translated "church" in most English versions, but it literally means "called-out-ones".)

Zion is a people--the people of God; Babylon is a Thing--church institutions and systems.

Zion is a living organism; Babylon is characterized by organizations, institutions, and systems.

Zion consists of people who have been born into it; Babylon consists of people who have joined it or been voted into it.

Zion is a people who are called by the name of Jesus; Babylon is a people who are called by many different names that represent divisions within this Babylonian church system: Baptist, Catholic, Charismatic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, and all the rest.

Zion is Jesus-centered; Babylon is self-centered.

Zion is living by the Spirit; Babylon is living after the flesh.

Zion is heavenly; Babylon is earthly.

Zion is grace; Babylon is law.

Zion is life; Babylon is death.

Zion is being; Babylon is doing.

Zion is rest; Babylon is works.

Zion is light; Babylon is darkness.

Zion is humility; Babylon is full of pride, arrogance, and haughtiness.

Zion is liberty in Christ; Babylon is bondage to the flesh.

Zion is the Kingdom of God; Babylon is the kingdoms of men.

Zion has Jesus Christ as her head; Babylon has elected or appointed men as their heads.

Zion is a Spirit-led people; Babylon is led by rules and regulations of man's own making.

Zion is Spirit-sensitive; Babylon is man-pleasing.

Zion is obedience to the Holy Spirit; Babylon is busy church work.

Zion accomplishes things in Holy Spirit power (Zech. 4:6); Babylon tries to accomplish things in self-strength.

Zion has its authority in the Word of God; Babylon places its authority in man-made doctrines.

Zion is one body in Christ Jesus as Lord; Babylon is sectarian and divisive, consisting of many divisions of people.

Zion worships in spirit and in truth; Babylon programs praise.

Zion preaches Christ and Him crucified; Babylon proclaims denominations, doctrines, heritage, traditions, creeds, personal views and opinions.

Zion is the priesthood of all believers; Babylon is the clergy system. The clergy are those who want to make a difference between themselves and others.

Zion answers to God as the highest authority; Babylon answers to men and their institutions as the authority.

Zion calls forth revelation; Babylon depends upon imagination.

Zion conforms people into the image of Jesus; Babylon conforms people into its own image.

Zion decreases that Christ may increase; Babylon increases itself in power, position, riches, and domination.

Zion counts the cost; Babylon counts the money.

Zion lays down its life; Babylon preserves and protects itself.

Zion waits upon God to raise up what God wants in His timing; Babylon schemes, organizes, and promotes to execute its own plan in its own way and time.

Zion seeks the Lord with a whole heart to be possessed by Him; Babylon goes after things and people to possess them.

Zion is the city of God; Babylon seeks to build a city, a tower, and a name for itself. Gen. 11:4.

Zion longs to be gathered into Jesus; Babylon passionately seeks to gather people unto itself.

DENY SELF

To be a disciple of Jesus Christ one must be willing to deny Self, take up his cross, and follow Jesus. Luke 9:23. Self-denial is the cross we bear. The old man of flesh and sin has to be rendered dead. The laid-down life defines the New Testament concept of agape (love).

When we live according to the flesh, we are living for Self. Conversely, when we are living for Self, we are living according to the flesh. When we live according the Spirit, we will bear the fruit of agape. We have not been called to live unto ourselves. We have been called to surrender our lives to Christ that He might live His life of agape through us. We cannot be the bride of Christ and at the same time live selfishly in this world. We are either the bride or we are living the life of the harlot.

Self-centered living is making ourselves out to be god; therefore, it is idolatry. I will show in a subsequent chapter that idolatry is spiritual harlotry. I will also show how this Thing we call church is an idolatrous extension of ourselves--thus, spiritual harlotry.

We become spiritual prostitutes when we create something and give our hearts to it rather than to the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what men have done with this Thing we call church. They have made church a substitute for Jesus. Many within these harlot church systems are true believers who love the Lord, but are uninformed and deceived. They have unintentionally given their hearts to these Things we call church. God loves us all but hates our idolatries.

Judge the words in this book for yourself and judge yourself by these words. Open your heart to the Holy Spirit that He might instruct you and point you to Jesus. I hope to reveal Father-God's heart to you that your heart may be revealed to you; that you may dare face your idolatries, cleanse His temple of whom you and I are, and return to the God of your salvation. The idolatry revealed in this book is not about "them" but about each of us.

http://www.meatindueseason.net/newbold/or/harlot/harlottoc.html

14 YEAR OLD WRITES OF HELL

2008-11-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

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How often I run into men and women that are esteemed for their brilliance in one field or another. These folks have risen to the tops of their field because they spent much time studying, examining and getting to know all the ins and outs of that which makes up their profession. They know the material backwards and forwards, inside and out. So with that said, I often wonder how, these brilliant ones that also call themselves Christian have not analyzed, prayed about and studied the doctrine of "eternal torment in Hell." I mean come on! These bright ones believe most of the world is going to Hell and they can't take the time to come to a reasonable analysis of this matter which should be of the gravest importance to them.

Well, tonight I felt led by the Holy Spirit to share this short paper by a fourteen year old dealing with the subject of "eternal torment in Hell." I share it to illustrate that God reveals His mysteries to the babes often sidestepping the wise and the prideful of this world. I pray this child's take on the subject moves your heart to see our Father as Love.

Jack

"Does An All-loving God Send His Creation To Eternal Torment In Hell?"

By Joe Klein, (fourteen-year-old eighth grader in a Baptist school)

The subject of redemption by grace or works alone has been a controversial one in our class recently. We have discussed: does an all-loving God send His creation to eternal torment in Hell? This controversy has been going around our school for weeks, has been debated by Christians for thousands of years, and is now the subject of this paper.

The traditional view of Hell held by Catholicism and Protestantism is that most humanity goes straight to Hell and eternal torment. However, early church writings and the earliest New Testament manuscripts indicate something completely different. For example, the word "Hell" never appears in the original Hebrew of the Old Testament nor in the Greek of the New Testament. There are, however, four words that get translated Hell in the King James Version of the Bible. They are Sheol, Gehenna, Tartartoo, and Hades.

"For just as in Adam all people died, so also shall all in Christ be made alive!" (1 Corinthians 15:22) This verse brings up a very good point, Adam vs. Jesus. The verse says; that through Adam we all became sinners and all died. Also in the verse it says through Christ we all become righteous and all lived. If people have to accept and believe in Him; they are pretty much saying what Adam did was more important than what Jesus did on the cross. Because you don’t have to believe in Adam to become a sinner.

The concept of eternal punishment for the vast majority of God’s human creatures has no basis in the Jewish Bible, which Jesus called, "the Scriptures." The idea of "Hell" is actually Greek mythology. "Hades" is, of course, Greek Paganism’s torture chamber. Strabo said that, "Plato and the Brahmins of India invented fables concerning the future judgment of Hell."

I think deep down in people’s hearts they believe that all people go to Heaven because if they truly did believe that people go to Hell, they would be doing more about it. How can people go to the movies, how can they sleep at night, and how can people go on with their daily lives knowing that people go to such a horrible place as Hell. Obviously, a huge subject like this can have, and has had, many books written about it. On the surface believing in Christ as the ticket to Heaven seems true. But when you go beyond the surface, and begin to really study this truth, you realize Jesus is Lord of all. That is why I believe that redemption is not by our good deeds, but Jesus’ great deed and his blood on the cross that saves all mankind. (Joe Klein)

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THE CASE AGAINST HELL

2008-10-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

Over the last few years I have had a number of blogs where I have thought of sharing this wonderful writing by a friend. It is a longer message than I normally would post so I am breaking it up into parts. I pray you will take your time as you pray about and contemplate the wonderful truths my friend, Mercy shares. This is indeed the "Real Good News of the Gospel of Christ" and when embraced you will learn to love your neighbors and even your enemies as Jesus did. I personally, in the past, assigned most of my fellow man to eternal torment in hell and then one day I saw how grievous and belittling this was to Christ and His sacrifice that by the grace of God is extended to all men. Today, and even for the past twenty five years I have found "trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe." (1Ti 4:10)

How I love Him tonight,
Jack

THE CASE AGAINST HELL
By Mercy Aiken

The case against Hell: Did you know that there is a solid scriptural case to be made against the idea of Hell? Many non-Christians have rejected the concept of Hell, but it may come as a surprise to learn that there is a growing number of Bible-believing Christians who also reject the notion-not in spite of Scripture but because of it! This short study is meant only to raise some questions and provide brief answers. For further study, please refer to the links at the end of the article.

An open and unbiased study of the Bible, including many key Greek and Hebrew words as well as Church history will reveal some surprising things.

For instance, did you know that....

"Hell" Is Not an Old Testament doctrine:

Popular myth : Hell is an established Biblical doctrine that is in the Bible from start to finish. This is not true! Two thirds of the Bible (the Old Testament) does not mention Hell at all. ("Sheol," the Old Testament word that is sometimes translated as Hell, only means "grave" by definition, and it is where everyone in the Old Testament went when they died--good or evil, Jew or Gentile). Thus the Old Testament does not contain the concept of Hell!

Think about it...

If Hell is real, why didn't God make that warning plain right at the beginning of the Bible? God said the penalty for eating of the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was death- -not "eternal life" in fire and brimstone.

If Hell is real, why wasn't Cain warned about it, or Sodom and Gomorrah , or any of those who committed the earliest recorded "sins?"

If Hell is real why didn't Moses warn about this fate in the Ten Commandments or the Mosaic Covenant consisting of over 600 laws, ordinances, and warnings? The Mosaic Law simply stated blessings and cursings in this lifetime.

If Hell is real, why are its roots in paganism, rather than the Bible? Many nations surrounding Israel in the Old Testament believed in Hell-like punishment in the afterlife, for they served bloodthirsty and evil "gods," while Israel simply taught the grave (sheol) and a hope of a resurrection. If Hell is real, why was the revelation of it first given to pagan nations, instead of God's covenant people? Did God expect Israel to learn about the afterlife from the Pagan Gentiles? If so, why did He repeatedly warn Israel to not learn of their ways?

If Hell is real, why did God tell the Jews that burning their children alive in the fire to the false god Molech, (in the valley of Gehenna ) was so detestable to Him? God said that such a thing "never even entered His mind" (Jer. 32:35). How could God say such a thing to Israel , if He has plans to burn alive a good majority of His own creation in a spiritual and eternal Gehenna of His own making?

**FACT: The King James Bible erroneously translates the word "Sheol" as Hell a total of 31 times in the Old Testament, thus setting a foundation for that doctrine in the New Testament as well as the majority of Bible translations to follow the KJV. Even so, most new translations have completely eliminated Hell from the Old Testament, as honest and better scholarship has demanded. The Jewish version of the Old Testament (the Tanakh) has no concept of Hell in it. The importance of this fact cannot be over-emphasized. If a doctrine does not appear as seed form in the books of the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms, it cannot fairly be taught as a major biblical doctrine, if indeed it can be taught as biblical at all!

Hell Is Not a New Testament Doctrine:

Popular myth: Jesus spoke of Hell more than He did of Heaven. This is not true! Jesus warned the Jews many times of impending destruction, both nationally and individually. He used several different terms to refer to punishment/destruction, some of which were erroneously translated as the same word, "Hell" by Bible translators. We do not deny that God will indeed judge the whole world, nor do we wish to make light of His judgments. We are challenging the belief that His judgment on sin and unbelief is eternal torment/Hell and never-ending separation from God. Certainly, Jesus spent a lot of his ministry warning people to repent or reap the consequences, (particularly "Gehenna.") But could we be reading more into His warnings than He originally intended?

Think about it.......

If Hell is real, why were most of the warnings pertaining to punishment/Gehenna directed to Israel , particularly the Lord's own disciples as well as the Pharisees? The first great cluster of references to Gehenna, are found in the Sermon on the Mount (Mat 5:22, 29, 30), Jesus' great sermon to His disciples in which He warned that one was in danger of Gehenna for the likes of calling someone a fool. This is a far cry from our modern Evangelical interpretation that says not accepting Jesus as your Savior is what sends someone to Hell. Are we perhaps missing the symbolism that Jesus originally intended?

If Hell is real, aren't we taking verses out of context when we warn non-Jewish sinners who are not part of the Mosaic covenant God made with the nation of Israel about consequences for sin which have nothing to do with them since they are not under that covenant?

Since the concept of Hell doesn't exist in the Old Testament, how could Jesus and his disciples teach that salvation was deliverance from a place that is not even found in their Scriptures? And if He was introducing the subject for the first time, why did He do it so casually, as though His listeners already understood what He was talking about?

If Hell is real, since some English translations use the word Hell for the Greek word "Gehenna," in the New Testament, why didn't this same place (Gehenna) get translated Hell in the many places where it appears in the Hebrew form "ga ben Hinnom" in the Old Testament?

If the Jews did not understand "Gehenna" as a symbol of everlasting torture, but rather as a place of shame, filth, and defilement (where Israel participated in the grossest form of idol worship), why does modern theology ascribe more to the word than the original meaning did? The teaching of Gehenna has evolved in Jewish teachings to include punishment in the afterlife; but even today, Gehenna still does not mean "endless" punishment to the Jews.

If Hell is real how could the Apostle Paul (who was especially commissioned by God to preach the gospel to the nations) say that he had declared the entire counsel of God (Acts 20:27), when indeed he never warned of "Hell" in any of his letters? If Hell is real, wouldn't Paul, of all people, warn of it repeatedly?

If Hell is real, the sin/death of Adam has had a far more powerful effect on the world than the resurrection life of Christ! And yet Paul declares in Romans 5 that Christ's victory is far greater than Adam's transgression! Listen to Paul's confidence in the work of Christ! If Paul believed in eternal hell for the majority of men, how could he write the following verses?

".Just as the result of one trespass (Adam's) was condemnation for all men , so also the result of one act of righteousness (Christ's) was justification that brings life for all men . For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. ( Romans 5:18,19).

"Since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive." (1 Cor. 15:22)

"For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe" (1 Timothy 4;10).

(The above verses are just a few of the many verses where Paul writes of a pre-eminent Christ that far transcends the traditional Christian view. This article is full of many more New Testament references by Paul that display his views of the Christ triumphant, unlimited, all-powerful, all-conquering, and victorious).

If Hell is real, why is it that the only time Paul even mentioned "Hell" in any of his epistles, was declare the triumph of Christ over it? (1 Corinthians 15:55). The word "Grave" in the passage is the Greek word "Hades."

If Hell is real, why is it not mentioned once in the book of Acts in any the evangelistic sermons that were recorded by the early Apostles?

If Hell is real why do some of the best Bible scholars and Bible teachers say it is not in the Greek or Hebrew text? (William Barclay, John A.T. Robinson, Lightfoot, Westcott, F.W. Farrar, Marvin Vincent, etc.)

If Hell is real, why does the word itself come from the Teutonic "Hele" (goddess of the underworld "Hell" of northern Europe ). The description of this ancient mythological place has very little resemblance anymore to the modern Christian image of Hell. See any encyclopedia or dictionary for the origin of the word.

FACT: The apocryphal books of the intertestimental period had a tremendous impact on the Jews in the time of Christ. It is from these books, especially the book of Enoch, that many of the Jewish myths and fables concerning Hell, heaven, demons and angels and many other fables first became a part of Judaism and from there became a part of Christianity. The myths and fables of these books came from Pagan influences (namely Zoroastrianism), during and after the Babylonian captivity of Israel . In fact, Zoroastrianism looks more like modern Christianity in many ways than ancient Judiasm does!

If Hell is real, why did Paul warn Timothy repeatedly to stay away from Jewish myths and fables, the likes of which were influencing many in the early church? Rather than affirming such doctrines, Paul declares them to be profane fables. (1 Tim. 1:1; Tit. 1:14)

Hell Contradicts The Work of the Messiah:

Popular myth: Jesus came to save the sinner from his destination of everlasting Hell. Not exactly true! Hell was never a place that the Jews were hoping to be saved from, since they didn't even believe in it! But they did need to be saved from their sins and consequences of them; namely death. Jesus came as the Anointed One to fulfill all of God's plan for the earth-that through Him might come the salvation, deliverance of sin, peace, kingdom of God and all that God had promised through the Old Testament scriptures. There is much we can say here, but for the sake of brevity we will limit our points to a few key passages. Please take the time to look up the verses that are referenced.

Think about it...

If Hell is real, why does Psalm 22 (one of the most prophetic passages in scripture concerning the Messiah) promise that because of the cross, " All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD , and all the families of the nations will worship before You. For the kingdom is the LORD'S and He rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship , all those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, even he who cannot keep his soul alive " (Psalm 22:27-29 NASB).

If Hell is real, did Jesus fail in His mission? He said, "I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world" (John 12:47).

If Hell is real and most find their way to it, was Jesus lying when He said if He was lifted up (crucified) that He would "draw" ("drag" in the original Greek word, "helkyo") all mankind unto Himself? (John 12:32)

If Hell is real and eternal, how can the Scriptures speak of the gathering of all things into Christ? (Eph. 1:10)

If Hell is real and eternal, how can all things be subdued unto Christ? (1 Corinthians 15:28, Philippians 3:21, Hebrews 2:8).

If Hell is real and eternal, how can it be that the scriptures promise that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord? (Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10).

If Hell is real and eternal, how will Jesus ever see the travail of His soul and be satisfied (Isaiah 53:11)? If the traditional understanding is correct, most of those He came to save will never experience His salvation. Do we believe that this would be satisfying to Jesus?

If Hell is real, and God sent Jesus to save people from it, can we really say that the will and pleasure of God has prospered in His hand, since, according to traditional theology, only a few will ever be saved? (Isaiah 53:10, and 55:11).

If Hell is real, and the devil is the one who deceives people into going there, isn't he ultimately the winner in the war for souls? After all, traditional interpretation of the Bible says that more people will end up in Hell than in Heaven. If so, how can we really call Satan the defeated enemy and Christ the victor?

If Hell is real and most of mankind will remain in an eternal deathlike state of torment with no chance to repent or escape, how exactly are we to understand and rejoice in the fact that Jesus destroyed death and him that had the power of death (Satan)? (Hebrews 2:14-15, 1 John 3:8, Hosea 13:14, 1 Corinthians 15:55, 1 Corinthians 15:26 etc.)

If Hell is eternal, how can the increase of Christ's government and of peace have no end? (Isaiah 9:7).

FACT: The term "saved" has evolved in Christianity to mean something different than it did to the original readers and hearers of Scripture. The Greek words, "sozo" and "soteria" embrace the broad meaning of being rescued, delivered, healed and saved from danger. These words were applied in a variety of ways throughout the New Testament. There is much more to the salvation of Christ than most Christians know. Sadly, much of the church is robbed of fullness of their salvation by embracing a limited and futuristic view of what it actually means-- (i.e. "going to Heaven when they die").

Popular Myth: "Eternity" is a theme that is throughout the entire Bible, including eternal punishment. Not exactly true! We are not denying that the New Testament is full of warnings of judgment, and that the words, "everlasting" and "eternal" appear often in most translations. However, a careful study of the words that are translated to mean forever or everlasting, will prove that they have been mistranslated. The question is not whether or not God will punish sin and rebellion, but rather how He does it, and for what purpose and how long the correc5ion lasts.

Think about it..

If Hell is forever, why is the Hebrew word Olam (which has been translated to mean "eternal/forever") used in so many verses where it clearly does not mean "everlasting? A few examples: "Everlasting" is applied to the priesthood of Aaron; to the statutes of Moses; to the mountains and hills; and to the doors of the Jewish temple, to the length of time that reproach and shame should be upon the Jews. The word "forever" is applied to the duration of man's earthly existence; to the time a child was to abide in the temple; to the continuance of Gehazi's leprosy; to the to the duration of a king's life; to the time a servant was to abide with his master; to the duration of the Jewish temple; to the time David was to be king over Israel; to the throne of Solomon; to the stones that were set up at Jordan; and to the time Jonah was in the fish's belly. It should be obvious from the context that olam merely referred to an indefinite period of time--not forever!

Aion and related words ( aionian and aionios ) are the Greek equivalents of olam . Aion, literally means "age," from which we get our English word, "eon." Aion/age/eon, is merely a period of time. "Aionian and Aionios" are words that refer to the ages (plural) or pertaining to the ages. As long as time is being measured, it cannot be referring to eternity, which is a realm beyond the measurement of time. If "Hell" is forever, why is it described by words that pertain to the ages?

If the Greek word Aion and its derivatives mean eternal as some Bible scholars insist, why did contemporary Greek usage of it, at the time the New Testament was written, not carry with it the idea of endless eternity? (Works by Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Hippocrates and many others use these words in a limited, not an eternal sense).

If Hell is forever, how do we explain the fact that aion/olam did not mean eternal/unending to the original writers and hearers of Scripture?

FACT: Some would argue that if aionian and related words do not mean eternal, then God cannot be eternal, for these words also describe Him. To this we say, that just because God is described as the God of the eons, does not mean that He is not the God who also transcends the eons. In the same way, just because He is called the God of Israel , does not also mean that He is not the God of all the other nations. Also, there are other Greek words used to refer to the unending power and life of God. They are, aptharsia/apthartos, which means imperishableness and immortality; amarantinos/amarantos which mean unfading; and akatalytos , which means indestructable. They are usually translated as immortal, or incorruptible. Please refer to the following verses for reference: Hebrews 7:15-16, 1 Peter 1:3-4, 1 Peter 5:4, 1 Timothy 1:17, Romans 1:23, 1 Corinthians 9:25, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, Romans 2:7, 1 Corinthians 15:42, 2 Timothy 1:10, and 1 Timothy 6:16.

Popular Myth: One's fate is sealed after death. If this is true, how do we deal with the following scriptures that indicate the opposite?

Think about it...

"Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, He devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him" (2 Samuel 14:14).

"The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: He bringeth down to the grave (sheol), and bringeth up." 1 Samuel 2: 6

"See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand" (Deuteronomy 32:39).

"I will ransom them from the power of the grave (Sheol/Hell); I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave (Sheol/Hell), I will be your destruction!" (Hosea 13:11-14).

"For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love. For He does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men. (Lam 3:31-33)

"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny" (Matthew 5:25-26).

If Hell is a place of no escape, why did the early church teach Jesus went to Hell (Hades), preached to them and led captivity captive? (Eph. 4:8,9; Psalm 68:18; 1 Peter 3:18-20)

If Hell lasts forever, why the Psalmist confidently speak again and again about being rescued from it (sheol)? (Psalms 16:10, 30:2-3, Psalm 49:15, 86:13, 116:3-8, 139:8).

If Hell is real, how can Solomon teach that the spirit of man will return to the God Who gave it? (Ecc 12:7).

If the grave settled the matter forever, why did the early Christians offer up prayers for the dead? Why were they baptized for the dead? (1 Corinthians 15:29).

"Hell" Was Not a Doctrine of the Early Church:
(continued in the following blog)

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THE CASE AGIANST HELL by Mercy Aiken (part 2)

2008-10-23T17:00:00.000-07:00

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"Hell" Was Not a Doctrine of the Early Church:

Popular myth: Universalism was recently introduced to Christianity in the 1800's as the church became more liberal and modern and began to abandon their true biblical foundation. This is not true! A belief in the restitution of all things was a standard view in the early church, held by the majority of early Christians. It has also been held by a minority throughout all of church history even during the Dark Ages.

Think about it..

If Hell was real, why did the first comparatively complete systematic statement of Christian doctrine ever given to the world by Clement of Alexandria, A.D. 180, contain the tenet of universal salvation?

If Hell was real, why did the first complete presentation of Christianity (Origen, 220 A.D.) contain the doctrine of universal salvation?

If Hell was real, why do neither the Apostles Creed, nor the Nicean Creed, two foundational "doctrinal statements" for the early church, contain the concept of Hell?

If Hell was real, why did Church leaders as late as the fourth century AD acknowledge that the majority of Christians believed in the salvation of all mankind?

If Hell was real why did the early church appoint an avowed universalist as the President of the second council of the church of Constantinope in the fourth century? (Gregory Nazianzen, 325-381).

If Hell was real why did not a single Church council for the first five hundred years condemn Universalism as heresy considering the fact that they made many declarations of heresy on other teachings?

If Hell was real why didn't Epiphanius (c. 315-403) the "hammer of heretics" who listed 80 heresies of his time not list universalism among those heresies?

If Hell was real, since most historians would acknowledge today that Origen was perhaps the most outstanding example of universalism in the church, when Methodius, Eusibius, Pamphilus, Marcellus, Eustathius, and Jerome made their lists of Origen's heresies, why wasn't universalism among them?

If Hell was real and found in the original Greek manuscripts of the Bible, why is it that it was primarily those church leaders who either couldn't read Greek (For example, Minucius Felix and Tertullian), or hated Greek as in the case of Augustine, that the doctrine of Hell was advocated? Those early church leaders familiar with the Greek and Hebrew (the original languages of the Bible) saw universal salvation in those texts. Those who advocated Hell got it from the Latin, not from the original Greek and Hebrew. Who would more likely be correct--those who could read the original languages of the Bible or those who read a Latin translation made by one man (Jerome)?

If Hell was real then why did four out of six theological schools from 170 AD to 430 AD teach universal salvation while the only one that taught Hell was in Carthage, Africa, again were Latin was the teaching language, not Greek?

If Hell was real and a serious heresy, why was it not until the sixth century when Justinian, a half-pagan emperor, tried to make universalism a heresy? Interestingly, most historians will acknowledge that Justinian's reign was among the most cruel and ruthless.

*The historical facts documented in the above section can all be verified through the books, "Universalism, the Prevailing Doctrine of the Early Church for the First 500 Years" by J.W. Hanson
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Prevailing.html
and "The History of Opinions on the Scriptural Doctrine of Retribution" by Edward Beecher.
http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Retribution/DoctrineOfRetribution.html

Hell does not reflect the heart of God:

Popular myth: The justice of God demands a place like Hell in which the wicked shall be eternally punished for their sins. Not true! The justice of God demanded a perfect sacrifice for sin, and that man was Christ Jesus. The justice of God will certainly come to every person, and God may deal severely with our sins as He subdues and gathers all things to Christ, but to punish people endlessly for crimes committed in a short human lifespan defies all logic and justice. How is it just to have unending punishment for offenses that have limits?

Think about it....

If Hell is real and all things were made for God's pleasure (Rev. 4:11), is it conceivable that God would derive pleasure from seeing those He created endlessly tortured? God says He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ez. 33:11).

If Hell is a real place of endless torment, and God didn't want anyone to end up there, why didn't God just kill Adam and Eve and end the long terrible chain of misery that passed to their offspring before it began? After all, the Scriptures say that all died because of Adam. (Rom. 5:18)

If Hell is real, if God loves His enemies now, will he not always love them? Is God a changeable being? (James 1:17)

If Hell is real, if you had sufficient power would you not deliver all men from sin? If God would save all men, but cannot , is He infinite in power?

If Hell is real, and God can save all men, but will not , is He infinite in goodness and mercy?

If Hell is real, since God will have all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:3 KJV), does that mean God's power is not strong enough to have His will fulfilled?

If Hell is real and Jesus teaches us to forgive seventy times seven and yet He Himself will never offer forgiveness to anyone after they die, does that not make Him a hypocrite?

If Hell is real and God's wrath abides upon billions of human beings forever, doesn't that violate the Scripture which says His anger will come to an end? (Isaiah 57:16-18)

If Hell is real and God only loves those who love Him, what better is He than the sinner? (Luke 6:32-33)

If Hell is real, since some people receive many chances to "get saved," some receive only a few chances and billions have never even received one chance, does that make God a respecter of persons? (Acts 10:34, James 3:17). After all, billions of people have been born and died on this earth without a chance to ever hear the name of Jesus, the "only name under heaven by which men may be saved."

If there is a Hell and all who have sinned are destined to go there (which is everyone) unless they figure out how to avoid it, does that not consign all aborted babies and non-Christian children to Hell? (While some denominations teach a so-called "age of accountability," it is not found anywhere in the Bible. It is just some people's way of trying to make God more humane than the eternal torment teaching makes Him out to be).

If Hell is real, does that mean that motherly love is more powerful and enduring than God's love? Do you know of normal parents who would endlessly torment most of their kids? Why do we believe our heavenly Father, Who is millions of times more loving than all of us combined, could do such an evil, wicked thing?

If Hell is real, why does the human spirit writhe under the horror of wars and prison camps, torture chambers and dictators? How can we judge these things as wrong, if Hell is real? After all, Hell far eclipses these earthly torments which came from the most sinful and beastly part of humanity. We say God is grieved by man's violence and disregard for life, and yet believe that He Himself enforces the same principles for all eternity!

If Hell is real, how would endless misery benefit the Almighty, as the inflictor? How would endless misery benefit the saints, as spectators? How would endless misery benefit the sinner, as the sufferer?

If Hell is real, how does the threat of endlessly torturing us convince us that God loves us and that we should love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength?

FACT: While the church has gotten used to thinking of God as Someone who was forced to design a grandiose punishment called Hell, and against His own will sends the majority of His creation there, this concept of a God "who did the best He could" is totally against the Scriptural view of a God who is absolutely sovereign, powerful, all-wise and all-victorious. He never had to come up with a plan B or C, for Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. It is time to give Him the glory He deserves for our God is truly awesome and wonderful far beyond the limited, and man-centered views of Him!

Come Up Higher!

Beloved, what is the "lens" through which you are interpreting the Bible? Traditional doctrines teach us to interpret the "victorious" scriptures in the light of the "judgment" scriptures. But what if God wants us to see it the other way around? What if we are to interpret the "judgment" scriptures in the light of the "victorious" scriptures? Is not Christ's victory the greatest revelation in the Bible? Standing on this highest peak-that is, the finished work of the cross, causes us to see a much larger and far more beautiful panoramic view of God's plan throughout the ages. We do not throw out one set of Scriptures in favor of another. Rather, we seek to harmonize them.For man shall live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

In the time of Christ, most of Israel completely missed the Word of God when He was in their midst. They were too busy with their nose in the book, to perceive the Word Himself as He came and walked among them! Many Jews were afraid to believe in Jesus, since the majority of their leaders (Scribes, Pharisees, Saducees, Priests etc) who knew the scriptures better than they did, were convinced that He was not the Messiah. In the early days of the church, faith in Jesus Christ was heresy and to admit faith in Him was basically asking for scorn and rejection. Modern Christians point the finger at Israel of old, not realizing that we are following in their footsteps today. Most of us play it safe, siding with the denomination or movement that we happen to be a part of. While there is wisdom in honoring our spiritual fathers, we can never allow them to take the place of the Holy Spirit teaching us in our own lives.

The facts presented in this article should at least cause every reader who is truly hungry to know God, to search the scripture to see if these things be so. If what we are presenting here is false, it needs to be disproved. And if it is true, it cannot be ignored.

It is time to stop skipping the parts of the Bible that do not fit in with our theology. And if, like the religious leaders of Jesus' day, our theology is not big enough to hold the entire counsel of Scripture, perhaps it is time to expand--lest we once again miss God!

And so we ask you again, beloved Christian, to ask yourself.

If the traditional teaching of Hell is real..

How can mercy triumph over judgment? (James 2:13)

How can it be true that, "where sin abounded grace did much more abound?" (Rom. 5:20)

When will all flesh come to God? (Psalm 65:2-4)

When will the poor of the earth be avenged and comforted by God? (Psalm 113:7, Psalm 140:12, Proverbs 14:31, Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 31:9, Isaiah 11:4, Isaiah 61:1, Jeremiah 22:16 etc.) (Bear in mind that most of the poor of the earth throughout history have not had a chance to accept Jesus as their savior).

When shall it come to pass that: "On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine- the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken" (Isaiah 26:6-8).

When and how will "all nations" praise Him, come to Him, serve Him, be blessed in Him and bow to Him? (Psalm 45:17, Ps. 86:9, Isaiah 62:11, Daniel 7:14 Ps 66:1, Ps 72:11, Ps 102:15, Jer. 3:17, Ps 72:17, Isa. 2:2, Isa. 11:10, Isa. 52:10, Rev. 5:13 etc.)

How can the world be reconciled to God? (2 Corinthians 5:19, Romans 11;5, Romans 5:10).

Why would Paul the apostle say the goal of God's creative plan was to ultimately be "all in all?" (1 Cor. 15:28)

How can it be true that God, Who works all things according to the counsel of His will, shall gather together all things in Christ, in the fullness of the times? (Ephesians 1:9-11)

How can Paul insist that "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things" (Romans 11:36).

How can the most often-repeated Biblical description of God be true? "His mercy endures forever" (literally, "His mercy/lovingkindness endures for the ages"). Certainly, as long as there are ages, and people in need of mercy, God's mercy will endure.

How and when can there ever be a "restitution of all things?" (Acts 3:21)

A Final Test

We have tested the doctrine of Hell against many different Biblical topics and concepts and found it wanting. When scrutinized in the light of the entire counsel of Scripture, the doctrine of Hell is found to be full of holes. Now, test this doctrine against your own heart and see whether it can stand. Please take some time and prayerfully ask yourself these questions:

If there is a Hell and according to most denominations of Christianity the majority of mankind will go there, could you really enjoy heaven knowing your mother or father or children or best friend are suffering everlasting tortures the likes of which would make the Holocaust seem like a picnic?

If Hell is real, will you judge your mother, son, or other non-believers to Hell ? "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world"? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?" 1 Corinthians 6:2-3

If Hell is real and a place of terrible, unending pain, could you even send a dog to such a place?

If Hell is real and universalism is a heresy, why is it that those who believe God loves all and will save all find it easier to love all people than those who believe most people are going to Hell? (Think this through very carefully.)

If Hell is real, can you honestly rejoice in the victory, love, and wisdom of God, knowing that somewhere in His beautiful creation there will always be a black and stinking hell-hole crammed full of tortured souls who have no chance for relief or forgiveness--or even death? Even if there was only one person left in such a state, how could all of Heaven rejoice for all eternity knowing that there was still one soul who had not been touched by the victory of Christ and was suffering alone?

Is it good to desire all men to be saved? "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Tim.2:3,4).

. Do you ardently desire the salvation of all men?
. Is it true that God "openeth His hand and satisfieth the desire of every living thing?" -- (Ps. 145:16)
. Do you fervently pray for the salvation of all men? (1 Tim. 2:1)
. Do you pray in faith, nothing doubting? (James 1:6)
. Are you aware, "that whatsoever is not of faith is sin?" -- (Rom 14:23)
. Would God require us to pray for all men, and to pray in faith, unless He intends all men should be saved?
. If you believe endless misery to be the truth of God, why should you desire and pray that it may prove false?

We hope that this information has raised enough questions for you to pursue further study on this subject. For more information on the history of the doctrine of Hell, the Lake of Fire , Studies on Biblical words that are often translated as eternal, everlasting, etc. and many other teachings pertaining to this subject, please visit:
http://www.tentmaker.org/ScholarsCorner.html%20

Some of these questions were taken from a much larger list compiled in an article entitled Is Salvation a Deliverance From Hell or Eternal Death? " by Gary Amirault .
http://www.what-the-hell-is-hell.com/FromHellsEternalDeath.htm

The painting on the front of this booklet is a scene from "The Damned" by Michelangelo. His paintings of Hell and the damned, like much Christian art of the time, was influenced more by Greek mythology of the underworld, than by the Bible.

Who are we? Tentmaker Ministries and Publications is a Christian ministry committed to sharing as best to our ability our understanding of God's plan for the ages to reconcile all things to Himself through Jesus Christ. (This view is also known as Ultimate reconciliation or Christian universalism, which is a very different thing than Unitarian Universalism). We believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, the only way to the Father, the only begotten Son of God, and that there is no other way to everlasting, "aionian" life but through Him. We believe He is king of the universe, and owner of all Creation, and that His purpose is to bring all things under His government and reconciled with Himself.

".And for this we labor and strive, that we have put our hope in the living God, Who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe" (2 Timothy 4:10 ).
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I pray Mercy's message has blessed you. I believe it is the definitive writing of my generation on the subject of "the myth of Hell and the truth of Universal Salvation."
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If you are not yet convinced I pray you would further investigate this all important matter by reading that which is considered the "old standard" on "Universal Reconciliation." Multitudes have come to be set free from the torrid belief in Hell, a place of eternal torment through this anointed writing by Andrew Jukes first published in 1867.
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THE SECOND DEATH AND THE
RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS
by ANDREW JUKES
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http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/jukes2.html#p015

COMING OF AGE

2008-10-19T18:14:00.001-07:00

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Yep, at twelve I kissed the Bishop's ring after twenty five other young doofuses had slobbered all over it. Plus the clown in the weird cap, beads and white dress called me by a new name "Anthony." Who the heck is Anthony?

Looking back, I say this proves, that at twelve I was too stupid for Hell.

That is a description of my Roman Catholic Confirmation ceremony. This was my religious experience of "coming of age" and, lest any think it is only a laughing matter, let me say I wrote that in satire to share the absurdity of it all! Today or even tomorrow, should I ever come upon a scene where my twelve year old grandson or granddaughter was bending over to kiss the ring of a man dressed in beads and a dress, while addressing him as Father there would be real hell to pay. Same goes if I should ever find any child paying homage to some pompous ass they address as Pastor! These religious cults, with their dual hierarchical chaste systems, where false apostles, false prophets and self proclaimed pastors rule over the people sicken me in their unadulterated phoniness and corruption. Jesus didn't put up with the religious system of His time as He spoke out, and it is time we do also as the Spirit leads (and it will). Today's harlot church system of Charlatans and Nicolaitans, ruling over a worldly people wanting a "king" and "a go between with God", does not know or worship the One True God. They do not know God, Who came as Christ, for to serve, and died in His service to "all"!

Oh, hear me dear people this thing most call Church is anything but! This false church is the soulish counterfeit that appeases and coddles the selfish carnal nature of man, and she will do anything to keep her reign. The true Church, "the ekklesia" has been called out of the false church that they be not partakers of this Harlot's sins. The true Church seeks not power nor wealth but instead lays down her life in service. She lays her very life down next to Her Champion, Her Saviour, Her Lord and Her Beloved Husband Jesus Christ. I am convinced that the day is approaching when such martyrdom will catch the world's eyes and heart, and all will eventually stand weeping, as they recognize this is Christ come again to lay down His Life in the Union and Oneness of His bride. These are the "two witnesses" that manifest themselves in "death resurrection" ....... the Spirit and the Word .... Deity and Humanity ....... Christ and His Bride. Love by it's very nature needs "two" and when Love is complete the two are One.

Now if you would, please contemplate more lunacy of what many organized churches and their congregants hold as doctrine. The "age of accountability" comes wrapped in an overall theological system called "Arminianism" and it is as foul and false as is it's contrasting counterpart "Calvinism." Both of these systems are fear based and are built upon the cornerstone of Hell and eternal torment. Somewhere in the future we will look at Calvinism with it's "doctrine of reprobate and elect infants" and we will discover an equally absurd, foul spirit that defies and defiles all that is Good in Christ Jesus. For many years I have experienced, studied and observed the "spirit of the hellfire and damnation doctrine." I will unequivocally state, "anything associated with this Hellish doctrine becomes foul, false and full of death. Who would ever want their children any where near such a thing!

Age of Accountability
This is the age at which a child is old enough to understand the moral consequences of his or her actions and can be held accountable for sins. It is also called the 'age of reason.' Though it does not correspond to a particular age for every person, due to differences in personal and psychological maturation, it is sometimes set down arbitrarily as 12 or, in the Roman Catholic Church, 7; the latter convention gave rise to the English common-law presumption that no child under the age of seven could possess the mens rea necessary for commission of a felony. The concept of the age of accountability is not based upon any direct teaching from the Bible, but stems from individual church traditions. A child who has passed the age of accountability is said to know the difference between right and wrong and to be capable of obeying the moral laws of God. Some Christian traditions believe that the age of accountability is the end of a period of early grace (prevenient grace, in Wesleyan traditions) which covers over the sins of those not capable of knowing the moral consequences of their actions. (Persons who, due to developmental disability, mental or emotional development, will never reach a sufficient level of abstract reason, are covered by this grace for life and are sometimes known as 'the innocents.') In Christian traditions which practice Believer's Baptism (baptism by voluntary decision, as opposed to baptism in early infancy), the ritual can be carried out after the age of accountability has arrived ..........
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So with Arminianism in which "free will" is king and the "age of accountability" weighs heavy on the adolescent, surely the abortionist should be considered a hero and Andrea Yates' drowning of her five children could be hailed as a heroic act of mercy. Oh, the insanity and deceitfulness of the doctrines of demons that accommodate the horrors of a mythical Hell.
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And we wonder why the world scoffs!

(sources: Wikipedia & Tentmaker Ministries)

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JESUS WEARS A BLUE COLLAR AND CARRIES A LUNCH PAIL

2008-10-16T22:55:00.000-07:00

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Jack I believe that His love is opening more peoples hearts and minds to see His wonderful love and grace.
Love Dan

Dan was kind enough to leave a this comment yesterday and I wish I could agree. In part I understand what he is saying but I am a realist. I also believe, more than most, I am out there testing the waters and sharing God's love tirelessly day in day out. As I told Joian, my closest friend and confidant in the Lord, tonight, "God has taught me to bring my lunch pail when He works through me. And yes, I get irritated with so many that start a work only to see them loose their zeal and interest after awhile, as their work falters to become like the two witnesses "the Word and the Spirit" laying dead in the street." (Rev 11)

I often awaken in the morning with just the greatest pain in my heart for my brothers and sisters that are still caught up and bound by the Apostate Organized Church. It is in the seeking of relief from this incessant pain that I am driven to share the "Real Good News of the Kingdom of God." Having shared of my pain, and with the greatest of humility, because I know of myself there is no good thing, I will share something else with you.

I have a most dear sister that will only address me by my real birth name "John." She won't use "Jack" by which I am commonly known. This young lady ran into me on a forum where I was doing battle with the Christian New Agers that frequented there. She wanted to know who I really was, because, as she said, "she saw the powerful spirit of Elijah in me as I shared Truth while making no bones and barring no holds." Later after this sister became acquainted with me she said she found not only a likeness in me of "John the Baptist" but recognized the persona of another "John." Please note, that in the telling of this, my eyes water, so blessed am I that one might liken anything in me to this, the dearest to me and my favorite of all the Saints of Old. My lovely friend saw in me also the spirit of "John, the Beloved of the Lord." This John is he, who laid His head on Jesus breast and that is my favorite picture of Christ with His twelve. With continuing great sincerely and humbleness of spirit I believe we are to be all things to all men as we take on the likeness of our Christ. Today the fivefold ministry of the "Church Age" is corrupt and dead and the five have been gathered together in each of God's appointed sons. Christ, within these sons, is the Apostle. He is the Prophet and the Evangelist etc. And make a note of it; these sons are blue collar guys and gals. They maybe not be clothed in camels hair and leather but as the Baptist did, these laborers carry their lunch pails and toil long and hard. These are 24/7 people as their minds and hearts are always stayed upon the Lord. Day in day out , hour to hour and moment to moment these sisters and brothers are before the face of the Lord as they minister in a thousand different ways.

I would be remiss if I didn't also tell you that God, some many years ago told me to focus the majority of my support and ministry on His humble and broken in spirit, blue collar sons and daughters, for it is they that world groans for (Rom 8).

Today, rather than say revival is happening in the world , I share with you these scriptures which I believe speak to the season we are in now. I pray more than else, you will identify with the last thought of the last scripture in this list. I can only hope you are spending much time before His face as you prepare His way.

"Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people. For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Isa 57:14,15

"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts." Mal 3:1

"And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Lk 1:17

"As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God." Luk 3:4-6

"He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet" Jhn 1:23

"And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways" Luk 1:76

So this morning, with my lunch pail in hand I shall go out into my community and on every bulletin board I can find in town, I will place this new flier (below) with my "JH & Christ" calling cards attached to it. Before I do this I might even find some colorful heart stickers to add to this poster. While I'm making my rounds, in the "spirit of John the Beloved", I will hug the necks of a few neighbors. And should I run into one adorning a preacher's Roman collar I might, with my best "John the Baptist voice", holler across the way, " O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" [wink ..... and because of the liberty He has given me, my friends know I actually do stuff like that. Maybe that is also why I don't have very many friends. lol ]

Yes my beloved and bold ones, it's a good day to be a "John" but it is the best of days to be as Christ, with a lunch pail and a blue collar. For such is the season.

John

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A PASTOR FINDS THE REAL JESUS

2008-10-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

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For ten years I served the Harlot Church system as a Saul. I worked extremely hard doing that which I thought was the work of God. Later I received a true revelation of Jesus and I left being a Saul to become as Paul. It happened to me as it did to this author I quote below.

I receive a meditation every morning and only one. It is by Chip Brogden and he knows, preaches and teaches the real Jesus. Here in today's meditation Chip writes of how, as an ordained pastor he finally found the "real Jesus." He was like so many ministers today that don't know Jesus, but have built ministries of self righteousness and dead works around a facsimile and counterfeit of the True Son of God.

Today's organized Christian religion has usurped the position of Christ and His body. This false, corrupt and emaciated religion is made up of many Saul's that stand in their raised pulpits preaching to more Saul's sitting in their congregations. My prayer is, that Jesus will reveal Himself, that these like Saul might be thrown to the dust, and from the dust would rise up men and woman, as modern day Paul's sharing the true Gospel of Christ. As we approach the end of this age the world writhes in pain, groaning to hear and know of the True Jesus and the Saviour of the World.

"And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 22:6,7).

All it takes is a millisecond of time for the Revelation to strike you down. I recall when I first received the Revelation of Jesus Christ. I had had many religious and spiritual experiences up to that point, more than the average person. I had been a pastor and teacher for many years. I thought I really knew the Lord. But one day God revealed His Son IN me. I was sitting in the backyard reading the Word and without warning, in my heart of hearts, I "saw" (not with my eyes, but inwardly) Jesus seated at God's right hand, and I saw myself raised and seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).

That day was like walking out of one room and into another, closing the door behind me. I got a glimpse into another world. I finally knew what before I had only talked about. Though not as outwardly dramatic as Paul's experience, inwardly a massive earthquake had taken place and my foundations were ripped to shreds. It was the beginning of the end of my career as a preacher for Organized Religion. I saw the real Jesus and realized He was nothing like flesh and blood had said. Hallelujah!

For the rest of Chip's article you can find it here:

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/articles/revelation.html

If you care to receive his daily meditation this is

the link given for that:

http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/join.html

In His Sweet Lord Jesus,

Jack

PARADOXOLOGY & THE KINGDOM ...... (part one)

2008-10-05T15:36:00.000-07:00

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Today's post is a little fair from our SONSHINE blog where we share messages with a little more depth. Should you care to visit us there, the link is:
http://jack-sonshine.blogspot.com/

It doesn't take much time spent within the Kingdom of God before one finds that this sphere of the Spirit is filled with paradox. So it seems this morning I awakened feeling lost to this world, yet with that feeling I also felt wonderfully at rest because I knew I was found in Him and He held me tightly. This was another paradox, of which for me there seems to be a new one discovered with each succeeding day. So with that, I feel led to share a few messages on "Paradoxology & The Kingdom of God."

How often I enjoy reading of some great theological mind that has fallen at His feet knowing that only with our vision of Christ, is there sense to made of our existence. And that sense ....... well it's nigh impossible to explain, thus we can only throw up our hands and point to Jesus and say there it is ..... there it all is! That is God and that is Love! That's the Whole of it and Whole of it is Jesus! And when you have come to the place where He is all you see and there is nothing else, you will ........... well then you will be the Whole and you will understand perfectly. Such is the Mystery of Christ, the Resurrection and God, All in All.

It is all found in Jesus. And "Jesus does not give recipes that show the way to God as other teachers of religion do. He is Himself the way."

So, last night I decided to research the background, thoughts and writings of a man that has often been called the greatest theologian of the twentieth century, if not the last five hundred years. What an enjoyable evening I had as I read of this esteemed man with the great mind. How wonderful it was to finish my evening's research with a simple story told of this famed theologian, Karl Barth. It said it all, and I had tears to witness the rarity of a "one of the few wise that had found the Kingdom."

Once a young student asked Barth if he could sum up what was most important about his life's work and theology in just a few words. The question was posed even with gasps from the audience. Barth just thought for a moment and then smiled, "Yes, in the words of a song my mother used to sing me, 'Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.'"

The "Jesus does not give recipes" quote I used earlier also came by way of Barth and I laughed at the truth of this other quote of his.

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"The truest rallying cry that can be used by any leader is ,

'I don’t know where I am going; follow me!'"

With that said I hope you will "follow me" as we explore the paradoxes of this wondrous sphere of the Spirit, we call the Kingdom of God. Hopefully we'll even get lost only to discover that in our lostness we have been found in His Love, which knows no bounds. I can think of no better way to start this series on "paradoxology and the Kingdom" than with this beautiful piece of prose by Linette Woods.

Lessons from Life
by Lynette Woods

I cannot learn anything until I unlearn what I have already learned.
I cannot be real and genuine until I have been disillusioned.
I cannot do anything until I've stopped everything.
I cannot be wholly in Christ until I am totally out of religion and its ways.

I cannot wash another's feet while standing on my own two feet.
I cannot walk in another's shoes unless I first take off my own shoes.
I cannot offer anyone a helping hand if my hands are already full.
I cannot speak words of Life to another unless Life has first engraved those words on my heart.

I cannot see through another's eyes while looking at myself.
I cannot hear through another's ears while listening to the throb of my own heartbeat.
I cannot share another's heart if I am consumed with the passion and pain in my own heart.
I cannot truly love another if I am still in love with myself.

I cannot give anything of worth to anyone until I have nothing of myself to give.
I cannot experience real Life until I am dead and buried.
I cannot know Freedom until I am content to be locked away.
I cannot know Rest until I can completely give up on myself and my plans.

I cannot live in the Light if I cannot bear the exposure of being seen.
I cannot know Truth unless I stop deceiving myself with lies.
I cannot walk in the Way until I quit studying the map.
I cannot know Hope until I'm convinced of how hopeless I am.

I cannot enjoy Peace without going through many storms.
I cannot experience amazing Grace if I secretly believe I deserve it.
I cannot receive Mercy until I stop trying to save myself.
I cannot completely trust Another until I no longer trust myself.

I cannot really pray until it is not me that is praying.
I cannot truly cry until it is not me that is crying.
I cannot really sing until it is not me that is singing.
I cannot truly laugh until it is not me that is laughing.

I cannot truly live until it is not ME that is living...

For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.
I can do all things through Christ Who empowers and strengthens me.
Phil 1:21; 4:13.

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