axiomreckoner

Outside of time

2011-09-05T21:14:00.000-07:00

So I was reading "Simply Christian" by N.T. Wright. Some believe he is a heretic, some believe he is the next C.S. Lewis, some believe C.S. Lewis was a heretic. Anyway...

He shares the thought that heaven and earth are overlapping and interlocking. He describes the Jewish temple of old as being a place where heaven meets earth. Later then we as the temple are the same. So we bring heaven to earth and proclaim hope of restoration to all. Though heaven is presently invisible outside of us.

This made me wrestle with the time space continuum and how we view the world. What if heaven and earth do overlap and interlock as Wright supposes. And what if before the fall particularly in the Garden of Eden heaven and earth not only overlapped but they were visibly one. One and the same dimension if you will and God walked among man. Let's say for sake of argument that time did not pass during this era. (I still believe a literal 7 days of creation fits the text best, but God could be relaying it to Moses in way we could best fathom. None of this is really the point.) After the fall heaven while still overlapping and interlocking disappears and becomes, as far as we can tell, another dimension. God is separated from man and His sin relationally, yet still with us, omnipresently.

Could this disappearance of heaven/God be caused by our progress in the strand of time and God's unchangingness outside of time?

Now enter the stories of God coming to earth, via ark of the covenant, pillar of fire/cloud, theophanies, temple etc. When He enters our strand of time He appears to us. He joins our reality.

Jesus comes later in full humanity thus trapping Himself in our time lock until He is released by death. The same release from time we will all receive upon our deaths.

Based on our faith in Jesus resurrection, when He rejoined our timeline, we are either with Christ at death or we are not. Our next "real" experience as far as our known reality would be upon our resurrection, either into the presence of God in heaven or at the Great White Throne awaiting damnation.

Do we experience anything outside of time after death? That's still up for argument. If God's dimension is Spirit based then yes, but if it is not, if it indeed all that we hope for in a deeper richer reality than we know, then maybe not...not at least until you receive a new body to experience the richness fully.

Now back to Jesus resurrected body for a moment. Is it possible that His new abilities to go through walls and locked doors stemmed from His ability to bounce back and forth between dimensions, because His new body is a native of both and actually design for the reuniting of planes to come? Are we seeing Jesus blip in and out of time?

Now lets look forward to the restoration of earth. Jesus is returning in His new body to rule this world/reality for 1,000 years. At the end of this time (see 1 Cor 15) Jesus will hand over His authority to God who will become all in all. That is when time stops. Wouldn't heaven/God reappear to us, like they had first departed? Revelation speaks of this earth's destruction and heavens destruction and the merging of a new heaven & earth hybrid! And I supposed both planes have to be transformed in order to visibly and wholly overlap and interlock forever and ever.

Just a thought. It doesn't really matter, but it's fun to think about.

Looking for the groom...

Church

2011-08-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

Imagine you got involved in a new church that featured a fully integrated biblical discipleship chasing after Jesus. This church feels like a family unit because all ministries are woven together. This church stands on the absolute truth of God's Word in the face of relativism. This church offers you the opportunity to be discipled, with others, in action by a person with shared passion. This church provides opportunity for you to be the next leader of the ministry of your passion. This church has a leadership structure mirroring Jesus earthly ministry. This church has three to four bi-vocational elders so a majority of church giving can go to the gospel getting out. This church is all about removing the obstacle of selfish fear of Jesus Way and unvieling the spirit of power, love, and discipline available in our lives through the Spirit. This church name reminds all it is to remain in the vine of Christ and not lean on its own abilities.

If this church existed...even adding inevitable human complication...would you get involved?

This church is coming...Lord willing!

Predestined & Free

2011-01-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

So in my circle there has been much discussion about predestination. So I have some thoughts on the matter. Number one, it's a stated biblical fact so even if you hate, it's still real. Second to deny predestination is to deny the possibility of prophecy. Third, I believe free will is not limited by predestination.

When you come to a stop light you are faced with the decision to turn right or left. Predestination states this decision has been set for you yet the car waits for your choice. In our perception, choices are our own. Our fate lies in our own hands. So our free will remains alive and well even if our path is known by God. Our decision about the Christ works the same as the stop light. Your predestined fate will not chose itself, it's up to you.

Looking for the groom...

Couple questions I was asked this week

2010-11-12T05:59:00.000-08:00

i still dont fully understand WHY god created. the angels, us, everything. like he made the angels and satan. and if he already knew satan would turn against him, then why would he even create in the first place? cause i was always taught that god doesnt need us. he was fine without us i guess you could say... not lonely or anything....

and then even after that question is answered.....
when adam and eve were in the garden.. i understand that he gave us free will and why, but why would he put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil there and tell them not to eat from it? like isnt it kind of like.... teasing in a way i guess?

I attempted to answer those questions knowing it may not be enough. But maybe it's a starting point.

Why do we create anything? Some of our inventions help us do things easier or better. But God didn't need to improve any of His capabilities. Some of our inventions are simply for pleasure. Flat screen tv's and high def for instance. It is just for our pleasure. I think that is why God made the universe and everything in it. Not to be entertained by our ups and downs but to have avenues in which to receive the greatest pleasure which is love. Colossians 1:16 tells us "All things were created by Him and for Him." So we are for Him. He made us to love Him.

Love isn't anything though unless there is hate/rebellion. If everyone in the eleventh grade is grounded at once then the punishment is not so bad because it is the normal experience for everybody. It's only when there is contrast by the majority having freedom to do whatever they want that being grounded becomes a negative experience. Experiences need contrast. Love needs contrast.

So if every human created loved God, I suppose in a way that doesn't have enough contrast to make any of the love pleasurable to Him. But if in the midst of hate and rebellion there is love for Him then it's precious, and powerful, and pleasurable.

In order to get the contrast for the love paradigm you must have a contrast for the human to see the good of God. The perfect contrast is the evil of Satan. Now we the human can have both beings in view and see God's goodness in contrast to Satan's evil. Without Satan what makes God special? In a world with no evil God would washout into the background and we wouldn't love Him.

So we need evil to fully see His goodness and He needs hatred/rebellion to fully feel love.

The tree of knowledge of good and evil then was placed purposefully as the one and only rule to follow. It was God's 1 commandment long before there were 10. It wasn't a tease it was a test. Would they rebel and hate God's command? Or would they love Him and His way.

They chose to rebel which He predicted before creation and had the plan set in place to demonstrate that even when we rebel He who is always good still loves us, in contrast to evil. We should have loved Him and chose Him because He was good but we didn't so that He could please Himself by loving us who should be considered unlovable.

He loves every single unlovable human being ever made. And it is His great pleasure to see our response to His love/goodness. He receives pleasure from people who respond to His offer of grace in contrast to the thousands who do not. He receives pleasure from people who respond to His power in obedience in contrast to thousands of other believers who do not.

It's not entertaining pleasure it's relational pleasure as people chose to love Him who first loved us.

Forgiven

2010-10-28T14:18:00.001-07:00

"You killed my son...but here's the thing...I forgive you."

Who is a temple?

2010-10-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

(EDITORS NOTE: This originally posted as an incomplete study, excluding 6:19 and now after further investigation has been reworked to better reflect the truth.)

This verse is almost exclusively used to speak of a persons literal physical body. As if our bodies are the temple. In light of 1 Corinthians 6:19 it seems to be true. Let's say for a minute that this is true. Then if I destroy my body am I injuring it? Tattooing it? Overeating in it? Or worse...killing it?

Which best describes destroying? I'd say killing. If that is true then we have a major problem!


            1. If I kill myself God will destroy me!

Now if God destroys me it can't be my physical body because I took care of that myself. So I'm left with only my spirit to be destroyed. That would mean the second death/lake of fire or the actual elimination of my soul.

Now I don't think the rest of scripture supports the later in anyway and if it did that would actually give a suicide victim everything they wanted. To not exist. No, this verse is used to teach that suicides go to hell. Which can't be true in the case of the Christian.

Here is what I never see...this verse used in the context Paul was writing. In the passage Paul is talking to the church in Corinth about the future judgment seat of Christ and the rewards gained and the losses suffered. He establishes the fact that the Corinthians were baby Christians doing very little of the holy things that are demonstrated in a spiritual man's life. (vv 1-8)

Starting in verse 9 Paul calls each believer a building of God. (One could call it a temple) In verses 10-11 it's revealed that the foundation of the building is Jesus Christ. This leads us to believe he is talking only to believers. Now these buildings are constructed out of gold, silver, precious stones, hay, wood, or straw.

These materials are not our physical body but rather our 'body of work'. The things we do for Christ in Christ through Christ (the shiny), and the things we do for self (hay, wood, straw). So to reiterate the building is NOT our body it is our 'body of work' done on the foundation of Christ.

Now on the Day (Day of the LORD future) our 'body of work' will be tested by fire to discover it's quality. The things in our 'body of work' that survive the fire will be rewarded, and the things that burn away will be lost forever as if they never existed, but because the foundation of the building is Jesus they remained saved as through fire.

Interestingly the word saved there is the Greek word sozo which means healing. Perhaps after losing some of ourselves we need restored and God provides this service.

The very next verse is our passage (1 Corinthians 3:16-17) in question. Why wouldn't the temple be the same building that will be tested? Why wouldn't the temple be our 'body of work' instead of our physical person? Does the Spirit of God indwell the physical Christian? Yes. But the Spirit of God also indwells our 'body of work' if the foundation is Christ, which is also me.

Now then destroying the temple look different if it is to destroy the positive work of God in you. Or do build nothing upon the foundation.

In 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 destroying the temple then has nothing to do with fast food, tattoos, or suicide but everything to do with building poorly (destructively) upon the foundation of Jesus.

So how will God destroy me if I destroy my temple? Paul has already explained that in the passage that it is destroyed and done away with in the fires of testing.

Our 'body of work' is to be a holy thing, a holy project. Under positive construction.

Is our physical body a temple as well? YES! According to Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19 it is. But the meaning of 3:16-17 is not about our physical body.

Conclusion: Overeating, cutting yourself, sexual immorality, or suicide are not justified. 6:19 states our physical body is the temple and we are to keep it holy.   But suicides will NOT be destroyed by God. While suicide is as bad as anything you can do to yourself according to 3:16-17 it cannot remove the foundation of Jesus Christ if in fact that foundation is present in a person. The blood of the cross can remove all sin.

Looking for the groom...

True God

2010-10-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

The community of Islam call Him Allah. The community of Mormons call Him Elohim. The Christian Church divided calls Him God. I have heard it said by people in all three groups that He is the same God. This is what I wish to bring into question.

“God is not a man that He can lie, nor the son of man that he should change his mind”- Numbers 23:19. These are words spoken from the seer Balaam, a pagan warlock, who had come to recognize who the true God was. He had no agenda to say these things, he simply discovered them as fact. If it is true that God does not lie or change, and I believe it is, then logically He cannot be the God of all three communities.

My God may well be called Allah in the Arabic tongue, but He is not the God of Mohammed and the Quran for both change the truths established by the true God in the Bible. My God might rightfully be called Elohim in the Hebrew tongue, but He is not the God of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon (and other Mormon canonical items) who replace the priesthood of Jesus with the priesthood of Joe.

These are spinoff god’s. When a tv show is highly successful sometimes a second show is created with a few of the same characters that takes the same ‘universe’ to a new place. Kenan & Kel was a spinoff of All That. The Jeffersons was a spinoff of All In the Family. Angel was a spinoff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Suite Life on Deck is a spinoff of Suite life of Zack & Cody. Some of the same characters go along to the new show, others are left behind, new stories are told, others are forgotten.

Nobody can argue that The Jeffersons IS All in the Family. You can only argue if you like it better or not, they are different shows all together. New creations.

God does not change nor does He lie. He does not outgrow the Bible and need a second book. He does not give us Revelation through John the apostle telling us how things will wrap up and then send a new prophet with a change of plans.

What we find in the Quran and the Mormon writings are a new creation of God which no longer represent the true God.

If God did not truly select the prophets Mohammed and Joseph Smith then their spins offs of God’s character and plans are false. And since we can find no Biblical support that foretold of their coming their self pronouncements as prophets of God are a misrepresentation of what they really are…liars.

Their god’s are based off of a true story and a true God, but are inherently false.

Thus my conclusion is this. The Islamic God Allah is a false god that does not exist. Muslims prayers do not magically find their way to the real God. They fall to the ground as prayers to an idol. The Mormon God Elohim is a false god that does not exist. The Mormons dedication and service do not magically get applied as if serving the Living LORD. They as worthless as going on a mission to serve a Barbie Doll’s will.

And since they are false I will attribute them as creations of the Father of Lies. Thus the Interfaith movement and others that call for believers in the same God to come together as one, no matter their opinion of Jesus is to be considered an evil scheme. Want to join your church with a Mormon Temple for a neighborhood blood drive? That is excellent. Want to join your church with a Mosques effort for feeding the hungry in Africa? That is excellent. But worshiping together? It isn’t even possible. If the optional acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God isn’t enough to deter us from common worship, the fact that we DO NOT share the same God should.

Let us pray that our friends, neighbors, and strangers that are caught in these religious traps discover the voice of the Living God and the grace of His Son that died so they could be free.

Salvation

2010-10-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

Salvation has at least four definitions in the Bible. Four definitions for the same word which makes interpretation a tricky situation. When you come across the word salvation or saved you have to chose a definition to give meaning to the verse. If you use the same one for every appearance of the word you will get some pretty varying theology in the same Christian family. Thankfully looking at the proper context and authors intentions in each passage we can identify the correct definition almost every time. Most of them become obvious when you have the right "word bank" to use.

So what are the definitions?(click on 'MORE' then 'full screen' if you have problems reading it. Auto play runs to fast to read, I suggest manual right clicks :) )

Now for some examples for each type...

Psalm 18:2
2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.(This is physically deliverance)

Romans 10:9
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is LORD," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (This is being freed from the penalty of sin)

Romans 7:24-25
7 What a wretch man I am! Who will save me from this body of death? 8 Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! (The chapters leading up to this verse are about struggling with sin, so this 'salvation' is being saved from the power of sin daily)

Romans 10:13

13 for, 'Everyone who calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved. (This verse quotes Joel 2:32 with the authors intent being the future day of the Lord. So this salvation is speaking of being saved from the presence of sin.)

With this being the case I can honesty say that I am saved, am being saved, and am not yet saved. Confusing enough? Welcome to the world of soteriology, the study of salvation.

It is my belief that a person who truly trusts in Christ for justification will follow the Spirit in some capacity through sanctification on their way to future glorification. It will not look the same for any two people. There are different appearances of holiness and righteousness and there are different levels of sin and rebellion in our lives. But make no mistake, during our time of sanctification we are all rebelling against God daily and need His power to help us overcome sins power.

My final word of the day is this...physical salvation will come and go in this life but will be completed in the next. So if you want physical salvation you want salvation from the presence of sin. To get that salvation in your future you need only to be saved from the penalty of sin by trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. You will have hope and mercy and grace in your life, but you will not live victoriously without being saved from the power of sin in your life you are living now. This kind of salvation does nothing to secure your last because some of our work is involved. Ever hear 'work out your salvation with fear and trembling?' You cannot earn the grace of the other salvation's, no works involved. But work is involved in surrendering to God's will in your life today in being saved from sins power. It is in this battlefield that heavenly rewards are earned and lost.

So is Jesus saving you from sin today? Let Him do it.

Looking for the groom...

Revamping

2010-10-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

I'm going to revamp this site over the next few days. I'm going to take some of the old material down and change the focus of the site. If anything prophetic comes up I will certainly hit it, but that will no longer be the focus. The new focus will be...'in light of Jesus return what am I doing?"

Falling short

2010-08-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

The main Hebrew word for refering to sin is 'het', which is a term they also use in the world of archery/markmanship. It means to miss the amrk or fall short of a target, in the same way an arow or sling stone misses the bulls-eye.

So when Paul said, 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.' He was srawing from classic Hebrew imagery for missing a target.

My sin isn't just the stuff that is the wrong direction, it's also the stuff in the right direction that isn't a bulleye. This makes me even more thankful for Jesus forgiveness and mercy today.

Looking for the groom...

Now for something entirely different

2010-08-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

      A friend of mine told me about a couple of friends of his having a argument of the theological kind. Now I don't get into theology much on this site but since eschatology decided not to cooperate at this time allow me to enter into the discussion of "holy things". (UPDATE 10-6 Now I actually do get into theology on here)
      The debate was between a Calvinist and an Arminian. Oh boy, it doesn't get much richer than that if you have ever experienced it. Maybe it was you.
      Well allow me to express my opinion. First of all Calvinism and Arminianism are guesses to how God's grace ultimately works. They are high quality/heavily followed opinions. Secondly, again in my opinion they are both right and they are both wrong. There are logical flaws in both and there is greatness in both.
       Let's establish them first. Calvinism is easily remembered as TULIP.
              T- Total Depravity of man
              U- Unconditional Election
              L- Limited Atonement
              I- Irresistible Grace
              P- Perseverance of the saints

   The total depravity of man explains that from birth we are total sinners, lost, trapped, damned. There is nothing you can do about it you WILL sin. And on this point I will completely agree.
       Unconditional election explains that in the realm of predestination God chose some of the depraved human beings a children, though they were lost in their sin. It has nothing to do with conditions we can meet or achieve, God simply chooses out His kindness. And on this point I agree.
       Limited atonement explains that Jesus blood was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins of the selected children, with none spilled as an offering for others. Jesus resurrection from the dead seals the offer of redemption for those chosen children, but is meaningless to the un-chosen, whom from our human perspective are indistinguishable. It is here that I cannot agree. I'll explain my alternative later.
       Irresistible grace explains that God's chosen children for whom His blood was shed for , whom He offers resurrection cannot resist the offer. They cannot say 'no thanks' to Jesus. This is a fascinating argument because it assumes SO MUCH. Irresistible grace assumes that the atonement is limited. That is the only way it works. If Jesus only died truly for 3 out of 10 people then those 3 certainly cannot resist Jesus. But this argument unravels IF the atonement is not at all limited.
       Perseverance of the saints explains that the depraved humans that are chosen as children are truly made new by the Holy Spirit and no matter their experience on this earth or in this life they won't have their faith overcome. I agree with this. It is not at all what we are seeing with our eyes in Christianity today, but not everyone in Christianity is a new creation.
   Now Arminianism came on the heals of Calvinism, and I suspect was first formed as a responsive opinion. But just like so many of us are pat to do instead of taking from Calvin what was good, they became polar opposites. Like a democrat to a republican. Like black paint to white. Like Red Sox to Yankees. So here is the Arminian opinion.

            Weakness inherited from Adam
            Elected on God's foreknowledge
            Unlimited atonement
            Resistible grace
            Perseverance dependent on obedience

Weakness inherited from Adam explains that we are born sinless but with an internal fault or bent towards evil. I reject this concept openly. Sin is passed down not weakness to sin. It is not possible to be sinless as the son of your father, if you could then Jesus atonement would be plan B, instead of the WAY. Jesus Himself alone is sinless because He was a son of His Father who was unseen (and not human).
      Elected on God's foreknowledge explains that God selects His children by looking into their futures and seeing who they are. Does He pick the best? Obviously not. Does He pick the smartest? Not always. Does He pick those who will pick Him? Like a mutual by in? Look, God's foreknowledge is not a crystal ball application that He turns on and off to make informed decisions. He is all informed all the time so His choice in all likelihood is as much unconditional as it is on His knowledge, if the second part at all. Ephesians 1:5 leads me to believe that His kindness trumped His knowledge, or that in fact His kindness is His knowledge.
    Unlimited atonement explains as in 1 Timothy 4:10 that Jesus blood on the cross for the forgiveness of sins and His resurrection for new life was for EVERYBODY. Not just for those that would believe. A question must be asked even if you, like me, agree. Why for all if it is not used by all? Is not the resurrection the first fruits of the entire world being made new? Even the planet itself will be born into new life. Jesus blood was a complete offer for all time, one lamb for all mankind, sins forgiven for all, even those who don't believe. Everyone's sin is forgiven. But in some, the chosen children are drawn by the Spirit to Jesus as Lord and Savior and receive new life. Those who miss out on the kingdom of Christ and the newness to come do so not because of un-forgiveness, but because they aren't His children.
     Resistible grace explains that people can hear the good news of Jesus work and saving power and decline it. I agree. Some of God's children decline the invitation many many times before the Spirit draws them. To me that makes grace resistible, it become irresistible on the adoption day of the child. Maybe for you that still sounds like irresistible grace, but to me that terms sounds like everyone who will ever believe will hear the good news today and accept. That simply isn't true.
   Perseverance dependent on obedience explains that the faithful only overcome/reach heaven when obedient. And while obedience is a major theme of the disciples writings it is not the key to maintaining salvation. The disobedient believer doesn't lose His faith anymore than a disobedient child loses his parents. Your obedience shows your Christ-likeness and Christian maturity, it is not your child status card. God's children will never be abandoned. No the true children will overcome to the end, even if they go off track sometimes.
     So for those keeping track my opinion is not Calvinistic or Arminian but 'Calminian'...

Total Depravity
            Unconditional Election
            Unlimited Atonement
            Resistible Grace
            Perseverance of the saints

Looking for the groom...

Iron Dome

2010-07-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

Israel is installing a new defense system called the Iron Dome that should be operational within four months. The Obama administration is helping this cause as to help Israel feel more secure when facing a potential Palestinian State.

Just look at the picture above the article. That is heartbreaking. I don't care what nationality kids are they should never need to do that!

Now In Ezekiel 38 it speak of a time when an Alliance (that is forming today) of countries attacks Israel. Many have said the day looks to be near and it maybe. I don't know maybe it's the ENP being bogus prophetically or Av 2010 being quiet that has got me thinking a different direction, but I don't see this prophecy working out just yet.

This is why. Ezekiel 38:11 'and you (Gog Alliance) will say, 'I will go up against the land of unwalled villages (Israel). I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls, and having no bars or gates."

We surely have the right countries at odds with Israel but we do not have a safe unwalled Israel. No we have a Israel with a Iron Dome!

My mind goes back to the line of thinking that the true beast will issue a false peace at the first seal and that the war of the second seal could contain this war. I think you need peace to fulfill this war if that makes any sense.

Looking for the groom...

AoC is just plain scary

2010-06-24T11:53:00.000-07:00

Ever since I first heard about it years ago I had suspicions of Zapatero and the pushers of the AoC. Now that the US has joined it just gets scarier.

I wonder how long their threatening words turn to action? How long will it take before they call for the 'rounding up' or extermination of those who refuse to deny Jesus is the only path?

In case I haven't said it before, "Jesus is the true Messiah/Savior and the only way to forgiveness of sins and He alone grants immortality at the resurrection of the dead." I will stick to that stance.

"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up another and hate one another." -Matthew 24:9-10

It's coming sooner or later.

I case you haven't visited AoC watch recently there is a good new post there. Check it out.

Looking for the groom...

EU Instrument to target radicals

2010-06-16T06:06:00.000-07:00

The EU has a plan to rid the world of terrorism along the lines of the Alliance of Civilizations. They have believed that step one is declaring who the radicals are because they are most likely to be terrorists. Step two is in this new instrument as they will gather data or spy upon whom they declare radicals.

Thankfully some leaders are speaking out against it. Here is my favorite quote from the article.

"Being a radical is not the same as being a terrorist. I am a radical on data protection, for instance," Ms Ludford said. "A democratic society wouldn't work without dissenters. We didn't dismantle Communism and Fascism to start being suspicious at people who hold different views from the establishment."

This is European politics that don't affect America yet, but we can see the obvious direction the world is taking. Just another step.

Looking for the groom...

Alliance of Civilizations Forum 2010

2010-05-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

If the video doesn't fit right in your browser, click here to watch it somewhere else:)

Ok I get it...many cultures, one humanity. And let me be the first to say it sounds like what our LORD Jesus wants. However we must remember the mistakes at the tower of Babel. Babel was the last place we all stood as one humanity in efforts to reach God on our own merit and power. This Babel is great for peace and rooting out terrorism. Two things I would like to see. However do we understand it's means to this end?

You won't see it in this video.

But you can find a hint of it on their website in the FAQ section.

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations is:

•A unique project of the United Nations which aims to build trust and understanding across countries and communities, thereby countering the forces of polarization and extremism

Extremism is bad unless it is an undying faith in a ONE true LORD and Savior Jesus Christ. There is no such feeling in the Alliance of Civilizations. Undying faith and action tied to one true LORD Jesus will be viewed the same as those who will suicide bomb buildings.

We are slowly or not so slowly being coached into an interfaith society. It is being pushed by Jordanian King Abdullah and he is present at the Aoc forum. In this interfaith society you can serve your own god or lord as long as you don't declare it as the only way.

Can't Muslims, Jews, and Christians all get along? Sure we can, and Jesus wants us to, that is up to the point where I am asked to re-classify my Savior as a religious option!

I may be blowing my whistle foul on the wrong play here, but it smells like a setup. A setup to get us to embrace religious equality or be defined more than ever as a extremist.

Sorry. I will gladly eat, drink, play, work, talk, etc with people of other faith systems. That would be awesome. But you cannot make me say my LORD is an option. Jesus Christ, Yeshua Messiah is the ONLY way to forgiveness of sins and life after life after death.

Looking for the groom...

Mark of the Beast?

2010-05-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine sent me this link about implantation of microchips.

This article is just plain scary when you can see how easily this device could fulfill the mark of the beast from scripture.

Add that to the fact the US joined the Alliance of Civilizations (as reported by Farmer and officially here) and it makes prophecy seem like it is speeding up again.

Looking for the groom...

Important Things

2010-02-08T19:32:00.000-08:00

Somethings brewing.

I don't know why, but I am noticing people all around me going through deep evaluation of self. People are trying to discover, some of them for the first time, what God truly wants them to do. People are making decisions that are taking them out of their comfort zones.

My wife "heard" God in her head say to her, "Do you want to be comfortable or do you want to do what I want?"

Could this be the Spirit's final call to righteousness?

We are finding it a spiritual battle more than ever to clear our minds to hear the LORD. Somehow I don't think it's because He is on the phone with all our friends. We too are uncontrollably called to evaluation but we are finding the sound waves a bit murky. What do you want LORD?

I need to retreat and find silence to listen and discover God's way for today. Would you pray for me that I can get there? Pray for my wife that she can get there?

Somethings brewing.

Two Songs

2010-01-07T19:48:00.001-08:00

I was riding my new bike today and listening to my mp3 player shuffle thru when two songs came on back to back that made me smile and I wanted to share them with you.

The first song that caught my attention was Matthew West's 'A Few More Days'.

There is a longing deep inside my soul
There is a place my spirit wants to go
Its far away from all these chains that bind
There is a world I long to leave behind

So, I wait and I wait
For the moment when You come for me
And rescue my heart from the pain that it's seen
Troubles are circling all around me
And I can't stop thinking

Chorus:
Just a few more days I'll be going home
Just a few more hours and I'll be flying
It could be any minute now that You take me away
Or maybe just a few more days
A few more days

To you a day is like a thousand years
And only you know when the clouds will clear
So let me not forget and fall away
Because a thousand years could be today

Repeat Chorus...etc.

This was immediately followed up by Nickleback's 'If Today Was Your Last Day'- no joke! Now understand I was listening with a heart that had just been stirred from the song above and Jesus love for me.

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

Chorus:
If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?
What if, what if, if today was your last day?

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the price is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you're never living twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

Repeat Chorus

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you're dreaming of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are

So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothing stand in your way
'Cause the hands of time are never on your side

Repeat Chorus

I just thought I would pass this little musical adventure along to you in these last days.

Looking for the groom...

Dress Code

2009-12-01T09:22:00.000-08:00

This last weekend at was at the mall with the rest of the world. As I sat down to lunch in the food court I saw a peculiar site. It was a old man dressed in Hindu attire from the turban on his head to the "dress" he wore. His presumed son sat across from him in an Aeropostale T-Shirt, faded blue jeans, and tennis shoes.

I marveled at the difference between the two men. In Hindu religion they dress their faith, and apparently the son was very liberal in his faith or had left the faith completely. Then I thought about the fact the father's father probably didn't even go to malls. It's a slow fade from their faith.

Then I began to think about us. What if sincere Christianity had a dress code? Would you go to the mall fully dressed according to your faith? Would your attire, if connected to your walk, look like your fathers, your grandfathers, the early church?

Would your Christianity suit look no different than the world's Aeropostale shirts?

Looking for the groom...

Fast

2009-11-25T12:29:00.000-08:00

Every year about this time I start a fast. From the day before Thanksgiving until New Years Day I fast. Not from food though, how hard would that be? Haha.

I fast from complaining over this span of days. I lock those many daily complaints behind my lips and find Thanksgiving much more thankful. I find Christmas much more peaceful. My relationships are in better harmony and my spirit is revived. The New Year comes to a better man than it would without. Complaining's ultimate root is selfishness and selfishness is at the root of all sorts of evil. So it doesn't come easy, but it is a rewarding adventure.

I make my students join me. Would you join me too?

Looking for the groom...

God loves you

2009-08-31T12:38:00.001-07:00

I've been away lately with school starting up.

I have one simple thought for you today. God loves you. If you have given your life to the Son in exchange for forgiveness of sins and eternal life, you are wonderfully loved.

The God who loves us on a personal level is the power behind creation. He is the Elohim that created all things in Genesis 1:1. El means strength, Elohim mean plural strength. That is who loves you. The God who has the ability to be the e (energy) that made mc2.

He gave us everything we could ever need in this universe. And His universe reflects His plurality. In the beginning (Time) God created the heavens (Space) and the earth (Matter).

Time has three parts...past, present, future.
Space has three parts...height, width, depth
Matter has three parts...solid, liquid, gas, or even proton, neutron, electron.

This God of order and perfection, this good God loves you. Love Him back today.

"We stand in your presence, bow down at Your throne;
We remember the mercy and grace that You've shown;
You are all that we need, so we lift up our voices to sing;
We sing to the King." - from Sing to the King by Justin Unger

Israel

2009-08-01T09:27:00.001-07:00

I'm back from duel vacations. I enjoyed both trips very much. It was interesting that in catching up with friends and family on both trips I was asked how do I "feel" about Israel? (Probably assuming I view the state of Israel as the Kingdom of Israel like so many preachers today are incorrectly doing)

What an interesting question. The first time I was asked this I explained what it going on and what it could mean. It was a satisfactory answer. The second time I was asked was by my brother and his wife who live in the Middle East and are dear friends with many Arabic speaking people.

This time the answer had to be different. I explained that I don't feel anything about Israel or Palestine because I don't know anybody personally involved. Personal involvement always changes your point of view. Without any feeling attached I see the Middle East conflict as the Jews not viewing the Palestinians as people but as enemies and the Palestinians not viewing the Jews as people but as enemies.

I think that the state of Israel has broken international laws. That's not supportable. (I would only support breaking an international law, if there was one, prohibiting proclaiming the name of Jesus.) I think that the state of Israel does not look to God for direction.

I think the Palestinian people haven't broken any international laws, but only because they aren't recognized as a country yet. What they have been doing isn't supportable. I think that the Palestinian people look to Allah for direction but he is not the One true God.

I view Israel as a large house with many family members living in it. They are the only house in the neighborhood with a family like there's, every other house on the block is Arabic speaking people. The Israel house just wants to be left alone, but the neighbors have started moving in and setting up residence in some of the houses bedrooms. Typically this is no big deal as the house of Israel can see the other houses on the block of different typed of families intermingled within their homes, such as my brother in one. But tho this Israel house it's a very big deal because the people who have moved in are "cousins" with the other people on the block. The head of the house of Iran down the street has proclaimed he wants to bulldoze the house of Israel. So the Israel house want to remove the their house of all non-family members not because those people are a pain, not because they aren't human, not because of another religion, but because of fear they may be like their "cousin" in the house of Iran. In fact I believe that everyone in the house of Israel views all Arabic speaking people as the head of Iran. There is no distinguishing.

I'm not supporting them, and I don't feel anything, but I can understand their point of view. In fact if put in the same position I'd defend my family too.

The Jewish people are the tree that support my branches as I have been grafted into God's family (Rom 11). When the full number of Gentiles have come in their will be a restoration of the heart of Israel (Rom 11:25-26). The Davidic covenant (2 Sam 7, 1 Chron 17:11-14, 2 Chron 6:16) promises of a kingdom will be fulfilled. I believe that with my whole heart. I believe that it is likely this sad state of Israel that will enter (or has entered) a covenant with other nations and the beast.

This isn't blind hatred of the Palestinian people, I don't hate them at all, I wish they be grafted in to the tree along with me. And this isn't blind support of the state of Israel but a support of the Jewish people. And it's support of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who will lead that house on that day. I guess it is personal after all.

Looking for the groom...

Pray for Farmer

2009-07-13T10:05:00.000-07:00

If you surf the circle of prophecy blogs you have no doubt read "What Farmer Thinks". For over a year I have been directly linked to his site. Most people are commenting about him in the recesses of comment posts and email exchanges. But I would like to address it quickly here...and in small print because it is not the most important thing going on today.

Something has happened in his world that has shown traces in this virtual one. But only traces. Some will judge him without a clear picture, some will forgive him by God's grace. He is being slandered if it's false, and he is forgivable if true. We will likely never know what really happened (is happening) and it's mostly not our business (the blogging is made our business his personal life is never).

I love how God created us to only know what is true in ourselves. Though we do wrongly attempt it daily we are incapable of judging another person justly. We can never have ALL the details of their heart and faith, and honestly biblically when judged justly by God we all once stood condemned.

Thank you Jesus for removing my condemnation and that of thousands of people around the globe today. I pray that forgiveness of sins is embraced by Farmer in these days as well. I pray that restoration is found in his life and that he can live (again?) in the joy of the Lord.

Meanwhile I will be looking for the groom...

G-8 meeting unveils new currency?

2009-07-12T23:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aeFVNYQpByU4

It's only the beginning. The one world currency is gaining momentum and something big may come out of the G-20 meetings later this summer.

"Unity in Diversity" a prelude to the mark or just a new Euro?

Looking for the groom...

Sabbath observance

2009-06-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. - Exodus 20:8

I just have a question for everybody out there. How do you remember the sabbath to keep it holy? Is there action tied to it, or inaction? Is it something observed only in your mind?

Don't you think it's something God gave man so we wouldn't burn out? I think true Sabbath observance is a lost art. Every time I try to do it literally I feel like a slacker that isn't doing things that need to be done. I guess it can be used as such, an excuse to not work, but if in works place I instead focus on God, then it's good...it's holy.

This is one of those things that we follow under Jesus future reign the Millennial Kingdom so I am trying to figure it out now.

Looking for the groom...

Bible teachers are dangerous!

2009-04-23T06:42:00.001-07:00

I teach Bible in a Christian high school. Part of my curriculum is Daniel, Matthew, 2 Thessalonians, & Revelation which together explains the "end times". Should I be marked as a right wing extremist now?

According to the homeland security office and their newest unclassified document I just might be a threat to America.

"'end times' prophecies could motivate extremist individuals and groups to stockpile food, ammunition and weapons. These teachings also have been linked with the radicalization of domestic extremist individuals and groups in the past, such as the violent Christian Identity organizations and extremist members of the militia movement."

The document suggest people with such tendencies should be watched by the authorities. I teach about prophecy. I read about prophecy. I study prophecy. I "discuss" prophecy here with you. I see the current economic climate has having ramifications for setting up or fulfilling the 70th week. If that makes me a threat...then wow, it's really happening...persecution of the Christians in America is at the door.

My students memory verse this week is James 1:2-4, maybe it will serve them well in the coming days.

You know what? Believing that my Lord and Savior is returning, and that there is darkness in the day of the Lord before there is light shouldn't make me a risk to homeland security. It just shouldn't, something darker is afoot here. The enemy is getting ready to make his move.

Looking for the groom...

Temple Talk

2009-03-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

According to Jewish tradition the temple was destroyed on the 9th of Av. I blogged about Av last year here.

Zechariah 8:19 says "Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'The fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth months will become joy, gladness, and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah,; so love truth and peace." Many Jews believe that the mourning days will turn to cheer including the temple being rebuilt on the 9th of Av.

So that would mean a summer rebuild if true.

The temple mount is actually on Israeli land but since the 6 days wars (1967) they have given the Muslim Waqf control, who forbid Jewish or Christian entrance/prayer.

Now for my entire life I have understood the Muslims point of view on the temple mount dispute because I believe it had equal significance (in their minds) to them as it did the Jews. However my research has shown otherwise!

The temple mount while the Holiest place on planet earth for the Jew, with no second place, it is only the third most holy place for the Muslim. THIRD!

The Muslim worshipper outside the dome of the rock, turns their back on the Holy of Holies and faces Mecca for prayer. They are dominating a place for reasons of power not faith. Jerusalem isn't even mentioned in the Quran it's simply their tradition that Mohammed ascended to heaven there.

It would be like the Jews taking possession of Mecca tearing it down and building a temple on it, then not using the temple, but facing Jerusalem when they prayed. Saying they are there because in tradition Moses bones were buried in Mecca. Mecca has no signifance to them other than power, but they make the appearance that it's for faith reasons, thus the temple. You see the problem?

The temple mount is Israel's land. Judiasm is the offical religion of Israel. The government should remove the Muslim Waqf and take possession of the Holy Mountain.

Their are several groups that are gathering supplies and even cutting cornerstones accordinging to Levitical law as to be ready to beuild in a moments notice. Their are floor plans, materials, and money set aside. They just need the property back.

This could happen any day, or could not happen for another two thousand years. Option one the Israeli government declares it theirs and the Waqf walkes. NOT LIKELY. Option two, the Israeli army decalres it theirs and takes it by force, it would be messy, and people would die. POSSIBLE. Or a mediator could come in a broker a plan that gives the Muslims what they truly desire (since the temple mount isn't real high on their list) and retuns the mountain to the Jews. POSSIBLE.

A two state solution would not create this scenario as Jerusalem is always mentioned as the Palestianian States captial in the plans. Some other deal must come along. It's amazing that the Jews would be as happy as could be with regaining control of 37.5 acres they already own. Yet it's been prevented.

It's 37.5 acres desperately desired by the believing Jews, not not necesarily their government.
It's 37.5 acres desperately protected by the Muslim to keep the upper hand
It's 37.5 acres desired by the Roman Papacy to be their holy captial

Why? It's destined for Jesus Christ himself to reign there.

Jesus will reign from Zion. Zion, Moriah, and Olives are the three mountains in and surrounding Jersusalem. Jesus ascended to heaven from Olives, he was killed on a foothill of Moriah (temple mount), and he will put his throne on Zion. Zion is an indistinquishable mountain today because of all the ruins of the old city that fills the valley that used to seperate Moriah from Zion. So today Zion is considered most of old city Jerusalem. Isaiah speaks of Zion rising up above all the earth's mountains, so Jesus will make it distinguishable again.

How important is Moriah to the temple? Does it have to be in that exact location? What about on Zion somewhere? Or Olives? Or a tabernacle in the wilderness to restart the sacrifices?

Mt. Moriah is the probable place Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac (Gen 22:2). It's where David sacrificed to the Lord (1 Chron 21:18-30). Solomon placed the first temple there for this reason. (2 Chron 3:1). And as I mentioned Jesus was the final sacrifice on Moriah's foothill Golgotha outside the city walls.

Conclusion, yeah it's a significant spot for sacrifices.

Messiah

2009-02-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

Many times Bible students struggle to understand why the Pharisees responded to Jesus the way that they did. Why did these men who memorized the entire Tenak (Old Testament) not see Jesus as the one and true promised Messiah?

History reveals that about the time of Jesus birth people in the Jewish community started to get that feeling like the day of the messiah was soon coming. Much like the feeling many have today about his return. This feeling pushed some men to ether claim Messiahship or have followers who made that claim about them.

Two of these men appeared in public before Jesus. Simon a former slave of Herod the Great and Anthronges who declared himself King and aspired to bring the Messianic Kingdom to Israel. Both men were killed. Both were proven frauds.

Wouldn't that cause the Pharisees to want to protect the people from another lunatic? Enter Jesus. He fits the prophecies but even they are cloaked. Yes he was born in Bethlehem but all they knew he was from Nazareth. So they don't see who for who He is. They kill him, but he rises again.

Following Jesus 16 Jewish men claimed to be the promised Messiah or their followers claimed it for them. As recently as the 1900's.

Remember when Jesus said before his return their would be many false Messiah's, and to not believe them? Not only have we had these many Jewish Messiah claimants but we have 25 plus who have claimed to be the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ!

It starts slow. One named Simon Magus in 50 AD. Then Adabert in 744. Tanchelm 1110. Then a jump to the 1700's. Then steadily increasing in the 1800's, then the 1900's. There some active still today in different parts of the world. They seem to be increasing like birth pangs.

Anyway, all this too say, I can't wait for the real deal to return. It will be a glorious day, when the true Dread Champion is revealed to the whole world.

The Jewish Historian Josephus talks about many of these false Messiah's explaining their faults. But I love how he describes historical Jesus of Nazareth.

Antiquities 18.3.3 Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ (Greek for Messiah), and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians so named from him are not extinct at this day.

Looking for the groom...

Remnants and such

2009-02-02T19:45:00.000-08:00

For a few days now I've been trying to get my head around who the 144,000 are and who the Holy Remnant is, etc. I'm NOT SAYING I have it figured out, but here's what I'm thinking today.

It looks as if there are 4 groups of people in the Great Tribulation (aka the last half of Daniels 70th week).

1. True Christians, trying to avoid fifth seal martyrdom and the mark of the beast. They await the great appearing of the Lord Jesus and the resurrection transformation where they are caught up in the air with the dead in Christ, likely in between the sixth and seventh seals.

2. 144,000 of the 12 tribes of Israel. (Rev 7) I have talked at length about these already. 12,000 x 2 would be Jews, 12,000 x 10 could be anyone with Samaritan blood. Sealed by God for protection for the duration of the Tribulation. I see them with resurrected immortal bodies (received at Christs appearing), people who were not a part of the apostasy and stayed true to God's Word. They would remain visible on earth during this time.

3. Literal bloodline Jewish Remnant. (Rev 12:14) They appear to be living in Judea at the time of the abomination and they run when they see it (Matt 24:15-20). Daniel 12 makes them sound like they are saved, "written in the book". If the resurrection comes after their hiding then they too would be caught up, but we later see them at the end coming out of hiding. So they are not believers in the Messiah Jesus. They run to the hills, some say Petra, some say under Jerusalem. Either way they are supernaturally protected for the Great Tribulation. These people of course are mortal and remain hidden until they are brought into the Millennial Kingdom fulfilling God's promises to Israel. As mortals they will populate and the nation of Israel will again prosper. These Jews will gladly practice Torah as will be commanded of all in the Kingdom. (Zech 14, Ez) They will finally believe (Isaiah 11)

4. Non-believing survivors. Said to be a rare as gold. These are the people who against all odds, despite no faith in the Lord survive alive to the return of Jesus on earth. These mortals will enter the Millennial Kingdom and populate it. Deciding whether or not to worship the Lord as He commands (Zech 14) and many whom will turn against the Lord in the last battle before the New Heavens and New Earth.

Everyone else dies (including the World Powers, Beast and prophet), and finds themselves in the lof. Anyway, that's what I'm seeing today.

Looking for the groom...

Who are the 144,000 sealed?

2009-01-26T17:16:00.000-08:00

Sometimes (mistakenly) they are called witnesses. Never are they called that and never do we see them in scripture acting in that ministry.

What we know about them is that according to Revelation 7 there are 144,000 of them. They are called out in groups of 12,000 associated with twelve tribes of Israel. They have the seal of God placed on their foreheads which we later discover is the name of God and the name of the Lamb (Rev 14:1). We can guesstimate that they are sealed just before the resurrection of the made-righteous dead as Revelation 7:9 speaks of a great multitude appearing in heaven coming out of the Great Tribulation. We also know they are called the first fruits of the resurrection (Rev 14:4). And finally they are blameless and have not defiled themselves with women (Rev 14:4,5). (Although I have read somewhere some people think the 144,000 of chapter 7 are seperate from the 144,000 of chapter 14. I don't see any reason to read it that way.)

So who are these people? Are they a special group set apart from the rest of the resurrected bride? Set apart to remain on the earth as a testimony of God's protection? Should we consider this sealed group of God one in the same as the final remnant of mortals God delivers to the kingdom? Or are the 144,000 a part of the resurrection of the made-righteous and as such they are likely to dwell in new immortal bodies? Again who are these people?

First of all, from childhood I was told to believe that these 144,000 were of Jewish decent. Seems obvious right? 12,000 from each of the twelve named tribes.

But what is not often considered is the fact that the declared Jews of today consist of only TWO of the tribes. So where are all the other tribes?

The Southern Kingdom of Judah was sacked by Babylon, exiled, and restored by Persia's decree. These Judean's became known as the Jews, short for Judean.

The northern kingdom of Israel was sacked by Assyria way before Babylon took the south, but these poor Israelites were not all exiles, most were slain and others assimilated into Assyria and other Gentile countries. They became "mixed".

It's these mixed Israelites from the north who are the Samaritans of the New Testament. They settled back into the northern territories while Judah was in exile. By Jesus day there was near 2 million Samaritans and where at great odds which each other despite sharing the Torah of Moses.

But as time went by the Jews were persecuted by the Gentiles of this world and the Samaritans for much of the time were mistaken as Jews. As the Catholic Church became a power many Samaritans dropped that identity and embraced Christianity. So Samaritans all over Europe and the rest of the Roman Empire seemingly disappeared as they switched loyalties and intermarried (again). Most of those who stayed in the Middle East were converted by the Muslim powers that came later, switching from the Torah to the Quran and intermarrying with Muslims. Today there is a small population between 200-700 people who are "pure" Samaritan blood living on their holy mountain Gerizim. The rest are intermingled and unidentifiable throughout Europe, the America's etc. Many Christian American's are likely to have Samaritan blood, and many Muslim Arab's of Palestine are likely to have Samaritan blood. That is Israelite blood and a part in the promises of God.

So when God calls out 12,000 from each tribe, many could be seemingly not Jewish at all. They could be from any race or nation. It could be you:) But that is only from the point of view that the 144,000 are selected out of the living today. If they are selected out of the dead but made-righteous souls awaiting resurrected bodies it could be literal Israelites from long ago, rather than the invisible Samaritans of today.

Helena Lehman believes the 10 lost tribes will be a spiritual Israel called out from the Church. I find it interesting that she labels the Spiritual Israel as Christian who have kept their Jewish roots of Torah observance and the feasts. But I can't agree with her fully today. I don't see any real reason for the 10 lost tribes to come out of the Church unless they really have that tribes blood in them, no matter how small the trace.

But she does also make and interesting comment about the 144,000 not defiling themselves with women. She writes, Next, we have to determine what the writer means by "virgin" and "women." Rather than meaning that the 144,000 are all men who never slept with a woman, could the writer be suggesting that these saints were never loyal to any particular church, synagogue, and/or political party?

For example, the "Woman clothed with the Sun" in Revelation 12:1 represents the righteous Jewish/Israelite bloodline that Yahshua was descended from. As an extension of that righteous bloodline, Yahshua made us into His Church and His Body by His shed innocent blood.

Meanwhile, the "Woman sitting on a Scarlet Beast" represents the apostate church of the Tribulation that is "married to" or in league with corrupt bankers and dishonest politicians (Rev. 17:3). This religious, political and economic group promotes the idea that all paths lead to God or that man is a god, denies the reality of sin, and does not see a need for repentance. Therefore, in referring to the "virgins not defiled by women," Revelation 14:1 could be referring to saints that are not political or religious activists...

That might be more right than the 144,000 being virgin males.

But would God really assign a few of his people to stay on earth, granted under His protection and possibly equipped with immortality, for the worst of the worst days of the Tribulation while the rest are gathered to heaven? Who would want such an assignment? Or maybe, who wouldn't?

Looking for the groom...

Torah Poll Follow Up

2009-01-20T16:02:00.001-08:00

Will everyone observe the Torah in the future Millennial Kingdom? Scripture indicates to that affect. First of all do we know who these people living in the Kingdom will be? Here's one interpretation...

Group One: Jesus the King
Group Two: Resurrected Bride of Christ (immortals)
Group Three: Jewish remnant (mortals)
Group Four: Gentile fragments (mortals)

On one hand it makes sense for the Jewish remnant to revert back to the Torah observance. But on the other hand it doesn't. Jesus the final sacrifice will be seated right there. Why offer sacrifices?

As for the Gentiles, it makes no sense. It would be bizarre for the bride to take part.

Hmmmm, what are we missing?

Well it has become my understanding that Torah observance should have never left the life of true believers. Are we dead to the curse of the law? Yes (Rom 5:9). Do we have a better covenant in Christ? Yes (Heb 8:6). But we are not removed from the laws promises (Deut 7:12), and it's definition of sin.

Now as a believer in Christ I am saved by Jesus blood of my sins. Sins defined by the Torah. As a believer in 2009 I am not a Levite priest, nor an Israelite king, I don't live in a theocracy so most of the Torah is obsolete to me. But there are three fragments of the Torah that were called "perpetual covenants." Those are the 10 commandments (including it's sub laws- Deut 5:29), the Shema (love the Lord your God will your heart soul and mind- Deut 6:5/Matt 22:37-40), and the Appointed Feasts (Lev 23:14,21,31,41).

These are things I should keep. These are the things we see showing up in Jesus Kingdom. Though in the place of most of the Levites we have resurrected David (Prince) administering the sacrifices and offerings with the sons of Zadok (Ez 44, 46). And not for atonement reasons but for confession and peace.

If the three fragments of the Torah still apply to my Christian life, then they will apply to all people in the Christian Kingdom.

Help me understand, is this right?

Looking for the groom...

The kind of Inter-faith I can get behind

2009-01-13T17:56:00.000-08:00

These days when I see or hear the words inter-faith I almost automatically assume it's Alliance of Civilizations build up. The idea that all people will have to come together and declare their way of faith a way instead of THE way. Something I will never ever do.

So I came across this article for the wrong reasons I suppose, I even read it suspiciously, but as it turns out, it's about a different kind of inter-faith, the kind I can get behind.

Here's the part that first caught my eye...

This is an ongoing tragedy on the other side of the world. But, the repercussions are also felt locally. In the Muslim community there are some who transfer their animosity towards the actions of the government of Israel and Zionism into an animosity towards Jews or Judaism. In the Jewish community there are some who transfer their animosity towards the actions of Hamas or some other Palestinian militant groups into an animosity towards Islam or Muslims. In the Christian community there are some who so strongly believe that it is their duty to defend Israel no matter what in order to bring about the end times and the second coming and rapture that they are willing to ignore obvious injustices and to demonize all who don’t agree with them. As members of a multi-faith society we all have our fears and our angry moments, but we must resist any tendencies to transfer hostilities to innocent people, or to make sweeping generalizations.

Now as for the Christians part in that, I see it, I've been accused of it, and I hate it. In no way shape or form do I wish the death of innocents to further prophecy. I would never personally kill anybody to further prophecy.

I'm a watchman of the world, taking note of occurrences and looking to my Bible for possible connections. That doesn't make me celebrate this war or any other war. It's sickening what both parties have been doing to each other. I do not support the state of Israel. I do not support Hamas.

Being excited and watchful for Yeshua Messiah's return is simply DIFFERENT than defending Israel blindly to bring about the end times.

The article makes excellent points...

As Eboo Patel has pointed out: “The basic line I’ve heard from both sides is, “We can’t talk to people we have such fundamental disagreements with.” And so interfaith groups break apart. Friendships between Muslims and Jews are strained. And we revert to shouting our own talking points louder and louder. But, slowly, it seems that some people are realising that increasing the volume on your own talking points and trying to drown out the other side is not a strategy for getting to a solution. A senior Jewish American official told me yesterday “Jews and Muslims in America should be modelling positive relationships here, and hoping that pattern offers a way forward over there.”

Here's the kind of inter-faith that is NOT dangerous. The two sides need talking points, without missiles. It can be modeled here and then used over there. They need to hear each others hearts, desires, concerns, etc. Not yell louder.

I will cross the aisle and join hands with a person of another faith for peace, everyone should. But if the terms of the hand shake, is agreeing that my faith is a way and not THE way, is when I leave the meeting.

But faith doesn't have to be at the center of this conversation of preserving lives in the Middle East today.

Let me be clear I am for lasting peace for all people. I'm also wise enough to read that lasting peace is brought to this world by Jesus only. Ugly events are said to unfold before that day. I'm not clapping for joy at the ugliness, I'm simply recognizing it for what it could be.

If some sort of peace can come before that day, it would be good for people. I will help where I can. If not I will not celebrate the loss of life, but look evermore for my Savior.

Looking for the groom...

Thought on the Day of the Lord

2008-12-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

Genesis 1:5 explains how God's days work. There is evening and then there is morning. There is darkness and then there is light.

This is a contrast to how we view our days. We start our days in the morning and end at night.

The Day or the Lord will be a God sized day, longer than 24 hours, and could span multiple years if needed. It will start out with darkness, pain, suffering, and fear. It will be rough.

But the day will conclude with light, glorious light! God will become all in all and the Lamb will be the world's lamp.

A Christian's day will end in light. May the star of Christmas be a reminder of that coming light!

Looking for the groom...

Av

2008-12-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

Why would I blog about Av (July/August) while immersed in Kislev (November/December)?

Well I was thinking over an old post I made months back about a possible birth pang timeline for the seals of the Tribulation. I had said that if the ENPI started the tribulation with the revealing of the beast (seal one) and that one and half to two years later a big war (second seal) you could have famine (seal three) a year after that. (By the way, I have seen plenty of biblical evidence recently for my assumption of Ezekiel 38's war to not coincide with the second seal, so the seal could simply be escalations of wars.) A half a year later you would have the death seal (fourth) and then the midpoint. My best guess was June 2010 for that.

That would place the persecution of the Jews and Christians by the beast (fifth seal) in June, July, and August. Why is this significant?

July and August are the Jewish month of Av the doomsday month for God's people. These are some of the things that happened in Av...

Spies return with evil report
Aaron died
Jerusalem fell to Nebuchadnezzar and was burned
1st temple was destroyed (July 587 BC)
2nd temple destroyed (July 70 AD)
Pope Urban's II first crusade killed 10,000 Jews in first month (July 1095 AD)
500 Jews Die in York Castle burning (July 1190)
England expels all Jews (July 1290)
Spain expels all Jews (August 1492)
WWI declared and Russia persecutes Jews of Eastern Russia (August 1914)
Nazi's start deporting Jews (July 1942)

I'm not saying my timeline is correct, I humble say I don't know for sure. It simply would make sense for the fifth seal to fall on Av. The fifth seal in the fifth month, the month of former doom. Something else to watch for.

Looking for the groom...

Chiasm Goodie- Shinar

2008-12-08T16:01:00.000-08:00

I love chaisms. I don't know if the authors of the Old Testament prophets knew they were writing them into the text or if that was all the Holy Spirit's doings but chaisms are just cool. For those of you who don't know what a chiasm is here's a semi-brief explanation.

I was studying Zechariah today and came across a chiasm in his 8 night visions. Before I noticed the chiasm I noticed that the woman in the ephah (a measuring tool for produce and such) was similar to the whore of Babylon in Revelation. In Zechariah 5:11 the woman (who represents wickedness incarnate) is taken to the temple in the land of Shinar.

Well where's Shinar? Well it's one in the same of Genesis 11:2 and the place the tower of Babel was built. How about that? Gives more weight to the argument for the Babylon of Revelation to be the revised Babel (possibly the U.N.) as I stated in my blog entry "New Babylon and the end".

One more piece of background before unveiling the chiasm. In Zechariah 1 starting in 19 four horns are revealed and each horn is terrified or scared away by four craftsmen. Just about every commentary I could get my hands on named the four horns and four craftsmen as such...

HORN ONE- Babylon
CRAFTSMEN ONE- Persia
HORN TWO- Persia
CRAFTSMEN TWO- Greece
HORN THREE- Greece
CRAFTSMEN THREE- Rome
HORN FOUR- Rome
CRAFTSMEN FOUR- ??????????

Now clearly this interpretation is being cyphered using Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's statue dream. So one would think the fourth craftsmen would be named the clay and iron kingdom to come sometimes called the Revived Roman Empire. But I kept seeing "????????????????"

Now for the chiasm. I know for a fact I am not the first person to see this chiasm, but they are usually used to find the center point. I was fixated on the fringe. The center of this chiasm is interesting but not as much so as the parallel drawn between the craftsmen and the woman's placement.

Do you see it? The fourth and final craftsmen is Shinar or Babel! The woman of Babel riding the beast (the anti-Christ).

Here's my shot at interpretation...the final kingdom of man led by the beast is the EU. The beast has a rider, and she is wickedness incarnate, she is represented by Babel or the UN.

So the kingdoms of man will come full circle...Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, (final days paused by Christ's crucifixion, restarted by first seal broken) Babel.

Interestingly the tone of Revelation 17 & 18 is a world upset about (loss of merchandise)economics when Babylon falls. The woman Zechariah sees is in a commercial basket (ephah).

Looking for the groom...

World without Terror

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

If you ever have the chance to watch the movie Serenity by Joss Whedon, you simple must. It’s my favorite movie ever. I think Captain Malcolm Reynolds is one of the best characters ever written.

One of the main storylines of the movie deals with an inter-space Alliance that is trying to make the worlds in their universe a better place by making the people better. They at some point actually try to drug the people unknowingly to route out aggression. Reynolds and his crew fight against this type of thinking. We simply cannot make a world without sin in this present age, or even in the age to come, only when God becomes all in all (1 Cor 15:28)

I was reminded of this movie when I read some of the things being planned by world leaders to make the world a better place. It’s eerily similar in design. There are no drugs and they aren’t trying to weed out aggression, but they are trying to create a world without terror.

I’m all for a world without terror but it’s not something we can possibly regulate. The thought is out there, that the strongest acts of terrorism are rooted in radical faiths. Steps are being taken towards eliminating radical faiths and force everyone to the middle.

If you believe that Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life, you’re a radical and your dangerous. You must recant and change your views to state that Jesus is a way, and so is Mohammad, and so is Buddha, etc. If not you will be removed. Sound crazy? It’s coming.

Solana’s “Managing Global Insecurities” Initiative (for global security), the Shared Security Doctrine (which says a world without borders would lack the traditional threats of nation against nation; rather threats come from radicalized individuals who reside within the nations), the U.N.’s Alliance of Civilizations (the central anti-terrorism strategy which will combat religious fundamentalism worldwide), and the Berlin-Plus Agreement, and Solana’s Headline Goals giving him military strength in 2010 (and he and Obama’s support for citizen soldiers), Obama’s support for global socialism and the strengthening of the Alliance of Civilizations, and the Interfaith Conference, and Union Med etc., is creating a perfect storm for a war on the saints.

You simply must checkout the Alliance of Civilizations watch link in the links section. This is all broken down in frightening detail. All these programs could be used as one big war machine on radicals and it’s sounds like it will be up and running as soon as 2010.

I think such a war against radicals would show a clear separation between sheep and goats in the Christian Church. I can sadly see thousands of “believers” moving to the middle to save their lives instead of facing death for their one and only Savior.

Whether this is in fact the prophesied fifth seal of Revelation or is it just a really bad trial facing the Christians of the earth we must be ready.

In Serenity, Captain Reynolds doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ, in fact he hates preachers sermons, nonetheless, he believes that the Alliance is wrong in trying to create a world without sin. He believes it with his whole heart and is willing to die for it. May we be like the Captain, so sold out in belief that we are willing to die for something, the best thing, our ONE and ONLY Savior.

Looking for the groom…

Nano-cure?

2008-11-09T21:41:00.001-08:00

It's not just possible it is probable that nanotechnology will help cure all sorts of cancers and diseases, this according to The Economist. This is great news, right?

Well it caused me to flash back to by 'No to Nano' blog entry in May 2008. There I placed this discussion...

...As elpis90 commented the other day, "it never made that much sense to me why a simple mark would ruin your chance for God and heaven. However, if it truly is DNA manipulation (speaking of nanotechnology), then maybe you have no free will of your own after that and that is truly the last decision you make on your own. The Beast could offer it as some sort of a “cure all” because it really could cure every disease, and it would be offered in a time of such despair that it would be welcomed. People who didn’t take it would look like idiots who wanted to throw their life away. Then the beast could control the world, and be worshiped by everyone who was under the control of his mark."

With i.d. fraud prevalent and a new world banking system likely on it's way, why not put all this technology into one implant. Say in your right hand or forehead...could this nano implant give you the whole world, but forfeit your soul?

Now nanoparticles as mentioned in the Economist article are certainly different than a robotic chip of sorts. But theoretically a nanochip could be placed to internally control the flow of nanoparticles for the healing value of the implant and the nanochip itself could hold your buying/trading power. Now that would be quite the 'mark'.

None of this technology is necessarily bad, and we should be all for cures to awful diseases, but we should be mindful of what is and what is not. IMO this is something worth watching.

The picture shows the breakdown of what all nanotechnology is being tested for. Please click for larger image.

Looking for the groom...

Our Happy Home

2008-07-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

Just reading through Isaiah 35 today and it got me very excited about our future home in Zion. I remembered David Crowder had written a song about it, and I found the lyrics scrolling now. What a glorious time that will be, the Messiah King and his bride.

David Crowder Lyrics
Our Happy Home Lyrics

Looking for the groom...

Hamas

2008-06-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

Last Monday I mentioned the need for Hamas (the acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya which means "Islamic Resistance Movement" in ths case Palestinian Sunni's) to agree to a seize fire or truce with Israel in order for other peace talk such as with Palestine to be effective.

I read a story in the Jerusalem Post about a Jewish family that leaves their windows open at night so the mortars and missiles flying into town from Hamas would send glass shards everywhere. This conflict between in Hamas and Israel has been devastating.

I thought it was far fetched for this to stop soon. But it just might. According to the J-Post Hamas has confirmed a truce deal that will go into effect Thursday. More than words we need to see action here.

If this comes to fruition the writing out process between Israel and Palestine may go smoother. Or we will discover the two parties will need to blame something else for why they can't get it done.

My best guess is this. Palestine has been fulfilling some of their requirements in the "Road Map for Peace" introduced by the MidEast Quartet. Their striking flaw has been Hamas. And it's a huge flaw. Israel on the other hand hasn't done their part. Gershon Baskin talks about it here. Condoleezza Rice has scolded Israel for their building developments on captured land that are to be returned to Palestine according to the "plan". This is one of the ways Israel has in fact done the exact opposite of fulfilling their requirements.

I would say if Hamas stops their terrorism Israel would have more motivation to work it out. Phase 1 of the road map does include a stop in Palestinian violence.

Looking for the groom...

Empty threat?

2008-06-02T18:49:00.000-07:00

He's at it again. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared, 'Israel soon to disappear from the geographical charts'.

On Israel's birthday he declared their annihilation.

In 2005 he said Israel should be wiped off the map. Basically what he echoed today.

Is this an empty threat, just a spout of verbal hatred, or does Ahmadinejad have plans of execution? I pray he doesn't because it would mean the deaths of countless thousands but it sure seems he does.

It seems Iran has at least the plans for nukes, if they don't have them constructed already. Apparently there proof of their testing grounds, much like ours back in the day so eloquently displayed in the new Indiana Jones movie. (Apparently refridgerators can be nuclear life-savers)

Of course Iran claims it's uranium is for a nuclear power plant rather than nuclear weapons. Isn't it sunny there? Why not try some solar power. (Phoenix, Arizona is starting a solar power plant with a peculiar name...Solana.)

Israeli Prime Minister Olmert is taking the threats seriously as he is meeting with the U.S. to discuss military defense among other things. UPDATE (June 3,2008): Olmert begged AIPAC today saying, "The Iranian threat must be stopped by all possible means."

If a politician makes promises he can't cash he loses the vote. Ahmadinejad is on a four year term just like the U.S. President. He can be re-elected for a second term, just like in United States system. He first took office in August of 2005 via the popular vote of Iranians. So his first term will end July of 2009.

He undoubtedly wants to be re-elected for a second term. He has been saying this same thing about Israel since 2005 when he first took office. At some point before July 2009 he must act on his hatred or fall prey to the Iranian Council of Guardians next approved candidates.

Is it a fair political assumption that Ahmadinejad must strike Israel soon? Ezekiel 38's fulfillment could be at the door.

How ironic would it be for a Muslim out of hate to level Israel and with it the temple mount, only to have the Jews rebuild their third temple upon it?

(Theoretically Iran would have to use the right balance of thermal radiation, ionizing radiation, and residual radiation to make the nuke destroy the enemy but keep the land quickly inhabitable so that Palestine could take the land before the Jews regrouped)

Looking for the groom...

No to nano

2008-05-29T10:57:00.001-07:00

A fellow blogger of whom I have a direct link to (see What Farmer Thinks) pointed out that Mr. High Representative of the WEU has approved the development of nanotechnology. This is seemingly innocent as this new technology has many benefits.

Nanotechnology makes tiny little machines that replicate human molecules. Now that's a little over my head. But apparently this discovery leads scientist to better figure how to cure human killing diseases. What a great thing right? A possible cure for cancer! Who wouldn't want that? Well I wouldn't if the same implant that cures my cancer can control my mind!

Dr. Mae Wan-Ho of ISIS wrote this about nanotechnology "There is no limit to the evil ends to which such technology could be put." You can read that article here. Scroll down to mind control.

Apparently this technology can allow scientists to control lab rats. With a power pack on their backs and electrodes implanted in their brains they become roborats doing the scientists desire.
John Chapin, the scientist performing this experiment, says (eventually) the power backpack has to be miniaturized, for implanting beneath the skin.

Hmmm, an implant beneath my skin to possibly control my mind? At the risk of sounding crazy consider the following scenario. The beast is given his new Satanic powers at the mid point of the tribulation, the false prophet is telling us to worship the beast. The world has just gone through the fourth seal where up to 1/4 the earth has been killed by war, famine, wild animals and DISEASE. Maybe the beast offers an implant that will cure the disease, but at the same time forces you to worship the beast through mind control. Aka the implanted mark of the beast.

As elpis90 commented the other day (which wasn't about my post but about a conversation we had shared), "it never made that much sense to me why a simple mark would ruin your chance for God and heaven. However, if it truly is DNA manipulation (speaking of nanotechnology), then maybe you have no free will of your own after that and that is truly the last decision you make on your own. The Beast could offer it as some sort of a “cure all” because it really could cure every disease, and it would be offered in a time of such despair that it would be welcomed. People who didn’t take it would look like idiots who wanted to throw their life away. Then the beast could control the world, and be worshiped by everyone who was under the control of his mark."

Anyway the US government is researching nanotechnology fully. They have been since President Clinton made it so in 2000. You can check out their sight here. Yes, I know like Mr. High Representative they are looking at it's possibilities for army support and not mind control. So this might all be over analyzing the situation.

But Kate Rears, a policy analyst at the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, says she is worried that human-control technology can no longer be dismissed as far-fetched.

One US National Science Foundation workshop speaker sums it up,
"If the Cognitive Scientists can think it
the Nano people can build it
the Bio people can implement it,
and the IT people can monitor and control it."

Looking for the groom...

Verifying the Beast

2008-05-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

Ok so I heard the other day a fellow Christian say, shouldn't we be looking for our saviors return and not His enemies rising? I thought about it. From a pre-trib point of view the saviors return precedes His enemies rising so that makes the most sense to him. From a pre-wrath point of view His enemies rising is a sign of His return.

I'm watching for my glorious Saviors return by checking the fig leaves. It just so happens we have a bright and shiny fig leaf to examine that just might be the beast.

We might see guys possibly fulfilling many prophecies, but logically we'd only need to find one 'beast prophecy" that a guy doesn't match to rule him out. The Bible will not argue with itself.

In this process we must trow out any references of the beasts actions after the midway point, because in no way shape or form are we that far along. Make sense?

He will make a covenant with many including Israel (Dan 9:27)

He will be of seven kings, himself being the eighth who was and is not (Rev 17:10-11)

He will have 10 kings rule with him for one hour (Rev 17:12)

He will be the little horn among 10 who subdues 3 (Daniel 7:7-8)

He will be a king of skilled intrigue (Dan 8:23)

He will come in his own name (John 5:43)

He will have the authority or name of 666/616 (Rev 13:17,18)

He will come from the kingdom of iron and clay aka Revived Rome (Dan 9:26)

He will be proud and confident (Dan 8:25, 11:37)

He will be a passive conqueror (Rev 6:2)

He will be different from other kings (Dan 7:24)

He will not regard the God of his forefathers (Dan 11:37)

He will by peace destroy many (Dan 8:25)

He will be beast from the sea (Rev 13:1, Dan 7:3)

He does not desire women (Dan 11:37)

After Death

2008-05-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

(WARNING THIS IS A LONG ONE)

Where do we go after we die? Isn’t that a question we would all like answered? Especially if we find ourselves facing the fifth seal? The Bible gives us the answer.

Let us make the saved the main object of discussion. Following the salvation formula of Romans 10:9 people become God’s children, the elect, the saved by Jesus blood. Saved from what? Sin’s hold in their lives, and saved future tense from the presence of sin altogether. Where do the elect go immediately when they die?

I think to find this answer we must work backwards. What do we know for sure about the future? We know that in the end Jesus turns over the kingdom to God and He becomes all in all. (1 Cor 15:24-28) John’s Revelation describes to us the new heaven and new earth (with New Jerusalem) that the elect will inhabit with God forever. (Rev. 21 & 22) This is where the presence of sin is no more. “There shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have past away.”What things have passed away at this point? Well our old bodies for starters because we are dead or transformed. The earth will have been destroyed. (2 Peter 3:7) Also heaven will have been destroyed. (2 Peter 3:12)

All you have ever heard about heaven, pearly gates, golden streets, glassy sea, etc. They are all references to the new heaven that is to come, not the current heaven that is to pass.What else has past in the end? Sin and it’s consequence, which is death. “For the wages of sin is death.”So we have God’s children, God’s Son, and God all living in perfect harmony. That is the end result for the believers soul journey.

Working backwards what must precede this time? The easiest answer is the day of the Lord. The day when the dead in Christ shall rise first and the living saved are caught thereafter in the air with Jesus. This tremendous event is immediately followed by the receiving of new bodies and the judgment of our works done in the old body. Die and be raised or live and be transformed and then be judged. Then comes the kingdom of God in all it’s glory.On that almost everyone agrees.

So again working backwards what happens to the saved person who dies before the day of the Lord? It’s often been said, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” This is a misquotation of 2 Corinthians 5:8, which is taken to mean that we go to heaven with God immediately upon death. Paul actually says, “I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and be at home with the Lord.” I agree with his sentiments, but this doesn’t prove anything.

Jesus promised the thief on the cross that “today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43) Is this a proof text of immediately entering the presence of God? It’s a strong case. But a day to God is like a thousand years. (1 Peter 3:8) Does today literally mean today?

What about the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man? (Luke 16:19-31) In the parable Lazarus finds himself conscience in Abraham’s bosom (a common place of the dead saints in Rabbinical teachings) after death and the rich man conscience in a tormenting flame. Is this literal? Remember it’s a parable, a story to explain a truth. What is the truth here? Is it the existence of paradise and hell? Is it that rich people go to hell? That is the only reason given in the story for his destination.

If this parable is not literal you have to throw it out of the ‘life after death’ discussion. If it is literal then you have another issue altogether. In Luke 16:23 it tells us the rich man found himself in torment. The Greek word here is basanois a noun of basanos which means a touchstone for testing the genuineness of metals by rubbing against it. The secular Greek used this word to describe how to extract info from a person. It is an examination method. Then later on in the passage the rich man is in agony. The Greek word here is odunao which means sorrowful or pained emotionally or even anxious. This is used two other times in the NT. In Luke 2:48 Jospeh and Mary are odunao over Jesus missing. And Pauls friends in Acts 20:38 are odunao over him saying he wouldn’t see them again.

It wasn’t an agony of having their flesh burnt off the bone. It was emotional anxiety just the sort of thing one would go through when enduring the fires of God’s lie detector test.

That’s right, if you want the parable to be literal you have to answer this question. Why does the rich man’s torment sound so much like the bema judgment of believers? Is he being saved as through fire? (1 Cor. 3:9-15). Of course not. Why would he be so desperate to warn his brothers if he was in a saving process even if an uncomfortable one? He wouldn’t be. So Jesus’ use of words describing the ‘torment’ prove the parable to be non-literal.

Besides if Abraham’s bosom was a literal place next to hell, how is that the Paradise Jesus mentioned to the thief? And is it still there or has it been magically moved? To make the bosom move to heaven you need a fictitious story of Jesus descending into hell while dead from the cross. We assume then that Jesus then takes the bosom of saints to heaven to be with God. To believe that you have to ignore that Jesus descended into Hades literally means the grave in Greek not hell. To believe that you would have to ignore that a risen Jesus claimed he had not been to heaven yet. To believe that you would have to use 1 Peter 3:19-20 incorrectly to say Jesus preached to the saints about his victory on the cross as he brought them out. That verse clearly defines the audience of Jesus was the souls who mocked Noah. This is not the believing saints at all.

The strongest argument for being immediately present with the Lord is the souls of the tribulation martyrs, being in God’s presence, under the altar. (Rev 6:9) They are bodiless of course, but present with the Lord. Is this conclusive evidence? Or is it possible this is a special event following the resurrection of the dead? If the day of the Lord brought the dead to life and raised the elect to the heavens precedes this event, then possibly these are new believers later.

Unless that strong delusion that blinds everyone after the resurrection is literal. If it’s literal then this situation cannot trail the resurrection.Is the saved spirit present with the Lord upon death then?Some believe that upon death the soul of a saved man sleeps (a common description of death in the scriptures) timelessly, until the day of the Lord when he is raised to new life and receives a new body. Could this be true instead?

Could believers not be present with the Lord until the day of the Lord? Could we ‘wait’ and ‘rest’ until the call of the Lord? Do we have any thoughts? His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; In that very day his thoughts perish.” (Ps 146:4) Can we praise God? 'The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence; (Ps 115:17) Do we just stop and rest? “The dead do not know anything…for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.” (Ecc. 9:5,10)Timeless silence until the Lord calls our name? “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did good deeds to resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:25)

While Jesus said, "No one has ascended into heaven,” (John 3:13) Solomon stated, “then dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” (Ecc.12:7) Our spirits must return to God. Where is God? Heaven. Was Jesus saying nobody had ascended to heaven yet because he had not yet died? Paul said, “to die is gain.” (Phil 1:21) How is silenced thoughtlessness gain? Jesus said about His Father, “He is not the God of the dead but the living.” (Matt 22:32) We must remain alive somehow.

If we experience a "rest" then what about Elijah? (2 Kings 2) Wasn’t he taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot? Does that mean he is in heaven alone? In that passage does heaven mean the sky, or God’s dwelling? If its God’s dwelling then what about Paul’s words that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Cor 15:50) Wasn’t Elijah flesh and blood?What about Moses too? He was transfigured on the mountain with Elijah and Jesus. Was he brought out of "rest" for this event?

On the other hand why does God forbid witchcraft, mediums, and spiritists (Lev 19:31;20:6,27; Is 8:19) who talk to the dead if they can’t really talk to the dead? If they are in heaven or hell they can’t be reached one could assume, but if they aren’t? What do we do with ghosts and apparitions? There’s thousands of reports, and the Bible even speaks of them. Jesus is mistaken as a ghost. Why would they think that unless it was something else they knew of and accepted? He had to be touched and eat to prove to the disciples he wasn’t a ghost once risen again. (Luke 24:37) They not only believed in ghosts but knew they couldn’t touch or eat.Both sides of the spectrum have scriptural basis so neither of them can be wrong. Scripture is never wrong. It is true our spirit will return to God who gave it and it is true that we “will wait until my (our) change comes.” (Job 14:14)

If neither is wrong then both are right. Can they be reconciled? I think they can be.

Hypothetically speaking lets say a believer in Christ dies. His spirit in that moment slips out of time. Why? Because the spirit has slipped from the body. Our bodies are our only sense of time. In fact our bodies are our only tie to any senses. Without a body there is no time or space. There is no tasting, talking, seeing, smelling, or feeling. Why do you think evil spirits want to possess bodies so bad? Why do you think Paul talks up the importance of our new bodies? Once your are disembodied you will want to be embodied again.Your old body cannot enter into heaven because it is sinful. Your spirit though has been made new right? Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Cor 5:17) Because of Jesus grace our spirits have been transformed and placed in heaven.

Paul writes, “God…made us alive together with Christ, and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:5,6) That’s present tense. Our new creature spirit sits with him in the heavenly places. Our spirits have been redeemed but our bodies await the resurrection.Without our bodies we wouldn’t experience much, so the phrase of sleep or rest isn’t that far off. But along with not feeling, seeing, or singing, we wouldn’t feel time. So the day you die would feel like the day of the Lord. See you wouldn’t feel anything in between losing your old body and gaining a new one even if you are in God’s presence in heaven.We are promised we won’t be disappointed (Rom 10:11) so a body is surely coming. So in one sense all believers including my grandpa who passed away in 1997 are presently dwelling with the Lord in heaven, but in another sense they aren’t experiencing it. There is no waiting room either. When the resurrection does occur we will all get there at the same exact time."And all those though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised (New Jerusalem), since God had foreseen something better (New Covenant) that apart from us they (OT saints) should not be made perfect." (Heb 11:39) This is just an example of how we will all arrive together.

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the arch angel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thes 4:13-18)

Maybe we aren’t given any descriptions of present heaven because we can’t experience it when we are there. We have no bodies. In the same way there are many descriptions of the lake of fire in the Bible but none of current hell. Could it be that the lost remain in the grave asleep for their resurrection to judgment and the fire? Again there would be no time in this. Technically no delay.

Could it be that while the saved souls are in heaven awaiting bodies, the lost souls are left with their bodies wherever they may lie? "The sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades (the grave) gave up the dead which were in them; and they judged every one of them according to their deeds…and if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life; he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev20:13,15) Could then there be some restless sleepers who “haunt” corners of our world? Are any of these ghosts Christians in life? That would be an interesting thing to research. For the thousands of people who die everyday we do not have very man ghosts, which I would take to mean, most sleepers sleep. I still believe that ghosts, EVP’s, and apparitions are generally demonic in nature and often impersonate human life, but it’s not outside the realm of reason to say that maybe some lost souls, who’s lives ended abruptly or unjustly haven’t found rest. Without the comforting arms of Jesus on their soul, without that hope, one might fight to stay alive even when they are dead.

All of this to say, that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord but just not know it until your new body arrives. Call it sleep, call it rest, call it paradise, or call it whatever you like, but it’s outside of time and for believer it’s with the Lord.

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The number of the beast

2008-05-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

18 Here is wisdom Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. (Revelation 13:18)

The mark of the beast has been known for ages as 666. It's in our Bible's the worlds most trustworthy source. However, older manuscripts than the one used for our modern Bible's has revealed a different number. 616

Check the footnotes of your Bible:) We can't change it if we wanted because of the uproar of changing God's Word. But this has been known since the mid nineties.

Preterists love it because they think 616 better fits Nero, there proclaimed beast. I think they are still wrong. But should we dismiss the number 666? If so then the EU's recommendation 666 would not be as fulfilling.

I don't think we should. Older manuscripts are usually more reliable, but we have to keep in mind Satan will be involved with this number and trying to make as least obvious as possible. What a good plan if we are all looking for 666 and then we are blindsided by 616. But with the same logic what a good plan to be looking for 666, then all of the sudden 616, and we dismiss 666, and get burned by it in the end.

We should consider both numbers possibilities. While this makes the "watch" more difficult, it is much wiser.

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