. . . this increasingly divided world,” President Bill Clinton said on television talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this month. “If we were visited someday, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
This came from an article by Michael Snyder in The Truth in which Mr Snyder also writes: “Back in 1987, President Ronald Reagan made a similar statement. He told the United Nations General Assembly that “I occasionally think how quickly our differences worldwide would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside of this world.”
Mr. Snyder also mentions that since President Reagan made his statement up to President Clinton’s statement, much has happened to prepare the world for aliens coming to visit. “We have been primed to expect that it will happen someday,” he wrote.
Well, Mr. Snyder is probably young, and can’t look back to the production of H.G. Well’s The War of the World on The Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was performed as a Halloween episode of the series on October 30, 1938. It created quite a stir, with many people believing it was real, and there was some panic.
We’ve been enthralled with aliens for longer that the 1980s to the present. It’s just that we seem to love the idea of alien’s attacking the world; the world fights the alien inavaders and wins, of course.
Interestingly, another possible take on aliens is being suggested by some scientist who’ve recanted on the idea of a Darwinian Evolution, and others others that are saying there may be other possibilities than Evolution, espousing an attitude of “we don’t know.” Even a staunch Darwinian, Richard Dawkins, “one of the world’s most famous champions of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and a staunch atheist, has recently been discussing the possibility that life on Earth could be the result of advanced alien engineering.
“Dawkins has said that he still believes that life most likely originated on earth, but he has also said than an alien designed start is an “intriguing possibility.” Intelligent life, he has explained, could have evolved elsewhere in the universe according to modern Darwinian theory, and this intelligent life could have eventually learned to engineer new life, and an engineered seed could then have ended up on earth and subsequently evolved into to all the life found here today.here is another development that makes Darwin’s Theory look entirely tame. It’s called Intelligent Design.” [from The Oligarch]
What does our Lord have to say about all of this?
Pay attention, you stupid people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
Can the One who shaped the ear not hear,
the One who formed the eye not see?
The One who instructs nations,
the One who teaches man knowledge —
does He not discipline?
The Lord knows man’s thoughts;
they are meaningless [from Psalm 94]
Snyder states that in a presentation at the 2013 Strategic Perspectives Conference, a Dr. Thomas Horn told the audience that they [aliens] are coming here and they’re going to baptize us into their faith and it is going to require us to make changes to our knowledge, to our understanding, of the Gospel. In fact, some of their deepest theologians have said, “Perhaps everything we think we know about the Gospel is going to have to be thrown out.”
Okay. So some one may be reading too much science fiction, and maybe thinking it wasn’t fiction at all. But when an institution such as the Roman Catholic Church begins express the same views, it’s goes from disturbing to just plain weird. Recently, from the Vatican’s extraterrestrial hunt, a prominent Vatican astronomer, Guy Consolmagno, has publicly suggested that aliens could actually be the “saviors of humankind.” That’s right, the Vatican is hunting for extraterrestrials. And the Vatican seems to think those same aliens could be “perfect beings, without sin.” Nervous yet?
In the article by Snyder, he asks: “So what would happen someday if “aliens” showed up and claimed that they seeded life on this planet, guided our evolution and are now here to lead us into a new golden age?
“And what would happen if the Catholic Church gave those aliens their stamp of approval?
“That sounds absolutely bizarre, but there are very important Vatican officials that are apparently thinking very hard about these things.”
At RNN.com, we learn that “Horn, speaking quickly and efficiently, yet making sure to cover all issues on the roster comprehensively, continues on to reveal even more startling themes of the current hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. His research is thorough and transparent (even referencing some hitherto unavailable documents, which he obtained directly from one of Rome’s top astronomers) and quotes the works of select individuals within the Church who perpetuate the idea that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is a descendant of alien life and that Mary’s virgin birth was a direct result of an alien abduction scenario.”
THIS STUFF TELLS ME THAT. . .
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2Timothy 3:12-16
The scene is being set for the prophesies John on Patmos, as recorded in Revelation. In a way, it’s like a mind-boggling movie in which a con artist is setting up the marks. And we are the marks. The con artist has read the Bible. The con artist knows human beings, too. We want a savior to come down and rescue us. Hum. Sounds a bit like the story of the first advent of Messiah, in which a nation of people were waiting for the Messiah to rescue them too.
Oh, I get it, we won’t make the same mistake as we did last time, in which we rejected the Messiah because He didn’t fit our expectations. No, we’ll accept the first guy down from some “heavenly” planet that says, “Hey, I’m back!”
We need to read Revelation! We need to be prepared to weather out a big storm and wait for the Conquering Messiah. You know, the one riding the white horse carrying a sword, with flaming eyes. We need to wait until we hear the trumpet blow. We need to wait until Y’shuaJesus calls our names. He’ll read them from The Book of Life. We’re in there. We need to have patience.
A recent post on From the Lighthouse talks of a new movie Noah:
“A new Hollywood epic on the life of Noah has stirred controversy among Christians, Jews and others who have pre-screened the film, as they state that the movie largely leaves out one important foundation: the Bible.
“Noah is the brainchild of producer Darren Aronofsky, who says that he has wanted to make a film about Noah and the ark since his childhood. With a $125 million budget, the film is said to be more of an edgy action epic that depicts a man who fights off his enemies as he prepares for a coming apocalypse, rather than a story of a “preacher of righteousness” who calls the world to repentance from sin.
“Russell Crowe, known for his roles in Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind and Robin Hood stars as Noah in the film, and Anthony Hopkins, known for his roles in Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal and The Legends of the Fall appears as grandfather Methuselah, who provides advice to Noah.
“Man corrupted this world and filled it with violence, so he must be destroyed,” Methuselah explains to Noah, who has a dream of “death by water.”
Okay, so here’s the thing: I’ve looked at the trailer and frankly it’s appealing to me as movies go. But then I like apocalyptic movies. I sorta think they’re glimpses of possible realities.
The movie critic complains the movie producer Darren Aronofsky didn’t use the Bible in the story. Well, Mr. Aronofsky used the idea of a man named Noah and a flood that destroys wicked people. Hummmmmmmm! So a movie is made as a fictional account of a Biblical person and a Biblical event and that account isn’t what the author of the article seems to think it should be. That’s the problem with the movie; it doesn’t fit the idea the critic has of Noah. As I understand it, the author says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness. This seems to me to mean that the critic wants Noah to stand around preaching the Gospel of Righteousness to a people who were only doing evil because they were uninformed of the truth. The critic seems to think there is something inherently wrong with preparing for the flood. Wait. Am I missing something here. Wasn’t Noah instructed to build an ark? What part of building an ark to house his family is Noah doing that isn’t preparing for a coming disaster of epic proportions?
In the trailer, we see Noah facing angry hordes that want nothing more than to take the boat, even if they swamp it trying. After all, the hordes don’t just stand around and say, “Oh, we’ve been bad. We deserve to drown.” Why is that so controversial? Oh, sure, the Bible didn’t go into great specifics about the flash mob at Noah’s boat as the rain came pouring down. Here the foundation for the epic flood, from the Bible:
When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown. The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
Genesis chapter six
The idea that Noah was a preacher of righteousness comes from the Apostle Peter when he wrote: “. . .”if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. . .” 2Peter 2:5.
The movie critic spoke of people critical of the movie wanting it to be more scriptural, and the movie has been assailed as not being a Christian movie. Okay. Was Sound of Music a Christian movie? Look, just because a movie gives a fictional account Noah, why does it have to have the approval of Christians? And even if some producer said he wanted Christian input and approval, to whom would he go? There is no single Christian church on Earth at this time. Had Mr. Aronofsky said he was making a scriptural account of Noah, perhaps he’d ask for assistance from a major Christian denomination in America. Perhaps it would be the same denomination that approves of marriage between two men or marriage between two women, or practicing homosexuals as church leaders.
I think the controversy comes from our “feel good” world of the Twenty-First Century. We are led to belief that G-d wants nothing more than for us to feel good about ourselves. As such, we must see G-d in our “feel good” image. G-d is put into a box, contained. We perceive of Him as a peacenik without the flowers in His hair. In this case, I think the movie critics wants Noah to preach Peace and Love and throw flowers to that poor, misunderstood mass of humanity.
Other critics of the movie say it’s just another environmental-disaster movie that is part of a whole agenda that wants the mass of humanity to be scared of the way the Earth has been treated, and that the Earth is somehow trying to overthrow its caretaker, namely humans. In this light, Hollywood is supporting the propaganda of the “Green Movement.” This theme isn’t brought out in the trailer, that I can see.
The reality of Noah is far different. Noah found favor with G-d when G-d saw only a fallen humankind. As such, G-d decided to give humanity another chance, wiping the slate clean. In wiping the slate, a whole bunch of wicked people went down kicking and screaming in a flood of water. If only CNN had been around to document the Flood, we’d see if the wicked hordes attacked the ark or not.
Mr. Aronofsky’s account of Noah is as good as anyone’s account. It’s a story. We live in a secular world with lots of stories. So as long as Mr. Aronofsky doesn’t say it is the Word of the Lord, then it’s just another secular movie depicting a lot of blood shed centered on the theme of survival.
That said, there is one movie that is either out or coming out that I do think is over the edge. It is a movie about Abraham storming an army that surrounds his nephew Lot, and rescuing him. Now that one got it all wrong. And that might have crossed the line from just secular movie-making to deception. There are lines. I don’t see the story of Noah crossing over that line to deception. Then again, I’ve only seen the trailer. Maybe the actual movie does so. Most likely I’ll see it when it’s shown on television, then I’ll know.
Last night, on a CNN program my wife watched, several people told of their experiences with death. One individual was sent back to finish her work, to finish the mission she’d been sent to Earth to complete, she said. She’d spoken to Y’shuaJesus. He sent her back, though she didn’t want to go. Another woman, dying of cancer with only a few hours to live, was visited by relatives that had died, and told to forget all that she’d been through, let it go, and complete the mission for which she’d been sent to Earth. In this particular case, she stated that she’d allowed the cancer to eat at her and that her body immediately healed itself once she came to some resolution about herself. There were other people, with other stories.
My wife asked me if I believed the stories. I said something like the people thought they’d experienced the events, but that I though it was more of a dream, an intense dream, that felt real. Even in the moment in which a heart stops beating, the brain is still alive. Why not continue dreaming. Then if the heart is revived, the person recalls the dream and thinks it happened.
That is my explanation.
One thing that rings true that one of these women said: we must forgive ourselves of our past sins. Y’shuaJesus died that we be forgiven. We are made new, so why not let go of the past mistakes, the past sins, and move on with our lives. If ever an enemy wished to defeat us, then that enemy would constantly remind us that we are sinners, we will always be sinners. Okay, so that enemy may be half right. We are sinners. But aren’t we also saved? We are saved by the mercy of G-d, through Y’shuaJesus. The enemy will fail to remind us of that part.
Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead
Vengeance:
noun
1. infliction of injury, harm, humiliation, or the like, on a person by another who has been
harmed by that person; violent revenge: But have you the right to vengeance?
2. an act or opportunity of inflicting such trouble: to take one’s vengeance.
3. the desire for revenge: a man full of vengeance.
Reading through the three listed definitions of vengeance, it becomes clear to me why the Apostle Paul was against such behavior. The very desire for revenge consumes, and as such opens a very large trap in which the arch enemy of G-d’s people can use to our own ruin. We are admonished to give place to G-d and His wrath. We are to forgive, right? Here’s how Paul put it to the Romans:
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Romans 12:19
Having finished Acts, I turned to Judges. In the first chapter I see the wrath of G-d visited upon an enemy of Israel, the Canaanites.
And Judah went up; and the LORD delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand: and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men. And they found Adonibezek in Bezek: and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. But Adonibezek fled; and they pursued after him, and caught him, and cut off his thumbs and his great toes.And Adonibezek said, Threescore and ten kings, having their thumbs and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table: as I have done, so God hath requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.
Judges 1:4-7 (emphasis added)
Here’s what Matthew Henry has to say:
“The Israelites were convinced that the war against the Canaanites was to be continued; but they were in doubt as to the manner in which it was to be carried on after the death of Joshua. In these respects they inquired of the Lord. God appoints service according to the strength he has given. From those who are most able, most work is expected. Judah was first in dignity, and must be first in duty. Judah’s service will not avail unless God give success; but God will not give the success, unless Judah applies to the service. Judah was the most considerable of all the tribes, and Simeon the least; yet Judah begs Simeon’s friendship, and prays for aid from him. It becomes Israelites to help one another against Canaanites; and all Christians, even those of different tribes, should strengthen one another. Those who thus help one another in love, have reason to hope that God will graciously help both. Adoni-bezek was taken prisoner. This prince had been a severe tyrant. The Israelites, doubtless under the Divine direction, made him suffer what he had done to others; and his own conscience confessed that he was justly treated as he had treated others. Thus the righteous God sometimes, in his providence, makes the punishment answer the sin.” (emphasis added)
The Lord has said He will take vengeance. For vengeance is His. And here, in the Book of Judges, He does so through inspired acts of His people.
Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.
2 Peter 1:12
“We must be established in the belief of the truth that we may not be shaken by every wind of doctrine, and especially in that which is the present truth, the truth more peculiarly necessary for us to know in our day, that which belongs to our peace and which is more especially opposed in our time. The great doctrines of the gospel, that Jesus is the Christ, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, that those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved, and all that believe in God must be careful to maintain good works. These are the truths the apostles insistend on in their day. These are faithful sayings and worth of all acceptation in every age of the Christian Church.” -Matthew Henry
It seems to me that one might easily write these “present truths” on a card, kept ready to refer to when anyone states anything regarding the maintenance of our religion. These are our Standards, by which all is to be judged. We will weed out deceptive thinking before it embeds in our souls. We may use this present truth to purge false and damaging ideas from our being.
Have a great day and weekend. Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
Apocalypse, I said, viewed through media’s interpretation is death and destruction, the End of the World stuff. Some writers, with what they consider a Christian perspective, have suggested various scenarios that might take place before Messiah returns. They base their writing not only on the Book of Revelation, but also on other Bible Books such as the Book of Daniel and the Book of Ezekiel. At least one writer authored a whole series about those people remaining on Earth after the “rapture.” I haven’t read that series, but through others think the intent is to warn people of what it might be like on Earth while G-d’s wrath is poured out. But, as I quoted Pastor Jeff Shelton, “G-d’s read all the books, and He isn’t gonna do it that way, either.” And I totally agree.
Admittedly, though, I enjoy science fiction, including apocalyptic stuff. I like zombie books, too. I watch the television series Walking Dead, if only to point out the what-not-to-do moments in the program. I like the story lines in the fiction books and movies. Yes, I also like the action. I like the scenarios that are posed. The stories or movies don’t have to be believable, either; they do have to suspend my disbelieve, however. Some do. Some do not. And some reference the Bible and make me more than uncomfortable. Lately I’ve come to think that people could be deceived by the various accounts, especially if they seem as to portray a Biblical story. And maybe even if the book or movie doesn’t hold to a Bible story it leads to deceptive thinking.
Cover of The Book of Eli [Blu-ray]Take “The Book of Eli” for instance. It is set AFTER a doomsday event that leaves most people dead and throughout the United States what remains is lawlessness; perhaps the entire world slide into savagery. The main character, Eli, is on a G-d-ordained mission to take a Bible to somewhere on the West Coast. And Eli has special, divinely provided powers. Eventually, the Bible is stolen. The man who took it, knew it contained the way of power. No matter, the Bible Eli carried was made in Brail, for the blind. And Eli continues onward anyway. Through lots of twists and turns, and lots of fighting, Eli eventually gets to Alcatraz, his final destination. The island houses a giant collection of books, and printing presses to make more. Eli recites from memory the entire Bible, which is then transcribed and printed. Mission completed, Eli dies. The nice newly printed Bible is placed on a library shelf next to the Koran. I had sudden and total let down at that. That’s the value of the Bible? It’s equivalent to the Koran? Bummer!
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Matthew 24:7-8
Another movie I enjoyed uses a virus spreading around the world as the apocalypse: Contagion, starring Matt Damon Gwyneth Paltrow Kate Winslet. According to Wikipedia, “the plot of Contagion documents the spread of a virus transmitted by fomites, attempts by medical researchers and public health officials to identify and contain the disease, the loss of social order in a pandemic that leads to martial law, and finally the introduction of a vaccine to halt its spread.” This film, though a work of fiction, was carefully researched, utilizing the World Health Organization (WHO), as well as renowned medical personnel such as W. Ian Lipkin and Lawrence “Larry” Brilliant. To better understand her part as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) doctor, Kate Winslet spent a day with an EIS doctor at CDC in Atlanta.
At least one person, however, sees Contagion as being a bit sinister. “Most people watch movies to be entertained. Well, I for one can say that there was absolutely nothing entertaining about Contagion. In fact, the only difference between this movie and state-sponsored educational movies shown in schools is that with Contagion you actually have to pay to be indoctrinated … and to see Matt Damon. During the cold war, students were shown videos instructing them to “Duck and Cover” in case of a nuclear attack. Contagion conditions the masses to expect martial law and to throw themselves at the first available vaccine in case of a crisis..”—Vigilant Citizen
During the martial law phase, there are food distributions and mostly people stay home, inside. Eventually a vaccine is available, and is slowly produced. A lottery is in place to “fairly” distribute it. The wheels or commerce once again begin to turn. And toward the end of Contagion, the character portrayed by Matt Damon is finally able to pass security screening to shop in a mall; he shows the wrist band he received when his lottery number came up and he was able to be vaccinated. Okay, it’s not like the mark of the beast or anything. He didn’t sign some sort of loyalty oath to the government denouncing Lord Y’shuaJesus. But it didn’t have to, which is why this and other movies like it are troubling to some, and may be deceptive too. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out why. Hint: it has to do with cognitive dissonance.
Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .
Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus
The Last Days. The End Times. The End of the World. The Apocalypse. Images race through our minds of disasters, wars, starving people, hoards of desperate people, cannibals, zombies, disease, and finally death. The images are lodged there from watching those short “trailers” that show a glimpse of an upcoming movie, or watching the movies, or reading the books. Apocalypse to us means: Disaster is coming! Collapse is coming! Wars! Disease! If this were narrated in a video you were watching on YouTube, in the background you’d hear the Doors singing, “This is the End. . .” and you’d see mushroom clouds and refugees marching slowly off screen, carrying what’s left of their worldly goods. Our minds are made up for us. We have been prepared to see the Apocalypse in a particular way. It is The End of the World. The finish to all that we’ve accomplished here on Earth. . . unless. . . unless there is someone to intervene, someone to save us. Thus, as usually is the case in the movie or books, a hero emerges from the sea of common humanity; out of the chaos comes order. Bravo! Applause! The Earth is saved. We all live happily ever after.
Hummmm. You think? Think about it. Lord willin’ I shall be back on Friday. Until then, Lord Bless, Keep, and Shine gently upon y’all.
The other night, standing around the kitchen, my wife told her Mom about a women she’d seen on a news program. The woman had died, she’d said, while kayaking, but came back from the dead with a great tale, er, story. This woman wrote a book about it, to encourage others. My wife relayed the essence of this woman’s message: there are people waiting beyond death, family and friends, and there is so much love.
It’s a common theme. There is life after death. There are families gathered together. There is light, warmth, love. Every thing turns out alright, after all.
My Mother-in-law didn’t follow what my wife was saying. She’s eighty-three years old. How does someone die, and experience that, and come back, is what probably confused her. I interrupted. I had to at this point. I said, “The woman thought she was going to die while trapped under the water. She had a dream. In the dream all the things that she longed for were right there, in front of her.” I went on to say that people want to know there is something after we pass from this life. They want to believe there is something more. And that it’s all available to them without them doing anything at all for it. “That’s basically what Y’shuaJesus said,” I continued on. “It’s a free gift for believing in Y’shuaJesus. But people don’t want to hear about Y’shuaJesus.” My wife said I was right.
Yes! I’m right! Well, more-or-less right. What I didn’t continue with, didn’t say, is that believing is the start, the beginning of salvation that culminates in a walk that is with our LORD.
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
Paul tells us that not all will sleep. If not all sleep, that means some will. That’s how death is referred to by these First Century Jewish Believers in Y’shuaJesus as Messiah. Sleep. Not death. Sleep from which we will be awakened. And when we are awakened, we will have new, glorified bodies. Disease-free bodies. Incorruptible bodies. Perfect bodies. And a perfect heart. Tears wiped away, forgotten. And there will be a Central Figure before us when we awake: Y’shuaJesus! Praise the LORD!
And that’s exactly what’s desperately wrong with a woman’s story in which she says she died and found love and friends and family. It’s a tale from a few minutes hanging on the edge of suffocation. The brain without oxygen dreaming.
Y’shuaJesus will be there for Believers and non-believers alike. For the former, to wipe away tears and show His love. To the latter. . . well, it won’t be pleasant. They will see the love. Bow before the King in submission. They will, too late, realize He is The Way, The Truth, The Life. They will confess, too late, that Y’shuaJesus is LORD. And even if G-d, Father G-d, Abba G-d, were to invite them in, they would refuse. They would choose to turn away. They would be angry, hurt, afraid.
Sad! They would choose to turn away because they’d not turned away from their own miserable, sinful ways while on Earth. Repent! is to turn away from one’s sin. But before one can turn away, one must acknowledge sin. And in our society, our culture of liberalism and chaos, we are taught there is nothing Absolute, nothing evil, nothing that is sin. All things are relative. One person’s truth is his or her own truth. Not The Truth. All ways, all roads, lead to Rome AND HEAVEN, or so we are led to believe by the great liar, that devil satan.
We are being led like sheep to a slaughter. There are too many movies in which some human is a great hero, saving the day. There are too many movies depicting aliens coming to Earth to assist it in it’s healing. There are too many academia that are steering young people to believe in their own deity. Humanism is at the core of the United Nations Agenda 21. Humanism is satan’s tool to trick, if possible, even Christians. satan desperately wants to take worship of G-d from Him. He doesn’t want us to feel the warmth of a relationship with our Heavenly Father while we are on Earth. satan doesn’t need our admiration, our love, our praise. he just wants our soul.
We must be ready. We must be prepared. We must keep our eyes upon Y’shuaJesus!
Ants. A large, black carpenter ant climbed up the edge of the wooden deck. Those black ants don’t sting, I don’t think. There are also large red ants down here in Georgia that do sting—terribly so. Fire ants. And we have those small ants I think of as a grease ants, too. These are the ones that lick the oily stuff of the peonies so that the flower will bloom fully. But the large black ants just roam about ignoring everyone and everything. Harmless, seemingly. Except I’ve been told they are carpenter ants, and eat the insides of wood structures to build their nests. I’ve not seen evidence of their destruction, however. Perhaps it takes years to weaken a board on the deck, to make it collapse from my weight as I walk.
Carpenter Bee (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Bees. This is also the time of year I see small piles of wood dust in some places around the deck posts. There will be a small hole above the pile, bored by a black and yellow bee. I’ve seen these bees go in and out. I always thought they just bored in an inch or so and laid eggs. I thought that until one day when I cut into an old board that had been laying out back for a while. Inside, the bees had dug throughout the board, building quite a network of tunnels. I’m sure the deck posts will be damaged if I let bees continue to nest there.
Earth worm (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Worms. A few years ago we were using some lawn treatment that helped prevent weeds. It worked pretty well, too. But I’ve never really been a fan of chemicals, and finally we gave it up. Our neighbors have done likewise, so we all now just mow the weeds with the grass. What I’ve noticed is that we’re now getting worms back in the grass, and more in the gardens that surround it. I think the chemicals destroyed the worms. Worms are good to have around, eating there way through the dirt, making small spaces that allow air to saturate the ground. That’s not bad, either. A lot of people pay to have lawns punctured with holes to do the same thing.
What do all these critter have in common, the carpenter ants, the bees, and the worms? The all makes small holes. I read Regular Joe’s article on zombies on his blog. He came out and said what needs to be said. There are zombies walking around today. Lot of ’em, too. They are the walking dead. Unless they receive Messiah Y’shuaJesus as their Lord, the will be dead for eternity.
To take up on that idea, we can see the dead speaking loudly, making small holes like the ants, bees, and worms. They teach in public schools, especially colleges. They report for various news organizations, write for television shows, produce movies, write movies. They are in our political arena, as well. And unfortunately these walking dead infiltrate our churches. And the walking dead are deceivers. As Jude wrote (Jude v10-13.):
But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
Paul put it this way: “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. . .” Romans 1:22
Deceivers. At least three types of deceivers. One like the ant, one like the bee, and one like the worm. The holes deception bores begin small, getting beneath the surface where we don’t see what it’s really doing. Eventually, with a destroyed foundation, the structure collapses. Y’shuaJesus said that our faith must be built upon a rock. And, yes, we say Y’shuaJesus is the Rock. Out faith is built upon Him. It is still faith. We have to remember that our sins are forgiven. We have to remember that Y’shuaJesus paid the price of for our lives. But deception undermines our faith, slowly chipped away, by the walking dead, whether in the “world” or in the church. Do we begin to think we have to earn salvation through works or doing a certain type of mystical prayer? What can we offer G-d in trade for eternal life?
The black ant deception looks perfectly sound, fine. We don’t suspect a thing is going on. The bee is more direct. We see signs, but don’t think it’s really too dangerous. The worm. Well, the worm of deception appears to be a good thing. Like the worms in my lawn and garden. But our faith is to be a rock, not a garden. Worms say “The Bible teaches. . .” and we applaud, or say “amen.” Worms, well, worm their way into our lives, eating at us in ways we don’t even know.
The aim of deception is to undermine our faith. We are called to endure until the end. We can suffer set backs, but our faith must endure. We must be prepared to endure hardships without the loss of our faith. Our faith must endure. The Gospel Faith. That Y’shuaJesus lived, died, returned from the dead, and lives at the right had of the Father. Truth.
The cure to deception is what Paul wrote to the Corinthians (Ephesians 4:14,15):
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. . .
One example. There is a deception today that goes by the name of “emergent.” It isn’t new: It’s “new age” wrapped in Bible quotes. It looks so spiritual, even something Y’shuaJesus would approve. “From the Lighthouse” is a great place to learn about exactly this type of deception, and more. You can find it here:
Evangelism and the Walking Dead. In his article, Regular Joe wrote about evangelism of the walking dead, that they might be awakened. I agree. It is our mandate, too easily forgotten as we duck assaults from an enemy that is not flesh and blood (though too easily works through physical forms). We pray for all to come to the knowledge of Messiah, to the salvation that is preached in the Gospel Message.
Tom White, from his column in Voice of the Martyrs magazine encourages us: “Don’t let the big dogs in our country—who growl loudly through the media—prevent us from finding ways to reach out.” Throughout the world, Believers in Y’shuaJesus reach out to, and from within, countries in which the Gospel is restricted or simply outlawed. There are 54 nations like this. Here, in America, we are, for the present, unrestricted in our out reach with the saving message of Messiah and Lord Y’shuaJesus. “We must thereore go outside the fence with childlike faith,” wrote White.
And we must also not become discouraged in our efforts, must not question why there seems such poor return for our efforts. Not all will hear. Paul wrote (2Corinthians 4:3,4):
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Oh, Lord, You are our Rock. You will not be moved. Help us endure, with our faith intact, that we might greet You at Your Glorious Return and Feast with You, even reign with You as You’ve said we shall. Amen.
![Cover of "The Book of Eli [Blu-ray]"](https://i0.wp.com/ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Zq4bOC2YL._SL300_.jpg "Cover of \"The Book of Eli [Blu-ray]\"")
Jonah’s Song 