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Showing posts from July, 2016

O Pastor Where Art Thou? What Pastorship Really Means

There comes a point in the Christian walk when you care less about a spiritual leader, pastor, or priest who can teach well or move in charismatic gifts. There comes a time when instead you would rather have an adequate or simple teacher who knows you, cares about your problems, and actually pastors (pastures) and knows if you are alive or dead than some master of exegesis and exposition on the Bible or a supernatural powerhouse that can wow you with his gift of healing. There comes a time when you realize character and care are more important than charisma and command of knowledge. The great Thomas A. Kempis once said, " What good does it do to speak learnedly about the Trinity if, lacking humility, you displease the Trinity? Indeed it is not learning that makes a man holy and just, but a virtuous life makes him pleasing to God. I would rather feel contrition than know how to define it . For what would it profit us to know the whole Bible by heart and the principles of all ...

The Early Church of Caves: Our Future Homes

During the Second and Third Centuries, the Church underwent a severe persecution. The Roman Emperor Nero, Caligula, Diocletian, and others sought to destroy the Church by crushing them to pieces in spectacles of the Coliseum games, feeding them to lions, burning them on stakes, crucifying them, unleashing bulls on them, and for Nero many a Christian was his giant candle to light his garden, and in the most sickening of antichrist displays, Nero had Christians skinned alive, and wore their skin as suites (Persecution Volume II, Jerusalem Bookstore). Truly the Church in these harsh times clung to the Scriptures, "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves," (Matthew 10:6), ""Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me," (Matthew 24:9), "But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to syn...

Dante's Divinely Inspired Comedy

The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Alighieri contains the Inferno (Hell Journey), Purgatorio (Purgatory journey), and Paradiso (Paradise/Heaven journey) is considered one of greatest pieces of poetry, and world literature to ever have been written. Many Protestants may pause at Dante's journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven. It might interest most Reformed brothers and sisters in Christ that Dante did not invent his visit to the Inferno, nor did he produce the Paradiso from his imagination; Dante admits that he saw both in an out of body experience and vision while dreadfull ill and on his sickbed. The Purgatorio or Purgatory was never seen by Dante Alighieri, in fact, it was produced on being pressured by the Papacy that became concerned Dante makes no mention of it (Dante was threatened, probably with Excommunication, which would have harmed his poetry, and perhaps even a burning pyre for 'heresy' by the Inquisition) this is why Purgatorio is so similar to the I...

The Kingdom of Violence

Johnny Ringo, Tombstone (1993) The kingdom of  violence is the opposite of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus says, " since John the baptist the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence ." (Matthew 11:12). Violence is a corruption that came from fall of mankind and polluted the earth, The Lord said to Noah, " Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence. God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth ." (Genesis 6:11-3). Violence is the enemy of all virtility; all life. It is a wildness, a temper without temperance that seeks to send as many souls to Sheol (hell) as possible. Violence is different than self defense or delivering the oppressed, which are encouraged (see Jeremiah 22:3). Vi...

Homosexuality: The Biblical View

As a follower of Christ I have felt compelled to cover many issues in the Church. I have with the Spirit's help sought to sort out the social issues of our times and seek the Savior's viewpoint through Scripture. There has been one topic that I have not touched upon in detail until now. One that polarizes and purges, that parts people only after race, religion, and politics, that is homosexuality. On both fronts the rhetoric has been raging, the LGBT silencing those who are staunchly traditionalist and the Radical Right pushing back with reason that is part Socrates and part Scripture. What does God think of homosexuality? The answer is easily found in the Bible. But first I want to tell a story. I grew up among homosexuals on my court in California. My mother was once ministering to one named Julie. One day Julie asked my mother, "Why can't I join the Homosexual Church in San Francisco?" My Mother replied, "You know, I have a problem with gossip, I thin...

The Identity of the Antichrst, the False Prophet, The Mark of Beast, and Bablyon The Harlot

The Man of Sin, known better as The Antichrist, who will lead war against the saints, is the Muslim Mahdi. In St. Paul's second letter to the Church of Thessaloniki, the Man of Sin is identified as the Man of Lawlessness, " the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed], 4  who opposes and exalts himself [so proudly and so insolently] above every so-called god or object of worship (Muhammed did this in Mecca), so that he [actually enters and] takes his seat in the temple of God, publicly proclaiming that he himself is God." (2 Thessalonains 2:3-4). This Laweless One is said to already have a work going on , " 6  And you know what restrains him now [from being revealed]; it is so that he will be revealed at his own [appointed] time. 7  For the mystery of lawlessness [rebellion against divine authority and the coming reign of lawlessness] is already at work; [but it is restrained] only until he ...