From Moriel Ministries

Ray comfort has done an excellent job of forcing his listeners to face the reality of government sanctioned murder. Please take  half an hour and watch this video and let it be your 180.

Steve Blackwell

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y2KsU_dhwI&feature=player_embedded#!

I am not a doctor, philosopher, or psychologist, but I have discovered a few things about honesty that I would like to share with you.

Honesty, as a Christian spiritual virtue is nearly non-existent today. Hear me out and I think you will agree.

Honesty has several different facets. When we generally think of honesty we mostly consider it to be an outward act toward other people, whose opposite is displayed in acts of lying, cheating, or stealing. This aspect of honesty, although severely played down through the re-defining of modern morals and ethics, is not what I’m addressing.

Another facet of honesty is the inward element, which I will not address either. It is the mental judgment of the one we see reflected in our mirror. This type of illusionistic honesty is better known as self-deception, or psychological dis-honesty, played out in things like disavowal or aggrandizement.

There is another area where honesty is of utmost importance, and more vital and foundational than the outward or inward types mentioned above. As a matter of spiritual fact, the two named above cannot be understood correctly unless foundational honesty, i.e. spiritual honesty, is practiced.

Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part you shall make me to know wisdom. Psalm 51:6

For most of my Christian life I was a dishonest follower of Jesus, which just means that I was not following Jesus at all, only in my mind. After praying, maybe one of the few honest prayers of my life, the Lord answered me. I honestly wanted to follow Jesus, but I didn’t know how, and the answer to my prayer was an unfolding of events in my life, which demanded “honesty” in the inward parts. I was honest in my business dealings, and with my employees, and with the IRS, and with the man-in-the-mirror, but something was wrong. It was around this time that I discovered my dishonesty, how, spiritually, I had allowed deception and dishonesty to govern my life. I had failed to honor God by believing His words; I was a un-believer. The only way for me to discover this dishonesty was through the stern intervention of Father with an adult dose of truth.

The initial lesson in “spiritual honesty” came to me in two, what now seems as obvious, revelations: a giving of sight, and a hearing of the Word.

The first to get my attention was something I already had a surface awareness of and that I had witnessed in the Church, but I did not really “see” it as a manifest display from Almighty God. What I became acutely aware of was that the Church looked and acted like the world. The statistics were all there: divorce, abortion, pornography, drug and alcohol abuse, and perversions of all kinds. The Church was in denial, and I was in denial. I enjoyed my vices, and rested secure in the illusion that I was going to Heaven. I was headed for a crisis of Divine magnitude. The impact of seeing my Christian life against the backdrop of those statistics made me physically ill. Would I continue to live in denial, which demanded that I do nothing, or be honest, which demanded that I die? I choose death. I would learn what that decision meant; the Lord would pick the time and the place, and the sacrifice would be required. That decision was now in God’s hands.

The stench of those statistics began to rise up and gag me. I could not look in the mirror, or at the Church, without seeing an embarrassing hypocrisy: its ministers as agents of compromise, and myself as a very lost soul, in an impossible situation.                                

The second revelation came as I was listening to an associate pastor give his take on 2 Timothy 3:12 “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” I had never heard this passage before. I don’t mean that I had never read it before, I had read it many times, but I had never “heard” it before that night. It wasn’t anything the pastor said, he was just reading the words, it was something the Spirit said, and it was loud, and it was clear. What the Spirit said was that I was not living a godly life. How did I know, because I was not being persecuted, that simple. These two things I have come to learn are inseparable. This is the message of Jesus, and the Apostles, and is illustrated in the lives of all those who dared to live godly, Genesis to Revelation. The bottom line is that, if you preach the truth, that truth is going to land you in a position that is opposite to that of the world, and if that truth gets you opposition from the pulpit, then it is indicative of just how far the world has advanced, it really is that simple.

“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.”

Luke 6:26

If the world hate you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. John 15:18

These two seemingly simple tests of the Lord, regarding “honesty,” presented to the Church, have come back with failing grades. There is a lack of truth and honesty in the New Age Commercial Church of the twenty-first century. They do not see that the Church, as an institution, has failed, and this is plain dishonesty, because the failure is too obvious. They fail to recognize the simple truths of Scripture as to the primary personality trait of those who truly desire to live godly lives, and again the failure is obvious.

So, I ask you again, “are today’s Christians honest,” are you honest?

 “So justice is driven back,

and righteousness stands at a distance;

truth has stumbled in the streets,

honesty cannot enter. Truth is nowhere to be found,

and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.”

Isa 59:14-15

1. Christians on both side of the aisle debate the goodness of a God who would permit the kind of death and suffering we see in the aftermath of Japan’s 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown.  

2.  

3. All over the world the main topic of discussion is the Japan tragedy, and now we learn that the worst is yet to come. Both Christian and non-Christian people are confused. People can’t understand how a “good” God could allow thousands upon thousands of innocent people to be killed. It is not necessary to present another theological or philosophical debate to explain what, and why, these things happen, or to try and justify God; John Piper has done that; and Brian McLaren’s philanthropic love has cornered the market on empathy. With those bases covered the question of “why?” still remains, and will not go away. After the prayers are over, and the aid exhausted, the mothers, fathers, and children, who have lost so much, return to their homes, and keep asking, “Why?”

   Christians don’t have to have all the answers, but answers help, especially now; and you can do no better than opening up the Bible.

   How do we balance the mercy and love of God, with His justice? I say “we” because God doesn’t do a balancing act, nor does He juggle His emotions, trying to keep some kind of equilibrium between good and evil. God is God, even when we don’t understand Him. God is perfect, and man confused; it is man that walks the tight rope wanting to know “why?” It is “we” who are out of balance and stumble, proposing our question in hopelessness, when the answer is right there, in the Book. God has spoken!

   God has anticipated the question and has included the answer, in His book of answers, the Bible. We will look in vain going anywhere else.

   Luke. 13:1-9 says everything that needs to be said for those who want the truth.

   “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were guiltier than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.’” 

   Then he told this parable:

   “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” 

   It was generally accepted by the Jews of that time, and many today, that if something bad happens to a person it is because of sin in their life. In other words if a building falls on you, you must have been very bad. Jesus’ simple answer was, no, that isn’t true. “But, unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” So, Jesus’ answer to the Japan disaster is, no, God did not cause this disaster, but He did allow it, and “unless you repent you will likewise perish.” The parable that follows, which most people overlook when considering the above passage, sheds some light on the matter. What some will see here is a mean natured God; others will see a God of mercy.

   By looking closely we discover that the wrong question is being asked. They, and we, ask “why did God do this or allow this to happen?” By understanding the parable and what Jesus is trying to teach us we understand that the question should be, Why does a perfectly “just” God tolerate anyone to live, why doesn’t He destroy all mankind, not just allow a few to die in accidents? The answer is “MERCY.”

   In the parable God is the owner of the tree and Jesus is the gardener, who asks for mercy on the tree, for a period of time, to try and make the tree fruitful. God is a merciful God who has waited and waited and waited, but His justice cannot wait forever; justice must prevail.

   It is precisely because of accidents that the preaching of the Gospel is so important. How long will God’s mercy be put off, the Bible says, “Today when you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled,” Heb. 3:15? And, this is precisely why the message of Brian McLaren and Rob Bell, and the whole camp of the neo-liberal “Emergents” is a death sentence for anyone caught in their web of deceit. They destroy the justice of God and leave the question of “why” unanswered, and hide poor sinners from the mercy of a Father who will wait, till He can wait no longer.

   Come home, poor sinner;
   Why longer roam,
   Thy Savior’s calling,
   “Come home, come home!”

   He died to save you
   On Calvary;
   Behold what suff’ring!
   ’Twas all for thee.

   Oh, come to Jesus,
   Do not delay;
   Come, and He’ll save you;
   Come while you may.

   Oh, come to Jesus;
   He’s waiting still
   With His salvation,
   Thy soul to fill.

   Oh, come to Jesus;
   How can you stay,
   He’s pleading, pleading;
   Come, come today.

    

George Warnock say so gracefully and plainly what I have been trying to say, in my stumbling way, that we need an awakening to the deep things of God. What we have learned to be content with, in our forms and programs, George brings to the forefront and shines the bright light of truth squarely into its darkness.

I pray that you will be blessed as I was with the reading of Beauty For Ashes.

I will be publishing, for FREE, in PDF format, George Warnock's entire Beauty For Ashes series in our new store front, so be looking for it.

Steve Blackwell

______________________________________________ 

George H. Warnock

I am confident the time is at hand when our Lord will arise in the midst of the Church with eyes as a flame of fire, with feet as of polished brass, with a sharp twoedged sword proceeding out of His mouth… to cleanse and purge and prepare His people for His Appearing.

l am confident that any ministry in this hour that does not hear what this One is saying, and does not minister what this One is ministering, will be heaping up wood, hay, and stubble for the furnaces of God.

I am confident that there is a people in the land whom God is preparing, disciplining, and refining… who are going to minister in this hour out of the heart of God; and who, because of this, will work and minister in harmony with Him and with one another, as God sends His fire into the midst of the Church to accomplish His cleansing and purifying work.

We have come to the end; and no longer can we merely prophecy about end-time events, and teach end-time truths. We must begin to minister in union with the End-Time Lord.

Is He not the One who is the Same yesterday, and today, and forever? Ah Yes He is! But He has a special End-Time Name, and that Name is the OMEGA… which is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. I know He is the Alpha, and He changes not. But in this hour He stands in our midst as the OMEGA. He is bringing to a conclusion. He is bringing to a consummation. He is finishing what He started. He is completing the Building, for which He has laid the foundation. He is about to gather the Harvest, for which He planted the Seed. He will reconcile and join together in harmony the Family of God, for which He sent His Son to be the "firstborn among many brethren." He will bring forth the LOAF in His people, even as He was the Manna that came down from Heaven. He will effectually join His beloved ones unto Himself in one BODY, even as He was the BODY through which the Father expressed Himself in the earth many centuries ago.

The Vision is high, and we must keep it high. Man has obscured the Vision, because it seems too high for attainment. But in reality it is because man does not want to go God’s way, and yield himself as clay in the hands of the Potter. For this is God’s work… this is God’s creation.., it is not the work of man.

God is going to do what He said. But He is going to do it in a manner far different from, and far beyond, what any of us have imagined. He is going to bring to desolation everything, every church structure, every planting, every gathering together in His Name, every ministry.., everything that is NOT THE PRODUCT, that is NOT THE FRUIT OF HIS OWN SPIRIT EXERCISING HIS LORDSHIP IN THE MIDST OF HIS PEOPLE.

And then out of the ashes of all this desolation He will bring forth the very Beauty of the Lord!

And so I can think of no better title for this series of messages that I feel the Lord has laid on my heart, than this beautiful phrase from the prophet Isaiah, where God promised He would give His people "BEAUTY FOR ASHES."

Our hope is that we might rekindle the vision in the hearts of God’s people, and make it clear and plain… lest in the face of all the disappointment and disillusionment that has overtaken the people of God they begin to take the course that has been so tempting to take: either to forsake the Vision entirely, or to so dilute it with human reasoning and manipulation that there is really nothing left but a vision for some humanly devised project for promoting programs of various kinds, or amassing large congregations of people together in one building, under the guise of gathering together the Body of Christ in "the unity of the Spirit." In so many, many cases the Spirit of God is left completely out of the picture.

Invariably this seems to happen when God comes on the scene and makes His way known. Call it a vision, a revelation, a promise, or whatever. God may well have given it. But as we wait for it to come to pass a weariness sets in, a certain sense of perplexity, of disappointment, of frustration. Then little by little we find some strong leader who presumptuously begins to tackle the problem with his own wisdom and understanding. All in the name of "faith," of course. All in the name of "Christ." All in the name of "edifying the Body of Christ." And so there comes into being another church structure, another system, another outreach, another plan for accomplishing what God would accomplish in and through His own Spirit in the earth. And God gets the credit (though I should really say "the blame") for the new machinery that has come into being for the purpose of fulfilling the Vision of God.

Of course, every man has to "prove his own work," and this is not a wholesale condemnation of all that goes on in the Name of Christ. But this seems to be the general pattern; and for a season God seems to go along with it (if you understand what I mean). He knows the course that man will take, and He is not quick to abandon them because of their failure, or their lack of understanding. He just says nothing, and goes along with them. He does so in His great wisdom and love. To stop them short in their tracks would only frustrate them further (if they are determined to go their own way)… so God lets them do it. "God you said you wanted this… now I am trying to bring it into being… why do You hinder me?" So He usually just goes along… and blesses… for a season.

It doesn’t mean He has approved what man is doing… or that He has changed His mind about anything. And it doesn’t mean that He is going to incorporate man’s puny efforts into the grand scheme and design of His own purpose. It is simply a case. of the God of all wisdom and knowledge giving man the opportunity to do what He knows He alone can do; and then when man has become aware of his own failures, and the futility of his own works… God Himself comes on the scene… and in the background of human failure and desolation, and in the fullness of time, He gives… 

"Beauty for ashes, 

The oil of joy for mourning, 

The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isa. 61:3).

It is really the story of the Old Covenant and the New. Not that there was inherently anything wrong with the righteous requirements of the Law. But when God gave it, man grasped it in his own hands, and confidently cried, "All that the LORD hath said will we do…" You might even say that God enticed them into it. He offered it to them. Paul says, "The Law entered that the offence might abound" (Rom. 5:20). The thought seems to be it "crept in unawares." One translation reads, "The law slipped in…"

God knew it would. It was never part of His eternal purpose for the Church; but it would have a temporary purpose: namely, to "make sin exceeding sinful"… and to "shut up all men unto disobedience"… to imprison all men in one prison-house of sin and disobedience, that one day the Keeper of the prison might walk in and pronounce the message of free Grace: "If you realize now that you are in prison… if you know for a certainty that you are helpless and undone, and utterly hopeless before God, you may go free… I open the prison-door, and set you free, by the blood of My Cross."

And so this matter of justification by faith has become an established truth in the Church ever since the Reformation; and many congregations throughout the land rejoice in the fact that they are "not under the law, but under grace." But this whole matter goes much deeper than having the right theology; and the fact remains that most congregations of God’s people are living under Law, though loudly boasting of their deliverance from it. For the Scriptures make it plain that "IF YE BE LED OF THE SPIRIT, ye are not under the law" (Gal. 5:18). Only the ministration of the Spirit of God in our midst can deliver us from Law. Only as we "walk in the Spirit" are we really free from the Law.

All we have to do is to take a glance across the scene of Christendom, and what do we find? All kinds of laws and by-laws for running the Church. Elders and deacons and pastors and church workers of every kind are ELECTED by the popular vote of the people. It would be too tedious a matter, and too devastating to carnal ambition, to seek God so earnestly that the Spirit of God might come forth and say, "Separate unto me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them," as He did in the early Church. (See Acts 13:2.) Who needs that in this day and hour? It is much easier and more practical to have a missionary program of our own, and send out the ones we think are qualified for the task.

We could go on and on in this; but we are just illustrating the fact that God’s people as a whole continue to function according to LAW, human LAW… whether it be the Law of Moses, or their own. They have a certain organizational procedure, and all the while they boast they are "free from the Law."

Ishmael, Child Of The Flesh

Of course, if God were to come forth in our midst and say, "Now I want you to set apart this young couple for a special work for Me…" we would perhaps be quite prepared to submit to His choice, But if we wait and wait for Him to do it, and He remains silent in the matter, obviously we have to do something about it ourselves. (Of course, we are not suggesting that the Antioch experience is to be the formula for the Church. We are only emphasizing that if and when the Spirit of God is Lord in our midst, He will indicate His will and His way for the people of God.)

And so we have the story of Ishmael repeated over and over again in our various churches and fellowships that abound in the land.

"We have the Word… we have His promises… it’s up to you and me to get in there and make it work…"

And so the "Promise" that God gives us as a Word to embrace and cherish and hold, a promise that we must guard and nurture in our spirits, until it becomes a living and "pregnant" Word within us… we take it rather as a challenge to act upon, in the name of faith, in the name of Christian zeal, only to end up in frustration.

And God seems to go along with it for a season. So long, in fact, that we finally are able to convince ourselves that God DID use our plans after all.

And so Ishmael grows up in the household of Sarah and Abraham, as the beloved son that God had promised. God does not whisper in Abraham’s ear the day Ishmael is born, "Now look, Abraham… Ishmael is your son, and I will bless him… but he is not really the heir that I promised you." As a result Abraham comes to consider God’s silence to be His consent and approval… this year, and next, and next. Time rolls along, and Ishmael becomes the beloved of Abraham’s heart.

We have been accused of setting the Vision too high… too high for people to grasp. If only we could convince the people of God that the Vision is much higher than we have ever taught or expressed… and that it is not something for them to "grasp," but to nurture in their hearts until by the Light of His countenance we are "changed into the same image." For though the Vision might be spoken of in many ways (as we anticipate doing in this series of writings)… in the final analysis the Vision is NOTHING LESS THAN THE VISION OF HIS OWN GLORY AND PRESENCE, coming to abide in the House of God.

Then why do we not stop right here, and leave it at that? Because it is the Vision of Him… and there are so many facets of His Being, so many rays of His glory, so many aspects of His beauty, so many unfoldings of His secrets, that unless we see Him in the full expression of His Being we are not really seeing Him AS HE IS. And God forbid that we should, in this writing or in any other, become so taken up with the chemistry of the living Word that we rejoice in our scientific knowledge of spiritual things, and fail to eat of Him who is the living bread sent down from Heaven for the life of the world. We must not take our place at the table of the Lord as a scientist: able to clearly analyze the food that is on the table, and know for a certainty that there is carbon in this, and sulphur in that… and hydrogen in that over there… all the while being totally accurate, but NOT PARTAKING OF THE LIVING TRUTH and allowing it to bring life and health and strength to our spiritual man.

God waits about thirteen years, and then He comes on the scene and reveals Himself afresh to Abraham, and announces: "This shall not be the heir… Sarah shall have a son…" Abraham’s immediate response is one of surprise, and frustration, as if to say, "Impossible, Lord. But we have Ishmael already… Why not Ishmael Lord?"

We see an awful lot of the Ishmael in the Church today… in church structures and programs, and in the individual lives of God’s people. Not away out there in the apostate church… but in the midst of the anointed people, the people of God who profess to have the Spirit and to know His ways. God continues to bless, and God’s blessing is taken as a sign of His approval. But in the midst of it all there is the Abraham people of God, who are aware that God is coming on the scene… and they are hearing Him announce as He did to Abraham and Sarah: "My covenant will I establish with Isaac…"

In other words, God is bringing us back to the clear Vision that He announced in the Word; and we are going to have to forsake our own initiatives and all the schemes that we have devised to bring forth the true Body of Christ in the earth. For instance…

"God wants His people to be ONE. Just forget your differences and come together, and worship with us… forget your doctrines, they only divide the Body of Christ, and they don’t really matter all that much… just praise and worship together with us, and learn to love one another…"

And so we have a very sentimental display of what they call love and unity, and a systematized form of worship and praise, something you just do, something you just perform, something you even do in the flesh if need be, just as long as you do it.

Or we have a more practical, a more structured way of doing it…

"We have true leadership in our church. We have the apostolic and prophetic order established by God. We are authorized to establish the church on its proper foundation. Come under this covering, get on this sure foundation… and you will come into true relationship with the Body of Christ…" And so, acting under the delusion that because God did something wonderful away back there in history, whether it be so many centuries ago or so many years ago… and because they have continued on in that particular "movement" in an unbroken line of succession, therefore, it just must be RIGHT to try to continue and perpetuate what God started. The Spirit of God may have left the whole thing centuries ago… or even just a few years ago, as the case may be… but because God started it we are supposed to try to perpetuate it.

God help us to learn the lesson of Eli, of Saul, of Bethel, of Jerusalem, of Rome, of Constantinople… and we could go on and on in this; places where God’s glory once rested in power and authority, but which have long since ceased to be anything more than an empty shell, just a memory of what HAS BEEN. Hear what God has to say about Bethel, the House of God, the place of God’s visitation to His chosen Jacob… but which God forsook because the people had gone into apostasy and idolatry:

"For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, SEEK YE ME, and ye shall live: but SEEK NOT BETHEL, for… BETHEL SHALL COME TO NOUGHT. SEEK THE LORD, and ye shall live" (Amos 5:4-6).

God help His people to understand that places, things, gifts, enablements, ministries, men of God, movements, whatever He might have anointed and used for His glory, THESE ARE NOT TO BE HELD IN VENERATION BY GOD’S PEOPLE; and that for their day and hour they are to be received and honored only as channels of His grace to LEAD HIS PEOPLE INTO RELATIONSHIP WITH HIMSELF. Then having served their purpose, God removes them from the scene, that He Himself might have all the glory.

Definition of PACIFIST

2: strongly and actively opposed to conflict and especially war

Does that definition describe Jesus? No! Although He never engaged in or even defended Himself against violence, and charged His followers to do the same, He did not strongly and actively oppose conflict or war by unbelieving nations or people. On the contrary the Bible declares that it is God who establishes kings and kingdoms to do His will to punish and judge, and Paul states in Romans that these kings and kingdoms bare not the sword in vain, and is it not Jesus who will return and smite the nations, and tread out the winepress of God's wrath? Jesus did not disapprove of war, only that His followers should not participate in it; or violence of any kind.

As we move toward the end of the age, with all of what that means in terms of violence and war, what should the Christian position be? Should Christians support, oppose, or remain neutral as to war and military service? The position of Jesus must be the position of every follower of His if we claim to be Christians.

In America, as it is in most other countries I suppose, patriotism and national allegiance are honorable positions, but are they “Christian” positions? Most of the Christian denominations are considered to be “warring” denominations, by the Government, when the question of conscientious objector status is brought up. This is not surprising considering that it is very often Christians who lead the charge in the debate of “just war.” They are the first to stand, and recite with the loudest voices, the Pledge of Allegiance, and in singing the National Anthem.  What is the Biblical position that Christians should follow? And, if they are following a contrary position, why are they following it, and where did that position come from?

The question of whether or not Jesus was a Pacifist is not a fair question. Since we know God never changes, being “the same yesterday, today, and forever,” and we know that Jesus will return to tread the winepress of the wrath of God, then we can say with confidence that Jesus was not, and is not, a Pacifist. Did Jesus come to show us a new way to run the earth by ridding it of war? No! He came to show us a way out, by following His example of faith and trust in a supernatural God. He came to save us from the evil that rules the earth, not to establish a new theocratic world government of men based on the faulty idea that all mankind can be convinced to live peaceably. 

I really don’t like the word “pacifist” much, it has been hijacked by the liberals, who are for the most part pacifist, but for a worldly kingdom, and not the Kingdom of God. They are really humanist who use pacifism as a political tool to engineer a man made peace on earth, which is impossible, if you believe the Bible. If we say yes, Jesus was a Pacifist, then we protest, picket, and run off to join Jim Wallis and his band of liberal Christian humanist, exploiting politics and theology for an ecumenical one world government.

But, if we say that Jesus was not a Pacifist, we join the ranks of the “just war” advocates and ally ourselves with the evil of mass destruction, and to the government that promotes it, and drape the cross in red, white, and blue.

Jesus was neither for or against war, as far as the question pertains to the world. Both of the arguments above have their roots in the flesh of men. They both start in the minds of men and reason their way to a presupposed conclusion. They both get what they want at the expense of truth.

The words pacifist and pacifism are worldly terms that conjure up images that are packed with worldly ideals, none of which reveal the mind of Jesus. We cannot force Jesus to conform to our definitions and to model Himself as a hippie or a warlord; Jesus will not follow us, we must follow Him. Neither ignoring His plain words, like the mass of conservative nationalistic evangelicalism does, or contorting His meanings, like the old school liberal camp and the more resent emerging Christianity, will work. Disobedience and rebellion are a malignant cancer in both camps.

As practicing Christians we must impose this limitation in our search for facts, are those facts true, according to Scripture. On the surface this statement may seem obvious. You may say, “well of course, the Bible is the final word on any subject, so why state something so apparent?” Because, although, the truth is apparent it always seems to have the habit of disappearing in a cloud of human reasoning. The Bible warns us in both the Old and the New Testaments to not trust human reasoning, but we cannot resist the temptation to take a position founded on what we conclude to be a very rational thought process. 

Prov. 14:12, 16:25 "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."

Prov. 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." 

1 Cor. 1:20-21 "Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe."

1Cor. 3:18-20 “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, ‘He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS’; and again, ‘THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.’”

Why is the Lord so adamant about not trusting our ability to reason through a problem and coming to, what we might consider, a logical conclusion? The answer is, that we do not have the ability to reason properly since those days in the Garden of Eden, and that apple thing. Satan was right about having our eyes opened to both good and evil. Only now all of our cherished opinions and decisions are tainted with error. Every little task we now undertake has to be run through the infected database of our minds and heart. We rightly question whether or not we have made right choices. We ask our friends, search it out on the internet, and run it by the pastor, and are still deluded because we have not believed the plain written words of our Lord; the only one who can think straight and who has the power to discern correctly between good and evil; He says, "trust Me." 

Did Jesus exhibit the characteristics of a "pacifist" while He walked upon this earth? Yes, He appeared to be a pacifist. But, He was not. When Jesus comes the second time He will be no pacifist, but a roaring Lion, to tread out the winepress of the wrath of His Father, and to present a deed, that was purchased on Calvary. He will come as the conquering King, not a sacrificial Lamb, and declare war on all evil and unbelief.

It is Jesus’ first appearance, as the Paschal Lamb that we are to emulate. It is His cross that we are to likewise bear; it is His life that we are to present to the world, over and over again, as we follow the Master. The Lamb is our life, the humble Lamb, the meek Lamb, the weak and lowly Lamb. The life of Jesus should be the life of His followers.

This sounds all very simple, as it should be, yet there are those who disagree and argue that God supports and even promotes “just war.” In other words God approves and blesses Christians who fight as individuals, or in league with national allegiance, to suppress evil or defend the weak. 

Is this true? The truth is more important than any pet doctrine or allegiance to a flag. 

It seems that every little fragment of truth that we gather puts us more and more outside the circle of the general opinion or the consensus of Christian belief, either on the one side or the other.  Is it possible that truth is so rare that those who find it also find that they rarely agree with others who profess to follow the same Jesus you follow? The simplicity of Jesus, seems to be itself, veiled in complicated darkness and hidden from the sight of those who follow from a distance. They are more concerned with the pretty stones along the seashore than the mighty rolling glory of the Sea itself. But, many there are who look for pretty stones, and miss out on the preciousness, power, and cruelty of the sea. To follow Jesus will drive a wedge between what could be, lasting relationships, if the simplicity of Jesus becomes a reality in your life. 

If you were to ask the average person what Jesus preached – even the mediocre Christian – you'd no doubt hear something about love: "Jesus taught about love. He said we should all love each other." This perception of Jesus' teaching isn't wrong. Jesus did talk a lot about love. In fact he said that loving God is the greatest commandment and loving our neighbors is next (Mark 12:29-31). So, love figured prominently in the message of Jesus.

But love was not the core of Jesus' message. And, his preaching about love didn't get Him hung on a cross. Neither the Romans nor the Jews would have been particularly bothered by a Jewish prophet who ran around telling people to love God and people. A lot of Jews would not have appreciated His love of their enemies, but the Romans  wouldn't have crucified someone whose main crime was telling Jews to love them and turn the other cheek. The bone of contention with Jesus' message must have been more abrasive, indeed, more disgraceful, than a call to love your enemies.

Jesus' message was anything but pacifistic. He says of Himself that He, "came not to bring peace, but a sword." Jesus came to declare war against evil, using the tools of meekness, and obedience to the will of the Father, as a weapon of mass destruction to all who reject Him. What He doesn't win over with His immense, pure, complete, and everlasting display of love will be forever vanquished from His presence in a place the polar opposite of love, which can only be called pure Hell.  

Jesus spoke many times of the Kingdom of Heaven come to earth as a conquering force. He gave parables about the Kingdom and its King and His intentions.

Lk. 14:31 "Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?"

Lk. 13:6-9 "He also spoke this parable: "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’"

Jesus' preaching of the Kingdom was not a message of a pacifist; He was delivering a stern warning, and it was understood as such by those who killed Him.

The kingdom of God has been equated with all sorts of things in the last two millennia. Some have claimed that it is heaven, and that Jesus was saying, in so many words, "Now you can go to heaven when you die." Others have understood "the kingdom of God" as referring to the Church. From their perspective, Jesus announced the beginning of the age of the Church. Still others have seen the kingdom of God as a world infused by divine justice. They have taken Jesus' announcement as a call to social action. In recent times, New Agers have reduced the kingdom of God to inner awareness of one's divinity. Like the ancient Gnostics, they understand the good news of the kingdom to mean "You are divine."

Jesus was unleashing the power of God into the world through His sacrificial act and that it would be carried on by the sacrificial acts of all His followers.

His message is; The Kingdom of God is coming, God is establishing His direct rule or government in the earth, and this government will be manifested through Messiah (Jesus) (Psalms 2), and His warning is, repent or perish, that is the terms for peace. The government of the whole world will "rest on His shoulders." Human self-determination will end, and "every knee will bow."

All the false dreams of nationalism, patriotism, and pacifism will be extinguished, and then we will come face-to-face with reality, because God is the God of reality.

This is something I put together awhile back, but has never found its way into the mailbox. As I was sitting at my desk I pulled it up and read it. It spoke to me very loudly; I’m not sure why? I’m not going through any particularly trying times at the moment. So, maybe it is for you. I know many others are finding times hard right now, and have questioned the Lords goodness toward them. If that is the case maybe you should read this, maybe it will help.

Adversity in the Lord

I write things, not because I have all the answers, or that I am living up to the standard that God has set before me, but because I must know the truth and I need to hear the truth.

“What should be our attitude in adversity?” I say this because I need to hear it, because adversity comes home, eventually to every Christian’s doorstep, even mine. At these times it does no good to rant and rave and curse the day you were born; it’s at these times that we need understanding and wisdom to push forward for the Lord.

“In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them;

In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them

all the days of old.” Isa 63:9

First of all, we are Christian and we recognize and accept that affliction is something we must take for granted. This is something that goes without saying, but in the midst of suffering we don’t want to think about all those lessons on how it is to be handled; we just want it to pass. The word of God takes note of the fact that the Lord’s people do suffer adversity and that their adversity is known to Him; it is under His eye. Unless Satan has some legitimate claim on you due to some sin left uncovered, then nothing is wrong about it, it is the common experience of all of God’s children.

In this verse Israel is seen in the wilderness; what was the adversity of the Israelite’s here? They had many. Their life was a life of wilderness wandering and their trials were plenty.

To begin with they were shut out and separated from all that was going on in the world, what the world had, and what the world was doing. The things that the world was doing, and had, to give them pleasure and satisfaction was cut off from them. That form of suffering hit them right between the eyes and came home to them many times in the fact that they had left Egypt where those things could to be had in abundance. Their hearts would return there often, remembering “the onions and the garlic” and all the other things. They missed those things terribly and returned, in there minds, over and over again. “If only we could go back for a little while,” “I would die for a fresh cut onion right now.” Going back to Egypt in their minds became a pastime for them, a miserable form of recreation that only brought suffering. Egypt had a plan, a form, and regularity to it, something that could be counted on. In the desert you never knew what to expect from one day to the next; you didn’t even know if you would be alive much less be hungry or thirsty; it was completely unpredictable. It was all a life of trust and faith, and faith means adversity often enough. Adversity narrows down the options and creates dependence and opens up windows to see God’s fullness. This is the way it was for the Israelites. This is the way it is for the Lord’s people; He cuts you off, closes you in, narrows your focus; this is adversity; this is suffering when viewed against the world. The Lord’s people can not do or have what they please. It was a weaning process, a weaning away from the deceptions of the flesh life and the world.

There are times like that in our lives, when we have been cut off, restricted to some path chosen for us to walk in, a path with no options but to trust and rest, or rebel. There are days when the dark clouds settle in so fast and we are caught completely off guard and we wonder if we will survive much less have joy. All them things we’ve heard of great Christian moments seem so far out of reach for us now and we begin to wonder if the Lord is against us, why all this “straitness” (as in a difficult road) and distress. This is not the bountifulness or graciousness of the Lord; God is not being good to me; this is not the kind of life that is at the center of all those sermons I have listened to all these years. The enemy is pressing the attack, trying to take ground; Satan is laying siege to our hearts and mind. He wants the Lord to be our enemy. The whole story of our life with the Lord begins to take a nasty turn and we feel abandoned, His promise broken. We start to see the Lord as hard, the Christian life as hard. The whole thing is being twisted to present our Father as evil by Evil itself.

“In all their affliction He was afflicted…” So, what is the word saying? It is saying this. In all that adversity, straitness, narrowness, and suffering, the Lord was not against them. Whatever it may have looked like, the Lord was not against them. Well, if that is the case then we have to look for another answer; there must be another explanation. If the Lord is not against us in all these adversities, what is the reason?

So, if the Lord is not against us in these things that cause us illness and hardship and mental anguish then He must be for us, and all those things are for our benefit and ultimate joy. The Lord knows us so well in the life of the flesh and knows that we have to be pressed, narrowed, and emptied so that we can be filled. The Lord is seeing beyond the circumstances to a richness that we are not yet able to comprehend.

I could go directly from here into a discussion on deception, because there is a link. I won’t do that, but I will say that that life in the flesh, desiring those things that are attractive to the natural man is that soil which is fertile for the seeds of deception. Our attempt to waylay God and rob Him of His goodness toward us by extricating ourselves from adversity is itself a deception and directs us away from the path which must be traveled toward a death which produces no fruit.

It would be easy to show that the Lord was for the Israelites every step of their journey through the wilderness, but you say “they rebelled and therefore He was turned to be their enemy.” They rebelled, that is the difference. We can have adversity and not rebel. God will not tolerate rebellion; He is the enemy of rebellion. But, even then, it is said of Him that “…He remembered….” Even when He had to be their adversary because of rebellion the end of the matter was that “he remembered,” Moses, “He remembered that we are dust.”

The Lord knows our soulish hearts and loves us. He knows that we must build a history of overcoming troubles, even if it takes forty years in a desert (or thirty three years in my case). He knows that we need to be trained to conquer difficulty, danger, and misfortune in the natural man so we can learn to walk in the hidden man, the man of the spirit. To walk in the spirit is to accept hardship and suffering and to live life on the other side of Jordan where we confidently follow the Captain of the Lords Host into Spiritual wars and bask in the victories of faithfulness and trust.

The final word, which is never really the final word, is this. For the majority of us, and especially me on this particular day, while our hearts are thinking of the Lord, and we find our way strait, troubled, heavy, closing in on us, demanding that our flesh take some kind of action; when the way ahead is dark, the fog is thick, and the path is cut off before us, remember, the Lord is not against us; it means just the opposite. The Lord is in the process of enlarging our borders and preparing a feast in the presence of our enemies. The Lord is after much more than getting a better life here, in the flesh. What ever we gain here we gain nothing. So, if we pray for more of the Lord we must pass through narrow places, difficult places, and come to adversity, because the Lord is for us, not against us.

“In all their affliction He was afflicted…”

Steve Blackwell

Why shouldn’t the focus be on the sins of the Nation of Haiti? I am no fan of Pat Robertson and consider him a false prophet, but at least he ventured to place the emphasis where it belongs, on sin and judgment. Does this mean that Pat or myself hate these people and glory in their disaster? No!, absolutely  not. They are to be given the Gospel, with food and comfort. Anyone who has seen the clip of Pat on YouTube will have to admit that Pat takes no glory in what he has said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPyyXQN8cG0

Christians who attack Pat are without understanding of the workings of God in the world, and especially in these perilous end days. God has always judged the world and His children for its sins, so what’s the problem with preaching it?

Now, look at the world you live in. What do you see? You see a world decaying before your very eyes; a world of ugly, decaying, death; a world controlled by an unseen force of evil, occupied by a race of beings with a death sentence on them, humans bewitched into believing they see goodness, value and beauty where none exist, only filth; a world about to disappear. The story of Jesus’ love is a story of how the spell has been broken; of how the blinders have been removed, and of how we say thank you. Even those who have no Hope, those who have bought into the Great Lie can see that the world is rapidly accelerating towards self destruction, this is apparent. What they don’t see is the solution. Some of you see the Solution, as I did, but choose to allow the weeds of your life to come in and choke the tender new growth. It is a choice you make, and unfortunately, others are affected by your choices. Because you are weak you think you have an excuse and that God understands your particular set of circumstances, or that you can continue in your weakness for just a few more days. Your “particular” sin will find you out, and then it will be too late, as the sins of Haiti found them out.

In December 2005 the main topic of discussion was the Tsunami tragedy. Both Christian and non-Christian people were confused, and insurance companies were calling it an act-of-God and just leaving it there. People can’t understand how a “good” God would allow 200,000 “innocent” people to die.  Lk. 13:1-9 says everything that needs to be said for those who want the truth. Luke 13:1-9 “Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.’” Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’” It was generally accepted by the Jews of that time, and some today, that if something bad happens to you it is because of sin in your life, in other words if a building falls on you, you must have been very bad. Jesus’ simple answer was, “no, that isn’t true. But, unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” So, Jesus answer to the Tsunami disaster, and the Haiti disaster, is “no, God did not cause this disaster, but He did allow it, and unless you repent you will likewise perish.” The parable that follows sheds much light on the matter. What some will see here is a mean natured God; others will see a God of Mercy. What you discover is that the wrong question is being asked. They, and we, ask “why did God do this or allow this to happen?” By understanding the parable and what Jesus is trying to teach us we understand that the question should be, “Why does a perfectly “just” God tolerate anyone to live, why doesn’t He destroy all mankind, not just a few?” The answer is “MERCY.” In the parable God is the owner of the tree and Jesus is the gardener, who asks for mercy on the tree for a period of time, to try and make the tree fruitful. God is a merciful God who has waited and waited and waited, but He will not wait forever, and He may choose to allow America to suffer likewise.

All this is happening in the world while Americans play dumb and place their hope in the lottery, worship materialism, idolize Hollywood, praise sports, fill their bellies, cheat their friends and neighbors, hate their boss, and commit unfaithful acts of all kinds. And, we do all this thinking we’re perfectly normal, declaring to the mirror on the wall that we’re, “the fairest of them all.” Pornography, mutilation of the body, 4,000,000 dead babies, 50% divorce rate inside the church, all kinds of selfish addictions, mass mental illness, murder, rape, homosexualism, child molestation, and everything evil is on the rise in the “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.” Americans along with many all over the world are under the curse of believing they can live as they want and fix any problem that comes along while they secretly contemplate suicide. They chase the “illusive butterfly of love” and happiness while walking a tightrope over Hell, without a net. We are a country gone mad. Not only can we not catch the, “butterfly of love” it doesn’t even exist, it’s an illusion. There is no love, happiness, or life apart from Jesus. The “American Dream” has become a nightmare.

Heb 3:6-15 But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”   See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
Ps 9:7-10 The LORD reigns forever; he has established his throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice. The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Rom 2:5-11 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”   To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.

Rev 6:15-7:1 Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
2 Peter 3:3-10 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

Matt 11:20-12:1 Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the Day of Judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Isa 58:1-12 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,’ and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter — when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the accusing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
I have tried to write you a letter of love and desperation. There are only two groups of people: those who are Christian and those who God is calling to become Christians. The Bible says, “You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” If you are unsaved, glorifying God may not sound too exciting, but the truth is that you were created for that purpose.

What has happened in Haiti is horrible, and they need help, but all the liberals and their social gospel (which is no gospel) of only good deeds will fill their bellies just to send them to Hell. They are sinners who desperately need to be saved. This is not just a warning to Haiti, this is warning to the whole world, including the Christian world.

Repent, or you shall likewise perish.

Steve Blackwell

I hesitate to post this in light of the fact that it has not been verified. I am not given to posting articles that promote conspiracy theories or alarmist type issues without proof. But, there are times when something has the ring of truth, especially in regard to the fulfillment of end time Biblical prophecy, that it should be posted, to at least, draw believers to the fact that we are living in the end times.

There are a couple of things that bother me about the “Strategic Implications.” First off; why would the US Army declassify something and knowingly allow it to get into the public archives? If they truly believe that  “PreMillennialism”  is the driving force behind the problems in the world, then why give the PreMillennialist a reason to hunker down and cause more problems? If that is part of some kind of military strategy it certainly goes over my head. The other thing is, why are they just now discovering the “implications”? As the article shows this information has always been available, has it just now become important? Maybe it has. The brainiacs  at the Pentagon may have likewise been “PreMillennialist” with the hope of Jesus’ return and ruling for a thousand years.

There may be more behind this than I know, and if anyone can add information to what is here, please do.

My final thought before you begin to read is this; Christians who have their hope in Christ, and who are securely anchored in their faith need not be alarmed, because these things must come to pass. Whether you are pre-trib or post-trib (post-trib is beginning to look more and more feasible and true) we enter into the Kingdom through much suffering and tribulation; the ultimate test of our faith may be just ahead.

Steve Blackwell

_________________________________________________

US Army View of PreMillennialism Strategic Implications of American Millennialism

Dated: May 22, 2008
By Major Brian L. Stuckert, U.S. Army
School of Advanced Military Studies
United States Army Command and General Staff College
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027
Name of Responsible Person: Stefan Banach, COL, US Army
Telephone Number: (913) 758-3300
This is the document for your reading: Strategic Implications of American Millennialism

DOWNLOAD NOW >> http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA485511&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf

John McTernan’s Insights

My comments on all the outright lies about millennialism.

We did not start one war to advance our beliefs. We did not start the Civil War or the Spanish-American War. America was dragged into WW l by the Germans. There was NO war cry in America by Bible believers. We did not start WW ll. It was the cowardly Europeans who failed to stand up to Hitler that allowed the war. Japan attacked America to advance its imperialistic goals. We were not threatening Japan.
We had nothing to do with the Cold War as it was Communistic Russia and China that wanted world control. We had nothing to do with Nazism and Communism which resulted in the death of over 100 million people.
Iraq and Iran are the products of Islam. They are the aggressors and not America led by Bible believing Christians. Iran wants to obtain nuclear weapons to destroy Israel and establish an Islamic caliphate from Morocco to India.
Israel is NOT the source of Islamic terrorism. Israel has nothing to do with Islamic Pakistan fighting with India. It has nothing to do with Muslims slaughtering all the people in the Sudan. It has nothing to do with the Muslims killing the Christians in Nigeria and Indonesia. It has nothing to do with all the terror in Somalia. It has nothing to do with the Muslim terrorists in the Philippines. It had nothing to do with Iraq starting the Gulf War.
Islam at its core is a violent religion that is now playing out on the world stage. The Muslim’s fighting with Israel fits a pattern throughout the world.
Right now the world’s big problems are both the Hard Left reprobates who are in charge of all Western nations including the United States and the Muslims who follow Islam. The problem is not Bible believing Christians. We are the solution to this sin cursed world, that will only be cured at the glorious Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

http://johnmcternansinsights.blogspot.com/2009/12/emergency-us-army-view-of.html