C.S. Lewis and his errors

Posted on May 16, 2014 by dknezacek

As a child, my grandfather, a Baptist pastor, gave me and my sisters a set of C.S. Lewis’ popular Narnia series.

This was, for me, the beginning of a love affair with Lewis and his theology.  From the Narnia series, which I read several times, and from there went on to read Mere Christianity, and some of his other works.  It was not until I was in my 30s that I began to question the ideas I had learned as a young man, from one of the most popular “Christian” authors of the twentieth century.

Was Lewis wrong about everything?  No, but there was enough spiritual poison mixed in with the truth, as it were.  Lewis’ fascination with the occult, and ecumenism, are some of his more notable errors, and these combined are leading millions of Christians into serious theological error.

This has to be.  The bible predicts that professing Christianity will fall into apostasy in the End Times, but woe to those Christians who think it is safe to make Lewis’ work an important part of your life.

While Lewis’ stories can be fun, they have an over-all negative impact on the reader, and especially young minds.

This last week I stumbled upon Brian Moonan’s videos, and knowing something about Lewis, I found that these videos really do an excellent job of pointing out his serious errors.

They may take a while to watch, but I do recommend them.  I would also recommend checking out Brian’s page on Youtube.

Brian may not agree with me on every point of eschatology, but from viewing a handful of his videos, I can say that I view him as a fellow traveller, and a brother in Christ.

Dan

 

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Will the Antichrist be Gay?

Posted on May 11, 2014 by dknezacek

Many prophecy teachers tell us that the Antichrist will be gay, but will he?  The phrase “he…does not regard the desire of women” from Daniel 11:37, is the one place in Scripture that many think indicates the Antichrist will be gay.

36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. Daniel 11:36=-37

Some bible translators translate this passage to say that he will not regard the god desired by women. This is an interpretation, and not a translation, as is the gay idea.

The “Desire of Women” is not a reference to a god, but a practice that is closely related to the teachings of the God of his fathers, the Allah of the Qur’an.

To understand what the bible means by “the desire of women” you need to read through the stories of women in the bible. Read about Sarah, Rebekkah, Rachel and Leah, Tamar (Judah’s daughter-in-law), Lot’s daughters, Hannah (Samuel’s mother), the Shunnamite woman (who put-up Elishah the prophet), and Elizabeth, John the baptist’s mother.

The desire of each of these women was to have a child, and hopefully by her husband. This is a desire that God has put in the hearts of women from creation until now.

So, how will the Antichrist not “regard the desire of women”?  (The word “regard” means to care about, or to concern himself with).  Think about the circumstances he will face as he takes over the world, and don’t forget that as a king, he will also be a law-maker.

He will take over after a major war, most likely the Gog and Magog war. Notice what the bible says about the soldiers of that war;

“And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:” Eze. 39:2

So, one in six of the soldiers who attack Israel will return to their homeland, after this war is over. Don’t forget that those nations are not fools, they know Israel is a formidable enemy, therefore they will send millions of soldiers.  Each dead soldier will leave a widow, even if they were not yet married, for now there will be no man for her.

Remember that the natural birth rate is approximately 50/50, male/female, (there is actually one or two more boys born, than girls per thousand, but the rate is very close to 50/50).

Now, here is something very important; The majority of the nations named in the account are Muslim. (Libya, Iran, Ethiopia, and Turkey, and the nations of Magog, and the former states of the USSR, such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, etc.)  One of the most well-known characteristics of Islam is the fact that they have always allowed polygamy.

In the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, there were over a million men killed, but you don’t hear of the million widows they left behind, nor of many unwed mothers in those nations. They have a solution to this problem that most in the west would not consider.

The women left behind after the Gog-Magog war, mostly Muslims, will naturally expect to be able to double-up on their men.  They have been doing this for generations.

The Antichrist, as an appointed governor in the area, will prohibit polygamy at a time when the women would expect it to solve the problem they are facing; not enough men to go around.

As a result of this move, the Antichrist will be hailed as a hero and a Christian by many in the west.  What of “not regarding the God of his fathers”?  He probably will abolish Shariah (the law of Islam).

Whether he’s gay or not is irrelevant to the passage in question.  These two actions, in the aftermath of the Gog/Magog war, will endear him to western Christians, and ensure that they will support his move to form the world government.

It could very well, also ensure that those “Christians” who support him will not be taken in the rapture!  The Gog/Magog war will occur during the closing days of the Church-Age, just prior to the rapture.  It is not a part of the Tribulation per-sé, but a preliminary war.

If you don’t believe me, please read Isaiah 3:25 to 4:6. Verse 25 of chapter 3 explains why verse 1 of chapter 4 is necessary. The rest of chapter 4 shows that this will occur when Jesus Christ is ruling the world.

The desire of women in Isaiah 4:1 is exactly the same as the rest of the passages I have mentioned, especially Daniel 11:37.

 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.  And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground. And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.  Isaiah 3:25-4:1

Notice that these women are asking for his name, for marriage, not for illicit sexual relationships.  This verse is specifically telling us what the bible means by “the desire of women”.  We don’t have to guess!

The next verse tells us who is ruling the earth at this time.

 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel. 4:2

The Branch is Jesus, and this is the situation on the earth as He begins His millennial reign.  The war in 3:25 is Armageddon, and the loss of men is the reason that these seven women ask one man for marriage.

This is not the situation during Armageddon, for at that time people will only be thinking of survival.  They think of marriage when the danger is over, and there is now a chance of peace, and of having a family!  This is the millennial reign of Christ.  What would a good God do when confronted with this situation?

Who are these people, in verse 1? We are told later;

3 And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: 4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

Yes, these are the survivors of Armageddon, specifically Jewish survivors, but I can assure you that the situation will be the same the world over.  The armies of the world will clash at Armageddon, and there will be very few survivors from any nation.

These same women are mentioned before the Tribulation in Isaiah 3:16, as deserving God’s judgment, but something happens to them in the intervening period.  They get saved, and are now holy women of God!

The implication of Isaiah 4:1 is very clear; Jesus will regard, or care for the desire of women, but the contrasting verse in Daniel 11:37 clearly states that the Antichrist, the Beast, will form his policies without regard to the desire of women.

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Pope Francis calls for “Legitimate Redistribution of Wealth”

Posted on May 10, 2014 by dknezacek

I have been saying for some time that Satan always has his counterfeits, and you can expect him to counterfeit the counterfeit, if it is in his interest.

Accordingly, you can bet that Satan is going to build up a stand-in for the Antichrist and the False Prophet. He has to deflect suspicion, in order to make his Antichrist look like a hero, and the False Prophet look like a true “man of God”.

Those who think Satan only has one trick up his sleeve, need to think again.

The pope’s recent comments about wealth redistribution are exactly the kind of statements we would expect from him, if Satan was setting him up for a great fall;

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis called Friday for governments to redistribute wealth and benefits to the poor in a new spirit of generosity to help curb the “economy of exclusion” that is taking hold today.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_REL_VATICAN_UN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-05-09-06-31-28

Taking wealth away from those who produce it is theft, and is condemned in the bible as sin.  It is still sin if it is the government who does the theft.

Socialism is the only economic system based on envy, and it always results in lowering everyone to the lowest common denominator…poverty!

Again, I am reminded of some of the paintings from the Denver International Airport, and the story they tell, of a world overcome by chaos, and then a time of peace and prosperity rising from the ashes.

The death of the current age

The death of the current age, with the death of world religions, to be replaced by a new religion

A New Age view of Armageddon

A New Age view of their Armageddon

A New Age prophecy of wars, and I think, a pseudo-Tribulation.  This is something that Satan has the power to do.

Happy kids and their "plant"

Everybody is “happy” in the New Age!

The Happy Children enter into the New Age

The Happy Children enter into the New Age, which is a counterfeit of the biblical millennium

Christians would note the striking similarities between the Denver murals, and the biblical account found in the book of Revelation. There is a reason for the similarities, of course; Satan is going to provide stand-ins for the Antichrist, and the false prophet. These will be decoys who will take the heat off of the real Antichrist and false prophet.

This is the best explanation for Paul’s statement in

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. I Thessalonians 5:3

Why would they be saying “peace and safety”? Only because they believe they have been through the worst… The Tribulation! So this will be one of Satan’s most deceptive illusions, and one he has had a lot of practice working on, and planning for.

If you are going to turn your villain into a hero you need someone expendable to play the villain!  I don’t think it will be long before a political leader joins Francis, in the limelight.

So what can we say about the pope’s recent comments? He is going to produce a reaction, but in the mean time, he will draw supporters among the left, liberals, and socialists. They will ultimately cause a lot of trouble, but in the end their fall will be spectacular!

When the dust clears, the beast will arise, and will take credit for saving the world from these mad-men!

These people are living out the Hegelian dialectic; “Chaos produces change, controlled chaos produces controlled change”!  They are working the ends toward the middle!

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A Debate with a Non-Debater

Posted on May 2, 2014 by dknezacek

Why do I blog? Well, because it seems that expending energy for one person’s benefit is often ignored, or rejected. I’d rather write for those who appreciate what the bible has to say.

Having said that, probably some will not appreciate what I have to say today.

Today, I got into a bit of a discussion with Andy Woods of Sugarland Bible Church regarding polygamy in the bible. The end result was that he deleted the whole thread, and unfriended me. I had not been impolite, but I had made a few biblical points. Evidently he does not wish to have his boat rocked.

AndyWoodsLet me start by saying that in order to understand Scripture one has to take the whole bible into consideration. You can’t take one passage out of the context of the whole bible. This subject also has a great deal to do with End Times prophecy, which I will get to at the end.

He started with

AndyWoods2I am offended by people who try to force the bible into one “genre” or another. The whole bible is the Word of God. It declares the character of God throughout, regardless of the “genre’.

AndyWoods1We could argue in kind by noting that monogamy didn’t work so well for Adam, who’s first son became the worlds first murderer. We could also argue that Joseph was saved by the actions of a couple of brothers from another mother, when the other brothers wanted to kill him.

But what does he mean by saying that I can’t distinguish descriptive and prescriptive genres? I had quoted a section that describes God comparing himself with a bigamist, Jeremiah chapter 3. Evidently he wanted me to show a prescriptive passage, where God prescribes polygamy, as opposed to a passage where it is merely described. I find it difficult to believe that God would compare Himself with a person, or a type of action that He finds offensive.

He unfriended me before I had a chance to do that, so I’ll do it here, only, first let me state that there are good reasons why I am not a polygamist myself, but they have no bearing on my views of this subject.

Here is a prescriptive passage;

10 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, 11And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;13And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. 14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her. Deuteronomy 21:11-14

In this case we have a soldier being given permission to marry a woman who has been taken captive in war. Since the natural birth rate is close to 50/50, this would amount to a Jewish boy marrying a Gentile woman, and leaving a Jewish girl without a husband, if polygamy did not enter the picture. In fact this would amount to large numbers of Jewish women being left without a husband, if polygamy was not a consideration.

The fact is that the passage does not differentiate whether or not the man in question was already married. The fact is that most of Israel’s soldiers would have been married already, and the ones who were not would have a wife spoken for already, since arranged marriages were the norm in that day.

God does not state whether or not the man is already married, because it is not important to the passage, a soldier has the right to marry a captive taken in war, if she is in agreement. So, for Andy Woods, this is a prescriptive passage that allows men to become polygamists.

There is also the famous prescriptive passage that requires a man to marry his brother’s wife, if he dies without leaving children;

5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.

Once again the man’s prior marital status is not a consideration. It is irrelevant whether or not he is already married, he is required to take his brother’s wife as his own. It is true that he has the right to refuse her, with the penalty being public humiliation.

This situation was specifically so that land belonging to an Israelite family would not get into the hands of foreigners, or even Israelites from another tribe. If the brother did not marry his dead brother’s widow, she could marry someone from outside the family and the land would be lost.

God doesn’t generally insist that people get married, except in one case, and here again we have a prescriptive passage that can lead to polygamy;

And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. Exodus 22:16

Again, the marital status of the man here is not relevant to the passage. If he engages in this behaviour he is required to marry this woman. The only exception is if the woman’s father disagrees with the union. This man may have problems, such as a bad temper, or alcoholism, or gambling, that present a dangerous situation to his daughter. In that case the culprit was to provide a dowry and go his way.

A dowry was a very large sum of money, not just a pittance. It was generally a woman’s inheritance from her parents. In this case the sum would be to care for her, in her condition as “damaged goods”. If the man in question was wealthy enough to care for more than one woman, and had been a reasonable husband, the father could choose to allow his daughter to marry him, and thus become a second wife.

Most Christians bristle at the suggestion that polygamy can be a legitimate form of marriage. First of all, remember that the women do not marry each other. Each marriage is between a man and a woman. Second; God has a purpose in allowing this practise, in fact more than one purpose.

As you read through the Old Testament you will find many cases of wars in which Israel was a participant. Very often the numbers of dead are listed. The numbers are usually in the thousands, and in one case there were a half-million men killed (2 Chronicles 13:17). This would have presented a huge moral and demographic problem to the nation.

What would be God’s preferred solution to a nation which had a half-million women without a husband, or the prospect of a husband? Those women would have the same desire for a family as most women throughout history. They would be tempted to seduce men, or to steal them from their wives, or to go into a neighbouring country to find a husband.

Each of these scenarios present a potential moral catastrophe.

The other danger was to the nation of Israel itself; without these women having children, the nation would have a shortage of soldiers, and would be vulnerable to attack.

The best solution for each of these problems is for the nation to allow polygamy. This way each woman would have her own husband, and not so inclined to seduce married men. Each woman would have her own children, who would care for her in her old age, and the nation would have a supply of young people to work, and to be available as soldiers in the event of enemy attack.

People like Andy Wood are ignorant of God’s love for humanity, and His desire to see the earth full of people, but God never rescinded the command to be fruitful and multiply. We were all created for the glory of God, both believers, and unbelievers, thus the more people there are the more glory God receives.

For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. Isaiah 45:18

God has a plan to fill the earth with people. That plan will take effect during the millennial reign of Christ, and will begin the moment when Jesus is done cleaning up the mess of the Antichrist.

As we discussed wars usually leave more men dead than women. The Tribulation period, and Armageddon, will be no different, except that it will be on a world-wide scale. During that time the armies of the world will kill each-other off, to the point that there will be many more women who survive than men.

In fact it is entirely possible that some women will be at home, and get saved, while their husband joins the Antichrist’s army to fight against Israel. This is the exact sense that one gets from Jeremiah 49:10-11 which is also an End Times passage;

But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not. Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.

The passage that seemed to make Mr. Wood the angriest is Isaiah chapter 4. Here we have a descriptive passage that tells us what the earth will be like after Jesus returns;

1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.

Here is his response to this passage;

AndyWoods3This response ignores the context of the passage, especially verses 3 and 4

And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: 4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

The women in verse 1 are the same women who have had their filth washed away in verse 4. These are holy men and women who have survived Armageddon. Now the millennial reign is beginning, and this is how they start their families for the millennium. The Constable’s online note he references is only partly correct.

These women are coming to this man, because Jesus Christ is ruling the earth, and He would not put up with them seducing men. Not only this, but these holy women want a marriage, and children. They do not want affairs, and one-night-stands, because they know Jesus; He is their Saviour and they want what He wants! Having been through the worst time in the earth’s history they are willing to feed and clothe themselves, because they are being considerate to the men who, no doubt, are overwhelmed.

The Branch is Jesus Christ, in the Old Testament. When a passage refers to “the Branch” it is always a reference to Him, either in his first coming, or in His second.

In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

This is Jesus Christ at His return.  “In that day” is a reference to the same time that these women are asking marriage of these men.

It is interesting that Constable’s references the large number of dead after World War 1. This situation did present many of the above mentioned problems in Europe, but the Flu outbreak in 1918-19 caused so many deaths that the numbers tended to even out somewhat. It is almost as if God didn’t want the scenario to be too fresh in the minds of mankind during the End Times, because if they really understood, they might realize who the Antichrist is when he show up!

And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. 37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

The king here is the Antichrist. The indignation is the Tribulation. The God of his fathers is not the God of Gods, because he is differentiated by “neither” in verse 37, but most likely the god called “Allah” in the Qur’an.

The “desire of women” is not a god, like many of the modern versions say, but something that is linked to the God of his fathers. In fact it is exactly what we have been talking about; The desire to be married and to have children with that husband.

During the Iran/Iraq war of the 1980s there were about one million men killed between both nations. That left a million women without a man, but we don’t hear reports of many unmarried women in either of those nations. This is because both of those nations allow polygamy. Islam has always allowed this practise, and has enshrined it in the Qur’an.

The Antichrist is going to take over the world in similar circumstances as the return of Christ. He will take over after a large war, the Gog and Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39, and five sixths of the men involved in that war will be dead. Most of the nations named in the Ezekiel account are Muslim today, and Russia also has a lot of Muslims, and is friendly with several Muslim nations.

And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel 39:2

He will inherit a situation very similar to that which Jesus will inherit at His return, but in this situation the Antichrist, will not regard, or concern himself with, the desire of women. The Antichrist will act in the exact opposite of the way Jesus would act in the same situation, only in this situation the world’s professing “Christians”, like Andy Woods, will declare him a “man of God”, because of his opposition to polygamy!

So, should you become a polygamist? The bible says that a man needs to care for and support his wife, as many wives as he has. Not only this, but the bible explicitly says that you need to keep the vows you have made. If you have made vows you should not have made, you need to keep them anyway, as the bible shows in the case of Israel and Gibeon in Joshua 9.

Though God forbade them to make agreements with the people of Canaan, once made, He expected them to keep it. This means that if you took a vow of monogamy when you got married, God expects you to keep it, even though He does not require such a vow for marriage.

I am sorry if I have offended some, but this is what the bible says, and I stand by it.

God Bless,

Dan Knezacek

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A Christian’s Dilemma

Posted on April 28, 2014 by dknezacek

Maybe like me, you have the dilemma of whether to attend Church, or not. There are so many false doctrines flying about, that it is virtually impossible to find a church untainted by Purpose Driven heresy, or Emergent heresy, or neo-Catholicism, or Word/Faith heresy, or Contemplative Mysticism, or simply pastors who lift themselves up as Lords over the Church. The situation is bleak to say the least.

One passage has been on my mind, since my mother quoted it to me a couple of years ago. She quoted it to me for the same reason most Christians quote it; to get me to go back to church.

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

This passage does indeed teach that Christians should continue assembling together, especially as we approach the Day of the Lord. It also teaches something else, however, which many pastors are uncomfortable with.

Please don’t get me wrong, I love Church. I miss it terribly. The problem is that, as Christians, we are not called to go and warm a pew, and merely listen to what the pastor is saying. Notice what else this same verse is saying: “but exhorting one another”.

It is not only the pastor’s job to do the exhorting. Notice that we are to “exhort one another”. He to me, and me to him, and us to each other. While it is the pastor’s job to be a leader, many pastors have fallen into sin, and sometimes they teach error. Very often, because they hold themselves above the congregation, no one holds them accountable. This is very dangerous for the pastor, and for the Church.

What are we to do if we see the pastor teaching something false? What if they teach error? What if they slip in a little error with the truth?  The writer of Hebrews says we are to exhort him to preach the truth.

But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:13

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. II Timothy 4:2

While Timothy was written to a young pastor, Hebrews was written to all Hebrew believers, and by extension, to all believers. The Christian Church is made up of brothers and sisters. The true Church does not have a heirarchy. In fact the biblical Church was designed to have a plurality of elders in leadership positions, and not one man as a local pope.

What is your ministry? I can assure you that all believers are called to some ministry or other. None of us is called to warm a pew, and put money in the offering plate, without having our own ministry. We are called to be evangelists, missionaries (at home and at work), elders, and teachers. Above all we are all called to be witnesses for Jesus Christ. I don’t think that leaves any room for bench-warmers.

1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, andcalled: 2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied. 3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. Jude 1:1-3

Notice to whom this passage is directed; “to them that are sanctified by God, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called”. That is, to every one who is saved.

Contending for the faith does not only mean against false teachers outside the Church, but also against false teachers INSIDE the Church! This second group is harder to spot, and harder to combat, because they have disciples and fans within the congregation. Very often false teachers have large ministries, and international followings, for example; John Hagee, Joel Osteen, and Rick Warren.

As Paul said; “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” Galatians 5:9

And Jesus said,

Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. Matthew 13:33

A lot of people take it that the “leaven” in this passage represents the Church, that it is going to grow and spread throughout, and even take over, the world by the time Jesus returns. This is an incorrect interpretation, and is actually the basis of a false system of Eschatology.

Leaven is always a symbol of sin and error in the bible. The “kingdom of Heaven” in the passage is actually represented by the three measures of meal (flour-bread) and the leaven is something that is in the church, but not a part of it. As in bread, the unbelievers in the Church make it look larger than it really is! No doubt Jesus was saying that toward the end of the Church age, false teaching will become prominent among professing Christians. The Christian Church will look very large, but in reality it will be very small.

How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, (but) that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees? Matthew 16:11

Today there are more false teachers in Christendom than there are true teachers of righteousness. From where I sit it looks like an up-hill battle.

One does not have to be lost to get involved in false teachings;

But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. Galatians 2:11

Peter, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, who had spent three years at the feet of the Master, was still susceptible to false teaching, and had actually spent some time teaching this error to the extent that several, including Barnabas, were let astray. This would mean that Peter had been a false teacher, for a time!

Because Peter’s error was public, Paul had to confront him publicly.

But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? Galatians 2:14

The principle that Paul lived out here is, that if a preacher makes a public error, he needs to be corrected publicly. Peter, being the man of God that he was, repented publicly.

In two thousand years nothing has changed. If we are going to obey the Word of God, we need to obey it all; not pick-and choose which parts we will obey.

It was Peter himself who warned us about the times in which we live;

But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. 2 Peter 2:1-3

And Paul;

2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 2 Timothy 4:3

Hagee, Osteen, and Warren certainly fit the above definitions of false teachers, but they are not alone by a long shot. Emergent leaders like Rob Bell, Mark Driscoll, and Brian McLaren would also fit the bill, but even closer to home, there are false teachers in most churches today. “Surely not in Independent, fundamentalist Baptist churches?”, I hear you say. Yes, they can be found even in the most conservative churches.

How much false teaching are we to take, without saying something? At what point must I stand up and confront error?

Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.7 For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; 8 Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: 9 Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us. II Thessalonians 3:6-9

Usually this verse is taken out of context to mean anyone who does not follow (Baptist, Methodist, Anglican, Catholic, i.e. man-made) tradition. Paul actually defines what he means by “disorderly” as a person who will not work, but insists on being supported by Christians. This would actually define the majority of today’s pastors, those who insist on a “tithe”. Paul worked, and supported himself, as a humble tent-maker, and says this is the example we should follow.

Beware of pastors who insist on their right to be supported by you, and will not work with their own hands. These are men who lord it over God’s heritage.

Of course, the “tradition which he received of us”would also include everything that is written in the Scriptures, especially the New Testament. Therefore, any public doctrinal error is sufficient grounds for a public challenge.

The flip side is; how do we do it in love?  Look at Paul’s confrontation with Peter.  It may not sound like it to a 21st century westerner, but Paul actually did it in love! Tough love!

Oh! Yeah! Things which are NOT written in the bible are also subjects that the pastor needs to be careful with when speaking about them. Otherwise he risks adding to the word of God, contrary to definite commands in Scripture. (Deuteronomy 12:32, Revelation 22:18-19) A man who adds laws not commanded in Scripture is risking everything, even his Salvation! For instance, those who say that “drinking alcohol is a sin”, are adding to Scripture. A saved man would not do this! Thus, these people are in the same category as those who deny the deity of Christ, or His substitutionary atonement!

25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. 27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth. Luke 22:25-27

We are all to have the attitude of a servant, especially the pastor and elders.

1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 1 Peter 5:3

First, notice that there is a plurality of elders in the Church. It is not a one-man show.  While one man is the overseer, (translated as “bishop” in the KJV), he is not alone as an elder, and can be removed if he falls into sin. He is to live as an example to the flock, and should be removed if he fails in this.

I don’t like conflict, and would rather just leave quietly, but maybe that is not what the Lord would have me do? Maybe a public challenge to false teachers is the best way to show love to their victims?

Having said all of this, there is still the issue of the five churches in Revelation 2-3, who were in serious error, and yet the saints were not commanded to leave.

To the churches of Ephesus, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, and Laodicea, Jesus tells them to “hold fast what thou hast”, “repent”, and “overcome”, but nowhere does he tell the Church members to leave those Churches.

So this leaves us with a dilemma; when to leave, and when to stay and contend for the faith?

The only definite thing I can say is that we need to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit.  If you are in the Word, on a regular basis, and in communion with the Holy Spirit, you will know what He wants you to do.

The difference I see between the churches of Revelation, and the false teachers spoken of above, is that even though there was serious error in these five churches, they did not deny the cardinal doctrines of the faith. By this token, all of the men mentioned above have led their churches into serious doctrinal error, and most of them really don’t even fit the biblical definition of a Christian anymore!  Laodicea was more Christian than some of our big-name churches today!

Dan

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Rapture? Of Whom? When?

Posted on April 23, 2014 by dknezacek

Lately I keep on coming across website after “Christian” website that questions the pre-Tribulation rapture. It really looks like some people are making a special effort to eliminate this teaching. Rather than refute the rapture with Scripture, however, what usually suffices for debate is to associate the teaching with Jesuits, and Catholics, like Emmanuel Lacunza and Margaret McDonald; Guilt by association.

All this, of course, in spite of the fact that the Roman Catholic church is officially opposed to this teaching. The idea of a future millennial reign of Christ is totally opposed by the idea that the Catholic Church is reigning in Christ’s place today. If the Roman Catholic Church is ruling and reigning on earth today, in Christ’s place, then there would be no need for Him to come and set up an earthly reign, Himself.

For the record, I believe in a Pre-Tribulation rapture because this is what the bible teaches, and it matters not who else believed, or believes this doctrine. If there are, or were, Catholics who believed in a pre-tribulation rapture, it is in spite of the teachings of their Church, not because of them.

Anyway, I read Margaret McDonald’s statement a couple of years ago, and it certainly does not resemble the rapture as taught by Dispensationalists. Even if it did, that would be no different than the demon-possessed slave girl saying that Paul was a servant of God in Acts 16:16-18

16And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. 18And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

What she said was true, but it didn’t come from God but from a demon, in order to cast doubt on the gospel. Guilt by association. If Paul was associated with a demon-possessed slave girl, it would cast doubt on the gospel. He understood this and so cast out the devil.

In the old days Millennialists, or Chiliasts, were subject to public beatings, imprisonment, and death, so I suppose there has been some progress made in the anti-Millennialist camp. Or, maybe, it just isn’t socially acceptable to do those things today.

I was going through some of the pertinent Scriptures this week and I thought it would be appropriate to go over some of them again.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive andremain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

Here we have the most referenced rapture passage in the New Testament. This is very clearly a snatch of believers from off of the face of the earth.

Notice the word “prevent’ in verse 15. This actually means “precede” and means that the saints in Christ who have died will receive their new bodies shortly, or immediately, before the living saints are taken off of the earth.

This passage in 1 Thessalonians is a direct reference to a passage in Isaiah 26. A look at that passage puts the “rapture”, the great snatch of believers, in context;

19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. 20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. 21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain. Isaiah 26:19-21

Here Isaiah is speaking, and prophesying of the End Times. In verse 19 he is stating that God’s dead men will be resurrected, and he expects to be raised himself at this time. This is not a general resurrection of all humanity, but only of the saints; they are specifically God’s dead men, or as Paul put it “the dead in Christ”. This is not only Israel, but all of God’s saints, up to that time. They will sing, for this is the resurrection of the saved. The lost will have nothing to sing about at their resurrection!

Notice that immediately after the resurrection of the saints, God calls his living saints to come into their chambers, and to hide there until the “indignation” is over. The indignation is the Great Tribulation period. This is the time that the Lord will bring unimagined horrors upon the earth, as judgments against humanity for their unbelief. This is the same “indignation” mentioned in Daniel 11:36, in relation to the Antichrist’s rule.

The implication of them hiding themselves “as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.” is that once the indignation is done, they will come out of hiding, or in fact, return to earth. They will return to earth, at the end of the Tribulation, with Jesus.

As Paul said, “and so shall we ever be with the Lord”; If the Lord is in Heaven, then we will be with Him there, but when He returns to earth, then we will be coming back with Him to rule with Him here! The saints are the “clouds of Heaven” (Matt. 24:30, 26:64, Mark 14:62).

The last verse is a reference to the Lord’s return at the end of the Tribulation period. He will come with righteous anger and will slaughter His enemies. When it says “the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” it is a reference to the final battle, Armageddon, where those who take the mark of the Beast will be slain in public, and left to rot in the open, unburied. They will be eaten by birds and wild animals.

And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. Revelation 19:17-18

Obviously, the dead of this war, will not be buried, in order for the prophecy of Isaiah 26:21 to be fulfilled.

So, here in Isaiah 26:19-21 we have a brief overview of the End Times events, in chronological sequence. Since it is brief, it cannot go into all of the pertinent details, but there is enough here that we can know that the true believers in Jesus Christ will be taken away from this earth, and will spend the Tribulation period in Heaven with the Lord.

Dan

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Interesting Comments

Posted on April 20, 2014 by dknezacek

One thing that frustrates me about having to manage a biblical prophecy blog, is the fact that often I get comments that require a substantial amount of time to provide a response.  Someone may write a one-sentence reply to an article, but it often takes hours to reply with enough detail.

The other day I got a short response to my article “The Nation of the Antichrist part 4“.  At first blush it sounded like he had a point, but as I researched I realized that his ideas are pretty much in error.  Since that article is somewhat buried in the archives, I thought it would be good to share the whole conversation with all of my readers, not to insult or ridicule him, but to show how easy it is to get off-track;

 Jared Welch – Submitted on 2014/04/19 at 9:16 pm | In reply to dknezacek.

“Daniel 11:21 is NOT end times, only 36-45 are end times, everything before then is the Hellenistic Era.

Edom is Rome, I’m going to write a whole stud on that.”

My response: Hi Jared,

Regarding Daniel 11:21, I believe you are wrong, it is End Times. The Antichrist will obtain the kingdom by flattery, and deceit. You can bet your life on that.

Some prophecies have dual fulfilments, and Scripture often skips between different eras in the same chapter. While these kingdoms mentioned here appear to be the four kingdoms formed when Greece broke up, I think it could also refer to some of the 10 nations of Revelation 17, while they are jockeying for position in the end times.

Notice verse 11 of Daniel 11; “And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.”

I think the phrase “end of years” is an End Times reference. Just because something similar happened during the Hellenist era, it does not necessarily follow that that is the only time this event will occur. While the “king of the north” was taken to be Syria, and the “king of the south” was Egypt, it is likely that the final “king of the north” will be the leader of the Eurasian union, and the “king of the south” will be the leader of the African union.

Satan would like you to believe that this was all fulfilled in the life of Antiochus, and there is nothing to watch for in these End Times.  “Nothing to see here, folks.  Move along.”!

Just as the pig Antiochus Epiphanes slaughtered on the altar in Jerusalem was an abomination of desolation, there will be another in the End Times. Jesus said so in Matt. 24:15

As they say “history repeats itself”.

Edom is the nation founded by Jacob’s brother, Esau. They did not move to Rome. I am well aware that some Rabbis refer to Rome as Edom, but they are wrong. Edom is much closer than Rome, in fact they are right across the Jordan river. They always were. (except for a short time in captivity, but they did return)

The only reason some would want to identify Rome as Edom, is because there are so many End Times prophecies against Edom, but none against Rome. This is an example of reading your own ideas into Scripture. If it says Rome it means Rome, but if it says Edom, it means Edom. Babylon is Babylon, and Israel is Israel. Spiritualizing Scripture this way is very dangerous.

When you start spiritualizing things like this you can make the bible say almost anything. My advice is “don’t do it”. You will lead people astray!

Dan

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War on the Easter Bunny

Posted on April 18, 2014 by dknezacek

My friend Ernie Carrasco posted this on his blog, and because it is timely, I thought I’d repost it.

War on the Easter Bunny

bunny_egg_cross_wall

… when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, [they] took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord. (John 12:12-13)

Recently there has been a big uproar in the conservative media about the “war on Easter.” Bill O’Reilly, who believes the Bible is allegorical, “lambasted President Obama and the White House for empowering ‘secular progressives’ to pressure school districts around the country to decide not to use terms like ‘Easter bunny’ and ‘Easter egg’” (from MediaMatters). My question is, what do the “Easter bunny” and “Easter eggs” have to do with Easter anyway? The bunny and eggs are pagan fertility symbols that were used to celebrate the vernal equinox and the beginning of new life – not in a spiritual sense, but simply the time when trees bud, green returns to plant life, the time for planting of new crops, etc. Even the name “Easter” is a derivative of the fertility goddess Ishtar (Babylonian), Astarte (Phoenician), or Ashtoreth (Canaanite). So, the White House wants to stop Easter egg hunts or remove these symbols from public schools – so what! Christians should not be offended by this. More offensive is the expulsion of God and His Word from the public schools. That boat has sailed never to return to port again. The outcry and outrage should have been sounded four decades ago, and now we are whining about the Easter bunny and Easter eggs!

As we enter this Holy Week, Christians should reject paganism in all its forms. “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Aw, what’s the harm in taking the kids out for an Easter egg hunt? Well, what does that teach them about Christ’s death on the cross, His three days in the tomb and His victorious resurrection? Instead of “Easter Sunday,” why not start calling it “Resurrection Sunday”? Instead of Easter eggs and Easter bunnies, why not celebrate what Christ has done to save us? Now, that really is a big deal!

On Sunday morning, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt (Matthew 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-38; John 12:12-15). That in itself is miraculous! Matthew, citing Zechariah 9:9, says that the donkey was a “foal” – really too young yet to bear a heavy burden – and yet this little donkey carried our Lord without complaint. Zechariah had prophesied this presentation of the King of kings, and within a few short days the King would be rejected and crucified as a common criminal. But then came Sunday! And soon, He will return as a conquering king, riding upon a white steed (Revelation 19:11-16) – no longer a Lamb to be slaughtered, but a Lion to conquer His enemies and rule with a “rod of iron” (Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15).

So, kill the Easter bunny. It is of absolutely no value. We have a greater truth to defend and a greater message of hope to share!

Ernesto E. Carrasco

Dan’s Note:

Over the last century there has been a lot of controversy over the inclusion of the word “Easter” in Acts 12:4

(3b) (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) 4 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

The problem here comes from the assumption of modern “Christians” that Easter is a Christian celebration.  The truth is that many Christians did not celebrate Easter until the council of Nicaea banned the Christian celebration of Passover in 325 AD.  During the writing of the New Testament Easter was unknown as a Christian celebration.  It was not until many pagans began entering the Church, that Easter and Passover became confused.

The problem the translators had was what to do with the Greek word “Pascha”.  In Greek this word can be translated as either Passover, or Easter.  It depends on the context.  The context is actually set out for us in verse 3  “Then were the days of unleavened bread.”

The days of unleavened bread actually occur in the week following Passover, and thus Passover was already over when Herod put Peter in Jail.  So what was Herod waiting for, to put Peter to death?  The only celebration left was Easter, which always comes around the same time as Passover.

Easter is not, and never was, Christian.  Herod, in spite of being the king of Israel, was actually an Edomite, an Arab descended from Jacob’s brother Esau.  Herod was a pagan, from a family of pagans, who had no regard for the celebrations of either the Jews or the Christians.

Easter, however, was not known as a Christian celebration at the time, since the Christians were still celebrating Passover with the Jews.  Herod was celebrating the pagan Easter, not Passover.

So we know that the KJV inclusion of “Easter” in Acts 12:4 is the correct translation, and all translations which use the word “Passover” here, are in error.

For further information see http://www.chick.com/reading/books/158/158_02.asp

and The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop

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The Church of Philadelphia

Posted on April 10, 2014 by dknezacek
Disclaimer: The author intends these articles to assist the reader in understanding the End Times prophecies of the Holy Bible. There is no intention to provoke hatred towards any group, tribe, or nation. Even the family of the Antichrist deserves to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The book of Revelation states that there will be members of every tribe, nation, kingdom, and tongue, in Heaven! It is the hope of the author to provoke Christians to witness of the love and forgiveness of God toward all who will listen! It is his hope that we will share in the joy of seeing even family members of the Antichrist himself, in Heaven with Jesus!

Over time, and through study, I gradually came to the understanding that the Antichrist, the Beast, would establish his credentials through the use of Scripture.

It’s hard to say exactly when this idea occurred to me, but looking back and looking at Scripture it is actually rather easy to see how he will do it. I included several examples in The Spirit of Prophecy, but I want to take a look at one right now.

During a discussion last week, I was reminded of a statement in the bible, that says that God will make His enemies worship other people… His people! Would such a statement have the potential for abuse? You bet it would!

Those who have read this blog for some time will remember that I believe the Antichrist will come from the nation founded by Jacob’s brother, Esau, which sits on the opposite side of the river by the same name, across from Israel. You might also remember that the capital city, Amman, was known as Philadelphia during the time of Christ and for some three hundred years thereafter. Philadelphia, or Amman, was also known as the city of seven jabals, or seven mountains.

Philadelphia

Sights of Amman

The verse I had in mind just happens to be contained in the section of Revelation that concerns the other city of Philadelphia.

7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.Revelation 3:7-9

In the middle of the Tribulation, when the Antichrist declares himself to be God, and Saviour, and sets himself up in the Temple, is there potential in this passage for him to abuse it to his advantage? Could he point to this passage as justification for demanding that the Jews worship him? I think it pretty much goes without saying! This is especially so if he comes from Amman, and the odds are; he will!

A few years ago I had my eyes opened by an illustration given by Dr. Kent Hovind in his series of Creation videos. Dr. Hovind pointed out that God does not depend on man-made dictionaries and lexicons. God knew that His word, and His intentions would come under attack, and so he built a dictionary into His word.

What is a “firmament”? When was the last time you used this word in a normal conversation? If you are normal the answer is probably “never”. So how do we know what God was talking about when he said;

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. Genesis 1:6

If you are like most people you would look at the word “firmament” and say “well it has ‘firm’ in it so it must be firm, like land. So maybe it means islands or continents surrounded by water?” Well, not really. As I said, God doesn’t depend on dictionaries or on human understanding; He defines His own words… All you have to do is keep on reading;

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. Genesis 1:20

So the “firmament” is the atmosphere. Simple. Just keep on reading and God will define the terms He wants you to understand. Once I understood this principle, the Word of God came alive for me. I don’t have to listen to man’s interpretations, but to God’s.

So, what is the purpose of a pastor, or a preacher? Simply to point out what the Word of God says. It is the job of the listener to check-up on the preacher, to make sure that what he is saying is biblically correct! A great many preachers preach error, and no-one checks up on them, because he makes them feel good! This is how errors become main-stream.

I am sure that some would bristle at the AV translation of “worship” in Revelation 3:9, but let’s see how the bible defines this word;

23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Matthew 18:23-26

So here we have a story from the Lord Jesus Himself, where he describes a king being worshipped. While this king is like God, he isn’t God, but merely an illustration. It seems that the word “worship” here means “to give due respect”, or “ to worship in a civil manner, as opposed to a spiritual manner”.

“But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.” Luke 14:10

“And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king.” I Chronicles 29:20

It is very obvious that while the word is the same, the application toward a man is different than toward God. If it was the same then Jesus would have contradicted Himself;

“Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Matthew 4:10

We don’t remove the word from the text, or change it, but understand it as it was written. Again, you can understand this simply from reading the bible itself, but you can check a dictionary;

“Not only does the King James Bible read “then shalt thou have worship” but so also do Wycliffe 1395- “Thanne WORSCHIP schal be to thee, bifor men”, Tyndale 1525 – “Then shalt thou have WORSHIPPE”, Miles Coverdale 1535, the Great Bible 1540, Matthew’s Bible 1549- “Then shalte thou haue WORSHYPPE”, the Bishop’s Bible 1568, and the Geneva Bible 1599 – “then shalt thou haue WORSHIP in the presence of them that sit at table with thee.”

The word “worship” comes from the Old English weortscipe, and literally means “condition of worth” from weorth or worth. Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines worship as:

1. Excellence of character; dignity; worth; worthiness. –Elfin born of noble state, and muckle worship in his native land.

2. A title of honor, used in addresses to certain magistrates and other of respectable character. My father desires your worships company.

4. Chiefly and eminently, the act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being; or the reverence and homage paid to him in religious exercises, consisting in adoration, confession, prayer, thanksgiving and the like.

6. Honor; respect; civil deference. Then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. Luke 14:10 (Notice his use of this very verse in his dictionary)

WORSHIP, v.t. 2. To respect; to honor; to treat with civil reverence. Nor worshipd with a waxen epitaph.” ( http://brandplucked.webs.com/luke1410worship213t.htm )

So, when God says that He will make the Philadelphia Church’s enemies bow down and worship them, He is saying that the Church will have a say in the eternal destiny of those who persecuted them.The victims of persecution will have life-and-death power over their persecutors!

So this is the context of the passage, but is it possible that someone will take this passage out of context, to attempt to make the Tribulation saints worship him? Is it possible that the Antichrist will call his church “the Church of Philadelphia”?

It is not only possible, but very likely; he can’t call his Church “the Church of the Antichrist”, can he? Can he call it “the Church of Satan”? I don’t think so; While he is indeed promoting Satan, don’t forget that Satan wants to be God. No, He will claim to be promoting the true God. As for his Church, he will have to invoke the most blessed Church in the bible, as his own!

What about the Mark of the Beast? How will he be able to make people take his mark? Again, look further in the same chapter;

“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” Revelation 3:12

This passage is so good, and it will be so very good for those who are there, but you can bet that the Antichrist will want to make his followers think it is about them.  He will have to impersonate the deity of this passage, in order to impose his mark on mankind, and to make it believable. He will flip it upside down. No doubt he will claim that his name is the new name of the Messiah, in fulfilment of this passage, and taking the mark is taking the name of the Messiah! No doubt he will call his followers “overcomers”, and the followers of Jesus will be called evil, and wicked, and false Jews!

The Antichrist, and the False Prophet, will have extensive knowledge of the bible. While they may attempt to be all things to all men, their main target will be Israel and the followers of Jesus. After all, it is Jesus who has the keys of life; Buddha, and Mohammed, just can’t compare.

Jesus, The God of the Old Testament, has made many promises to Israel. If all the Jews are dead, or worshipping and serving the Antichrist, then Jesus couldn’t keep his promises. That would make the God of the bible a liar, and such a liar would have no cause to throw another liar, like Satan, into the Lake of Fire.

No doubt this is some of the reasoning behind Satan’s attack on the Church and Israel. God, allows Satan just enough freedom, and power, that he remains self-deluded into thinking his plans are possible, but rest assured, Jesus is the one in control. While Satan will come close to succeeding, Jesus is always way ahead of Him, and always has a remnant, both in the Gentiles and in Israel.

Dan Knezacek

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The Tribulation Temple

Posted on March 30, 2014 by dknezacek

After my conversation with my friend Charlie the other day, I thought I’d better go through the first chapter of Joel again, to refresh my memory with the context of chapter 2.

Every time I go through, even familiar portions of Scripture, I am so frequently taken aback by things I missed before, sometimes even things I did see, but didn’t fully understand the significance of them.

There is a debate among many Christians, as to whether the Temple must be rebuilt in Jerusalem, before the beginning of the Tribulation, or not, or whether it will be rebuilt at all, before the Lord’s return. As far as I can remember Charlie does not think it will be rebuilt until the Lord returns.

He may have Zechariah 6:12 in mind;

And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.

It is certain that Jesus will rebuild the Temple when He returns, but it already was built twice by sinful hands, so why wouldn’t it be built by men again, before the Tribulation commences?  All these Scriptures indicate that this is the case.

I came across the following “game changer” as I was reading chapter 1 of Joel;

Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Joel 1:13-15

Think about what this is saying. How is it possible for there to be ministers at the altar, and for there to be a solemn assembly in the House of the Lord, without there being a Temple in Jerusalem? It is simply not possible!  The Temple is The House of The Lord!

So, what this passage is telling us is that there will be a Temple in Jerusalem shortly before the Day of the Lord commences.

This fact does away with the idea that the rapture of the believers is, and always has been, imminent. No, the rapture, the great snatch, will not be imminent until the signs are all in place, and among them is the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the recommencing of the sacrificial system.

This also means that what Paul said to the Thessalonians is to be taken literally;

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4

No doubt this is a reference to the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel (Dan. 9:27, 11:31), and Jesus (Matthew 24:15). Revelation 13 also elaborates on the same theme; that the false prophet will set up an idol to the Beast, in the Temple, which will speak, and cause humanity to worship him.

Amillennialists twist Scripture here by saying that “since the believer’s body is now the Temple of God, this is a reference to the pope sitting at the head of the Church”. While it is true that the pope is AN antichrist, he is not THE Antichrist. When you twist Scripture this way, you can make it say just about anything, and this is exactly what Amillennialism does! This is why no one thought up Amillennialism until Augustine came along; It took an exceptionally creative mind to come up with this philosophy!

I am concerned that, one day soon, someone is going to destroy the city of Rome, along with the Pope, and a European Union leader, and Amillennialists will then feel comfortable in uniting with the remaining Catholic congregations! At that point they will be ready to crown the Antichrist, all because of an erroneous eschatology!

Augustine’s theology, and eschatology, is very dangerous!

Let’s take a look at Daniel for a moment;

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Daniel 9:26-27

I have heard some Christians say that the person who caused the sacrifice and the oblation to cease was Jesus Christ Himself, because He finished sacrifice with His own sacrifice on the cross. Thus the person who confirmed the covenant in verse 27, must also be Jesus Christ! (I suspect that the person I was speaking with is an Amillennialist)

Jesus is the person who instituted sacrifices in the Garden of Eden, and He will use them throughout the millennial reign, as an object lesson. Sacrifices will be just as valuable then as they ever were!

(Note: Sacrifices never saved, but always pointed to the one true sacrifice of the Lord Himself.  Those who say that Jesus did away with Sacrifices, on the cross, are implying that Sacrifices did save up to that point.)

This idea does away with the plain-sense understanding of Scripture. In verse 27 the “he” is referring back to the prince of “the people of the prince that shall come” from the previous verse, and is a reference to the Antichrist. The “week” referred to here is the last seven years that God has allotted to Israel to “put away iniquity”, from verse 24. The person who confirms the covenant for seven years, breaks his word in the middle. This could not be Jesus Christ because He never broke His word!

This philosophy will ultimately fall into the hands of the Beast, who would benefit from an interpretation that muddies the waters, and ultimately turns Jesus Christ into the Antichrist!

Daniel 11:31 reiterates the fact that these prophecies are indeed concerning the literal physical Temple in Jerusalem;

And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

The “sanctuary” here is a reference to the sanctuary of the Temple, and “the abomination that maketh desolate” is the placing of an idol to the Antichrist in the physical Temple, which we have already discussed.

No, in order for all of the bible’s End Times prophecies to be fulfilled, the Temple must be rebuilt before the Day of the Lord, the Tribulation, commences.  The Jews are ready to rebuild, and I expect them to commence shortly, perhaps immediately after the Psalm 83 war.

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