November 24, 2014
*Spiritual Signs
Hey everybody ... This is a 'big one,' so
let's get started ....
The Gospel narratives picture the Sadducees
and Pharisees, the religious official leaders of Jesus' time walking around in
a spiritual fog. ... They didn't recognize that the Son of God was walking
around in their midst! ...
Why? .. Either they didn't understand the
prophecies .. or .. they just ignored them completely! .. (complacent). ......
These same religious leaders asked Jesus to
show them a sign from heaven. (Matthew 16:2) .. Jesus' response cut to the
heart of their spiritual insensitivity .... "You know how to interpret the
appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times."
(Matthew 16:3) ... Simply, prophecy was
being fulfilled before their very eyes and they couldn't see it! ............
Think this is true today? ... You bet it is! ... Spiritual deception, as
prophesied by Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 24:5, 11 & 24, is exploding
all around us! ... False prophets,
cults, teachers and christs abound!
Let's for a moment glance at 2 Timothy
4:3-4 ..... "For a time will come when men will not put up with sound
doctrine. Instead, to suit their own
desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what
their itching ears want to hear. 4) They
will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."
The time Paul was telling Timothy about
here in verse 3 is today's world ... the last days .. and how right he
was! Unsound doctrine is flourishing in
most every corner of the world right now. ...
Let's look right here at home ... The likes of Rick Warren, Joel Osteen,
Kenneth Copeland, and many others are 'adjusting' the scriptures to 'suit their
own desires.' ... Rick Warren, for
example, said that he's 'not certain if gay behavior is a sin' ... He also is
'uniting with the Muslims under one banner to make us all more tolerant towards
one another! .. and Kenneth Copeland is the self-annointed leader of the
'wealth movement,' which has garnered a huge following including many more
leaders. ... Their basic premise is to have each of us give them lots of money,
and by doing so, God will reward us greatly! ... I have an idea ... Why not
bypass us and go directly to God .. just have Him send them the money directly
and remove us as the 'middle men.'" ... and, by the way, just a quick
glance at my own concordance shows 22 verses in the New Testament that go
directly against this 'wealth' theology. ... Here's just one ... "No
servant can serve two masters. Either he
will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both
God and money." (Luke 16:13) ...
Pretty plain, if you ask me ... And then there's Joel Osteen ... more on him in
a minute ...
Here's another example of just how far some
of our 'solid' leaders will go to 'suit their own desires' ... Let's for a
moment glance back to the 2012 Presidential election which featured a Mormon
running on the Republican ticket. ... What I witnessed still sticks in my craw!
... Here's just three reasons why ... Starting with Mike Huckabee, he stated
this ... "Faith need not be the issue when it comes to politics." ...
What? ... You'll 'put aside' your basic beliefs to justify voting for a member
of a cult?! ... And then there's David Jeremiah which told me and other
Christians that "it is a sin not to vote." ... Again, WHAT?! ... Lots
of scriptures come to mind to totally destroy this argument, but not now. ...
and the third is Billy & Franklin Graham. ... After Mitt Romney visited
them, all Mormon cult info was removed from their website and they placed ads
in national publications in support of , once again, a member of a cult. ...
All of these three aforementioned people and their ministries are mostly solid,
but this is what happens when we get caught up in the throes of 'nationalism'
... let's do anything to get our political agenda out front! .... In 1 Timothy
4:1, Paul talks about how in the last days men will follow 'deceiving spirits'
so as to achieve their own desires ... This, to me, is a classic example of
just such a thing ....
There are so many more examples, but for the
sake of time, I'll go to the final two ... the 'ultimate' champions of latter
day deception ... in my opinion of course. ......... The first is Joel Osteen.
... The following comment is from Hank Hanegraaff from the Christian Research
Institute ....
... "OSTEENification is nothing short
of the wholesale transformation of American Christianity. The fresh new face of 'baptized' humanistic
psychology -- a new Babel reaching to the heavens, all the while promising
'your best life now.' In short, Joel Osteen
is the de facto high priest of a new brand of Christianity perfectly suited for
a feel-good generation. And his claim to
America's largest church is just a small part of the story. With one billion impressions per month on
Facebook and Twitter, he is the hip new personification of God-talk in America.
"But behind Osteeenian
self-affirmations -- 'I am prosperous' .. 'My God is a supersizing God' --
there lies a darker hue. Behind the
smile is a robust emphasis on that which is negative. If you are healthy and prosperous, words
created your reality. Conversely, if
your baby dies or your spouse contracts cancer, you are the prime suspect: 'The moment you speak something out, you give
birth to it. This is a spiritual
principle, and it works whether what you are saying is good or bad, positive or
negative.' "
In the previously quoted scripture of 2
Timothy 4:3-4, look again to verse 4 ... "They will turn away from the
truth and turn aside to myths." ... MYTHS! .. This is exactly what Osteen,
and other modern-day gurus are doing! .. teaching myths! ... things that are
contrary to the truth of the Holy Scriptures! ... These seeker-friendly, no
judgement, get rich quick, 'be a better me' theologies are NOT what was taught
by the author of our faith. ... Today's primary concerns for these 'smooth
talkers' is to get as many as possible under their control which leads to their
fame & fortune. ... Sadly, many are being led astray and will miss out on
the rewards of eternal bliss .....
Finally ... you may have guessed it ... the
last one has to be the current Pope! ... I mean this guy will say and do most
anything to get you to like him and his church. ... OK, he starts out with a
huge following .. just because he IS the Pope. ... But now he's adding all the
'fluff' and 'spin' that seems to accompany much of today's modern Christianity.
.. Here's just a few examples ... Homosexuality is now just fine .. don't worry
about it! ... and then of course, atheists can now go to heaven - faith certainly
isn't necessary to go! .. Oh yea, we serve the same God as the Muslims. .. Oh
really? .. How to you merge 'submission' with 'grace?' ... and this one wins it
all in my book. ... When on a recent South American tour, if you were to follow
him on twitter, you would receive 'extra credit' towards an early release from
purgatory! ... (the Catholic teaching of
a 'holding tank') ... and again sadly, the people are rejoicing and in love!
....
But the real bottom line is this ...
Revelation 17 is clear in its teaching concerning the soon-coming world church.
.. It is my belief that the Vatican, which sits directly in the middle of the
'city of seven hills,' will be the headquarters for this world religion. ...
and all the stuff the Pop[e is doing and saying right now only lends to the
strengthening of this whole operation. .. Appease everyone! ... Say and do all
things for all people! ... They will come running with open arms, because no
matter what they say or how they live, it doesn't matter anymore! ......... Simply, it is all blasphemy !
......Trust me when I say, the 'Great Whore' - the 'Harlot' of Revelation 17 is
rising up and will soon 'partner' with the coming world leader .. the
Anti-christ ...
OK ... I could carry this subject on for
hours and days, sadly because there is so much of it going on all around us! ..
But then, the Bible clearly tells us this would be the case in these final days
.. again, pure proof-positive that we are, in fact, in the final throes of the
Church Age. ...
I will close with what I consider one of
the most amazing prophetic scriptures in the Bible ... Daniel 12:8-9 says this
... "I heard, but I did not understand.
So I asked, 'My Lord, what will the outcome of all this be?' 9) He replied, 'Go your way, Daniel, because the words are
closed up and sealed until the time of the end." ...... Wow! ... If we do
just two simple things ... first, read and learn the scriptures .. and then
just look around, it is so simple to 'see it!' ... The scriptures are coming
alive before our very eyes! ... The Lord's triumphant return is just a
heartbeat away! ...... Hallelujah!!!
Love you all, and am praying for each and
every one of you ... and God knows exactly who you are! ... Hallelujah!
Until next time,
Red