Perdónanos

 

Read More

The Bruderhof Community

 

Read More

The End is Coming! - Chapter 51

 

The End is Coming!

There you have it. I believe America, a formerly great Christian nation, is suffering and under judgment. She has fallen away from the Lord, because she has refused

to be obedient unto the voice of the Lord.[1]

I believe America will continue to suffer as God’s Word has so clearly demonstrated. I have tried to show that America surely parallels the picture of Babylon the Whore of Revelation chapters 17 and 18.

I have compared America with Israel of old who also suffered for abandoning the Words of the Lord and was finally conquered and Jerusalem destroyed by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar.

Moses told them that it was not because of their own righteousness that God was with them, but because of the wickedness of those other nations He destroyed before them.[2] Even so, it was not that Nebuchadnezzar was so righteous that God let him conquer Israel and the other nations, but he was less wicked than the nations he conquered. Israel had become even more wicked than those ungodly nations, and so God was obliged to condemn her. Today we have the same situation with America.

Apostle Paul has warned that in the last days

evil men would wax worse and worse deceiving and being deceived.[3]

He said,

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.[4]

Doesn’t this sound like the days we are living in today? Let’s review what Jesus Himself said when talking about the time of the end and His coming. He said that

because iniquity would abound the love of many would wax cold.[5]

Remember He also said that the wars, famines, earthquakes and pestilences that we would see would only be the beginnings of sorrows.[6] He warned us three times in His end-time exhortation not to be deceived by false Christs who would deceive many.[7]

He warned us many would believe lies. The peace prophets[8] in the time of Jeremiah told the people Jeremiah was a false prophet and that there would be peace, not war. These same prophets told the people to trust in the Temple of the Lord which had always saved them in the past. Jeremiah responded with these words which we have looked at earlier:

Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord are these. … Behold, ye trust in lying words which cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely and burn incense unto to Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; and come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?[9]

And now, because ye have done all these works, says the Lord, and I spoke unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called, but ye answered not; Therefore I will cast you out of my sight, as I have out all your brethren. Pray not for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.[10]

Therefore thou shall speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. And the carcasses of this people shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away. Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.[11]

But did God’s people listen to his prophets? No, and neither will the Americans. They are drunk on the wine of the fornication which the whore of capitalism has offered them and they cannot see their own sins. God may even use a “heathen” nation to destroy them as he did to Israel and Judah of old. Or maybe the money that they love and serve in the end will destroy them. Or their own internal bickering will cause them to destroy one another.

Another sign that Jesus gave to his disciples of His coming and of the end of the world was that

this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world as a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

I quoted this verse in the previous chapter, but did not comment on it. Recently a news item stated that there is an organization whose goal is to get the written Word of God into every language on the earth to fulfill this prophecy. They claim that by 2020, they will have finished their objective and will have published the Bible in every known language in the world.[13] Are we entering into the period of world history when the end will come? Will it be in our generation, or our children’s or grandchildren’s?

I will have to leave these questions and their answers to the next book in this series Where is America in Bible Prophecy? I had hoped to enter more fully into this question, but I needed to build the foundation of your faith. I needed to show how consistent Bible prophecy has been in predicting the future. Bible scholars estimate that about 80% of all Bible prophecies have already been fulfilled accurately.[14] Surely the remaining 20% will also be fulfilled in the same accurate manner.

We have come so far to some pretty strong conclusions. In the Bible we have seen that God condemned Israel for her sins. We have seen that Israel of old and America have a parallel history. The similarities are quite obvious. We have concluded that America may very well be the epitome of Babylon the Whore of Revelation 17 and 18 and as thus has infected the whole world with her iniquity.

I need to add here before I finish that God’s Word says, 

In the multitude of words, there wants not sin.[15]

In other words, I have said a lot here in this book. I no doubt have not got everything right. I am human, make mistakes and get things wrong like everyone else. But I have shared with you how I see the Scriptures and the world situation so that you yourself will investigate to see if these things be so.

In Ezekiel we read,

Her (Israel’s) prophets in the midst thereof (are) like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof. Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things…Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus says the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken.

The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully. And I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.[16]

Is the Lord asking you to be one of those men or women who will stand in the gap, the gap in the wall of our former Christian culture, and fight the spiritual war against the enemies of faith, truth and love? Will you stand up in the gap for Christ with Godly convictions and beliefs? Will you take the stand?

In the next book in this series we will look more closely at the prophecies of Daniel and how they fit together with those in Revelation. We will look at the prophecies of Ezekiel and see how they compliment Daniel’s. We will see that both Paul’s predictions and Jesus’ combine nicely with all of the above to give us a pretty accurate picture of the days ahead. We can know the future because God’s Word has spoken clearly about it. It only takes for a man or woman to seek and search it out. My prayer is that you will be one of those men or women.

And ye shall seek Me and find Me when ye shall search for Me with all your heart.[17] 

To go to the previous chapter click HERE

To go to the next chapter click HERE

To go to the index of chapter for the book click HERE 

All Bible verses are from the King James Bible, although I have changed some of the old English. Any similarity to any modern version is only by coincidence. Bible verses other than the King James have been foot-noted properly.

Copyright @ Dennis M. Edwards (photos used from Google images for educational purposes only)

Notes:

[1] Deuteronomy 8:20
[2] Deuteronomy 9:5
[3] 2Timothy 3:13
[4] 2Timothy 3:1-7
[5] Matthew 24:12

[6] Matthew 24: 6-8 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

[7] Matthew 24: 4-26 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

[8] Jeremiah 8:11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

[9] Jeremiah 7: 4-10
[10] Jeremiah 7: 13-16
[11] Jeremiah 7: 27-34
[12] Matthew 24:14
[13] http://www.christianpost.com/news/gmopotential-there-to-reach-whole-world-by-2020-44881/(accessed 03/2016)
[14] http://www.reasons.org/articles/articles/fulfilled-prophecy-evidence-for-the-reliability-of-the-bible(accessed 03/2016)
[15] Proverbs 10:19
[16] Ezekiel 22:26-30
[17] Jeremiah 29:13

Read More

A Evolução do Papel das Mulheres nos Evangelhos

Compilação

Ao longo da narrativa dos Evangelhos, lemos sobre a interação de Jesus com pessoas dos mais diversos setores da sociedade — homens e mulheres; jovens e velhos; ricos e pobres; saudáveis e doentes; religiosos e não religiosos. Por ser Filho de Deus, a forma como Jesus interagiu com os outros e o que dizia ou fazia às pessoas refletia a postura de seu Pai.

Assim, quando lemos nos Evangelhos sobre as interações de Jesus com as mulheres, podemos perceber a atitude dEle e de Deus com relação a elas. Vemos como Se dirige a elas, como as cura, demonstra compaixão por elas, lhes ensina e revela aspectos de Sua natureza. As mulheres eram retratadas como bons exemplos nas parábolas; foram testemunhas da Sua morte e as que encontraram o túmulo vazio depois da ressurreição. Quando analisamos a posição das mulheres na sociedade da Palestina do primeiro século, vemos uma extraordinária diferença entre a atitude de Jesus para com as mulheres e a prevalente na cultura de então.

Na sociedade judaica, as mulheres tinham status inferior ao dos homens. Os textos daquela época demonstram uma atitude consistentemente negativa com respeito às mulheres, na qual eram consideradas inferiores em todos os assuntos e precisavam ser submissas aos homens. Os homens judeus faziam uma oração na qual agradeciam a Deus por não haverem nascido gentios, escravos ou mulheres. Os escritos rabínicos deixam bem claro que as mulheres eram consideradas mais sensuais e menos racionais do que homens, e eram vistas como sedutoras. Portanto, os homens evitavam contato social e conversa com elas fora do casamento.

Embora as Escrituras ensinassem que todos os israelitas deviam ouvir a Lei,[1] na prática, o ensino religioso para as mulheres era mínimo. Seu papel no culto de adoração era restrito e não podiam entrar na seção interna do templo nem exercer o sacerdócio. Tampouco podiam desempenhar as funções dos rabinos. Suas atividades principais eram domésticas e eram consideradas pelos homens como tendo pouco a oferecer na vida pública ou religiosa.

Quando lemos nos Evangelhos sobre a relação e interação de Jesus com as mulheres, fica claro que Ele tinha uma visão muito diferente. Para Jesus, eram indivíduos plenos no que diz respeito à dignidade, ao valor e à espiritualidade. Isso se vê quando cura as mulheres,[2] quando as perdoa, e a aceitação daquelas consideradas impuras do ponto de vista ritual, e socialmente indesejáveis.[3]

Jesus não apenas demonstrou respeito pelas judias e interagiu com elas, mas também pelas estrangeiras, como fica patente no Seu encontro com a samaritana, perto do poço de Jacó. Jesus teve uma conversa com a mulher, durante a qual mostrou saber que ela fora casada diversas vezes e que vivia com um homem que não era seu marido, e revelou ser o Messias. Esse relato nos ensina que uma mulher — e não apenas uma mulher, mas uma não judia, pecadora e impura do ponto de vista ritual — pode ser portadora da mensagem de Deus para os outros.

Jesus demonstrou amor e compaixão pelas mulheres ao curar tanto elas quanto seus familiares. Ele não estava muito preocupado com as exigências com respeito à pureza para fins de ritual que proibiam os judeus de tocarem alguém que estivesse doente, no período menstrual, com pecado ou morto. Violou a Lei Mosaica ao curar uma mulher no sábado e repreendeu o líder religioso que se opôs à Sua decisão de curar uma “filha de Abraão” no sábado. Ensinou Maria como a um discípulo; e revelou algo tremendamente importante sobre Si mesmo e Sua natureza a Marta, que em resposta fez uma declaração de fé similar à do apóstolo Pedro. Essas palavras e ações da parte de Jesus demonstram que, aos Seus olhos e aos do Seu Pai, as mulheres são indivíduos plenos e de modo algum inferiores.

Ao longo dos Evangelhos, vemos que Jesus derrubou a ideia de que a mulher deveria se limitar à casa e deixou claro que ela tinha um lugar tanto na vida pública quanto religiosa. Quando lemos sobre as interações de Jesus com as mulheres, vemos que as citou como exemplos positivos em Seus ensinamentos, que elas se tornaram proclamadoras de Sua mensagem, que tinham o correto entendimento de quem Ele era, e que foram testemunhas de Sua morte e ressurreição. Tudo isso oferece o entendimento fundamental de que, aos olhos de Deus e no Seu reino, e no tocante a questões espirituais, as mulheres são igualmente valorizadas e têm o mesmo status que os homens. Por meio de Jesus, a antiga ordem religiosa patriarcal começava a ceder espaço e a ser substituída pelo novo entendimento do reino no que diz respeito ao valor e igualdade de gêneros.—Peter Amsterdam
Aquele a quem ela seguia

Maria Madalena tem recebido muita publicidade desde sua época, e tal como acontece com os tabloides, muito do que foi dito não é verdade. Alegações de que ela era casada com Jesus ou fundou uma comunidade imersa na crença gnóstica são alegações históricas infundadas quando buscamos as primeiras fontes. Não têm base no Novo Testamento e não parecem ter nenhum fundamento nas tradições anteriores ao segundo século.

O que sabemos sobre Maria é que ela estava possuída por espíritos malignos—sete para ser mais exato—antes de conhecer Jesus. Muita especulação foi atribuída ao significado dessa possessão. Alguns argumentaram que ela era uma prostituta e, portanto, foi considerada cheia de espíritos imundos, embora isso nunca seja declarado. Independentemente da vida que levava, fica claro que tudo mudou quando conheceu aquele que a curou. Maria se tornou seguidora de Jesus e permaneceu com Ele até ao fim.

Os estudiosos nos lembram que isso diz muito sobre Maria, porém ainda mais sobre aquele a quem ela seguia ... Jesus veio a um mundo que discriminava grandemente as mulheres. Elas eram proibidas de passar de um certo ponto do Templo; eram excluídas das conversas em público e restritas ao papel de espectadoras. Jesus não apenas rejeitou essa prática, mas agiu radicalmente em oposição a ela. Ele chocou Seus discípulos conversando com pessoas que eram normalmente rejeitadas—uma mulher com hemorragia na rua, uma samaritana que pegava água no poço. Ele deixou de lado toda discriminação e injustiça e recebeu as mulheres corajosas que fizeram parte de todos os eventos descritos no Novo Testamento.

Jesus afirmou ser o Filho de Deus, uma afirmação inimaginável de se fazer sobre si mesmo. Mas não é a única declaração inconcebível que Ele fez. Se O estudarmos como estudaríamos alguém aleatoriamente na multidão, veremos alguém totalmente contracultura, que dá suporte àqueles que são rejeitados e ignorados, que dá às mulheres uma voz e espaço para serem ouvidas, e que chama todos à transparência, falando para um mundo quebrado com toda a sua dor e deficiência, doença e pecado. Se este é realmente o Filho de Deus, ele é um Deus que não só pode lidar com nossas histórias não editadas—mas exige que seja assim—porque Ele mesmo não evitou ficar no meio de tudo.

Maria Madalena é uma dessas histórias. Ela deixou para trás a vida que conhecia para seguir aquele que a conhecia. Até hoje, sua história de fé e discipulado continua sendo aquela que Deus considerou digna de ser contada.—Jill Carattini[4]
A visão contracultura das mulheres

Para Cristo, as mulheres têm um valor intrínseco igual ao dos homens. Jesus disse: “... no princípio, o Criador ‘os fez homem e mulher’.”[5] As mulheres são criadas à imagem de Deus, assim como os homens. E como os homens, elas têm autoconhecimento, liberdade pessoal, autodeterminação e assumem responsabilidade por suas ações ... Exemplos desse tratamento imparcial das mulheres por Jesus são encontrados nos quatro Evangelhos.

Primeiro, Jesus regularmente Se dirigia às mulheres diretamente em público. Era incomum um homem fazer isso.[6] Os discípulos ficaram maravilhados ao ver Jesus conversando com a mulher samaritana no poço.[7] Ele também estava à vontade conversando com a mulher pega em adultério.[8] … Semelhantemente, Jesus conversou com uma mulher que andava curvada a oito anos[9] e com um grupo de mulheres a caminho da cruz.[10]

Um segundo aspecto de como Jesus dava um valor intrínseco e total às mulheres é visto na forma como falava com as mulheres a quem Se dirigia. Ele falou de maneira atenciosa e carinhosa. Cada escritor sinóptico registra Jesus Se dirigindo à mulher com o fluxo de sangue ternamente como “filha” e referindo-Se à mulher curvada como “filha de Abraão”[11]. Bloesch infere que “Jesus chamou as mulheres judias de ‘filhas de Abraão’”[12], concedendo-lhes assim um status espiritual igual ao dos homens.”[13]

Jesus demonstrou grande respeito pelas mulheres, tanto em Sua vida quanto em Seus ensinamentos. Ele reconheceu a igualdade intrínseca de homens e mulheres, e mostrou continuamente o valor e a dignidade das mulheres como pessoas. Jesus valorizou sua companhia, suas orações, seu serviço, apoio financeiro, testemunho, e seus depoimentos. Ele honrou as mulheres, ensinou as mulheres e ministrou às mulheres de maneira atenciosa.—James A. Borland[14]

Publicado no Âncora em setembro de 2020.
https://anchor.tfionline.com/pt/post/evolucao-do-papel-das-mulheres-nos-evangelhos/

[1] Deuteronômio 31:12.
[2] Marcos 1:30–31; Lucas 13:11–12.
[3] Lucas 8:54–55; João 4:9.
[4] https://www.rzim.org/read/a-slice-of-infinity/the-one-she-followed.
[5] Mateus 19:4, NVI; cf. Gênesis 1:27.
[6] João 4:27.
[7] João 4:7–26.
[8] João 8:10–11.
[9] Lucas 13:11–12.
[10] Lucas 23:27–31.
[11] Lucas 13:16.
[12] Lucas 13:16.
[13] Donald Bloesch, Is the Bible Sexist? (Crossway Books, 1982), 28.
[14] https://www.crossway.org/articles/how-jesus-viewed-and-valued-women.

Read More

Anger is Your Ally!

 

Read More

Changing Role of Women in the Gospels

 

A compilation

Audio length: 12:04
Download Audio (11MB)

Throughout the Gospels we read of Jesus interacting with people from all walks of society—male and female, young and old, rich and poor, healthy and sick, religious and nonreligious. As God’s Son, the way Jesus interacted with others, and what He said to people or did with them, reflected His Father’s outlook.

When we read in the Gospels about Jesus’ interactions with women, we are seeing His, and therefore God’s, attitude toward them. We see how He speaks with them, heals them, has compassion on them, teaches them, and reveals aspects of His nature to them. Women were portrayed as good examples in the parables, were witnesses to His death, and were the first to find the empty tomb after His resurrection. The difference between Jesus’ attitude toward women and that of the culture of the day is outstanding when we look at the position that women held within society in first-century Palestine.

In Jewish society, Jewish women held inferior status to men. Jewish writings of that era present a consistent negative view of women as inferior in all matters and required to be submissive to men. Jewish men prayed a prayer in which they thanked God that they weren’t born as a Gentile, a slave, or a woman. Within the rabbinic writings, it was made clear that women were considered more sensual and less rational than men, and women were considered to be seducers; therefore, men avoided social contact and conversation with them outside of marriage.

Though Scripture taught that all Israelites were to hear the Law,1 women generally received minimal religious instruction. Their role in worship was restricted in that they couldn’t enter the inner section of the temple, and they couldn’t function as priests. Neither could they be rabbis. Their primary activities were domestic, and they were considered by men as having little to offer in public or religious life.

When we read about Jesus’ relation to and interaction with women in the Gospels, it’s clear that He had a very different perspective. Jesus saw women as complete persons with dignity, worth, and spirituality. This is seen in His healing of women,2 as well as His forgiveness and acceptance of women who were considered ritually unclean and socially undesirable.3

Jesus not only showed respect for and interacted with Jewish women, but also foreign women, as seen in His encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Jesus had a conversation with the woman, and in that discussion He revealed that He knew that she had been married multiple times and that the man she was living with wasn’t her husband. As the discussion progressed, Jesus told her that He was the Messiah. Through this description of Jesus’ actions we learn that a woman—and not only a woman but even a non-Jewish, ritually unclean, and sinful woman—is eligible to share God’s message with others.

Jesus showed love and compassion for women by healing them or their loved ones. He also wasn’t particularly worried about becoming ritually unclean by touching those who were unclean due to illness, menstruation, sin, or death. He broke the Mosaic Law by healing women on the Sabbath and rebuked a religious leader for objecting to His healing a “daughter of Abraham” on the Sabbath. He taught Mary as a disciple; and He revealed something dramatic about Himself and His nature to Martha. Jesus’ words and actions demonstrated that women are complete and equal persons in His and His Father’s eyes.

Throughout the Gospels, we see that Jesus overturned the view that a woman’s place was limited to the home and put forward that they had a place in both public and religious life as well. We read of His interaction with women, how He featured them as positive examples in His teaching, of women being proclaimers of His message, of their correct understanding of who He was, and of their witnessing His death and resurrection. All of this lays the foundational understanding that in the eyes of God and in His kingdom, and in spiritual matters, women are equally valued and have equal standing with men. Through Jesus, the old patriarchal religious order was beginning to move aside and be replaced by the new kingdom understanding of the value and equality of women.—Peter Amsterdam
The one she followed

Mary Magdalene has been given a lot of publicity since her time, and like the tabloids, not much of it is true. Allegations that she was married to Jesus or founded a community steeped in Gnostic belief are unfounded historical claims when looking at the earliest sources. They have no basis in the New Testament and do not seem to have any foundation in traditions before the second century.

What we do know about Mary is that she was possessed by evil spirits—seven to be exact—before she met Jesus. Much speculation has been assigned to what this possession meant. Some have argued that she was a prostitute and thus was deemed filled with unclean spirits, though this is never stated. Regardless of whatever life she had come from, it is clear that everything changed when she met the one who healed her. Mary joined the ranks as a follower of Jesus, and she never left him, even to the end.

Scholars remind us that this says a great deal about Mary, but even more so about the one she followed… Jesus stepped into a world that largely discriminated against women. Women were forbidden to go beyond a certain point in the Temple; they were excluded from conversations in public and restricted to roles as spectators. Jesus not only rejected this practice, he radically acted in opposition to it. He shocked his disciples by talking to those who typically were rejected—a hemorrhaging woman on the road, a Samaritan drawing water at the well. He brushed aside every discrimination and injustice, and received the courageous women who were a part of every event outlined in the New Testament.

Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, which is an unfathomable statement to make about oneself. But it is not the only inconceivable statement he made. To study him, as one might a loose cannon in the crowd, we find one who is entirely countercultural, who affirms those who are rejected and overlooked, who gives women a voice and safe place to be heard, and who calls everyone to transparency, speaking toward a broken world with all its pain and shortfall, sickness and sin. If this is indeed the Son of God, he is a God who not only can handle our unedited stories—but demands them—because he himself did not hold back from standing in the midst of it all.

Mary Magdalene’s is one such story. She left behind the life she knew to follow the one who knew her. To this day, her story of faith and discipleship remains the one God has deemed worth retelling.—Jill Carattini4
Jesus’s countercultural view of women

For Christ, women have an intrinsic value equal to that of men. Jesus said, “... at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female.’”5 Women are created in the image of God just as men are. Like men, they have self-awareness, personal freedom, a measure of self-determination, and personal responsibility for their actions… Examples of this even-handed treatment of women by Jesus are found in the four Gospels.

First, Jesus regularly addressed women directly while in public. This was unusual for a man to do.6 The disciples were amazed to see Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar.7 He also spoke freely with the woman taken in adultery.8 … Similarly, Jesus addressed a woman bent over for eighteen years9 and a group of women on the route to the cross.10

A second aspect of Jesus’s regard for the full intrinsic value of women is seen in how he spoke to the women he addressed. He spoke in a thoughtful, caring manner. Each synoptic writer records Jesus addressing the woman with the bleeding disorder tenderly as “daughter” and referring to the bent woman as a “daughter of Abraham.”11 Bloesch infers that “Jesus called the Jewish women ‘daughters of Abraham,’12 thereby according them a spiritual status equal to that of men.”13

Jesus demonstrated only the highest regard for women, in both his life and teaching. He recognized the intrinsic equality of men and women, and continually showed the worth and dignity of women as persons. Jesus valued their fellowship, prayers, service, financial support, testimony and witness. He honored women, taught women, and ministered to women in thoughtful ways.—James A. Borland14

Published on Anchor September 2020. Read by Simon Peterson.

https://anchor.tfionline.com/post/changing-role-women-gospels/

1 Deuteronomy 31:12.
2 Mark 1:30–31; Luke 13:11–12.
3 Luke 8:54–55; John 4:9.
4 https://www.rzim.org/read/a-slice-of-infinity/the-one-she-followed.
5 Matthew 19:4; cf. Genesis 1:27.
6 John 4:27.
7 John 4:7–26.
8 John 8:10–11.
9 Luke 13:11–12.
10 Luke 23:27–31.
11 Luke 13:16.
12 Luke 13:16.
13 Donald Bloesch, Is the Bible Sexist? (Crossway Books, 1982), 28.
14 https://www.crossway.org/articles/how-jesus-viewed-and-valued-women.

Read More

The Illuminati and the Protocols of Zion or How Deep is that Rabbit Hole? - Chapters 49

 

The Illuminati and the Protocols of Zion - How Deep is That Rabbit Hole?

Dennis Edwards

Time and time again I have sat down to write this chapter and have had difficulty getting started. Why is that? It may very well be because of the importance of the information I will share with you herein. I am talking about a sinister group of men and woman dedicated to the cause of Lucifer and to bringing his rule to earth.

Adam Weishaupt is credited with founding the operational phase of the organization back on May 1st 1776 which he named the Order of the Illuminati of Bavaria. You can read about it on-line[1] or watch former Los Angeles FBI director talk about it on YouTube,[2] However, I believe the Illuminati are descendants of former disciples of Satan since the time of Cain before the flood and later from the time of Nimrod at the Tower of Babel. Some even give credit to Solomon the King of Israel for putting into writing some of the oldest satanic secrets and rituals.[3]

Weishaupt’s goal was to set up a secret society espousing world domination in the service of Lucifer. The society would suppress ‘inferior’ human stock and have violently anti-Christian sentiments. Weishaupt realized that the quickest way to spread the Illuminist message was to infiltrate the rich and the powerful. With the help of Templar Baron Adolph Von Knigge, Weishaupt’s organization was accepted into the Masonic orders where the rich and powerful met. George Washington, a Masonic member, is quoted as to having his doubts about some of the more radical elements in the Masonic Lodges in America, which may be reference to the Illuminist dominated lodges.[4]

Weishaupt envisioned a world in which populations would be controlled by a powerful élite unconstrained by conventional values. Their plans were to conquer nations economically and psychologically. They would control the banking system and control the press. They would have international rather than national goals. They would break down the national populations of the world and bring them under their control and finally bring in a New World Order, a One World Government.

The leadership of the Illuminati movement was later to pass to the hands of Albert Pike. Albert Pike, a Southern Civil War General, was dismissed from his position as military leader during the war because he used American Indians with his soldiers and allowed them to scalp the fallen Northern soldiers. He was accused of war crimes and escaped to Canada where he lived for the remainder of the war. 

After the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Pike returned to the States and was pardoned of his crimes by the newly promoted Vice-President Andrew Johnson. The now President Johnson had just happened to have been a member of the Masonic Lodge which Pike administered before the war. Pike later became head of all the Masonic Lodges and furthered the plans of the Illuminati for world take over using the Masonic Lodges as bases. His book Morals and Dogmas was widely read by Masonic Lodge members until 1974. [5] It was through Pike’s leadership that the radicle Luciferian element took over the Masonic Lodges worldwide. 

Albert Pike is the only Southern Civil War general who has a statute in Washington, DC. 

The Protocols of Zion were published in beginning of the 20th century exposing the plans of the Illuminati for world domination. Please take time to look at them.[6]

The press, however, has denounced them as fakes. But if the press is in their hands, which is what the Protocols reveals, one would expect such a denouncement.

Concerning the Protocols, remember what the illustrious Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, said when asked his opinion. 

The only thing I want to say about the Protocols is that they were published ten years ago and what is revealed in their pages is exactly what has happened and is happening up until now.[7]

The Illuminatis believe that Jesus was a counterfeit and that Lucifer is the true Light. Slowly but surely they have worked their plans for world domination and the final revealing of the Son of Lucifer, whom the Bible calls the Son of Perdition,[8] or more commonly known as the Antichrist.[9]

The sinister web the Illuminati has woven consists of worldwide banking families and their interests, corporate leaders, think tanks, Royal Families, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, Masonic Lodges and other civil associations and fellowships like the Rosicrucian’s, the Rotary Club, etc. Read Des Griffin’s book Fourth Reich of the Rich[10] for more information on this topic. Or watch the movie The Brotherhood of the Bell starring Glenn Ford to get a feel for how this group works.[11]

Through money, sex and power they compromise leaders to fall in line to their international and cultural agenda. True Christianity is their biggest enemy and whom they fear the most. They use whatever methods available to destroy their enemies even sacrificing some of their own to meet their goals.

In Micah we read,

The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asks, and the judge asks for a reward; and the great man, he utters his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.[12]

In other words evil men weave a web of wickedness together. In the International Standard Version they translate the last phrase as:

the famous confess their perverted desires, and they scheme together.[13]

These perverted evil men are behind world wars, assassination of world leaders, economic ups and downs, and civil unrest. They control the United Nations, National Governments and political parties, the Courts or at least the key players involved. They have no scruples and use whatever methods necessary to silence their enemies. They control the media, the FBI, the CIA and NSA. National leaders do their bidding following carefully the plans assigned to avoid embarrassment, political defeat, scandal or death.

Denis Healey, former leader of the British Labour Party and former Secretary of Defense, said,

 

World events do not occur by accident. They are made to happen, whether it is to do with national issues or commerce. Most of them are staged and managed by those who hold the purse strings.

We have looked at similar comments of other men in chapter 25 and chapter 26. More quotes can be found in my article about the Corona Virus. These perverted evil men are behind world wars, assassination of world leaders, economic ups and downs, and civil unrest. They control the United Nations, National Governments and political parties, the Courts or at least the key players involved. They have no scruples and use whatever methods necessary to silence their enemies. They control the media, the FBI, the CIA and NSA. National leaders do their bidding following carefully the plans assigned to avoid embarrassment, political defeat, scandal or death.

Does the Bible have anything to say about the above possibility? Many Bible scholars believe that the thirteenth chapter of Revelation with its Mark of the Beast technology is talking about such a Luciferian world government. We read,

And all the world wondered after the beast (the Antichrist). And they worshipped the dragon (the Devil) which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (the Antichrist),…And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or his umber of his name…And his number is 666.[14]

The Bible tells us that the Antichrist shall come into power

peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.[15] 

He is also considered the author or propagator of the “Holy Covenant”[16] which many Bible students believe will allow for the rebuilding of the Jewish sacrificial Temple on the Temple Mount. The Bible goes on to say,

And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper…Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of woman, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.[17]

Of course, he will have opposition and need to quench them in order to enact his world government. He may very well be responsible for fomenting a peace settlement in the Middle East, the Holy Covenant mentioned above, only later to break it himself because of those opposed to his attempt at world dominion. The breaking of the Holy Covenant with the placing of the abomination that makes desolate[18] is the sign Jesus mentions as the beginning of the terrible period in Bible Prophecy called the Great Tribulation.

When asked by his disciples:

What shall be the sign of thy coming, and the end of the world?[19]

Jesus answered with not just one sign, but numerous. He said,

Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 

And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows…And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold…And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.[20]

The culmination of these events comes in the next few verses where Jesus says,

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand:)…For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be. And except those days be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.[21]

I am sad to say that the horrible days Jesus was warning about are coming closer every day. From what we see in Bible prophecy mankind is moving to the brink of destruction, no doubt because of the use of nuclear weapons or some other weapon of mass destruction.

The good news is Jesus has shortened the days of tribulation to three and a half years so that some of mankind will be left on the earth. He has promised to return to save his own in a super natural event known as the rapture. He has also promised to bring peace on earth for a thousand years. Jesus’ promised return is the only hope for mankind.

But before those promises come to pass, mankind is going to go through its worst period in all of history making the Inquisition, the Holocaust and Stalin’s and Mao’s persecutions look like boy’s play. Jesus said,

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.[22]

Are you ready for the days prophesied by Christ, His disciples and various Old Testament prophets? It’s not too late to open your heart today to the King of Kings and begin your training in discipleship. Stop hesitating and decide. It won’t be long!

To go to the previous chapter click HERE

To go to the next chapter click HERE

To go to the index of the chapters for the book go HERE

Notes:

[1] http://vigilantcitizen.com/hidden-knowledge/the-order-of-the-illuminati/ (accessed 03/2016)
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BplUD6kQYuU (accessed 03/16)
[3] https://socioecohistory.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/the-history-of-the-illuminati-the-13-satanic-bloodlines/ (accessed 03/2016)
[4] https://www.thefederalistpapers.org/founders/washington/was-george-washington-really-a-devout-mason (accessed 03/2016)
[5] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_vril07a.htm
[6] http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/przion1.htm (accessed 03/2016)
[7] Des Griffin, Fourth Reich of the Rich, Emissary Publications, Oregon, 1976.
[8] 2Thessalonians 2:3
[9] 1John 2:18
[10] Des Griffin, Fourth Reich of the Rich, Emissary Publications, Oregon, 1976.
[11] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7twq001QeWI&ab_channel=JamesRockford (accessed 10/20)
[12] Micah 7:2-3
[13] Micah 7:3 International Standard version
[14] Revelation 13:3-18
[15] Daniel 11:21
[16] Daniel 11:22
[17] Daniel 11:36-37
[18] Daniel 11:31
[19] Matthew 24:3
[20] Matthew 24:4-14
[21] Matthew 24:15-22
[22] Matthew 24:9

Read More

Because He Lives

 

Read More

If We Could See Beyond Today

 

Read More

Moses’ Exhortation to Israel, America and the World! - Chapter 48

Moses’ Exhortation to Israel, America and the World!

Deuteronomy Chapter 8  By Moses 

All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore unto your fathers. And thou shall remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou would keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knew not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.[1]

Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. Thou shall also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chastens his son, so the LORD thy God chastens thee. Therefore thou shall keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. For the LORD thy God brings thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; A land wherein thou shall eat bread without scarceness, thou shall not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou may dig brass.[2]

When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shall bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.[3]

But thou shall remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that gives thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyed before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.[4] 

To go to the previous chapter click HERE

To go to the next chapter click on HERE

To go to the index of the chapters for the book click HERE

Notes:

[1] Deuteronomy 8:1-3
[2] Deuteronomy 8:4-9
[3] Deuteronomy 8:10-17
[4] Deuteronomy 8:18-20

Read More