I probably should be writing on something more important today like how fascist communists and hedonism are taking over America but all the astute people that read my blogs are already aware of that.  So instead I want to bring up some recent contemplations about church practices in America. What I say here is meant to be taken as food for thought; it is not meant to insult anyone and you certainly do not have to agree on my thoughts on church practices in America.

Contemplation one - I am told by Good Authority (a medical professional) that one of the number one ways of spreading disease is by shaking hands. This is especially true in cold and flu season. Yet, most church practices in America include a ritual where everyone is supposed to go around shaking hands. I know that James, Peter and John gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas but the climate is healthier in Israel. I do understand that this is a hospitality gesture but I really would like to stay out of the hospital. Last week about half of my church was out because of illness. Is there any connection to the hand shaking connection?  Maybe the churches should pass out white gloves at the church door or put alcohol dispensers on the backs of the pews (to wipe your hands – not to drink!) or perhaps we could start a new church practice and just bow to each other like the Japanese?

Contemplation two - Some American churches are hugger churches. I have been in those, and I have nothing against hugging practices if you actually know the huggie.  However, I am told by Good Authority that you can got more diseases in these hugger churches than you can in the shaker churches. Besides the airborne and hand shaking diseases, Good Authority tells me you risk getting head lice and could even getting scabies from hugging. Good authority also tells me it is more of a problem in some parts of America than others and it might depend on the hygiene habits of the people of the area. While I am on this subject, maybe I should tell you that Good Authority also tells me you can get these little critters from upholstered  pews and chairs. I guess you will have to take the risk if your going to be in a hugger church since American churches cannot put a decontamination room at the door. Now don’t those hard wooden pews and metal chairs suddenly sound more comfortable?

Contemplation three - Why is it that the first three rows in church are almost always empty as if the pastor spits? Perhaps people are looking for safety in numbers or they feel unworthy to sit up near the man of God. Or maybe they just don’t want the rest of the church to think that they think that they are holy enough to be sitting in the front of the church. Anyway, it seems to be a place where few have dared to go, and I do not think I am going to become one of the first pioneers. (I actually do know a guy who always sits in the front row, however, he also likes to believe that he is a Star Trek Captain)

Contemplation four - Why do some people let their small kids crawl under church pews? It’s not very sanitary and is annoying to others. What is the attraction for kids anyway? In my day, growing up as a Catholic, if I even got off my knees at the wrong time, the nuns would have picked me up by my ears (which is why they stand out a bit). I am not saying we should go overboard on discipline, but maybe the American church should not be a McDonald’s playhouse either.

Contemplation five - Why do some people have their names on the pew? They are not usually visible but most eventually come to see the  invisible names on their pew. Americans often sit where they always sat and God forbid if someone else takes their spot (go ahead, make my day!). I think the thinking about assigned seating may have been burned into the brain of some kids during early church Sunday school. There probably is some direct correlation to how early one attended a Sunday school that assigned seats.

Contemplation six - Why are most Bible studies in America broken up into small age groups?  Supposedly wisdom comes with age so wouldn’t it be a better church practice to mix the old with the young?  Remember that kid that fell out of the window when Paul was teaching? If he was in our churches in America today, he would be in a youth group coloring the animals on Noah’s ark.

Contemplation seven - What has happened to attendance on Sunday night and Wednesdays? Many churches in America do not even have a gathering anymore because so few will attend. Is it really about spending time with the family or spending time in front of  the TV? Most do not have children in the house anyway, you know. Why is it that in third world countries where they have lots of family around, the Christians meet almost every night? I guess they do not have 200 TV channels to watch.

Contemplation eight - What, pray tell, is so hard about using Power Point that the next picture of the words always come up a bit too late for the congregation to sing them? I have seen this practice in more American churches than not. I will give the Power Point operators a little lesson since nobody seems to be giving any free lessons in America these days. You hit the computer key for the next picture while people are still singing the last line of your last picture. You church leaders in America might even have the power point operator go to choir or worship team practice, so he/she becomes familiar with the songs and the timing, and maybe discover while there is still time to correct the situation, that one of the songs is missing entirely!

Contemplation nine - Why do many American churches take collections in Sunday school as well as the worship service? I thought people attending the Sunday schools also were attending the worship service? Nevertheless, the usual American church practice is some envelope goes around in class and some put in a buck or two. I always just pass it on. I support my church with a monthly check and I expect the church to provide what is needed for the education of the attenders. Why also the big deal about attendance rosters and numbers on a wall. Are you going to give out gold stars? Who started these church practices in America?

Contemplation ten - I notice in many groups that they have the people say their prayer requests and then either someone is assigned to pray about the request publicly, or the leader repeats each request to God as if God were deaf the first time that the request was brought up. Often we are praying about a third party someone that we know nothing about. Is there a model for this type of prayer in the Bible? I know the Bible talks about two or more agreeing, but in context of the passage it seems to be talking about agreeing on some discipline or forgiveness given by believers for believers. I say that because the verses prior to this passage are talking about discipline of brethren, and the verses after are talking about forgiveness of brethren.  How do I really know how to pray about a situation and a person that I do not even know? Would it not be better that the person that knew about the situation and that was asking for agreement said the prayer? Did that person not really do that when they brought the prayer request up to the Church with the knowledge that God is in the midst?

Well, those are my ten contemplations about church practices in America. If it does not give you food for thought at the very least,  I just proved I could count to ten.

I really love these people who tell me that they really believe the world is coming to an end in 2012, or they are certain that the Rapture has to happen within a year or two, or that they have the date of the second coming all figured out, or that Jesus has to come before 2019 because of their interpretation of the “Fig Tree Parable”, or based on some pagan prophecy, or the sayings of  Jack Van Impe, etc., etc., but they continue to retain all their wealth like they are going to live here forever or take it with them.

If you really believe what you say you believe on the Internet and in your emails, what need will you have for all your money? Give it to someone who will use it for Christian ministry in the couple of years that you are certain that we only have left.

I certainly could use a million bucks to hire a staff and to set up a modern office and expand this ministry. I would use your money to help get the message out that Jesus is coming soon and warn Christians about all the latest heresies, and warn about the wolves in sheep’s clothing running around seeking wheat to sell baloney to, so the wolves can devour them (with mustard) before Jesus even gets here for supper.

Not to mention, that the average attender in most congregations today is brain dead when it comes to biblical knowledge and understanding, and they really needs to read my shock courses on basic Christian doctrine so they don’t get Jesus mixed up with the Mahdi or some stain on a coffee table.

Others just need to hear what I want to ramble on about (like here) but I can’t be doing much rambling on if I am busy with other tasks that go along with keeping up a website and Blog and also keeping an abode in the deepest darkest jungles of the Ozark wilderness. (We still have to appease and fight off leprechauns and trolls here, not to mention, the government wilderness control freaks).

So if you are so certain that Jesus must return before 2012 or thereabouts just send me one of those spare millions that you know you won’t ever be needing and help expand this ministry. You will not get a tax deduction because I am not on the list of IRS approved charities and probably never will be with my constitution. But what do you need a tax deduction for anyway?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not asking for small donations from anyone reading this or from those who have any doubts about the Lord coming before 2019. I can’t expand a ministry on a thousand bucks here and there, and certainly can’t on your spare change. Send your seed faith change to the TV hucksters. I need really big bucks, like a million or so from the faithful that have no doubt in their mind that Jesus must return before 2019 and so are certain they will not ever need the million bucks. I give no refunds, if you change your mind or Jesus does not return before your date, your just out a million bucks and probably used it for a better cause than you would have. You probably would have just bought more gadgets like one that will allow you to text with your toes while driving  (now don’t ask me where to buy it).

If you do not want to send the million to me then give it to the ministry of your choice or the poor. So, as the saying goes, put up or shut up!

People spouting this stuff about Jesus coming in 2012 etc., really need to put their money where there mouth is and not be hypocrites or else they should tone down their date speculations. That includes the authors that are banking money from selling 2012 new aged baloney.
You can send those million dollar donations to Don Koenig, PO Box 234, Summersville Mo, 65571.

In return I will send you a semiannual picture of my well fed (thanks to you) six dogs and six cats. Sorry, they cannot write you letters. As a bonus you will receive a envelope of fairy dust from the local leprechauns. I think if you sprinkle the dirt… er…I mean dust.. on your upside down St Joseph statue your multi-million dollar mansion will be the first one to sell on your block (not valid in California, Nevada, Arizona, or Florida).

I am certain that this post will upset some people but with all the hype and speculation about Jesus coming between 2012-2019 the truth has to be said by someone. I will say dogmatically that Jesus is not coming to rule the earth between 2012-2019 as some Bible prophecy teachers are now saying.

First let me make it clear that I am not talking about the Rapture. The Rapture of the Church is not the second coming of Jesus Christ to rule the earth. The Rapture is always imminent and it can occur anytime even quite some time before the seven year tribulation. For example, Enoch as a type of  Rapture was taken alive to heaven more than  half  a lifespan (of that era) before the flood judgment.

Some are actually saying that we have already entered the seven year tribulation. Other Bible prophecy teachers are saying that Russia is about to fulfill the prophecy of Ezekiel 38 and 39 any minute now.  Is any of this remotely possible? The answer is no. How can I be dogmatic about this. I will tell you why.

The reason why  Jesus is not coming to earth in 2012-2019 to rule the earth is that if Jesus did come in this period there is no human way that Bible prophecy could be fulfilled literally as stated in the scriptures.

Contrary to what many are saying, Russia along with the tribes mentioned in Ezekiel 38 cannot realistically fulfill this prophecy within the next decade. Russia’s army today is not a mighty army it is really in pretty sad shape. Except for a few elite units the Russian army is very poorly equipped. Sure Russia has nuclear capabilities but it could not assemble “a great company a might army” “all splendidly attired” like is describe in Ezekiel to move against Israel. Even when moving against tiny Georgia the elite units of the Russian army were stealing the boots of the Georgian’s soldiers because they had none of their own. The alliances as described in Ezekiel are not even complete today. Turkey is still in NATO as I speak. It is not an ally of Russia but Turkey comes with Russia in the Ezekiel war.

For those few who think it is Turkey that is Gog and not Russia that nonsense does not fly either.  Turkey today cannot even put down the Kurd’s yet be the leader from the uttermost parts of the north that  invades Israel. Would the God of Israel then become known to the whole world as said in Ezekiel by destroying an invading army from Turkey?  Israel could destroy this army by themselves they would not need God’s intervention to save them.

Israel today is not living in security like Ezekiel said they will be prior to the Gog invasion. Therefore, things have to radically change in the Middle East before the Ezekiel prophecy can even be fulfilled.  You might wonder why the tribal nations surrounding Israel are also not mentioned in Ezekiel? Perhaps it is because they are occupied lands after the war of Psalm 83? So lets be realistic, the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 could occur in a decade or so but it is not imminent. The Ezekiel 38 and 39 prophecy cannot realistically take place as soon as some Bible prophecy teachers imply.

The only war mention in the Bible where everything is fully in place that can be fulfilled today is the one described in Psalm 83. In that war the nations surrounding Israel form a confederacy and try to cut off Israel from being a nation.  We see that very alignment in the Middle East today. But there is no reason to think the war of Psalm 83 has to be in the tribulation. More likely the Psalm 83 war sets up the peace conditions that is necessary before the Ezekiel war can even be fulfilled.

Has anyone even considered that God has people to call out of  the Muslim nations that are in bondage to Islam before the end times? Why should over a billion Muslims be totally excluded from hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ? I am suggesting that there will be a window of opportunity for these people to hear the gospel before the Antichrist is revealed. Just as there was a window of opportunity to hear the gospel by those in bondage under the old atheistic Soviet Union. So rather than expecting a Islamic Antichrist to get all Muslims to fight against the coming of Jesus Christ you probably would be on higher ground if you expected Islam to fall before the time that the Antichrist is even revealed.

As those that study Bible prophecy know, there will be an army of two hundred million from the Far East that will cause the deaths of  a third of men on the earth. Does any rational thinking person believe that it is possible for anyone to field this army within a few years? China and India are rapidly developing nations but it will probably be about two decades before they could move such an army to the Middle East. Some see that China has two hundred million military aged men and think that makes it possible for them to fulfill this prophecy today. But you cannot move an army that size to the Middle East without supply lines and support . China today only has an army of a few million. If it even tried fielding twenty percent of that two hundred million army today everyone in China would soon be in starvation and the nation would collapse.

Besides, the Bible gives us a clue. It says that this army was prepared for a hour, a day, a month, and a year. In other words this army was prepared for a specific time on earth. I do not think it is mere speculation to say that much of this prepared army is made up of surplus men caused by China’s one child policy and the birth control and infanticide practices of China and other far east nations. These surplus men began to be born about 1980 when China started this one child policy and if you do the math the surplus men of military age (with no hope of a normal family life) will peak in numbers about 2030-2040. That is the most likely time when this army prepared for a hour, a day, a month, and a year will march to the Middle East. By that date China and India will be world superpowers and they will have the military capabilities and populations to support and move such huge numbers of men to the Middle East. That prophecy is simply not going to be fulfilled within the next decade.

We might also use a little rational thinking about the Mark of the Beast Economic System. We know the Bible tells us that no one can buy or sell without it. To have such a world economic system you would also need a world communications system that will reach everywhere on earth and you would also have to have the electronic scanning systems in all market place. We see the world is moving toward such a system today but what is described is not possible within one decade even if the world were to make an all out effort beginning today. Much of the world still does not even have the necessary electrical communications for such a system. The communication system therefore most likely would have to be a worldwide satellite system or a very long range over-the-air system or an ultra low frequency through-the-earth system. That kind of  buy or sell system is simply not going to be developed and in place worldwide within the 2012- 2019 time frame.

If  Jesus is coming in 2012-2019 where are the ten leaders that give their power to the Beast before the little horn even rises among them? Things in Europe or the world can change rapidly under conditions of war but I sincerely doubt that even the woman riding the Beast, described in Revelation, can be in her position on the Beast in a few years.

If you really take all  the prophecies about Babylon in a literal sense the city of Babylon has to be rebuilt. There are plans underway to make Babylon a international center but Babylon is not going to be anything earth shattering within the next decade.

I know some insist that the Church will  be in the tribulation and that the tribulation will start before or during this 2012-2019 period but I am glad I never got a invitation to their tribulation  party. I think these people are going to have to wait at least another decade to taste what they seek to find in the tribulation (if God allows) because Jesus is not coming to rule the earth within their 2012-2019 deadline.

Having said that, I am not saying that things will not get real nasty in the world even before the tribulation especally for those living fat and happy in the United States.

I know that is off topic for this blog but it affects my blog and all who blog about news indirectly.

Rupert Murdoch has made it clear that his media empire is about to start charging people to read Internet news that would include Fox News as well as many others. He also expects other Internet news sites to follow suit. I do not know what world Rupert Murdoch is now living on he certainly is not living on Internet earth. Murdoch has been wrong about a lot of things lately and is losing a lot of money because of such irrational thinking.

Let me make something clear to Mr. Murdoch and those who think like him. Those of us who casually scan the news for information for our blogs are not going to sign up with news sites to pay for the news. Where would we get the money if the big news sites cannot even make money with all the advertisements that they have on their huge news sites? I also do no not see the common casual Internet user paying for news services when all they have to do is turn on the radio or TV or get the news from someone that is not charging. That pretty much just leaves well known news commentators that have big budgets to sign up to get these news services. There are not enough of them to even start to pay the budget that is required by these news services.

The rest of us will find our news from commentary sites or alternative news media and the news sites that do not go along with Murdoch’s plan to start charging.  It only stands to reason that it would be smart for some news services not to charge because one thing is certain. The more news sites that start charging, the more visits the other news sites that do not charge will get. That will increase their advertising revenue. So this whole exercise of charging for news seems to be doomed to failure to me.

If Internet news sites cannot make a go of it by online advertisement I think they need to go broke and get off the Internet. There are obviously too many news sites on the Internet. There needs to be a shake out so those that remain can make money. If there is not enough advertising revenue to go around for all the news sites on the Internet it is only because there are far too many news sites. Charging is not going to solve that problem, Those that charge will start to lose their following while others that do not charge will become increasingly more popular. Therefore, all who wish to be popular news sites on the Internet will be forced to revert back to free news.

That is my prediction Mr. Murdoch. So bring your charging scheme on. I assure you that I will promptly remove Fox News as my home page and that I am not going to sign up with any other site that charges for news either. I also know that I will be in the vast majority. Does Murdoch really not know these things? Perhaps this announcement is really a long term scheme to cause that shakeout in Internet news sites so that Murdoch with his deep pockets can come back with a free service with then far less competitors surviving. Sly devil!

FT.com / Media – Murdoch vows to charge for all online content

I bring this runner-up Miss USA issue to your attention since it is the number one story on Fox news right now and it shows a strange mindset among Christians in the United States. I have to wonder about the Christian reasoning of Carrie Prejean. She thinks God was testing her faith by her being asked a question about gay marriage? First of all Miss Prejean, did you really pass the test of faith when you entered these vanity contests and paraded around in skimpy bathing suits for all the nation? Does the Bible imply that women should display themselves this way? What do they teach you in that California church anyway?

I suppose your deep faith in God allows body enhancements and I guess you think God also wanted you to starve yourself so you could win this vanity contest? Still, you tell us that God tested your faith in Him by allowing this perverted person that you willingly paraded yourself in front of to ask a question about your position on gay marriage. Are we a little confused Miss Prejean, or what?

For the sake of argument, lets just say you told this jerk what he wanted to hear. How then would you be able to face all the people that you already told that you are against gay marriage? Had you lied you certainly would have been exposed as a liar and even if you won the contest you would have lost. So lets get real here for a change. You had to answer the question as you did and it was not a test of your faith by God. You  put on this Achilles heal yourself when you put yourself in this position to start with.

You said you actually prayed that you would not be asked that gay marriage question? But you got that question anyway. The jerk asked the question because he obviously knew you claimed to be a Christian. Have you ever considered that this was allowed to happen not because it was a test of your faith but because God does not approve of you being in vanity contests?

Also your appeasing disclaimer was really wonderful, “I have nothing against gay people and I did not mean to offend anyone in my answer” Well why not miss Prejean? Homosexuals spread disease and are in rebellion against God and His natural order. If you do not think that will bring negative consequence for this nation you are not reading your Bible. If that offends people that are living out of the will of God, so be it. Your statement of appeasement was right up there on the same level as “some of my friends are black”.

If you disagree you might read this article by Dave Welsh, Should Carrie Prejean be held as the example of a Christian hero?

With Christian examples paraded before us like this no wonder our young people are confused.

FOXNews.com – Exclusive: Carrie Prejean Says ‘God Was Testing My Faith’ With Gay Marriage Question – Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment

In an exclusive interview with FOXNews.com’s Courtney Friel, Miss California says her phone has been ringing off the hook with people offering her support after she took on a question about gay marriage on Sunday night’s Miss USA telecast.

“I have no regrets about answering [judge Perez Hilton] honestly,” she said in one of her first interviews following the show, where she answered that she was against gay marriage becoming legal in California. “He asked me for my opinion and I gave it to him. I have nothing against gay people and I didn’t mean to offend anyone in my answer.”

FOXNews.com: How are you feeling today?

Carrie Prejean: Honestly, happy. This happened for a reason. By having to answer that question in front of a national audience, God was testing my character and faith. I’m glad I stayed true to myself.

Carrie Prejean: I had a gut feeling. I knew he was controversial, and so was the question. Out of all the topics I studied up on, I dreaded that one, I prayed I would not be asked about gay marriage. If I had any other question, I know I would have won.

Full article

I cannot make this stuff up. Can you believe this survey of Christians? It points out to me that most American “Christians” are not Christians at all.

You cannot even be a Christian without the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit so these people who call themselves Christians but deny the living entity of the Holy Spirit cannot be Christians. Likewise, you cannot believe the Bible and believe that Satan is not real. Furthermore, you cannot be a Christian if you believe that Jesus sinned. Therefore the only conclusion can be:

At least sixty percent of “Christians” in America have no Holy Spirit and therefore could not be Christians
At least sixty percent of “Christians” do not believe what the Bible teaches about Satan and therefore are total idiots or more likely not Christians
Thirty-nine percent of “Christians” believe Jesus sinned or probably sinned that rules them out of the Christian faith

Now lets talk about the illogical stupidity of those “Christians” who responded to this survey.

They say the Holy Spirit and Satan are just symbols not living entities but the same people say they believe people can be under the influence of spiritual forces like demons or evil spirits?

Half of those who agreed that the Holy Spirit is just a symbol believed that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches?? That can only  mean one thing. A large percentage that claim they believe the Bible have never read or comprehended it. They are only repeating what some preacher told them.

So is it any wonder that there are so many “Christian” heretics leading “Christians” in America when two-thirds of “Christians” in this survey make it clear that they are not Christian?

This survey just brings up a few reasons why many of those who call themselves “Christians” today are not Christian. There are many other reasons that would eliminate many more. I doubt if much more than ten percent of those calling themselves “Christians” in America are really Christians. After the Rapture of the Church the removal of true Christians will hardly put a dent in the population of “Christians” in America.

That is why I disagree with those who think the Rapture is the reason why America is not in Bible prophecy. America is  in collapse right now because “Christians” in America are not Christians.

Most U.S. Christians don’t believe Satan, Holy Spirit exist

The majority of American Christians do not believe that Satan is a real being or that the Holy Spirit is a living entity, the latest Barna survey found.

Nearly six out of ten Christians either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the statement that Satan “is not a living being but is a symbol of evil,” the survey found.

Forty percent strongly agreed with the statement while 19 percent of American Christians somewhat agreed.

In contrast, about 35 percent of American Christians believe Satan is real.

interestingly, the majority of Christians believe a person can be under the influence of spiritual forces, such as demons or evil spirits, even though many of these same people believe Satan is merely a symbol of evil.

Likewise, most Christians in the United States do not believe that the Holy Spirit is a living force. Fifty-eight percent strongly or somewhat agreed with the statement that the Holy Spirit is “a symbol of God’s power or presence but is not a living entity.”

Interestingly, about half (49 percent) of those who agreed that the Holy Spirit is only a symbol but not a living entity, agreed that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches. The Bible states that the Holy Spirit is God’s power or presence, not just symbolic.

More than one-fifth (22 percent) strongly agreed that Jesus Christ sinned when He lived on earth, with an additional 17 percent agreeing somewhat.

Full Article

Dr. David Reagan has been receiving attacks on the Internet for his article in Lamplighter that debunked the concept of a Muslim Antichrist. One of the misconceptions of Muslim Antichrist proponents is that Islam is looking for a Mahdi that all Muslims will unite behind. They believe this Mahdi will be the Antichrist and will lead Muslims to fight against Israel and the “Christian” West. Never mind that there really is no Christian West there is only a pseudo Christian West. There are more true Christians in Communist China than there are in today’s humanistic Europe.

I frankly do not know why Christians believe Muslim eschatology as if the lies of Islam can give Christians prophetic truth?  Perhaps they do so for two reasons.

One reason is because one of the main proponents of this Muslim Antichrist theory recently converted from Islam and instead of properly learning Christian eschatology used his shoehorn to ram Shiite eschatology and Christian eschatology into the same shoe. Yet, only ten percent of Islam even believes the eschatology that this man claims all Muslims will follow.

The other reason is because they want to make biblical eschatology fit the main threat that they see in the world today because they think Jesus has to come within a decade. Sorry guys, but the Lord is coming on God’s time schedule not yours. They fall in the same trap so many others did in history, i.e. the Pope, Hitler. Today the observable threat is Islam so the Antichrist has to come from Islam.

Nevertheless, I keep telling everyone that the Antichrist will be lawless. That does not fit Islam at all because Islam is all about trying to keep the moral law. When the real Antichrist arrives people will believe that He is God and if there is any religion in the world other than the worship of him it will be more like new age and alien concepts.

These Muslim Antichrist proponents have a strawman Antichrist. When the real Antichrist figure comes people will want to follow him like he was their God. The world does not throw a party when the Antichrist arrives on the scene and kills the two witnesses because he is now imposing Islamic law on them. They are rejoicing because He just killed the two prophets of God and set them free from moral law. Are these Muslim Antichrist proponents serious telling me that the whole world will follow some Islamic Mahdi with Islamic moral laws all the way to Armageddon? Give me a break! The concept is beyond ridiculous.

Dr. Reagan in this article points out why the Muslim Antichrist proponents have it all wrong about the teaching of Islam. Ninety percent of Muslims are not looking for a Mahdi and if one came they would not receive him. To think that all Muslims would accept the Mahdi is on par with expecting true Christians to believe that Jesus will gather all Mormons to New Jerusalem in Missouri before the judgment.

Further Thoughts About a Muslim Antichrist

By Dr. David R. Reagan

The January-February 2009 issue of our magazine, the Lamplighter, was devoted to the issue of whether or not the Antichrist could be a Muslim. I argued that there is no possibility.

Several readers questioned one of the points I made in the article, and I would like to respond to the question they raised. In the article I pointed out that those who believe the Antichrist will be a Muslim argue that he will be received by the Muslim world as their long-awaited Mahdi, or Messiah. I took the position that this is misleading to believe “that all the Islamic world is living in breathless anticipation of the appearance of the Mahdi, when the reality is that 90% of all Muslims – the Sunnis – are not looking for a Mahdi. In fact the concept of a Mahdi is not even found in orthodox versions of the Hadith like Sahih al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.” I further observed that “the Sunni Muslims are looking instead for the appearance of the Antichrist, whom they call the Dajjal. If a person were suddenly to appear on the world scene claiming to be the Mahdi, he would be automatically rejected by the vast majority of Muslims.”

Those who questioned my position on this matter all pointed to two pieces of evidence which they said prove that Sunni Muslims do believe in the concept of a Mahdi. One was a fatwa issued by the Muslim World League, a Sunni organization, in 1976 which proclaimed that belief in a Mahdi is “obligatory.” The other was a long article on the Internet entitled “The Twelfth Imam.” In that article the author points out that there have been Sunni theologians throughout history who have believed in a Mahdi.

On the surface, both of these items seem to prove that the concept of a Mahdi is central to Sunni eschatology. But I would argue that both give support to my position.

Let me explain.

I personally do not put much stock in David Wilkerson’s prophecies. I remember Wilkerson making dire prophecies for the last thirty years that have not come true, at least not yet. Nevertheless, David Wilkerson’s prophecy here is likely to come true but not necessary because God gave him a prophecy. Any astute Christian person can see America is now being judged and with the immoral generation that have taken over our inner cites it certainly will eventually lead to riots, fires, looting and then martial law.

I think telling people to stock 30 days food is better than nothing but it gives them false security. Even Homeland Security says people should have 3 months food on hand. Having at least 6 months of the basics is what I would suggest.

But like David Wilkerson said in his article. Do with this message as you choose (actual message from Wilkerson’s blog).

Famed pastor predicts America is now being judged

Famed pastor predicts imminent catastrophe
Best-selling author, Teen Challenge founder, sees ‘earth-shattering calamity about to happen’

David Wilkerson’s vision is of fires raging through New York City.

“It will engulf the whole megaplex, including areas of New Jersey and Connecticut. Major cities all across America will experience riots and blazing fires – such as we saw in Watts, Los Angeles, years ago,” he explains. “There will be riots and fires in cities worldwide. There will be looting – including Times Square, New York City. What we are experiencing now is not a recession, not even a depression. We are under God’s wrath. In Psalm 11 it is written, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

“God is judging the raging sins of America and the nations,” claims Wilkerson. “He is destroying the secular foundations.” Wilkerson urges everyone to stockpile a 30-day supply of food and other necessities to deal with the catastrophe he foresees.

“I do not know when these things will come to pass, but I know it is not far off,” Wilkerson concluded in his message. “I have unburdened my soul to you. Do with the message as you choose.”

Full article

Here is Todd Strandburg’s of Rapture Ready perspective on this recent David Wilkerson’s prophecy.

Fifty years ago futurists were saying that by the year 2000 man would be working 10 to 20 hours a week because of increased productivity and automation.  Here we are in 2009 and we are still working the same forty hour week that people did in the 1950’s.

I have a novel idea which I am sure government will have to propose sooner or later as unemployment plagues the land.  In this great or greatest depression the government should spread the jobs around through a national four day work week.  Obama’s plan to spread the wealth around by robbing the productive will just cause a revolution. It has failed everywhere it has been tried.

Official unemployment numbers will almost certainly reach 10 percent this year and it would be 20 percent if the government actually still counted all the unemployed and it would be much higher yet if they counted the underemployed. Obama and the legislators way of handling this is by throwing money at government funded make work projects, tax rebates, extending unemployment benefits and then passing the costs on to the next generation.

It seems to me that there a much better way to go about this. It is time to initiate a four day 32 hour work week and maybe a 30 hour week for those employers and employees that agree to three ten-hour days.

With democrats running the show, destroying our cheap energy sources, taxing those who create jobs, piling up big government debt there is not going to be any substantial recovery. With the surplus production capacity all over the world we are simply not going to see any significant rebound in jobs in the United States before a world war.  Here is an article that will explain why there will be no recovery soon.

We cannot have twenty percent of our population sitting idol losing their homes and standing in soup lines. There will be riots before long so wouldn’t it just make more sense to go to a four day work week?

The downside is twenty percent less pay but for many about half of that would be taken by the federal state and local governments in taxes anyway. So for about a ten to 15 percent reduction in take home pay you get another day off each week and you do not have to pay the costs associated with going to work for one or two days a week.

What about your benefits? Those who get them will have to pay about a fifth more of the costs but less and less people get benefits and those who still get benefits will increasingly lose them. Some employers have already stopped or will stop contributing to your IRA.  In the near future medical costs will become socialized and probably all of it will be payed through a payroll deduction just like Social Security. As soon as Senator Kennedy dies you can be sure his whole socialized health program will be passed.

If you really need the money a three or four day week would make it much easier for you to find and work a second job. Employers could still pay overtime if they did not want to hire additional help.

Here are some of the upsides of a four day work week in America.

• Full employment
• Much lower burdens on government and taxpayers for benefits for the unemployed
• Wages would not be bid down by the increasingly disparate unempl0yed
• More incentives for employers to automate and increase productivity
• Less sick and vacation days off will be needed, increasing productivity
• More time off to enjoy life
• A boom in the recreation and travel  industries
• More time to do some hobby or charity work

The Handwriting on the Wall Reads – Prepare for the Apocalypse Now

Prepare for the apocalypse now

Some have asked me how close we are to the prophesied end time events of the Bible and the promise of the second coming of Jesus. I am not setting a date but I have been indicating in my articles that by what I see taking place in the world, that all events are very likely to take place within two to three decades. I believe all that is written about the last days before the second coming of Jesus will most likely be completed in this period. Nevertheless, I do not believe it will be anywhere near thirty years before the false and the real birth pains of the Kingdom begin on earth. I see many signs that the handwriting is already on the wall. It reads, “Prepare for the Apocalypse now”. The hoof beats of the four horsemen of the apocalypse may be heard much sooner than many think but not as soon as 2012 – 2019 AD as some are now teaching. All these things will take a couple decades to play out, the end is not as close as some lead you to believe. Follow my reasoning and decide for yourself why we are rapidly moving toward the time of the Apocalypse but why a few pieces of the puzzle still do not quite fit.

Full Article

There is a rather heated controversy stirring between traditional Bible prophecy authors who think the Antichrist will be a western figure and more recent authors who think the Antichrist will come out of Islam.

I wrote on this in July and gave some of my thoughts why the Antichrist would not be a Muslim and his Beast Kingdom would not be Islam.

http://www.thepropheticyears.com/wordpress/2008/07/24/will-the-antichrist-and-his-beast-government-come-from-islam.html

In the last Jan/Feb issue of Lamplighter magazine Dr. Reagan critiques four books that make the claim that the Antichrist is out of Islam and Dr. Reagan gives his views why this is not the case and is sloppy exegesis.

http://www.lamblion.com/files/publications/magazines/Lamplighter_JanFeb09_ACMuslim.pdf

Well that magazine article stirred up a hornets nest from the authors of the books and some of their supporters. The one sided rebuttal to what Dr. Reagan said about their claims can be found here.

http://www.prophezine.com/

Bill Salus author of Isralestine recently posted an article on his blog that supports the views of Dr. Reagan and there is now a pretty interesting discussion on all this on his blog. The first link contains my comments to Bill’s article and the second link is Bill’s blog post where the article is posted and where the discussion is taking place.

http://www.thepropheticyears.com/wordpress/2009/01/10/debunking-a-muslim-beast-antichrist.html

http://prophecydepot.blogspot.com/2009/01/does-daniel-debunk-assyrian-antichrist.html

Yesterday I posted a comment on Bill’s blog why I agree that the Antichrist does not come out of Islam.  I wrote a email to Bill last night after he alerted me about what was being said on Prophezine by those attacking Dr. Reagan. (Bill asked permission to post the email I sent him on Jan 14th early yesterday but maybe he since changed his mind about posting it since I have not seen it on his site.)

I guess nothing further needs to be said by me at this time since my views are on most of the links I just sighted. You might want to follow this discussion because all of a sudden there are many jumping on the Islamic Antichrist bandwagon and obviously by what I said I think that belief can lead to misdirection and great deception. My position and argument is more from logic and the big view rather than straining at scriptural gnats to try to find a word or two to support a theory I want to believe. Maybe that is not a very scholarly approach but I never claimed to be a scholar. I do claim to have some common sense logic and at least a wee bit of understanding about the big prophetic picture.

One thing that I did not mention in my comments is that the nations that are under Islam have no real military power and anyone thinking that they will suddenly develop modern military capabilities to fulfill the Beast Kingdom that no one can war against is just believing in fantasy. Now if you want to believe the Antichrist is supernatural and has supernatural capabilites I guess anything is feasable but if he were that powerfull (and he will be) what need does he have of any world religious beliefs? The fact is that he does not, and that is why he turns against and burns the world relgious Harlot as soon as he receives Satan’s supernatural powers.

Here is another article by Dr. Reagan that gives the profile of the Antichrist

Lately there has been a whole lot of teachers getting on the Antichrist will come from Islam and that Islam is the Beast world system bandwagon.

Apparently painting Antichrist horns on the obvious evil system of our time sells books but is is good theology? I posted a article why I do not believe the Beast will emerge from Islam or why the Beast will be Muslim.

http://www.thepropheticyears.com/wordpress/2008/07/24/will-the-antichrist-and-his-beast-government-come-from-islam.html

Dr Reagan has written a very scholarly work why the Antichrist will not be a Muslim.

Now Bill Salus in the article I quote below gives more good reasons why the Antichrist will not come from Islam. This is a two part series. I will add a link to the second part when I receive it.

I think the main reason people are now believing that the Antichrist is from Islam is the impact Islam is having on the world and the Assyrian references in the Bible. There are thirteen Assyrian references in the Bible but most of them do not refer to the end times and the ones that might do not have to be associated with the Antichrist. Even if the Antichrist is Assyrian by birth it does not mean that he is Muslim or that he had been living in that area prior to the days when the world headquarters in moved to the area of Babylon.

For example, Some Americans call Obama an African but by Africans he would be called an American. He certainly is not an African through his mother. He once lived in other nations but now he resides in America. He claims to be a Christian although Muslims would say he was Muslim because once a Muslim always a Muslim. In like manor the Antichrist could identify with Christianity, have lived in Iraq, but come to power through a revived Roman Empire. I am not saying that he will be Assyrian, I do not know his decent but it is also not out of the question that he will be raised in the area of Assyria. Nevertheless, even if he were Assyrian that would not make him a Muslim. When he rises to power no matter where he was born he will identify with the pseudo Christian West much like Obama does (no I am not saying that Obama is the Antichrist).

I think believing that the Antichrist is Muslim can be a big danger and a trap because I believe the real Antichrist comes into power through the wars against Islamic fundamentalism. So those who fall into the trap of making an Islamic Beast might actually help create the platform for the Western Beast Antichrist to stand on and rise to power and take over the world as the world’s savior from Islam.

I also want to point out something else. Believing that Islam is the Beast system is not at all logical. It is obvious that Islam with all its laws will never be accepted by the decadent West. It is also obvious that any system that unappealing to the West could never take over the world by force. So the logic of a Beast Antichrist escapes me. Also, if the Beast were Muslim and his God was Allah why would he demand to be worshiped as God? Those in Islam will never accept the worship of a man claiming to be God. The whole concept of an Islam Antichrist is fantasy.

PROPHECY DEPOT: Does Daniel Debunk the Assyrian Antichrist?

Relatively recently a small circle of individuals have injected into the Christian Church a paradigm shift in Antichrist thinking. They advocate that this beastly individual has Assyrian origins. Oddly the book of Daniel, which seemingly issues the most pivotal prophecy regarding the origin of this personage, does not once mention the Hebrew word Ashur, or Ashshur, which is translated as Assyria, or Assyrian. This term is utilized within the Old Testament approximately 135 times; however, Daniel considered by many to be a prophetic authority on the subject of the Antichrist, apparently didn’t feel the Assyrian shoe fit the foot of this coming crazed world leader.

Perhaps one might think that Daniel was given information about the Antichrist, but not necessarily about his ancestral roots. However, Daniel 9:26 refutes this presumption in that it gives us the most detailed literal account within the entirety of scripture as to the origin of this individual. Therein we are informed that the Antichrist will originate from the people who would eventually destroy the city of Jerusalem, and the sanctuary, referring to the second Jewish temple.

There are two primary arguments against the Eastern leg being the leg from which the Antichrist comes: the “Historical” and the “Prophetical”. The Historical argument will conclude part one of this article and the Prophetical will be discussed in part two.

Full article Part I

Hal Lindsay points out the scenario that time and time again plays out against Israel. The U.S. has once again been bullied by world opinion and the press into not voting in the UN security council. Now a 14 – 0 vote calls for an Israeli cease fire. Time and time again this game is played out in favor of the terrorists so Israel can never destroy their enemies. Thus, you can be sure that it will be played out again but next time under the new U.S. administration the U.S. will side with the enemies of Israel.   Then Israel will have to either commit suicide or ignore the U.N. and risk world action against them.

Lets look at the logic of this. If ten missiles each day were being fired at Hawaii from ships from Iran would we not go to war? Darn right we would and Israel has every right to do the same thing because ten missiles are being fired each day from Gaza into Israel.

Frankly, those in Gaza are lucky that I am not prime minister of Israel because I would bulldoze all of Gaza into the sea and deport the people to the Arab nations or Rosie O’Donnell’s backyard. These terrorists could not operate without the support of the people of Gaza so they should quit with the innocent victim routine. The Palestinians are a terrorist nation. I would do the same thing with Southern Lebanon or any land that launches missiles into Israel. Don’t these people even known that one well aimed missile could hit Israel’s nuclear reactor and cause the worst nuclear fall out release on earth. It is only a matter of time for that to happen. So why would any sane nation take such a risk and allow missiles to be fired continually into the nation? But you do not hear about the danger for Israel in the one sided news.

Unless the terrorist stop firing missiles into Israel there is no peace in the Middle East nor can there be peace in the Middle East and proportionate responses would end up being catastrophic to Israel and following any such concept is insane. That is also true anywhere terrorists operate from on the earth. The dangers are too great for proportionate responses we must have
overwhelming responses to stop any threat of such an attack. Israel or any nation has a right to self defense even if that self defense means destroying their enemies. The dangerous games the world allows terrorists to play will eventually lead to catastrophe.

A formula for perpetual war

The so-called “enlightened and responsible nations” have developed a formula for exclusive use against Israel. This formula determines under what circumstances and in what manner Israel is allowed to defend itself against terrorist attacks. First, the provocation must be many times more serious than would be necessary for other nations. Simple acts of war, such as hostage-taking or continuous missile attacks against civilian population centers, are not sufficient provocation to permit defensive measures.

Since 2005, more than 6,000 rockets have rained down on Israeli cities from Gaza. In a display of remarkable restraint, only after three years and thousands of unprovoked attacks did Israel finally feel sufficiently justified to launch a defensive response.

Now, the second phase of the anti-Israel propaganda assault kicks in. It begins almost immediately with the usual suspects – led by the Arabs, the Russians, the Muslims – all demanding an immediate Israeli withdrawal from its “invasion” of Gaza.

Right on cue, the members of the United Nations begin their usual chorus – charging that Israel’s response is “not proportionate.”

Finally, the media revs up their one-sided campaign. Their job is to spotlight the injuries and deaths of Palestinian women and children who are accidentally hit during the intense battles. Apparently, the months and years of constant bombardment lavished on the Israelis by Hamas thugs didn’t trigger the media’s interest. Only when Israel struck back did the signal go out for the mainstream media to join the fray.

In Gaza, Hamas terrorists hide in classrooms and hospital basements. They store weapons in mosques and use university laboratories for bomb-making factories. They are currently hiding long-range rockets in the basement of Gaza City’s main hospital. They intentionally place women and children on the rooftops of buildings they know will soon be targets of the Israeli air force.

Then, when these human shields are killed or wounded by Israeli fire, the media vents their outrage on the Israeli gunner or pilot, not the calculating terrorist. The bodies of dead terrorists – or their human shields – are then paraded by the ever-accommodating media as “innocent victims of Israeli aggression.” And the orchestrated calls for “proportionality” grow louder.

Following this oft-repeated formula, as the selected media images mount, the predictable demands for an unconditional Israeli cease-fire rise to a global crescendo. Moderate Western governments like France, Britain and other EU nations that have large Muslim populations begin to demand that Israel cease this “disproportionate war.” The worldwide cry grows until finally the United States is bullied into not vetoing a Security Council resolution condemning Israel as an unjustified aggressor.

What is it about Israel that makes it the world’s pariah state? How can it be that no insult to the Arabs is too slight to justify wholesale murder, whereas no atrocity, no matter how outrageous, justifies an Israeli defensive response? It matters not how reasonable and legitimate the defensive action would be for any other nation. But leaders from around the world have streamed into the U.N. to defend the “Palestinian democracy” – as if such an entity exists.

It makes absolutely no sense in the natural. Only the Bible can explain the mystery behind the supernatural hatred of the Jews. Bible prophecy predicted that Israel would be miraculously reborn in “the last days.” The Bible also predicted that a supernatural hatred against Jews would grow worldwide. This will be soon followed by Armageddon and the return of Jesus the Messiah.

Full Article

Apparently Steve Gregg tried to come to the rescue of Partial Preterism after Dr. Norman Geisler reviewed “The Apocalypse Code” book written by Hank Hanegraaff that attacked premillennial theology and those who are looking for the soon return of Jesus in the Rapture.

I guess someone needed to come to the rescue and bail out Preterism after some of Hank Hanegraaff’s erroneous assumptions were pointed out by Dr. Geisler in his review and some of Hanegraff’s book could not even be fully accepted by preterists. This is the response by Dr. Geisler to Steve Gregg’s apparent defense of partial preterism.

In this article Dr. Geisler is brilliant and often demolishes the arguments of Steve Gregg’s Partial Preterism Theology, often with many of the inconsistent silly arguments of Gregg and other preterists.

What is quoted bellow are just a few of the many examples given in the full article. Also go to Norman Geisler Articles for his other articles on this and other topics. Dr. Geisler is a one of the great minds of our time and I highly recommend that anyone interested in Bible prophecy absorb his teachings.

A Response to Steve Gregg’s Defense of Hank Hanegraaff’s Partial Preterism

By Norman L. Geisler

My comments will be divided into two basic categories. First of all, several areas in which we are in agreement will be mentioned. Second, comments on numerous points of disagreement with his defense of partial preterism, a view he shares with Hank Hanegraaff, will be discussed.

Eleventh, it is amusing that Gregg uses a third century heretical teacher, Origen, as a basis for his amillennial view and dismisses earlier second century orthodox Fathers as a basis for futurism. Further, contrary to Gregg, Renald Showers (in Maranatha, Our Lord, Come!) has demonstrated that the very earliest Fathers believed in an imminent coming of Christ, not just the fourth century Ephraem. This is to say nothing of the inspired writings of the NT which proclaim Christ’s imminent return repeatedly (Jn. 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 1:7-8; 15:51-53; 16:22; Phil. 3:20-21; 4:5; Col. 3:4; 1 Thes. 1:10; 2:19; 4:13-18; 5:9, 23; 2 Thes. 2:1; 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 4:1; Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:28; Jas. 5:7-9; 1 Pet. 1:7, 13; 1 Jn. 2:28-3:2; Jude 21; Rev. 2:25; 3:10; 22:7, 12, 20 ). Passages like “The Lord is at hand” (Phil. 4:5) and “the coming of the Lord is at hand” (Jas.5:8) can hardly mean anything other than imminent, unless one is a full preterist and denies a literal future Second Coming, claiming Christ returned in the first century. He summarily dismisses all this with a vague “for all anyone can say” and a guilt-by-association with the Word of Faith movement!

Twelfth, after rejecting the early Fathers who were opposed to preterism, Gregg inconsistently appeals to the early Fathers to justify his amillennial views. He speaks of the pretrib beliefs before Ephraem in the fourth century as unsupported by earlier Fathers. Yet, he criticizes futurist who use the early Fathers to support their view (see “Sixth” above).

Thirteenth, he rejects the dispensational belief in a literal restoration of Israel which is firmly based in the historical-grammatical interpretation of Scripture (see Geisler, ibid., chap. 15). Yet he claims to hold the historical-grammatical hermeneutic.

Eighteenth, Gregg dismisses a massive array of unconditional promises that are based on the historical-grammatical interpretation which says that there will be a literal restoration of ethnic Israel to their land (see our Systematic Theology, vol. 4, chaps.14-16). None of the passages he cites deny this future for Israel, and numerous passages he does not cite affirm that there will be one (Gen. 12-17; 2 Sam. 7; Psa. 89; Mt. 19:28; Acts 1:6-8; Acts 3:19; Rom. 11, and many more). So strongly are these texts in favor of a literal restoration of the land and throne promises to ethnic Israel that even some non-premills like Vern Poythress and Anthony Hoekema have been forced to acknowledge such a future for Israel. And not to see that Paul is speaking of ethnic Israel in Romans 9-11 (which he calls Israel “my kinsmen according to the flesh” (9:2) to whom God gave “the covenants” and “Promises” (9:4) is a bold act of exegetical blindness. And it is this same “Israel” in this same passage of which Paul says they will be “grafted into their own olive tree” (11:24) because “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (11:29). Ironic as it may seem, a fundamental problem with reformed amillennialism is that it does not believe in unconditional election–at least not for Israel! As for the clear literal truth that Jesus will literally come again with his literal twelve disciples who sit on twelve literal thrones and reign over the literal “twelve tribes of Israel” (Mt. 19:28), the best Gregg can offer is “the suggestions” that “this is not the only way in which Matt. 19:28 can be interpreted.” Of course, it isn’t; there is the spiritualistic way Gregg interprets it as “a present reality.” But this is certainly not the result of the historical grammatical hermeneutic preterists profess to accept. Nor is his contention that Jesus “unambiguously” established His kingdom at His first coming, as any literal understanding of numerous passages reveals (see Matt. 19:28; Acts 1:6-8; 3:19-21; Rom. 11:11-36). For an example of straining out a hermeneutical gnat and swallowing a doctrinal camel, Gregg declares of Revelation 20 that “the passage says ‘a thousand years.’ It does not say, ‘a literal thousand years.’” The passage also says “the Devil” (v. 2) and not “a literal Devil,” but does this give us warrant for denying a literal Devil. It also speaks of “nations” (v. 3), martyrs (v. 4), “heaven” (v. 1), and even “Jesus” (v. 4). But surely all these are literal. Sure, there are figures of speech used in the text like “key” (v. 1), but the literal method of interpretation has always allowed for figures of speech about literal realities (see ibid., chap. 13). It simply insists that the figures of speech and symbols are about literal realities (cf. Rev. 1:20)

Nineteenth, when confronted with the obviously literal land promises to Abraham’s descendants (Gen. 13-15), Gregg replies, “I don’t find the word ‘literal’ in any of the passages cited.” Yet, he later says these literal promises were literally fulfilled in the days of Joshua–something that could not be true since they are repeated after Joshua’s time (Jer. 11:5; Amos 9:14-15; Acts 1:6-8; Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 11). As for insisting on the use of the word “literal” to determine whether a passage is literal, I would suggest that he look at the death and resurrection of Jesus passages again. The last time I looked the word “literal” was not in the resurrection accounts. Nor do I find it in Genesis 1-3. But there again, consistency of hermeneutic is not a primary characteristic of the preterist position. Further, it is far from “clear” that Heb. 4 or Gal. 4 teaches there is no ethnic fulfillment of the ethnic promises to Israel. On the contrary, it is a denial of both God’s unconditional grace and of the historical-grammatical interpretation of numerous passages already mentioned. Just because Abraham has a spiritual seed does not mean there are no promises for his ethnic offspring.

Twentieth, as to the promise that the land promises to Israel would be “forever,” Gregg says two things: 1) The Hebrew word for “forever” (olam) does not always mean eternal. While this is true, it is also true that it can. And when it does not, it certainly means a long period of time. But Israel has never occupied all the land designated in these promises for a long period of time. As all good interpreters know, the meaning of a word is discovered by its context. And the context of Psalm 89:37 declares that the Davidic covenant will be “established forever like the moon.” And the last time I looked the moon was still in the sky! 2) Greggs wrongly assumes God’s promises to Abraham and David were conditional, but they clearly were not. Abraham was not even conscious when God made a unilateral unconditional promise to him (in Gen. 15:12), and Psalm 89:31-36 declares that even “if they break my statutes,” God promised “Nevertheless My loving kindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: His seed will endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me.” As Paul said of this same God, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). God has not given them back the land yet, but will in the future when the remnant returns to Him (e.g., see Gen. 13:17 and Deut. 30:16-20).

In brief, Gregg’s attempt to rescue the partial preterist position he shares with Hank Hanegraaff is a failure. It rests upon a methodologically unorthodox way of interpreting Scripture. If this same method were used on the Gospel narratives of the resurrection of Christ, the preterist would also be theologically unorthodox. Thus, while partial preterism itself is not heretical, its hermeneutic is unorthodox, and if applied consistently, would lead to heresy, as indeed it does in full preterism.

Full article

Coach Dave Daubenmire gives the nation the appropriate two minute warning in this article and Dave claims to be an optimist. I am more a realist, and like Dave I also think America’s goose is about to be cooked because of America’s amorality and materialistic excesses. Also because we are sitting ducks for terrorists.

I do not think most of those you seen in store on the news on Black Friday spending money like drunken sailors have any intention of paying off what they charged. They are simply looting with credit cards that they will never pay off before the unlawful looting really starts. The credit card companies are still allowing this because they probably think the government will come in and bail them out when all these people default on their loans.  Perhaps they will, with their newly printed monopoly dollars.

Dave Daubenmire — Sitting Ducks

America has changed her stripes. In one generation we have gone from a nation of eagles to a gaggle of geese. The Bible calls it “lambs to the slaughter.” We have no idea what is about to befall us. It is as if we were disconnected from reality…nothing more than the latest episode of “24”…oblivious to the tsunami building on the horizon.

Do you remember watching the videos of the tsunami that struck Thailand a few years ago? Vacationers stood on the beach as a massive wave swallowed them up.

And how about Katrina? By the thousands the geese stayed despite the clear warnings of impending danger confident to the end that they were immune to the wrath of nature and of Nature’s God. “It can’t happen here.”

Well, there is another storm rolling in over the horizon and this time we are not lambs and we are not geese. Although we are just as blissful in our ignorance we are a bird of a different feather.

We are sitting ducks.

I look at what is going on in America and I feel like a seismologist in Thailand. “What is wrong with those people? Don’t they have any common sense? Can’t they see what is coming down the pike?”

America is bankrupt. I can’t believe people can’t see it. The “government” is bailing out banks. Is it just me, or shouldn’t it be the other way around? Take time to ask your friends where the government gets the money to bailout the banks. You will be shocked at how ignorant they are. But what the hey…I’m sure they spend money they don’t have as well. It’s the American way. Storm Wal-Mart as the storm clouds build.

I am the eternal optimist by nature. I always see the glass half-full. As a coach I always told our guys that we didn’t lose…we just ran out of time. I think that statement is appropriate here. We’re about to strike midnight. The two-minute warning has sounded.

Please understand, I am not predicting the return of Jesus, although that could certainly be near. No my friends, I’m talking about the end of America as we know it. For some, the end of the world might be less painful.

The Bible is replete with examples where God judged nations. We are not safe from His wrath, no matter how special we think we are in the eyes of God. God is not mocked. We have not defended unborn babies, we have not protected the sanctity of marriage, we have given His children over to Caesar, and we have allowed his Name to be removed from this nation. “God shed His grace on” us and to whom much is given, much is required. We will pay a harsh price for squandering what He endowed to us.

Like it or not folks our American economic system is on the verge of collapse. Our dollar is worthless, our factories have moved oversees, our banks are out of money, and our enemies hold our debt. We can’t “produce” our way out of this one.

We’re sitting ducks.

Imagine as few as 10 terrorists in 10 different American cities, armed with dirty bombs, an arsenal of weapons, and a desire to kill. From school houses to shopping malls, churches to basketball arenas, movie theatres to mass transit, the targets are unlimited. The carnage would make Katrina look like a Spring shower.

Do you find the scenario hard to believe? Are you counting on Jesus to save you from the horror? I wonder if any of the victims of Mumbai expected to die so soon.

Full Article