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Declaration Day

On July 4 we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and call it Independence Day. Actually, our Independence came 7 years later, in 1783. On July 4, 1776 we made a declaration of our basic principles, and so the holiday should really be called Declaration Day.

Our Founding Fathers declared first of all that all men were created equal. This powerful statement acknowledges that we are created by God, and that all else comes from Him. It was God who created us equal, with no preference for ancestry, skin color, or other distinction.  They actually echoed the Biblical statement that,  in Christ, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28).

Secondly, they declared that it was God who endowed us with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. No one can take our life, because “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” (I John 5:11 b). In the same way, it is the Spirit of the Lord who gives us freedom (2 Cor 3:17b), not to indulge ourselves, but to serve others in love (Gal 6:13). The Lord gives us the choice of which path to follow in pursuit of happiness (Deut 30:19), but he guides us to happiness by showing us that life, prosperity, and honor come from pursuit of righteousness and love (Prov 21:21).

In the many years since 1776, our nation has struggled to live up to the principles declared by our Founding Fathers. The stain of slavery and racism, denying God’s declaration of equality, has only now begun to disappear from society. Yet, in modern times, many have forgotten that our rights come from God, denying Him and looking to the State as our source of rights and happiness. Even the right to life has been subverted to a false freedom to serve ourselves. We stand in grave danger of losing the rights and freedoms declared so eloquently in 1776.

Its time to turn things around.

Let us start with ourselves and join the Founding Fathers in their declaration:

* God created us, and everything comes from Him.

* God created us equal, to be one in Christ.

* God has given us that right to life through Christ.

* God has given us freedom in order to serve others.

*God has given us the right to pursue genuine happiness through righteousness and love.

Let us pray that the Church will recapture the Spirit of Declaration Day and pass it on to a nation desperately in need of real equality, life, liberty, and happiness.

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The Terror Tactic

            Once again, this time in Nigeria, the world was delivered a sad reminder that terrorism continues to be a tactic of choice for Islamic extremists.

            The terror tactic has a long and tragic history. Military historians tell us that the worst terrorist of all time was Genghis Khan, whose armies destroyed the agricultural hinterlands of their enemies, drove the peasants into the cities, and then destroyed the cities without mercy. Second to the Mongolians were the Romans, who merely destroyed the cities without mercy. Modern examples abound, from the London Blitz to the 9/11 attack.

As a military tactic, however, terrorism is a double edged sword. More often than not, it backfires on to the terrorists. Thus, the London Blitz steeled British resolve and in the end it was the cities of Germany that were reduced to rubble. Palestinian terrorist intifada attacks brought swift retribution and isolation behind the Israeli wall. The 9/11 perpetrators were tracked down and their Afghan sanctuary was overrun by Americans. It turns out, according to military historians, that terrorism only works for militarily dominant powers like Genghis Khan and Rome. For weaker opponents the terror tactic only leads to destruction.

Even so, terrorists inflict much suffering from their self destructive path. There is also a spiritual battle, as terrorists hope to paralyze their enemies with fear and goad them into overreacting in order to create more terrorists. This is truly spiritual warfare, and we must use our spiritual weapons to defeat the terror tactic of the ultimate terrorist, Satan.

We must first learn to pray blessings on our enemies. Not blessings for their violence, but blessings that their eyes be opened and that they will be satisfied with good things and desire to live in peace. Judgment still belongs to God, and it is for Him to avenge, not us. At the same time, God wants our enemies to come into His Kingdom, and we must not let bitterness or unforgiveness set us against God’s purposes. Instead we must deploy the powerful spiritual weapon of love to stay in step with God.

We must also turn back the spirit of fear which has been sent against us. We know from the famous 91st Psalm that our protection comes only from God, and that He will be with us in our trouble. Yet we also know that we can overcome the evil one if we do not love this life more than the next (See Rev. 12:11). Let us live fearlessly in faith as God intended, looking forward to the day when we will be called home to Heaven.

Yes, we mourn for the victims of these cowardly terrorist attacks, and pray that God will comfort them. But we will not quit loving our enemies and living by faith.

And, just as the terror tactic is a losing strategy for weaker opponents in the natural world, so is the terror tactic futile against the most powerful kingdom on Earth, the Kingdom of God.

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The Lesson of May Day

This week, on May 1, we mark a pagan holiday which has been celebrated from the most ancient of times until the present.

 The European Druids celebrated May 1 as “Beltane”, a holiday named after their god “Bel” and the word for fire, “Tane.” On Beltane all fires were extinguished except for the sacred fires of the Druids, which were then used to start new fires. The ritual actually traces back to Babylon, as does the name of the pagan god “Bel.”

 Another ritual of Beltane was celebrated by gathering around the “May Pole.” The pole actually represented the Cosmic Axis, or North Pole, and this type of celebration has been found as far away as the North American Indians. The pole is also a Phallic symbol, similar to the Egyptian obelisk, echoing the pagan claim that their god is the “Seed of Woman” (See Gen 3:15), a title which belongs only to Jesus Christ.

 Another feature of the May 1 celebration is its position 52 days, or one seventh of a year, from the Summer Solstice, an important pagan worship date and the focal point of the ancient Stonehenge monument. The day 52 days after the Summer Solstice, August 15, is also a Druid holiday known as Lughnasa. Interestingly, these dates are also celebrated by the Mayans, and form the structure of their 260 day, or five sevenths of a year, calendar. The Egyptians also built a 52 day period into the Great Pyramid, although their periods are tied to the Winter, not summer, Solstice.

 These amazing connections between Babylon, Egypt, the Druids, and the American Indians are merely one of many examples worldwide of common cultural practices. For those who understand that the Bible presents an accurate history of humanity, it is a simple matter to trace those beliefs back to the time when all humanity was gathered into one place: Babylon. It was the event we call the Tower of Babel, actually a civil war, which scattered the people and their practices across the earth. And it was God who sent Jesus to save humanity from the false religion born in Babylon.

 This week we can celebrate a May Day where we recognize the goodness and mercy of God as He has poured out his grace on our societies. The National Day of Prayer, May 1, gives us the opportunity to thank God for His mercies and humble ourselves to pray for our nation.

 The lesson of May Day is the provable reality of God’s word. Let us learn our lesson and pray that our nation will not go the way of the Babylonians, Egyptians, Druids, and Mayans who turned away from God on May Day.

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Carbon 14 and The Bible

              For years some scientists have been using Carbon 14 dating to undermine the Biblical timeline of History and attack the truthfullness of the Bible. Now they are having to rethink their arguments.

 

            The Carbon 14 dating method measures the amount of the radioactive Carbon 14 isotope in organic material and, comparing it with modern levels of Carbon 14, productes an age based on the radioactive decay of Carbon 14. This dating method is assumed to be good for 40,000 years, and produces very old dates for archeological sites.  However, it also produces dates which clash with historical dates derived both from Biblical information and other historical and archeological sources.

 

            The problem with Carbon 14 dating is simply that the current levels of Carbon 14 are much higher than past levels of Carbon 14, and this produces a much earlier date than the actual date.  Based on the more  accurate data about past Carbon 14 levels, one scientist documented 15,000 findings and found that none were over 7000 years old, and that many were about 4500 years old, the date of the worldwide catastrophe we call Noah’s Flood. Thus , for example, an American Indian artifact claimed to be over 11,000 years old may really be only 3,000 years old.

 

            Now archeologists are joining in the criticism of the Carbon 14 dating system. At a recent meeting, a noted archeologist observed that “In some circles it has been a crime to cast doubt on the accuracy of radiocarbon dating.” Nevertheless, this scientist showed conclusively that radiocarbon levels fluctuate from season to season and vary with location, providing erroneous age readings. When added to historical fluctuations in Carbon 14 levels, the whole Carbon 14 dating method becomes very suspect.

 

            The reason that some scientists cling to the inaccurate Carbon 14 system is simply that it produces results which are much older than actual. They fear that the real dates would be more in line with Bible history, and they would rather be wrong than give up their Anti-Biblical bias (See our Blog of 1/22/2014 “The Battle Over Biblical Archeology”). Their problem is that the more Science learns about the past, the more it supports the Bible (See our Blog 1/1/2014 “Looking Back to Look Ahead”).

 

            We salute the courageous Scientists and Archeologists who challenge the Anti-Biblical Orthodoxy of their peers. Let us pray that God’s truth will prevail and that proofs of the accuracy of the Bible history will continue to be discovered by truth seeking Scientists.

 

            And may the attempts to destroy the faith of believers by false, Anti-Biblical, Pseudo-Scientific theories be exposed. Let no weapon formed against us prosper.

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Godless Liberty

Just the days after the Americans celebrate their Revolution, the French celebrate theirs, on Bastille Day July 14.

 

            The two revolutions could not have been more different. The Americans honored God (See our Blog of 7/3/13 “Declaration Day”). The French, on the other hand, adopted the atheistic, anti-Christian values of the French Enlightenment and set out to eradicate God from public life. Churches were closed, priests were persecuted, and the calendar was remade without any Christian holidays. To replace the Virgin Mary, the revolutionary leaders invented the atheistic “Goddess of Liberty”, which became the emblem of Godless liberty.

 

            The fruit of the revolutions was also very different. America became a beacon of hope for the world as it worked to make its dream of equality and God given rights become a reality. In France, the godless foundation of the revolution meant that all moral restraint on power evaporated, and the infamous Reign of Terror began. Neither life no liberty were safe, and even the leaders were carried off one by one to the Terror. Finally order was restored but all hope of liberty vanished under the iron fisted rule of Napoleon Bonaparte. It turns out that Godless liberty is no liberty at all.

 

            Sad to say, the lesson of the French Revolution has been repeated over and over since then. The Communist revolutions in Russia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Cuba, and elsewhere produced massive death and eliminated freedom. The same holds true for the Nazis in Germany and the Fascists in Italy who, like Napoleon, lead the whole world into war. The post colonial socialists in Africa grabbed power after elections, giving rise to the famous statement of “One man, one vote, one time”. And now we watch the same thing happen as Islamist extremists try to turn the “Arab Spring” into winter for the God given rights of their people.

 

            Our hearts and our prayers go out to the people in the Middle East who are struggling to achieve some measure of equality and freedom. We especially pray for the persecuted Christian minorities in places like Egypt (See our Blog of 10/22/12 “The Persecuted Church in Egypt) and Syria who are continually under persecution from the Islamist Militants. And let us also not forget Israel, which is caught between turmoil in Egypt and civil war in Syria.

 

            Let us pray that the precious gift of Godly Liberty, and especially religious liberty, can overcome the evil of Godless liberty.

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Summer is Near

 

            This week the Summer begins on June 21, the Summer Solstice.

             Astronomically, the Summer Solstice is the day when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky over the northern hemisphere. It is also the longest day of the year. The opposite solstice, the Winter Solstice, is the day when the sun is lowest in the heavens and the night is longest. The other seasonal markers, the Spring and Fall Equinoxes, occur when the sun is at mid point and day and night are of equal length.

 

            These important calendar dates are also important in God’s religious calendar. The first three Hebrew feasts, pointing to Christ’s death and resurrection, occur near the Spring Equinox, which the last three feats, picturing the second coming of Christ, occur near the Fall Equinox. The Spring and Winter are associated with the appearance of Christ in Hosea 6:3, and the story of Christ’s advent begins with the conception of John the Baptist which is believed to have occurred near the Winter Solstice in 7 BC. Summer is associated with the second coming of Christ (Matt 24:32), and we are told that the Summer is near when the fig tree (Israel) comes to life.

 

            These important spiritual times have also been hijacked by the followers of the religion of the False Messiah, the Pagans. The Winter Solstice came to symbolize the birth of the False Messiah, and structures like New Grange in Ireland are aligned with the sun on the Winter Solstice. Pagans celebrated the Spring Equinox as the beginning of the year, as in God’s calendar, and celebrated the harvest at the Fall Equinox. The Summer Solstice, when the sun is highest, marked the power of their Pagan False Messiahs, and temples like Stonehenge were aligned with the sun on the Summer Solstice.

 

            In modern times, the believers in the Godhead religion (i.e. we are all Gods) have latched onto the Pagan calendar in an attempt to get in touch with the spirits behind Paganism. They have also tried to revitalize the ancient Pagan sites with their New Age religion. They can be seen at Stonehenge, New Grange, Chitzen Itza, Angkor Wat, Chaco Canyon, and other sites trying to bring back the demon spirits. And, of course, the High Holy Day for many is the Summer Solstice.

 

            As Christians, we need to pray for those poor New Age souls who are falling into demonic bondage. We also need to remember that dates like the Summer Solstice were created by God for his glory, and we can celebrate them as Christians.

 

            Yes, the Summer is near, and we should be telling folks the real meaning: the return of Christ is near.

Publisher

The Inquisition Spirit

 

            The Nation has been rocked by revelations that the Government has been persecuting people for their political and religious views. And now we’ve learned that our phone records and internet communications are being collected by the National Security Agency. These activities contradict our Declaration of Independence and the “Spirit of 1776” and in fact take us back to the Spirit of the infamous Spanish Inquisition.

 

            The Inquisition was the prototype of totalitarian systems designed to eliminate all belief contrary to the Politically Correct beliefs of the authorities. In the case of the Inquisition, the Politically Correct belief was a form of Roman Catholicism. Later emulators of the Inquisition Spirit tried to force compliance with the French Revolution, Nazism, and Communism.  Today the Spirit of Inquisition is rising in places like Venezuela, Argentina, Turkey, and Russia where Democracies are being converted into authoritarian Governments. And the same trend is beginning to appear in the U.S., where the Politically Correct “Progressive” beliefs in Big Government, sexual “freedom”, and secularism are targeting those who believe in limited Government and who hold Christian views.

 

                 The methods of the Inquisition Spirit have varied little down through History. First, the authorities gain control of the Law Enforcement mechanisms society either directly, as in the case of the Communists, or indirectly as in the Spanish Inquisition. Secondly, the power of Government is used to find those who may have opposing views. Those who come to the attention of the Government, whether “Guilty” or not, are then made into an example to terrorize the population into compliance. Often the victims of the Inquisition Spirit are not told why they were targeted and, like the Tea Party IRS applicants, simply left in legal limbo.

 

            Sad to say, even in a country like the U.S., with its legacy of freedom, the Inquisition Spirit is never far away. The current American manifestation began on college campuses, whose “Progressives” have ended academic freedom and used the Inquisition Spirit to eliminate all politically incorrect speech. It should not be too surprising that a whole generation of college graduates have taken the Inquisition Spirit from the universities to the halls of Government.   

 

            As intercessors, we must realize that we do not struggle against the individuals, but against the Inquisition Spirit itself. We must pray that the Lord will bless our enemies with the knowledge of the Lord and a desire for freedom. We pray that the Spirit of Inquisition will be turned back in our Government, and we pray for a revival of Christianity and freedom on the college campuses where it began.

 

            Above all we pray that America will remain a free country where we can worship God without Government persecution.