The Science of The Cross

The Science of The Cross
Vol: 103 Issue: 30 Friday, April 30, 2010

Europe’s particle physics lab, CERN, is losing ground rapidly in the race to discover the elusive Higgs boson, or “God particle.”.

The particle, whose existence has been predicted by theoreticians, would help to explain why matter has mass.  Finding the Higgs boson is the major goal of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN along the French –Swiss border.

CERN’s research was interrupted when an accident damaged some of the magnets that make up its collider ring. 

Identifying the so-called God Particle has been a target for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (Cern) ever since the LHC was first conceived in the early 1980s.

At the launch of the LHC near Geneva in September, some scientists predicted the Higgs would be revealed as soon as summer 2009.

But just one week later, an accident occurred which will halt experiments at the accelerator for at least 12 months.

CERN has been in competition with the US Fermilab, also seeking confirmation of Higgs boson using its own particle accelerator called the Tevatron.  The smaller the mass of the particle, the more difficult and time-consuming it will be for Fermilab to detect.

But Fermilab estimates that the Tevatron has already picked out about eight collision events which may be hints of the Higgs.

What is the Higgs boson?  In quantum physics, the Higgs boson is one quantum component of the Higgs field. The Higgs field gives mass to every elementary particle that has mass.

Think of the Higgs field as a big pool of molasses that causes all the massless particles that travel through that field to come together, converting them to particles with mass that form the components of atoms.

In theory, without the Higgs boson, nothing in the universe could have mass.  Without it, the universe and all that is in it would be without form and void.

It is the Higgs boson that converts the invisible into the visible and it converts the immaterial into the material.

The Higgs boson was first theorized by science in 1964 – but it was first revealed some 1900 years before that.

“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shewed it unto them.  For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:” (Romans 1:19-20)

Assessment:

At the Cross, at the Cross
Where I first saw the Light
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now, I am happy all the day.

The more we learn about the ‘invisible things of creation’ the more difficult it is to reconcile that creation with the theory of unguided evolution.  

The Higgs boson is nicknamed the “God Particle” because it does exactly what the Bible says God does – He holds the universe together.

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn [prototokos] of every creature.  For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist (sunistemi).”  (Colossians 1:15-17)

Look over those verses again, carefully.  One of the key words in the Colossians passage above is the Greek word sunistemi which means “to stand-together,” “to be compacted together,” “to cohere,” “to be constituted with.” 

We’ll revisit that shortly.

The nucleus of the atom contains positively charged and neutral particles-to use a simplistic model. Mutual electrostatic repulsion between the like-positive protons would drive the nucleus apart if it were not for the “strong force” which binds the nucleus together.

There is thus an active force imposed on the universe, which actively holds the very atoms of the material world together moment by moment, day by day, century by century.

Similarly, accelerated electrons circling the nucleus should quickly radiate all their energy away and fall into the nucleus unless there is an invisible energy source to counteract this.

While we’ve not yet identified the God particle, we have managed to split it. The resultant explosion that occurs is called an ‘atomic reaction’.  

It is hard to imagine what would happen if every atom was suddenly allowed to come apart. 

The Apostle Peter was given a vision of the unimaginable, and he did his best to describe the scene.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2^nd Peter 3:10)

The more we learn about science, the more it confirms the Bible.  Peter is here perfectly describing a scientific process that wasn’t learned until 1945.

“Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? (2^nd Peter 3:12)

The Big Bang theory demands that time move more rapidly at the edges, and more slowly at the center as the universe expands.  

Einstein’s theory of relativity says while the expansion of the universe took billions of years as measured from the outer edges, viewed from the center, it would have only taken a matter of days.  So the six days of creation are compatible with science after all.

Now, let’s return to Colossians again.  “In Him all things sunistemi.” 

While scientists attempt to find the “God particle” that holds the atoms together, science has already located, identified and mapped the glue that holds each of us together at the cellular level.

Laminin essentially “glues” the cells (such as those lining the stomach and intestines) to a foundation of connective tissue. This keeps the cells in place and allows them to function properly.  Without laminin your cells would fall apart.    

The structure of laminin is very important for its function.  It is that structure that I found so amazing when Pastor Gene Payne of Raleigh, NC sent me a photo.  It was so amazing that, although I respect Pastor Payne enormously,  I immediately suspected he’d been taken in by hoax and checked it out on Snopes.

Scopes confirmed it to be true.  It is NOT a hoax.

I was going to embed a photo of laminin, but decided instead to post a link to the photo Pastor Payne sent me so you can see what laminin looks like now that you know what it is.  I want you to be as awestruck as I was. 

Go ahead and click on the link . . .  I’ll wait until you get back.

This is the structure that holds you together.   Here is another picture, this one I downloaded from Snopes.

“The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.”  

It s Only Paranoia When It s Not Real

It s Only Paranoia When It s Not Real
Vol: 103 Issue: 29 Thursday, April 29, 2010

I heard a news commentator say once that the Nazis were such a singular evil that drawing any comparison between them and anybody marginalizes the one making the comparison.

I’m not exactly sure who it was – I think it might have been Juan Williams, the liberal National Public Radio reporter Fox News hired for its “Special Report” panel as comic relief.

If so, he was probably quoting somebody else because I’ve heard the same comment being parroted every time someone draws a comparison between Saddam Hussein and Hitler, or between Iran’s fanatical regime and the Nazis.

And especially when comparing some of the Left’s tactics with those of the early Nazi brownshirts and other agitators, or with Josef Goebbel’s Ministry of Propaganda.

Since nobody dares to point out the similarities, Saddam was free to act like Hitler,  Iran’s regime is free to behave like Nazis.

The Left is free to agitate and beat up on its political opponents. And the media is free to demonize their ideological opposition.

Before going on, any comparison to the Nazis does NOT diminish the unique horrors of the Holocaust. At the same time, evil is neither singular nor unique.

Israel was founded on the slogan, “Never again!” But if nobody is allowed to notice that the same signs that preceded that horror are in evidence now,  then what is the point in educating oneself to the horror that was?

Why learn that during Hitler’s 1932 campaign, brown-shirted thugs went around to polling places beating up and intimidating voters if comparing that to the tactics of the SEIU, ACORN and the Nation of Islam during the ’08 Campaign is “right-wing paranoia”?

Why learn how Hitler’s nationalization programs, youth programs, national education agenda and social welfare programs were used to turn Germany into a fascist dictatorship if we are not to apply what we’ve learned to what is unfolding before us?

Obama has nationalized the banking system, the automobile industry and turned the nation’s biggest unions into a private political army loyal to Obama and his agenda. 

He has seized control of the nation’s health care system.   He has proposed a civilian Obamacorps “as large, as well funded and well-equipped as the US military.”

He is following the fascist playbook to the letter, at first ignoring, then marginalizing, then demonizing any person, group or entity that dares question him.

If you question his background, his educational records, how he managed to travel to Pakistan in 1980 without a passport, or why he would spend millions of his own money to conceal records required of everybody who joins the military, then you are marginalized as a ‘birther.’

And everybody knows that ‘birthers’ are all right-wing nut jobs who only want to destroy Obama because they are racists who can’t stand the idea of a black man being President.

So unless that description fits you, you probably don’t bring it up much.

If you were an early member of the Tea Party, you weren’t part of a grass roots movement.  Instead, you were marginalized as ‘Astroturf.’   When you didn’t go home, you were mocked as “teabaggers” a vulgar slang term used to describe a particular deviant sex act. 

Now that the Tea Party has become a significant political force, Tea Partiers are under attack as “vigilante groups” or incipient domestic terrorists.  According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a Marxist group dedicated to smearing ideological opponents it hates as “hate groups”.

The SPCL warns that Tea Partiers are “shot through with rich veins of radical ideas, conspiracy theories and racism,” and are widely linked to “hate” and “vigilante groups.”

Together with the KKK, neo-Nazis, and “potentially violent” militia groups, the SPLC says that Tea Partiers are seditious, as are its alleged “leaders”  — US Representatives Michelle Bachman, Ron Paul and Paul Broun.  (Oh, and Glenn Beck).

Brandeis University is offering a course called “Right Wing Radicalism” in which professors follow “right wing radicals” from Hitler and the Nazis through to Tim McVeigh and on to the Tea Party.  (It’s different when the Left compares somebody to Hitler or the Nazis). 

According to the Left, the Tea Partiers are racist homophobes with a penchant for violence. 

Reliably screwy liberal columnist Neal Gabler recently found a way to link the Tea Party to al-Qaeda in a Boston Globe editorial about the Tea Party movement, appropriately titled, “Screaming Extremism.”

“In order to get heard, you not only have to shout — you have to shout at the top of your lungs, and even that probably won’t do it. To assure yourself of attention, you have to do something so startling that you effectively stop the conversation altogether. In effect, you have to blow up the World Trade Center, or paint the streets in human blood as protesters in Thailand recently did, or threaten lawmakers and even spit on them as the Tea Partiers did, or call President Obama a traitor or a Hitler. You have to be an extremist.”

Gabler helpfully points out who the hatemongering extremists are, lest you are confused by his condescending nastiness into thinking the real hatemonger is Neal Gabler.

“That explains not only extremist groups but also a Glenn Beck or a Rush Limbaugh or a Michael Savage, who must be outrageously spiteful when there are so many other garden-variety hatemongers about.”

Gabler makes his case that the Tea Partiers are no different than al-Qaeda as many times as possible, carefully linking them to Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh.

“By knocking down the Twin Towers and announcing a constant stream of threats, the Islamic radicals got and continue to get publicity out of proportion to their numbers — just as the Tea Partiers have been dominating the national airwaves even though their ranks, according to survey data, constitute no more than 13 percent of the American public. Similarly, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh are very well remunerated for their high-decibel hate.”

The Tea Partiers number “no more than 13% of the American public” and therefore, Gabler argues, they should be marginalized and ignored.  According to the CIA World Factbook the entire African-American population of the United States is 12.8%. 

Do you think Gabler should tell America’s black population that their numbers are too insignificant to earn them a seat at America’s table?   Or America’s Asian population (4.43%)?  

The CIA estimates that 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic. 

A Quinnipiac poll says the Tea Partiers represent 15% of registered voters.  Add in those in sympathy with the Tea Party’s goals and the number shoots to over half.

Assessment:

Tea Party gatherings have been infiltrated by left-wing morons carrying racist or deliberately misspelled signs, hoping to give the mainstream media the images and video it needs to support its Tea Party narrative that they are all racist, insensitive, inbred homophobic, gun-toting red-neck insurrectionists.

It didn’t work, mainly thanks to the Arizona immigration law.  The Left trotted out all the usual suspects, accusing supporters of the law of being ‘racist’ as if ‘race’ has something to do with law.

Is a legal Mexican immigrant of a different race than an illegal Mexican immigrant?

Every single charge of violence levied against the Tea Partiers has been vindicated.  I am aware of only three allegations.  First, that a black lawmaker was spat upon by a Tea Partier. 

Not only is there no evidence that the perpetrator was a Tea Partier, there is no evidence that it actually occurred, despite the throngs of reporters and cameraman photographing every step of Pelosi’s defiant march through the center of the protestors.

Despite the microphones that captured Pelosi’s every word and grunt during that walk, none of them picked up the alleged “N” word slurs or the alleged gay slur against Barney Frank.

But to listen to the Left, the Tea Partiers are, as ACORN director Bertha Lewis warned recently, planning an armed insurrection that will see “socialists, gays, and people of color” rounded up and put into internment camps.

By grannies and moms with a kid on one hip.

Nobody thinks that Obama is Hitler.  (Well, I don’t, anyway.)  But it is certainly legitimate to note the similarities between their tactics.  Hitler defined the “Principle of the Big Lie” – Obama governs by it. 

The Nazi Brownshirts beat up and intimidated their opponents, stuffed ballot boxes and fabricated votes.   So did Obama’s supporters among the SEIU and his cronies at ACORN.  

Hitler demonized or marginalized his ideological enemies through his speeches and his control of the propaganda machine.   Obama demonizes and marginalizes his ideological enemies – by name — directly from the presidential podium.

When told of the massive Tea Party protests on April 15^th, Obama said he found it ‘amusing’ then mischaracterized and ridiculed the participants, finally saying that they “ought to be thanking me” as his carefully-vetted audience cheered him on.

Obama’s attitude is more than simply arrogant.   It is more than merely dismissive.  It is virtually delusional – and it is a delusion shared by a lot more people than propagandists like Neal Gabler or ideologues like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.

Comparing them to Hitler or the Nazis is like comparing a baby rattlesnake to a full-grown timber rattler.   It’s not what something is that is so dangerous. It is what it will become, if allowed to.

We study history for a reason. 

Somebody’s Child

Somebody’s Child
Vol: 103 Issue: 28 Wednesday, April 28, 2010

There is no greater blessing in life than one’s children. In my children I see the imprint of my life.  Each of them has their own story, and each story is also part of my story.   

Their triumphs are my triumphs; their defeats are as crushingly painful for me as they are for them.

I don’t re-live my life through my children; I live it more fully because of them.  

Through their children I vicariously experience the innocence of youth and the joy of learning – but this time around I get to skip the more painful lessons.

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.  Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” (Psalms 127:3-5)

People are ‘funny’ about their children (in the way bears are ‘funny’ about their cubs) – it’s not a good idea to criticize someone to his parents.  They might have a laundry list of criticisms, but you’d better keep your thoughts to yourself.

Having once been one myself, I knew better than to think my children were always right – but they were always my children.  

I’ve never had to do it personally, but I know that if one of them were to commit a crime, I’d expect them to face justice – with me standing behind the best lawyer I could afford.

Jesus referred to His Apostles as ‘children’ throughout His ministry.  Elsewhere, the Bible refers to Christians as ‘children’ as in:

“Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” (Luke 20:36)

I did a word study on the various Greek words translated as ‘children’.   There are several different Greek words translated into English as ‘children’ that reveal a lot about how God sees us from His perspective.

Because there are children — and then there are your own children.  

The Greek word teknon means ‘a child’ (as produced, biological); teknion ‘means a darling infant, as in one’s own); huios means a ‘son’ literally, symbolically or figuratively, or a descendant; paidion, means ‘a toddler’ or ‘childling’ of either sex; and breiphos, meaning simply ‘an infant’ .

Let’s look at at a few examples in context before going on.

“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children (teknon biological, produced) of God: And if children (teknon,) then heirs (kleronomos, inheritors) of God, and joint-heirs (sugkleronomos co-heir, fellow heirs, heirs-in common) with Christ. . .” (Romans 8:16-17a)

“For ye are all the children (huios) of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:26)

“And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, (teknion or darling, innocent infants) how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!”  (Mark 10:24)

“Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, (paidion: childling) he shall not enter therein.” (Matthew 18:2)

“For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children (huios sons) of disobedience:” (Colossians 3:6)

Because there are YOUR teknion— and then there are everybody else’s huios. 

“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (John 8:44)

God views the ‘sons of disobedience’ as ‘sons’ (huios) – only they’re not His.  They are the devil’s offspring.  They are of his family.  They are of his house. 

By faith in Jesus Christ, one becomes a huios of God (Galatians 3:26) through adoption (huiothesia).

“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, (huiothesia) whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15

“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children (huiothesia) by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” (Ephesians 1:5)

Huiothesia is a compound of two Greek words that mean ‘adopted son’ – a son by deliberate choice.   In the ancient world, a child by adoption was an unbreakable relationship – one could disown and disinherit a natural born son, but not an adopted son.

Adoption was a very serious business, and therefore adoption was a universally recognized expression of great love.   An adopted son is of the house of his adopted Father.  And the word “Abba” means the same thing in modern Israel as it did in Paul’s day.  

It means “Daddy.”

Assessment:

What did you do for your dad today so that he would still love you?  Did you call him up this morning?   Did you do anything lately that he ever told you not to do? 

What did you do today to make sure you didn’t get kicked out of your family?  How often do you worry about having to change your name because your Dad decided you weren’t good enough to be his son? 

Are you the perfect child in all respects?   Have you ever disappointed your Dad?  Did he kick you out of the house?   Did he tell you he never wanted to see you again?  Did he promise to kill you?  

Are you an adopted child of God?   Have you surrendered your life over to His care?  Did you ask Him to adopt you into His forever family?  

What did you do for God lately so that He would still love you?  What did you do today to make sure you don’t get kicked out of His forever family?  Have you ever disappointed God?  Are you a perfect Christian?

Do you really expect God to be less loving than your own Dad?  Do you really believe that God loves you less perfectly than you love own your less-than-perfect children?  What sin would your child have to commit before you would disown him?

Now, what about your kid’s friends?  (Or yours, when you were a kid?)  Ever have somebody else’s kid behave so badly you didn’t want him back in your house?   Or didn’t want him playing with your kids?

Suppose you banned a kid from coming to your house for some misbehavior and he showed up at the door, demanding to be treated like one of the family.  So you ask him if he is sorry for committing the infraction that got him banned.

Not only is he not sorry,  he thinks you’re a jerk and your rules are stupid and he has no intention of comforming to them.   Would you let him in?   Why would anybody think that God is less sovereign over His heaven than you are over your kitchen?

Salvation is a spiritual transformation from one family to another — from the huios of disobedience to the teknion of Christ, the huiothesia of God and sugkleronomos with the Heir of God.

The Bible says that a Christian is a new creation of God, not merely a new and improved version of the old one. 

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  (2nd Corinthians 5:17)

So, you don’t think you are worthy to be saved?  Don’t think you are good enough to go to heaven?  Worried that God will kick you out of His forever family for disappointing Him?  

Did you worry about your Dad doing that to you?   Ever think about doing that to your own kids?

Is your ability for unconditional love really THAT far superior to God’s?  Are you really that much more forgiving, that much more understanding and that much more fair? 

Or are you trusting in yourself to keep you instead of trusting Him?

“I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righeousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Galatians 2:21)

The ‘Israel’ Solution

The ‘Israel’ Solution
Vol: 103 Issue: 27 Tuesday, April 27, 2010

President Obama’s Syria policy of rapprochement instead of confrontation was questioned by a Congressional panel in the wake of charges that Syria shipped SCUD missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Syria’s government denied the report, saying that Israel made it all up as a pretext for a military strike.  

While Syria was denying the shipment altogether, Hezbollah issued a statement confirming the Shipment That Never Was consisted of old, worn out SCUD missiles that Hezbollah claims are ‘unusable’.  

While Syria denied it and Hezbollah confirmed it, Washington was preparing to return its ambassador to Damascus — after a five-year absence.

But the designated envoy, Robert Ford, still awaits confirmation by the full Senate, and while Obama may trust Syria’s intentions, many senators thankfully do not.

“It’s like they just spit right in our face,” said Republican Representative Dan Burton, citing a raft of moves by Syria that seem calculated to spark a war with Israel.

US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman faded the heat on behalf of the administration, insisting it was time to return the ambassador, saying Washington needed a direct line to Syria’s leadership as it makes decisions that could have serious regional implications.

“Syria has made mistakes before,” Feltman said. “We need to be making our message to him loud and clear and directly.”

“Do we actually have a policy toward Syria, and is it in our best interest? What are we doing?” Democratic Representative Eliot Engel asked. 

If there has been any message telegraphed to Assad since Obama assumed office, the message has been, “You’ve got a friend in Washington, DC.”

That would be a great message to send — to a friend. 

Obama expressed his warmth for the UK by pointedly shipping a bust of Winston Churchill, a gift from the British government, back to the British Embassy. 

During his Apology Tour ’09, Obama gave the Queen an iPod and Prime Minister Gordon Brown a DVD collection as representative tokens of how important that alliance is to his White House.

On the other hand, Syria has been a state sponsor of terrorism for the past forty years.  Syria’s fingerprints are all over some of the most reprehensible terrorist attacks in living memory.  The Syrian government is no less dedicated to the destruction of Israel than are its clients, Hezbollah and Hamas.

Syria is itself a client state of Iran, which uses Damascus as a weapons distribution center for the various terrorist groups aligned against Israel.  

Iran is also supplying weapons and materiel to the Taliban and Iraqi insurgency for use against American forces in those countries.   

So one can draw a line directly from Damascus south to the terrorist groups of the Bekaa Valley and on to Israel; or a line east directly from Damascus to Tehran — which branches out into both Iraq and Afghanistan where it threatens Americans.

And a third line from Damascus through Tehran to Pyongyang, where both countries go for their long range missiles and nuclear technology.  

This line from Pyongyang runs through Seoul, over to Tokyo, and from there to the American West Coast.

The revelation of the SCUD missile transfer forced the administration, albeit reluctantly, to put the plan to return the ambassador to Damascus on temporary hold.  

Temporary? Until when? 

Assessment:

The administration’s foreign policy, such as it is, is so foolish – and so dangerous – that one almost hopes that the White House is as incompetent as it appears to be.  

Because the alternative possibility – that it is deliberate and calculated – is even more chilling.  It would mean that the administration is distancing our friends and coddling our enemies on purpose.

Obama’s Israel policy is unfathomable to anyone except the Palestinians, who recognize it as virtually identical to their own policies.   Mahmoud Abbas is on record as saying exactly that.

Obama invited Mahmoud Abbas for an official visit to the White House over the weekend.  According to Abbas, while he was there, he laid down the law to Obama.

“Since you, Mr. President and you, the members of the American administration, believe in this, it is your duty to call for the steps in order to reach the solution and impose the solution – impose it,” Abbas said on Saturday.  “But don’t tell me it’s a vital national strategic American interest … and then not do anything.” 

By embracing the Palestinian demand for Jerusalem, Obama has cut the legs out from under Israeli negotiators who find themselves with nothing to negotiate over.  Obama has already declared all of former East Jerusalem as ‘occupied’ Palestinian territory. 

(“East Jerusalem” includes both the Temple Mount and the Jewish Quarter.)

Obama dispatched former Clinton ambassador Martin Indyk to deliver the bad news to the Israelis.   Speaking on Israeli Radio to ensure the widest popular audience possible, Indyk delivered Obama’s thrust directly into Israel’s back.

“If Israel is a superpower and does not need $3 billion in military assistance and the protection of the US, and the efforts of the US to isolate and pressure Iran, than go ahead and do what you like. If you need the US then you need to take American interests into account.”  

That seems pretty clear.   “You’ll do things our way or we’ll step back and let you die.”

To underscore the message and ensure that everybody knows where America now stands, Indyk also wrote an op-ed for publication in the New York Times.

“This is no longer just about helping a special ally resolve a debilitating problem. With 200,000 American troops committed to two wars in the greater Middle East and the U.S. president leading a major international effort to block Iran’s nuclear program, resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become a U.S. strategic imperative,” wrote Indyk.

Did you catch that?  The reason that America is as war is because of its support for Israel.  This has become the new ‘narrative’ (ie; lie) being inserted into Democrat talking points.  

It isn’t because the jihadists hate America – it’s because they hate Israel. Indyk wanted Israel to be sure and get the message, which he rephrased from his speech for repetition in his Times column.

“Given Israel’s dependence on the United States to counter the threat from Iran and to prevent its own international isolation, an Israeli prime minister would surely want to bridge the growing divide. Yet the shift in American perceptions seems to have gone unnoticed in Jerusalem”.

The message to Israel, like so many of this administration’s miscalculations, may well backfire, which is one reason I’m not sure if I am witnessing breathtaking incompetence or deliberate calculation. 

If it is deliberate calculation, then the only possible explanation is that part of Obama’s redistributive change policy is the redistribution of power from the West to the Islamic Middle East.

There is a reason why the US narrative for the war is being recast as retaliation by the Islamic world for supporting Israel’s right to exist.   

Obama and his crew have already decided that the war can’t be ‘won’ in the traditional sense, at least in part due to the reluctance to admit who the enemy really is.   

While realpolitick demands some kind of solution to America’s problem, Political Correctness demands a solution that won’t anger the world’s billon-plus global Muslim population.

I’ve heard this argument before.  Caiaphas argued for the execution of Jesus on the grounds that “It was expedient that one Man should die for the people, that the whole nation perish not.”

The Obama administration has evidently made a similar calculation.   It’s a simple, although naïve plan.  It comes down to defeating the Islamic hordes opposed to Israel’s existence — or the Islamic hordes defeating Israel, in which case it is a problem solved.

It is betrayal most foul, and it makes one sick at heart with shame.   But it is also entirely consistent with Bible prophecy.  

“And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” (Zechariah 12:3)

Obama has clearly decided to shake off the burden and let the problem solve itself.

I would have bet that this kind of betrayal of Israel by America would not have been possible during the Church Age.  I felt sure there were enough Christians remaining that no American president would dare turn his back on Israel until after the Rapture.

But I admit, I didn’t anticipate anybody like Barack Obama, either.

Peeking Behind the Curtain: What’s the Danger?

Peeking Behind the Curtain: What’s the Danger?
Vol: 103 Issue: 26 Monday, April 26, 2010

In the famous prophecy of the 70 Weeks, the Prophet Daniel views the future history of the Jews from the rebuilding of the Temple to the Crucifixion of the Messiah. 

 “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” (Daniel 9:26)

Notice the colon following the word, “Himself” in the verse.  That colon represents a jump in time forward from the Cross, skipping completely over the Church Age and picking up again at the beginning of the Tribulation Period.

This illustration by Clarence Larkin demonstrates the ‘twin peaks of prophecy’ with this chart from “Dispensational Truth.”

The “people of the prince” were the Romans that sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in AD 70.

“And he [the ‘prince’] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: [7 years] and in the midst of the week [3 ½ years) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, [indicating active Temple worship] and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, [fulfillment of prophecy at the 2^nd Coming] and that determined [judgment] shall be poured upon the desolate.” (Daniel 9:27 italics mine)

The ‘prince’ of whom Daniel is speaking is a prince of the political entity that destroyed Jerusalem and ended Temple worship in AD 70.  At the end of the age, that “prince” restores it by confirming a covenant between Daniel’s people [the Jews] and “the many” different peoples that surround it.  

So there are number of prerequisites that must first be in place before Daniel’s 70^th week can begin.  

First, there must be a recognizable nation of the Jews, situated in Jerusalem and in possession of the Temple Mount.  The State of Israel captured West Jerusalem in 1948 during the War of Independence against her Arab neighbors following its recognition by the UN.  It has fought five separate wars and lived in a state of constant hostility ever since.

Secondly, there must be a revived form of the empire that initially destroyed the Temple in existence during this same period in history.   

According to Nebuchadnezzar’s image, the final form of this empire will be the ten toes of iron and miry clay, led by ten ‘kings’ who share power and empower an eleventh, the diplomatic ‘prince’ who ultimately negotiates a settlement with the Arabs that restores Temple worship.

In 1948 the six nations that served as WWII’s main Western battlefield, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, West Germany and the Netherlands came together to form the “European Coal and Steel Community” which became the forerunner of the Western European Union, or WEU.

In 1973, Denmark, Ireland and the UK officially signed on to the EEC. And then there were nine.  In 1981, the Greeks joined the EEC. And then there were ten.  Prophecy teachers began making bold predictions about the return of Christ in 1988.  Then, in 1986, Portugal and Spain signed on. 

Jack Van Impe made a valiant attempt to reconcile this with prophecy, arguing the next member would subdue three of them, leaving them with ten kings and one ‘prince’.

But 1988 came and went and the Church remained.  And efforts towards full unification seemed hopelessly deadlocked.

Then, in late 1990 the 1^st Gulf War unfolded live and on television, showcasing American military technology in what came to be known in some circles as “the Nintendo War”.

Saddam Hussein’s military was battle-hardened, well trained and well-supplied with the latest in Soviet weapons technology.  It was considered the fifth-most powerful military force in the world at that time.

The buildup of military forces in Saudi Arabia began in August under the code-name Operation Desert Shield.  On November 30, Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm as the first wave of bombings began.  

By February, following a 100 hour ground campaign, the much-vaunted Iraqi military was surrounded, shattered and forced to surrender.  The Soviet Union, shocked at the ease with which America destroyed the cream of its military technology on the battlefield, dissolved before year’s end.

The Europeans, equally shocked at the raw display of American power, set aside most of their differences and formalized their new Union, with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty the following year.

The Maastricht Treaty created the European Union and set into motion the mechanisms necessary for the creation of the single European currency, the euro.

The European superstate was born.  But it had too many heads.   

In 1995, the ten original members of the WEU; France, Germany, Italy, UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Greece agreed to form the core of the European Common Foreign and Security Policy, responsible for Europe’s collective self defense.

In June 2000 the EU and WEU agreed to consolidate their respective ‘kingdoms’ under one subordinate ‘prince’ under the ponderous title of “High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, and Secretary-General of both the Council of European Union, and the Western European Union.”

That position was created by a recommendation of the WEU Assembly, article 12, Recommendation 666.

Assessment:

Recommendation 666 had much the same effect as did Greece’s entry into the EEC in 1981.   Everybody declared the EEC the fulfillment of Daniel 2:44, concluding that the Lord would return in 1988.

When Javier Solana was named High Representative for both the EU and WEU under Recommendation 666, some prophecy watchers declared Javier Solana to be the antichrist.

I know of several formerly-staunch pre-tribulationist preachers who switched over to become advocates of a ‘pre-Wrath rapture’ to allow for the Church to be present during the Tribulation Period. 

Javier Solana was promptly declared the antichrist by many.   Type Javier Solana into Google.  The first two entries are about Javier Solana the politician.  The next two are about Javier Solana the antichrist. 

Until Solana retired in 2009 and was replaced by Catharine Ashton. As a British baroness, she qualifies for High Commissioner and Secretary General.  But she doesn’t qualify as the antichrist.

The antichrist will not be revealed on this side of the Tribulation.  The Church will never know who he is.  I have little doubt that the position created by WEU Recommendation 666 is the ‘prince’ position forecast by the Prophet Daniel, but that doesn’t mean the current office holder is automatically THE ‘prince.’

The EU isn’t ready.  It has its requisite ten members, but not necessarily the ten that will emerge as the ten leading ‘kings’. 

Greece seems highly unlikely to emerge as one of those leaders — its economic collapse threatens the entire economic Union.  It’s more likely to be expelled than it is to survive to become one of the Final Ten. 

Going back to the 1991 Gulf War,  it seemed obvious to me that for Bible prophecy to play out, both the Soviet Union and the United States must decrease and some form of Europe must rise to supremacy.  

That process is well underway, but it isn’t there yet.  The EU is itself on the verge of economic and political collapse, but it cannot revert back into its former status as a collection of independent nations anymore than a pickle can revert back into a cucumber.

What must emerge, if a united Europe is to survive, is a leaner, smaller and more cohesive unit of like-minded states — what exists now is too fractured and fractious — it’s neither “old Europe” nor “new Europe” and until it becomes one or the other, it will remain neither.

This in no way suggests that the Tribulation (and the Rapture that precedes it) is somehow still years away.  Two years ago, the United States appeared perfectly sound — today we’re already composing America’s eulogy. 

The linchpin of Bible prophecy is still Israel.  America has begun to distance itself from Israel, but it is still the principle peace broker between Israel and the Arab world.   

For now.  But with Barack Obama in the White House, that equation could change overnight. 

What I want to highlight in this briefiing is the inherent danger that comes from filling in the blanks in Bible prophecy instead of letting God do it.   There are some things God intended for us to know, so that we would know that it was near, even at the doors.

All the signs that point to this generation as the one that will see the fulfillment of all things are in evidence.  God wanted us to know when it was near so we would be able to impart that sense of urgency to others.

But there are some things God has drawn a veil of secrecy around.  Counterintuitvely, THOSE things are the ones that make all the headlines.  

God has drawn a veil around the identity of the antichrist.  We won’t know who he is because he can’t be revealed until after the Rapture.   Mark ministries that claim they know who the antichrist is being in defiance of Scripture.

We won’t know when the Rapture will take place.  Jesus said no man knows the day or the hour, not even the angels in heaven.    He said we won’t even be able to guess — but that doesn’t stop people from trying.

Mark ministries that promise you the Rapture will take place on this day or that day because of some complicated numbering scheme or based on deep research into the Scriptures.   They are certain to disappoint — no man knows the day or the hour.  

Jesus not only said nobody could know when, He explained why. Salvation is by faith.

“But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.” (Matthew 24:43)

If we knew the date of the Rapture, then there’d be a world-wide revival the day before — a revival as sincere as an Obama campaign promise.   We only know what we know because God wanted us to.  We can’t know what He has concealed from us.

The real purpose behind identifying the antichrist or calculating the date of the Rapture is not to glorify God, but to glorify oneself.   There are limits imposed by God.  Seeking a way around those limits is an act of rebellion against His Word.

Bible prophecy is not given to us to be sensationalized into some kind of parlor trick to win converts to a ministry — it is given as a warning sign of His soon return to win converts to salvation.  

Converts to a prophecy ministry often fall away when the minister’s prophetic interpretation is proved wrong.  If their faith was in the interpreter, rather than the prophecy, then the foundation of their faith is destroyed.  They won’t trust the next guy, even if he is giving them the real Gospel.

I’ve seen it happen a hundred times in the past. They gave their faith once, and had it trampled.  They are unlikely to be that trusting again. 

We are eyewitnesses to the unfolding of future history as it was written thousands of years in advance.  That is more than ample testimony that these are the last days.

What can be more sensational than that?

”This Just In: Arizona Outlaws Being Illegal — Prozac at Eleven”

”This Just In: Arizona Outlaws Being Illegal — Prozac at Eleven”
Vol: 103 Issue: 24 Saturday, April 24, 2010

Back in the 1970’s when I first heard about something called “the Tribulation” it was as distant and unimaginable as was Captain Kirk’s 24^th century Star Trek.  

Back in 1966, Star Trek’s writers had one of the most interesting writing jobs in the country.  Nobody could imagine the 24^th century, so the standard limits of conceivable reality did not apply.

They were free to dream up transporter beams and communicators and warp speed and package it all together into a scenario that would still be coherent to viewers who were just getting used to color TV.

The series spun off so many spinoffs that the various versions of the 24^th century became as real to Star Trek fans as if it were future history instead of fantasy.

On the other hand, the Tribulation, which actually is future history, feels more like fantasy.   In my mind’s eye, I could never quite picture the Tribulation Period in a setting that was coherent with my version of reality.

When I would try and picture it, it would cloud over with visions of Heaven, angels overflying the earth, strange-looking beasts . . .   comparing it with my ability to envision Star Trek’s 24th century would be like comparing a live-action image to an animated one.

I could imagine the 24^th century, but I’ve ‘seen’ it – but I could never imagine the world as it is depicted during that time.

The persecutions, the imposition of the Mark of the Beast, official decapitations, the antichrist’s dictatorial powers . . .  those were the things I couldn’t imagine, because I could never imagine how the people would ever allow it.   

I’d heard of evil dictatorships.  I was born shortly after WWII and grew up on stories of the Nazis and how the Communists were worse.   But I knew of them only in defeat.  I couldn’t picture how such evil managed to take control in the first place.

One thing I was certain of – and that is what made it so hard for me to picture. We all saw what happened to them.  Nobody I knew would ever let it happen to us.  

What I missed – what we apparently all missed – was how it happened to them.   Because it is happening all over again. 

But this time to us.

Assessment:

“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, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof . . .(2^nd Timothy 3:1-5)

This is a description of cultural Christianity in the last days. It is a picture of the time just before the Tribulation.  That is why Paul concludes with the warning, “from such turn away.” 

I find that I no longer have difficulty placing the events of the Tribulation into a familiar, coherent scenario.  It is easier to imagine the Tribulation when it’s hard to tell from looking around that you’re not in it already.  

During the Tribulation, the antichrist’s power is rooted in both his ability to deceive, and the world’s willingness to be deceived. 

Yesterday the Governor of Arizona signed legislation into law making it illegal to be illegal under Arizona state law.   Arizona Senate Bill 1070 mirrors federal immigration law and requires state police to enforce it.  Evidently, there is a problem with that.

Immigration law enforcement is the responsibility of the federal government.  The federal government abdicated that responsibility, prompting Arizona’s legislature to take steps to protect its own citizens.  Now the federal government wants Arizona to abdicate that responsibility, as well.

President Obama called the Arizona law ‘misguided’ before making this bizarre observation: 

“Our failure to act responsibly at the federal level will only open the door to irresponsibility by others. That includes, for example, the recent efforts in Arizona.”

It was the federal governments’s failure to act responsibly that forced the Arizona legislature to act in the first place.  (Wasn’t it?  It’s hard to tell anymore. )

“The actions by the Arizona legislature threaten “to undermine basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans,” Obama said. It also may hamper trust between residents and law enforcement authorities, he said.

He said he has instructed U.S. authorities to monitor the state’s actions and to “examine the civil rights and other implications” of the legislation.

So according to the President of the United States, enforcing existing law “undermines basic notions of fairness that we cherish as Americans.”  

The law is not ‘fair’?  Not fair to whom?   The 70% of Arizonans that support it?  Or the illegal aliens and the Marxist Left that doesn’t? 

The passage of the bill was met by demonstrations outside the State House, consisting mainly of Hispanics and freshly indoctrinated high school students carrying signs bearing swastikas and chanting slogans — police eventually arrested nine demonstrators. 

But when liberals go berserk, it isn’t newsworthy.   So the press said almost nothing about it.

Google “Arizona demonstration violence” and top returns are about Tea Parties! Millions of Tea Partiers have gathered at thousands of venues without a single arrest or recorded act of violence.  

Hundreds of liberals gather at one venue — to protest the passage of a bi-partisan majority-supported bill that would require police to enforce existing law, nine are arrested — and the press is silent.

The Bible pictures the Tribulation Period as a time during which all the normal rules governing social mores are suspended.   What constitutes ‘truth’ is relative to what people want to hear. If they don’t want to hear it, then it is not true.  That was once hard to imagine in America.  Not anymore.

If you don’t like Fox News’ version of the truth, then you can switch over and hear CNN’s version of the same truth.  Or MSNBC’s.   

No two will resemble the other – but not only does nobody seem to mind, it is actually a selling point for the various networks. 

If you like Obama, you watch CNN or MSNBC where you are sure to hear good things about Obama and bad things about the Tea Party.

If you question Obama’s policies or support the Tea Party, then you watch Fox News.    All acknowledge that they tell a different story – sometimes by criticizing the other’s rendition of the same facts.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” (2^nd Timothy 4:3-4)

Obama’s reaction to Arizona’s decision to enforce existing immigration law is to promise to make enforcement more difficult for the state while it seeks ways to push through immigration “reform” that will further weaken America’s borders – in defiance of the expressed will of the majority.

The Tribulation Period used to seem so foreign and far removed from reality that, even believing the Scriptures, I could not imagine it in my lifetime.  I couldn’t imagine it even in the future.

Today, the only way I can be certain I’m not already in it now is that we’re all still here. Now, what I find hard to imagine is that we will remain here much longer.  

Maranatha!

Don t Call Me Intolerant — Or I ll Kill You!

Don t Call Me Intolerant — Or I ll Kill You!
Vol: 103 Issue: 23 Friday, April 23, 2010

There was a time when I used to watch “The Daily Show” – back when President Bush was in office.   Sure, they were unreasonably hard on the president, but the jokes were funny.  

It was my way of getting a sense of what is passing for thought within liberal circles without having to go through the inevitable breathing exercises to get my blood pressure back down.

I used to think that Jon Stewart was one of those rare individuals that could see past the rhetoric and get right to the irony – that’s the essence of comedy.  

Like when the four white guys from SEIU jumped a black guy at an Obama rally called him the ‘N’ word and beat him up for selling American flag lapel pins at a US presidential election because anyone opposed to Obama is a racist.

What about a collage of the president and all of his minions taking turns calling the Tea Party racist, homophobic, violent and dangerous extremists juxtaposed with actual footage from a rally showing the Tea Party grannies, moms, families and kids?  

It wouldn’t take much of a comedian to find the ironic humor of the whole thing.   But it turns out that Jon Stewart’s sense of humor only goes one way. 

Instead, what Stewart finds humorous is the alleged intolerance of the Tea Partiers because they object to paying for benefits they will never receive. 

It seems that one half of the country has gotten tired of paying the freight for the other half of the country, and Jon Stewart finds that ‘intolerant’ but finds nothing intolerant about calling his fellow citizens dirty names like ‘tea-bagger’.

“Architecture may be my favorite thing about religion,” says Stewart, speaking of a Swiss legislative decision to ban minarets.    

Stewart did a routine criticizing Swiss intolerance that went viral on liberal websites using such tags as ‘bigotry’ ‘hatred’ ‘intolerance’ ‘Islam’ ‘Muslim’  and ‘religion.’

Stewart also makes a big show out of how intolerant Fox News is. One wonders who he forces to watch all that bigotry and hatred to provide those excerpts.

Here is a typical example from one website that claims progressivism owes a debt to Jon Stewart for an attack the show made against Glenn Beck.

“As far as I can tell, a culture of intolerance is building in the far reaches of the American Right, and a hectoring style of argumentation is fast becoming the norm in conservative media circles – both profoundly threatening to the quality of our democracy.”

“If, day after day, you live wholly immersed in the world of conservative talk radio and Fox News, your vision of the world is bound to become not only seriously impaired, but also over-dramatized and under-populated.”

What is the best way, according to the liberals, to deal with the intolerance of the Right and the threat it poses to ‘democracy’?  

They need to be silenced. For the good of the country, in the name of democracy and tolerance.   It is one thing to be tolerant.  It is another thing to tolerate the intolerance of others for being so intolerant that they can’t see things their way.

“Does it matter? I think it does. It matters because such an impoverished world vision does not invite mutual tolerance and the celebration of diversity. It does not invite careful research and calm reflection.”

“It does not invite an understanding of complexity and balance.  Yet it is precisely at moments of economic difficulty and political change, of the kind we are experiencing now, that mutual tolerance, calm reflection and an understanding of complexity are most vital.”

The angry, tolerance-impoverished Right ought to take a lesson from the tolerant Left about “mutual tolerance and celebration of diversity” and either join them or shut up.  

Another liberal website championing tolerance and diversity put it this way: (warning: vulgarity alert)

“Conservatives should just shut the F*** up. All they are is a bunch of bull******* obstructionists . . . .”

Exactly!   They should be more like the tolerant Left.

Assessment:

The Left is tolerant of those who mock Christianity.  It is tolerant of those who mock traditional values.  It is tolerant of those who mock traditional families. It is tolerant of those who mock anything on the ‘approved’ list of intolerant institutions.

Like the Church, the conservative political right, Fox News, and all things American. They are ALL intolerant — and therefore fair game for the tolerant Left who just won’t tolerate their intolerance anymore.

Even the deeply depraved adult cartoon series “South Park” is suddenly too intolerant, it seems.  When “South Park” mocks Christianity or Jesus or Christian denominations, it is great fun.  It is a “celebration” of American freedoms, tolerance and respect for diversity.

After all, not everybody believes that Jesus is the Son of God and therefore worthy of reverence and respect.   So why should the tolerant Left tolerate Christian beliefs? 

Answer:  Obviously, they shouldn’t.  Christianity claims that Jesus is the only way to heaven and that is intolerant. 

Non-Christians shouldn’t have to tolerate that.  Christianity reflects no understanding of the complexity and balance of America’s ‘diversity’. 

(Does it bother anybody else that the dictionary defines ‘diversity’ as the opposite of ‘unity’?  Try this on for size:  “The Diverse States of America”).

Last week, South Park, whose disclaimer at the beginning warns that the program is so “tasteless and offensive that it shouldn’t be watched by anybody”; broadcast a program so intolerant that even Comedy Central found it necessary to bleep out portions.

In case you missed it (and I’m sure you probably did) the 200^th episode mocked the one ‘celebrity’ it had so far ignored – Mohammed.

The program finally screwed up the courage to mock the Islamic riots that had followed the Danish cartoons depicting Mohammed a few years back — by disguising their image of Mohammed in a bear suit.

A US-based website RevolutionMuslim.com (now shut down) didn’t get the joke.  Instead, it warned series producers Trey Parker and  Matt Stone they could end up like Theo Van Gogh (the Dutch filmmaker who was murdered by Muslim extremists after depicting Muhammad on his show).

The website also posted the address of the show’s production office, (which scared the pants off network executives).

Unsurprisingly, while next show followed the same storyline, this time it aired with a bit of a difference. 

Comedy Central bleeped every instance where Mohammed was mentioned.  The Mohammed character disguised in a bear suit the week behind was now covered by a large block labeled ‘censored’.

While Jesus is just another word — ‘Mohammed’ is a name that dare not be spoken by infidels. Not out of respect for Mohammed.  Out of fear of being murdered by adherents to the religion of tolerance, peace and love.

Comedy Central confirmed it was a network decision to bleep out Mohammed and block his image. The Muhammad content is also not available on the South Park Studios website.

A message on the site states: “We do not have network approval to stream our original version of the show. We will bring you a version of [episode] 201 as soon as we can.” 

Here are a couple of examples of previous storylines that DID have network ‘approval’.

When South Park took on the Passion of the Christ, there is a scene in which one character prays to Mel Gibson, thanking him for “proving the Jews killed Jesus.”

In a “Christmas” program, Satan sings about Christmas time in hell. Santa and Jesus perform a duet.

But the mere mention of Mohammed was bleeped out by the courageous folks at Comedy Central. Why?  Because they are too tolerant to tolerate such intolerance.  

(That – plus there is the whole Theo Van Gogh thing.)

It is a lot safer to keep up the assault on the intolerant grannies at the Tea Parties who want sick people to die quietly without health insurance.

And a whole lot more tolerant.  Mean ol’ grannies!

Demon Politics

Demon Politics
Vol: 103 Issue: 22 Thursday, April 22, 2010

The legislative assault on America started in 2007 with Nancy Pelosi’s “First 100 Days” pledge to “drain the GOP swamp” in Congress.

She made good on that promise when she became Speaker, draining the GOP swamp and replacing it with fresh Democratic alligators.  

She also made good on her promise to “break the link” between GOP lobbyists and legislators, replacing them with lobbyists of her own.

Fully two years before America handed over the keys to the front door to Barack Obama, Pelosi had already begun the legislative process of socialist wealth redistribution as she had promised during the ’06 Congressional campaign.

Pelosi contrasted her vision for America with that of the GOP, saying of the GOP:

“They have only rewarded wealth, not work.  . . . We must share the benefits of our wealth beyond the privileged few.”

The assault on ‘the rich’ was more than simply an assault on their wealth.   Thanks to Bernie Madoff’s massive theft — and the resultant cascading economic collapse, the Democrats were able to paint a great big bull’s eye on anybody who wasn’t either a union member or on the government dole.

The economic collapse was another gift to the Left’s socialist agenda – Barack Obama rode it into the White House like a surfer rides a wave. 

When the wave receded, exposing the wreckage left behind, shell-shocked Americans were too stunned to react to the onslaught of financial and social legislation that followed. 

By the time the dust settled, the administration had racked up more debt than had all the rest of his predecessors from 2007 back to George Washington combined.

And ‘the rich’ now means anybody who makes $55,000.00 per year, has a better-than-high-school education that is white, male, married and over forty-five.

And not coincidentally, that is also the profile for a right-wing extremist who may be plotting to blow up buildings.

The demonization of the Tea Party activists is among the most openly fascist techniques espoused by this administration, but the Tea Partiers are by no means the Left’s only target –  just the most dangerous to their agenda.

The administration had already begun the policy of demonizing its enemies within weeks of Obama’s inauguration. 

In March, 2009 the Department of Homeland Security put out an eleven-page memo entitled “Domestic Extremist Lexicon”  (note: PDF document, Adobe reader required) that identified pro-life advocates as “right wing extremists” and “violent” claiming that “they employ racist overtones while engaging in criminal actions.

Here is how the DHS memo described the pro-life movement.  (Remember, this is a movement dedicated to protecting the unborn from dissection in the name of convenience.)

The definition reads: “A movement of groups or individuals who are virulently antiabortion and advocate violence against providers of abortion-related services, their employees, and their facilities. Some cite various racist and anti-Semitic beliefs to justify their criminal activities.”

According to the document’s introduction:

“This product provides definitions for key terms and phrases that often appear in DHS analysis that addresses the nature and scope of the threat that domestic, non-Islamic extremism poses to the United States. Definitions were derived from a variety of open source materials and unclassified information, then further developed during facilitated workshops with DHS intelligence analysts knowledgeable about domestic, non-Islamic extremism in the United States.”

Last April, the DHS produced a “right wing extremist report” (also PDF format) warning that returning American veterans were prime targets for right-wing extremist ‘radicalization’ since they were already trained for violent attacks by the ‘right-wing.’

The April memo identified right wing extremist causes, including anti-abortion, anti-immigration, animal rights, black separatism, anti-technology extremism, Cuban independence activism, tax resistors, and religious extremism of various faiths – but specifically excluding Islam.

Assessment:

Demonizing one’s enemies is part and parcel of Politics 101.  In America, the politics of demonization used to be used primarily against external enemies.

During WWI the German Hun was portrayed as a brutal monster that ravished women and murdered children for their supper.  

During WWII the Japanese soldier was portrayed as a heartless, bucktoothed, weak-eyed but brutal killer – as well as a ravisher of women and murderer of children.  

But the demonization of one’s own population belongs to a different class of politics. 

Hitler used demonization of his political enemies to consolidate his power.  Hitler rose to power as the leader of what was primarily a labor movement. ( NAZI = National Socialist Worker’s Party)

Once in power, however, Hitler turned on the labor unions, demonizing them before banning them altogether.   Then he began to demonize the “brownshirts” that helped him to seize power – before ultimately dispatching them during the infamous “Night of the Long Knives” Massacre.

Hitler’s demonization of the Jews was a precursor to the launch of “Kristallnacht” – the event that historians view as the kickoff to the Holocaust.

Stalin demonized his domestic enemies as “capitalist enemies of the state”  before ‘purging’ them at various times during what is still remembered in Russia as “The Great Terror.”

Chairman Mao demonized his enemies “old ways of thinking” before launching his “Cultural Revolution” that ultimately resulted in at least thirty million deaths from famine.

The demonization of one’s own citizens by a government is the first step towards a fascist dictatorship.   Demonization of one’s opponents is the first step in an action plan that is expected to meet popular resistance.

Those that opposed Obamacare were demonized as selfish, heartless proponents of the status quo that would deny affordable healthcare to millions of their fellow citizens.

Those that oppose the cap-and-trade plan are demonized as greedy oil profiteers dedicated to propping up oil-rich dictatorships to rack up huge profits for themselves. 

Those that oppose the government’s financial reform proposals are demonized as wanting to maintain the status quo for their own ends. 

Those that oppose disproportionate tax increases on “the rich” are demonized as corporate fat-cats trying to protect their outrageous profits.  

And of course, there are the Tea Partiers, who are regularly demonized as domestic terrorists-in-waiting for the next opportunity to do something terroristic.   They favor private gun ownership because they harbor violent, anti-government tendencies.

About the only tea party protest to get national media attention this year were the ones at which gun-rights activists openly carried guns. 

Suddenly, the previously uninterested mainstream media was shocked into wakefulness!  Google retrieved more than 530 articles, many like this ominously worded LA Times report summary:

“Armed protesters gather in a Virginia park, citing threats to the Constitution.”   

Although only two paragraphs long, the LA Times was able to squeeze in this quote:

“It’s paid for in blood and, if necessary, we’ll defend it in blood!” said Bob Wright, speaking of the Constitution, as he and other protesters gathered at Gravelly Point Park, a national park just across the Potomac River from Washington.”

(“Blood!”  That’s what the Tea Partiers want!  “Give us BLOOD!!!!!!!)

I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating.  The Left is launching wave after wave of assaults against at various segments of the population, as if there is no looming election in November. 

Given the circumstances, it is more than counterproductive to their agenda – it is an almost suicidal attack.  

If the Right regains majority control of both Houses, Obama becomes a lame duck and the Left’s entire socialist agenda is dead in the water.

It makes no sense in the natural  — and that is what bears watching.  When it comes to the supernatural, everything gets turned around backwards. 

The Bible says it is the foolish things that confound the wise, that one gains victory through surrender, that it is through death that one passes into life eternal, and that while the things of the Spirit are foolishness to the world,  to those who are saved it is the power of God.  

Everything about the supernatural is backwards from the natural order. 

The first qualification for being a Christian is that you must first be a sinner, which in the natural, would seem to disqualify you for salvation.  It is by weakness that we are strong.

“For though He was crucified through weakness, yet He liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.”  

When Paul besought the Lord to remove from him an unspecified ‘messenger of Satan sent to buffet him,” the Lord gave him what, in the natural, would seem to be the exact opposite of the expected reply.

“And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

The enemy also operates from the supernatural.  From a place where it does make sense for a politician to demonize his own electorate in defiance of all natural logic. Like he doesn’t expect it to matter by November.   

Like he knows something that we don’t about why we won’t matter, come November.  

Prophecy? Or Predestination?

Prophecy? Or Predestination?
Vol: 103 Issue: 21 Wednesday, April 21, 2010

One of the most controversial (and least understood) points of doctrine apart from eternal security or a pre-trib Rapture is the doctrine of predestination.

“For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified.” (Romans 8:29)

‘Predestination’ suffers from the same malady as do many other controversial doctrinal issues — political correctness. 

(WHAT?  No, really.  It’s true.  Hear me out.)

There are two main objections to predestination.   One is doctrinal, the other, political.   Let’s look at the political objection first.

If the doctrine of predestination is true, then it follows that those who were not predestinated to be conformed to the Image of His Son were predestinated for hell.   That is politically incorrect;  it is hateful and exclusionary.    

The second objection to predestination is that it negates free will.  Of the two objections, this seems to be the one with the least ground to stand on.   Because God knows what your decision is going to be doesn’t mean that you don’t have any choice.

I could offer you a million dollars, tax free, without any strings or a good swift kick in your behind.   I could also predict in advance what your choice would be.   

You may surprise me and choose the kick in the rear.  But my prediction would not affect your choice. 

The difference is that in my case, I could be wrong on my prediction, whereas God isn’t guessing.  He already knows.   But YOU don’t know what your choice is until you make it.

Your free will is unencumbered.  

Assessment:

Many of the same people that just can’t seem to get their head around the concept of predestination have absolutely no problem in believing in Bible prophecy.   How is it that YOU view Bible prophecy?  

Consider the following Scriptures:

“I  am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.”

“For dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed Me: they pierced My hands and My feet. I may tell all My bones: they look and stare upon Me. They part My garments among them, and cast lots upon My vesture.” (Psalms 22:14-18)

Did Psalms 22 predestinate the Crucifixion?  Or does it simply predict it?  Is there a difference?  In what way?

Did God foreknow Judas?  Did God foreknow Caiaphas?  Did God foreknow the Roman soldiers who scourged Him, spat upon Him, drove the nails into His hands and feet?   Did God foreknow which of them would gamble for His robe?

Is this really even a question?  Of course God foreknew each of them — or He couldn’t have foreknown me.  Which then means the Bible cannot be true, since it says that He foreknows us all.

Foreknowledge is the same thing as predestination in the sense that God’s knowledge is perfect.  But since you don’t know your own future, how can your free will decisions be encumbered by the fact that God does?

The politically correct response to predestination being advanced as a doctrine is to shout “Calvinist!” at the top of one’s lungs, cover one’s ears with one’s hands and to run screaming from the room.

One needn’t be a Calvinist to believe that God is omniscient.  One needn’t be a Calvinist to believe that the Old Testament prophets predicted Christ’s First Advent.  Isaiah wasn’t a Calvinist when he wrote of the suffering Messiah of Isaiah 53.

“Calvinist” is a label applied to the five major points of doctrine outlined by French theologian John Calvin in the mid-14th century.   Calvin’s five points are identified by the acronym TULIP.

1. Total Depravity of Man  2. Unconditional Election 3. Limited Atonement 4. Irresistible Grace 5. Perseverance of the Saints.

Calvinism teaches that salvation is entirely the work of God; God chose His elect, the Son died to pay their sin debt, and the Holy Spirit makes Christ’s death effective by bringing the elect to faith and repentance, thereby causing them to willingly obey the Gospel.

I am not a Calvinist, primarily because the general understanding of Calvinism is that Calvinists need not witness to the lost because God’s irresistible grace nullifies our obligation under the Great Commission.  

So according to that understanding, I am not a Calvinist.  But that understanding is so totally flawed that it astonishes me that anyone can actually believe it.

If prophecy is foreknowledge, why is it not predestination? And if it is predestination, then what is the argument against predestination?  If prophecy were to fail, what would that mean?  That man’s free will trumps God’s foreknowledge? 

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the CALLED according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

The goodness of God in converting and saving sinners encourages others to hope in His grace and mercy. Our faith, our conversion, and our eternal salvation, are not of works, lest any man should boast. These things are not brought to pass by anything done by us, therefore all boasting is shut out.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” (Titus 3:5)

It is the free gift of God, and the effect of being quickened by His power. It was His purpose, to which he prepared us, by blessing us with the knowledge of His will, and His Holy Spirit producing such a change in us, that we should glorify God by our perseverance to holiness.

‘Holiness’ (Gk hagiasmos) means ‘purification’ which is a PROCESS, also accomplished by God through Jesus.

“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath BEGUN a good work in you will PERFORM it UNTIL the day of Jesus Christ:” (Philippians 1:6)

There are no Christians more deserving than others. Because you have not yet achieved the state of holiness others have does not mean you are less favored. We all come to the Cross equally lost, and we all came away equally saved.

Salvation is an eternal state for which each of us were called before the world began, or else the Bible is not telling the truth.

“Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”  (2 Timothy 1:9)

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that CANNOT LIE, PROMISED before the world began. . .” (Titus 1:2)

Let’s bring it together. Nobody can come to Christ unless they are drawn by the Father, who provides us with both the extension of the offer of salvation and the faith necessary to receive it, a calling that was sealed in heaven before the world began, according to His purpose and grace.

Our salvation is immediate and eternal, but our purification is a process, which, having been begun in us at the moment of salvation, will be performed in us — BY CHRIST — until the day we stand before Him. Lest anyone should boast.

That’s not my opinion of what the Bible says — look up the verses in context and see if you can make them mean something else.

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10-12)

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” (Romans 3:23-24)

Legalism runs counter to the clear teaching of Scripture. This is a very difficult doctrine to both teach and understand. It sounds like a license to sin.  It is not.  

“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” (Galatians 2:21)

We don’t think like God does, which is why He inspired the Scriptures.   To provide us with the tiniest bit of insight into the way God sees things.

Our relationship to Christ is unique — that God knows our hearts, and has already judged us accordingly. So that sin cannot reign supreme in our mortal body and thereby render us useless to our calling.

If the enemy can convince us of our own personal unrighteousness (of which each of us is acutely aware) or cause us to doubt the truth of Scripture or of our faith (which is a gift from God, lest anyone should boast) or cause us to doubt our own salvation, then we will not be able to effectively wield the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

God has a plan for each of us, and His plan is to send us to seek out and introduce others to their Savior. That is our assignment on this earth. THAT is our ‘calling.’

To spread the Gospel.

As Christians, we have an awesome responsibility before God. We have been assigned to seek out the lost and offer them the Gospel. To accomplish our mission, we need to be fully equipped for the task.

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” (1st Peter 3:15)

The most effective weapon we have in our war with the enemy is the knowledge that he cannot take away our salvation.  We walk in the light of the Gospel, but we remain human beings and sinners, washed in the Blood of the Lamb, but still trapped in the “body of this death“.

Consequently, there is never a time when we are unworthy to tell others of Jesus Christ.  

 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”  (1st John 1:7-8)

Bible prophecy isn’t Calvinism.  Is Bible prophecy predestinated?  Well, it is written down in advance.  The choices necessary for its fulfillment have not yet been made by the participants. 

And God says that Bible prophecy will all be fulfilled to the letter.  What else could it be?

Predestination plays no role in your free will, or in the free will choices of anyone else.    

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:Not of works, lest any man should boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8-9) 

Trust Him.   The more hopeless you think you are, the more you have to rely on Him.

Don’t let the enemy convince you that you aren’t worthy to carry the message.  After all, your prospect is just as liable to say, “Heck, if he can be saved, then there must be hope for me.”

God knew what He was doing when He gave you this job.  Trust Him.

And get ‘er done!  Maranatha!

Days of Noah

Days of Noah
Vol: 103 Issue: 20 Tuesday, April 20, 2010

When Jesus was asked what signs would precede His coming at the end of the world, He likened the social structure of those days to those of the days of Noah.

“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.  For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:37-39)

Most expositors interpret this verse figuratively; the days of Noe were the earliest days of restored mankind – the beginning of human government and the Times of the Gentiles. The coming of the Son of Man takes place at the conclusion of human government.

In this interpretation, the ‘sign’ is no sign — things will rock on normally, despite the warnings, until the Rapture takes us all away before judgment.

Others see the sign of Noe as meaning that like Noah, the Church will be carried safely through judgment.  

But instead of interpreting the ‘days of Noe’ figuratively, or symbolically, let’s assume that the Lord means it literally.   What were the ‘days of Noe’ like?

God created the angels at some time in eternity past – we know that they were eyewitnesses to creation from the book of Job (38:7)

God’s next sentient (intelligent, self-aware) creation was Adam, the first Gentile.  Adam primarily means, ‘a human being’ but its secondary use is to describe a common sort, low, mean, a person of low degree.

Adam essentially means “Basic man” — without any of the frills.   All men were Gentiles except for the polluted bloodline of Genesis 6.  

“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”

 Genesis 6:4 tells us that there were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that.  

These ‘giants’ (nphil-v.“to fall”  adj “a bully or a tyrant”, only secondarily a ‘giant’) were born to the daughters of men after the sons of God (ben-Elohim – angels) ‘came into’ (bow – come against, forcibly) them. 

These ‘giants’ we’re told, were ‘mighty men (gabor – powerful, tyrannical) which were of old, (owlam,  time out of mind, ancient, (almost eternal ) men of renown.’

There is a lot of information packed into this single verse.  The first is that they were the product of an unholy, forcible impregnation of the daughters of men.

The second thing we learn is that the “giants” (Nephilim) were spiritually fallen, tyrannical and powerful. 

The third is that the offspring of the ‘sons of God” became those which were the ancients from time out of mind, back to the very beginning.  Let’s look at that again!

These ‘giants’ became the ancients – one gets a sense of using the daughters of men in some kind of ‘cloning’ operation to ‘manufacture’ physical bodies to be inhabited by ‘the ancients.’

“And God saw that the wickedness (rarah –calamitous, immoral, evil) of man was great (rab abundant, enough) in the earth, and that every imagination (yetser, concept, thing) of the thoughts (machashabah – contrivance, machine) of his heart (leb – mind, will and emotions) was only evil continually (yowm – continually, hot, perpetual).” (Genesis 6:5)

So it was with the wicked and powerful ancients in charge of an increasingly immoral society.  Their minds and intellect were focused on evil, their contrivances and machines brought forth evil by design. 

“And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.”  Genesis 6:6

He repented??  What does this mean?  That the Lord made a mistake?   The Lord doesn’t make mistakes.  How can this be?  

It can’t be.  ‘Repented’ (nacham) primarily means, “sighed” – and only by implication or context, means ‘sorry’.    It also says it ‘grieved Him at His heart, suggesting remorse.

But God doesn’t feel remorse – God is perfect.  It grieved (atsab- to carve, with pain) Him at His Heart – literally, it carved His heart with pain’ at what the man He had made on the earth had become.

Controlled by the wicked and powerful spiritual ancients who shared with them their contrivances and machines which produced only evil by design.  

Assessment:

“Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” (Matthew 24:42)

The ‘days of Noe’ was clearly not intended to be taken symbolically or even figuratively – the Lord intended it to be understood literally. 

“And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Now, watch how the coming of the Son of Man is described by the Son of Man.

“Then two shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” 

Most prophecy teachers are disinclined to see this as a picture of the Rapture on the grounds that it proposes a fifty-fifty split between those who are taken and those who are left.

But Jesus doesn’t say that every other person will be taken.  Jesus gave two illustrations: one of two guys working in the field, and the other of two women working in the mill.

I’ve seen the Rapture depicted dozens of times in movies, documentaries and so forth – I’ve even been involved in producing a couple of recreations myself.

That’s the only way the illustration makes sense – as an illustration.

The pilot disappears, leaving the co-pilot sitting beside him.  The mailman disappears as he is handing a lady her mail – his stuff falls to the ground while she stands there staring.

That doesn’t illustrate that only pilots and mailmen will be raptured – the illustration isn’t even those raptured – since they disappeared, what would that illustrate? 

The illustration is from the perspective of those who are left behind, not those who are taken.  To them, it will look like almost everybody.

If ever there were a time in history that approximates the days of Noah, this is it.   Not because we’re eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage – that is a sign appropriate to any generation.  

The picture in Noah’s day was of Noah giving the warning and the world, mesmerized by the machinery of evil, rejecting the warning, was taken totally by surprise when the rains came. 

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 8-9)

Noah was NOT perfect – he was perfect in his generations, meaning his bloodline was unpolluted.  Noah “found grace in the eyes of the Lord’ and Noah walked with God.

Christians are saved by grace, and that not of ourselves, but it is the gift of God.  Lest any man should boast [of himself]. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

And because of that unmerited grace, there is therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, that walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1)

We are not perfect, but our bloodline is unpolluted, washed clean and pure by the Blood of the Lamb through the grace of God. And by virtue of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we “walk with God.”

The imagination of our hearts (movies, TV, etc) is only evil continually.   Our intellect creates the machinery of war, the epitome of evil by design.  

The signs are everywhere, and there is no shortage of Noahs out there giving the warning.   As it was in the days of Noah, so it is today.  Noah and his family were ready. 

Nobody else was.  Until it started raining out of a clear blue sky.

“Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” (Matthew 24:44)