Kingdom Come

Revelation 2:18-29

“And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass; I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first. 

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. 

[Jan] Crouch was, perhaps, one of the most influential televangelists of the modern era.On television, she played the role of wife and mother, wearing elaborate outfits and outsized wigs and falsies; nodding along to her husband’s sermons, swaying to that idiosyncratic sound of Christian contemporary music and, of course, testifying about the good will of God.

“Momma Jan” was part of a multi-billion dollar empire. With her husband Paul Crouch, Jan founded Trinity Broadcast Network (now called TBN) in 1973, the 24-hour network dedicated to a particular kind of Christian programming. Crouch and her husband, long-time hosts of Praise the Lord, were the very memorable faces of “prosperity gospel,” a controversial brand of Evangelical Christianity that has a laser focus on “give and you will receive.” TBN, and the Crouches, raked in millions of dollars as they solicited donations from their sleek television sets while enacting a kind of contemporary worship…

Continue reading “194) The Corrupt Church Rev 2:18-29”

“And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” (Revelation 3:1)

Around 612 BCE, the Assyrian Empire was conquered by the Neo-Babylon Empire. This opened up new horizons for the wealthy kingdom of Lydia in Anatolia, with its capitol at Sardis, which turned its attention from defending the eastern front to overrunning its western rivals, the Greek Ionian cities along the coast.

Lydian rulers, however, admired the Greeks and treated the Ionian cities leniently… Croesus, the last Lydian king, even paid for the construction of the temple of Artemis, which became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Thus, the Ionian coast city-states and the Lydians remained on peaceful terms with very tight cultural and commercial relations. Sardis was a centre for the traffic of goods and ideas between Mesopotamia and the Greek Ionian settlements, a crossroad of trade, and an ideal meeting point for the exchange of ideas, beliefs, customs, knowledge, and new insights. This rich exchange was one of the factors that, around 600 BCE, allowed the Ionian cities to turn into the intellectual leaders of the Greek world.

Continue reading “195) The Corpse Church Rev 3:1-6”

In the transformation of Rome from a publicly pagan to a publicly Christian Empire which was in reality just a new face on the old Mithraism, is God going to stand by and do nothing?

Not according to his word, he’s not.

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the LORD, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple…

And I will come near to you to judgment; and…fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. For I am the LORD, I change not…

Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another…and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD / YHVH, and that thought upon his name / attributes of Singularity and righteousness...” (Malachi 3)

Was it even possible to find a righteous Messenger to the peoples of the world from Christianity? It is a fact that Christianity had become thoroughly corrupted after its politicization within the Roman Empire in the 4th Century.

And what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Muhammad c. 570 CE – 8 June 632 CE), the founder of Islam. He claimed to be God’s Messenger, the final prophet of God sent to restore orthodox monotheism previously preached by Adam, Noah, and leaders of the Hebrews including Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Paul.

Contrary to what became a tenant of faith of Christianity, Paul based his gospel of salvation not on knowing and calling on the name of Jesus Christ but on the preceding scriptures of the prophets which prove Jesus Christ’s role in salvation as the Son of God.

“to him [that is God only, NOT Jesus Christ, see below] that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen.” (Romans 16:26-27)

Moslems categorize themselves, Jews and Christians on the basis of God’s word. That is a value judgment if ever there was one. So before denouncing Islam out of hand, we need to examine the basic tenants of the faith.

Continue reading “SECTION XL: I Will Send My Messenger Before Judgment”

Believers in the Qur’aan love Jesus / Esa or Isa, honor him, and believe in him. Muslims respect and venerate Jesus Christ. They consider him to be one of Almighty God’s greatest messengers to humankind. 

Every nation and every people, from the Aztecs to the Greeks, have received a Prophet or a Messenger from Almighty God: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.” (Romans 10:17-180

Each of the many Messengers spoke a different language and followed varied customs. Yet the core faith taught by each was the same: surrender your imperfect and fickle will to the perfect will of the Power that is greater than you. You will then find the peace and freedom that only the Creator of all things can provide. Then you must do what is right and good to your fellow creatures. This way of life is called Islam in Arabic – Surrender.

In this sense, he was “a word” of Almighty God’s and a special sign for humanity. In fact, Jesus the Messiah / Christ was the last in a long line of religious guides sent to the Jews: “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)

Continue reading “198) Can Any Good Thing Come Out Of Islam?”

From the last chapter in the Bible:

“Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book…for the time is at hand.

• He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still:
• and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may  enter in through the gates into the city. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.

And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22)

Athirst for what? Jesus defines this for us.

“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

Christianity has been thoroughly paganized by its reliance on calling on the name of a god to improve one’s state in the afterlife while free to continue enjoying the pleasures of sin on earth. Anyone who has truly bonded with the Holy Spirit abhors the sight and sound and touch of sinful behavior for the utter corruption that it is! Who wants to eat rotted meat? Who wants to physically engage in intimate behavior with a corpse? 

“ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light…Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (I Peter 2:9-12)

For a long time Christianity regarded itself as part of Judaism.

Continue reading “199) Righteousness Is Not A Religion”

Membership in a family / household / nation requires fulfilling responsibilities.

“when Abram heard that his brother / nephew was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan…and smote them, and pursued them…And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. (Genesis 14)

This precept is so important that multiple examples are given in scripture from “Abraham, who is the father of us all [believers in YHVH’s Savior]”. (Romans 4:16)

Continue reading “200) Sonship Granted To Those Who Do The Father’s Will”

I’m afraid we modern believers are more like Lot than Abraham. We don’t understand the details of our national membership from a biblical standpoint. Exactly like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day we take for granted that we can have all the benefits of being in Father Abraham’s nation because the patriarch / father of a nation has the authority to choose who will be included in his nation, regardless of their genetic ancestry.

Check that again. Have we overlooked the essential element that – the father of a nation has the authority to choose who will be included in his nation.

Period.

Bestowing of sonship and inheritance by the Father to person(s) of his choosing is what Abra(ha)m was talking about as he prepared to make his trusted servant his heir.

Continue reading “201) Inheritance Determined By The Father”

Remember why God created humans in the first place?

“And God said, Let us make man.. and let them [not angels] have dominion.” (Genesis 1:26)

• thou crownedst him with glory and honour [achieved in battle!]
• and set him over the works of thy hands:
• Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet…
• But now we see not yet all things put under him.” (Hebrews 2:6-8)

Make the connection! The end of time / death is when the humans made in God’s likeness win back the dominion he granted to us! This is a massive responsibility.

Surely you’ve gone through the process of being vetted for a job. The more responsibility the job entails, the more qualifications are demanded.

Continue reading “202) God Assigned Dominion To Ishmael”