From Big Bang to String Stuff

Sean Carroll
California Institute of Technology
Ph.D., Harvard University

Science is progressing, knowledge is expanding or should I say increasing. This is a good presentation most of us can grasp.

Can you imagine how far beyond us God must be to have set this all in motion, much less keep it going. Oh yea, we have it all figured out ... NOT.

In GOP base, a 'rebellion brewing' - Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin - POLITICO.com

In GOP base, a 'rebellion brewing' - Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin - POLITICO.com: "A quick tour through the week’s headlines suggests the Republican Party is beginning to come to terms with the last election and that consensus is emerging among GOP elites that the party needs to move away from discordant social issues.

There was Sen. John McCain's daughter and his campaign manager who last week demanded that their fellow Republicans embrace same-sex marriage. Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman – the most devoted modernizer among the party's 2012 hopefuls – won approving words from New York Times columnist Frank Rich for his call to downplay divisive values issues. The party’s top elected leaders in Congress, meanwhile, spooked by being attacked as the “party of no,” were recasting themselves as a constructive, respectful opposition to a popular president.

But outside Washington, the reality is very different. Rank-and-file Republicans remain, by all indications, staunchly conservative, and they appear to have no desire to moderate their views. GOP activists and operatives say they hear intense anger at the White House and at the party’s own leaders on familiar issues – taxes, homosexuality, and immigration. Within the party, conservative groups have grown stronger absent the emergence of any organized moderate faction."

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Does Sen. John McCain's daughter speak for John McCain? Do they really believe the election was lost because of some position on homosexual marriage? OK, if that makes you feel better about yourself.

National Statistics on Belonging, Belief and Behavior

American Religious Identification Survey

Twenty years makes a difference. “Nones” are increasing or at least feel a liberty in coming out of the closet. More vocal atheists are formulating their theology. We are as nice as Christians and we don’t need God to do it appears to be the theme and rally cry.

More Atheists Shout It From the Rooftops from NYT article shows “And now parents were coming out of the woodwork asking for family-oriented programs where they could meet like-minded nonbelievers.”

So is God dead … again? Christians are still 75% of the US population so it may be too early for a funeral. Did Jesus say everyone (or even a majority) will become Christian and then the end will come? No. He said this gospel will be preached to the whole world and then … (Mat 24:14) “Few there be that find it” my still apply. (Mat 7:14) Of the 75% how many are cultural Christians and how many have experienced a personal revelation of God that will remain convincing through coming deceptions?

And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast

Revelation 13:15 (King James Version)

¹⁵And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

(I would have preferred Al Gore but his holographic debut has been expunged.)

Here is Prince Charles Holo: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4174795

Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

Where in the following passage do we see Christians taking over the world. Where are influential men convincing the world through wise words to do the right thing. Pay particular attention to, ²⁶For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” Has God somehow changed is modus operandi?

Does this passage irritate you? Is this old thinking from some unenlightened time? Is this beneath you? Are you so very important and thus find this insulting and demeaning to you as a child of the King?  If so (in “you may be a red neck” terminology) you may be a Dominionist.

Did God tell Abraham to stay in Ur and affect it for good, influence it for Godliness, alter the Ur society for the better? Did God instruct Moses to work within the Egyptian system so that God could have His way? Was Lot to hang around Sodom and be a good witness, thereby saving many? Did God tell Noah to just hang in there and do the best you can, things will get better because of your influence? Did Rehab stay in Jericho and run for city council?

“Come out of her my People” has been a consistent command of God echoing throughout time.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (King James Version)

¹⁸For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

¹⁹For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

²⁰Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

²¹For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

²²For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

²³But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

²⁴But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

²⁵Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

²⁶For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

²⁷But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

²⁸And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

²⁹That no flesh should glory in his presence.

³⁰But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

³¹That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Hal Hits A Home Run - Global Governance

Mr. Lindsey's report for April 17 is particularly good. He does an excellent job exposing the basis for our financial turmoil today. I believe we are plunging head long into the time of the end and there is little we can do to stop it as individuals. We should however know and understand the historical underpinnings of our calamities. Understanding may aid us from being sucked into the vortex of developing deception.

Does this mean we will not see financial improvement? That's not the point. There will still be financial ups and downs on the road to Armageddon. The focus is on the end game.

I Chose Jesus and I’m Proud of It?

“I do not come into this pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, "You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for myself." My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Free Will – A Slave by C. H. Spurgeon is well worth a pilgrim’s time.

I come from an Arminian background and my understanding of Calvinism is slight. My increasing awareness of certain deceptions pressing against Christianity is curious. Possibly it is my own curiosity, maybe these deceptions are simply becoming more prolific, or perhaps more spiritual forces are at work. To what end or benefit this curiosity is to anyone but me is questionable.

One commonality within these deceptions is a man centered focus. "It’s all about me." I am therefore sensitized to positions that focus on man first and foremost as opposed to God centrality. Arminian approaches to God are certainly more man focused than Calvinistic approaches. Arminian man chooses God and God reciprocates by accepting him. Calvinistic man has no ability to choose God because of man’s fallen nature. God chooses those whom He wishes and man can only respond and be grateful for the selection, or is that election. (From my limited understanding.)

A Calvinist would have no problem with a “many paths to God” question. For a Calvinist there is no path from man to God. The path is from God to man. Humanism could not survive in a Calvinistic atmosphere. There exists no air for humanists to breathe. Does this make Arminian views deceptive? I can not go that far. I'm not that smart. But I see it allows an opening for deception to enter.

Am I now a Calvinist? I am a Christian and grateful to God for being one. I am not proud of any intestinal fortitude or innate wisdom producing my selection of Jesus Christ out of the many choices available to me. Does that make me a Calvinist? Somewhat.

Best Pre-Wrath Rapture Explanation

This site is extremely well done. It is the most well presented Rapture explanation I have seen. Which ever flavor Rapture timing you prefer, this site will help your understanding.
http://prewrathministries.org/millin.html

2 Thessalonians 1:4-10 (New King James Version)

4 so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, 5 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe,[a] because our testimony among you was believed.

Mainstreaming Deception

Many will be deceived in the last days, the Bible says (Mat 24:4). It would be reasonable to assume that Christians would see those deceptions developing as we get closer to the Day of the Lord. Being rich or educated or powerful has never precluded believing crazy, so finding rich, educated, powerful people subscribing to odd beliefs is no proof of end times. But something foreboding appears with us today. Not that any of the beliefs subscribed to are different from those of old. But these beliefs are viewed by so many as good and truth. Opera’s guru, Eckert Tolle, by way of Opera’s enormous following has gained angel of light status while repackaging old eastern mystic/new age theology. Hillary Clinton can channel or somehow communicate with the dead and it is no big deal and maybe a good idea. (We need all the help we can get?) Tony Blair can perform ancient Mayan ceremonies (while being newly Catholic) and few people bat an eye. Being newly Catholic apparently gives Prime Minister Blair the unction to reprimand the Vatican’s views on homosexuality. Mr. Blair’s “Faith Foundation” receives glowing endorsements from Mr. Purpose Driven, Pastor Rick Warren.

Does this reflect negatively on Pastor Warren? Maybe. I am certain these people are doing or intend to do benevolently for humanity. Their focus is on improving the human condition. They may all argue that this was Jesus’ emphasis. See, that is the problem for those of us familiar with the Bible. Jesus' emphasis was on redeeming mankind from man’s hopeless, fallen sin condition, not improving man’s temporal condition. He did show compassion for man’s suffering. He instructed us to help those in need. But his main focus was to preach the good news of the kingdom (Luke 4:43), salvation through Him and Him alone (Jn 14:6) (Gal 2:21); to sacrifice Himself as the final and perfect sacrifice thereby reconciling sinful man to an all Holy God (Heb 9:28) (Heb 10:12).

Not wanting to just accept references to something like Ms. Clinton’s channeling endeavors as true I did some searching. Paul Kengor’s book “God and Hillary Clinton” mentions Ms. Clinton’s conversations with dead people. Here is an interesting interview with the author. We are assured that, “Hillary was not, as far as we know, levitating above a table in the White House.” There is solace in that.

Mr. Kengor states, “Bob Woodward actually first reported this in his book in 1996. Mrs. Clinton did not deny the reports, and neither did her staff.”

He also states, ‘According to Bob Woodward, Houston had come to the grandiose conclusion that Hillary was personally carrying the burden of 5,000 years of women being subservient to men—nearly the entire history of female subservience had been tossed upon the back of Hillary.”

The Houston mentioned is Jean Houston, Hillary’s then spiritual advisor.

Yes, yes, I am rolling on the floor laughing as well. But there is a seriousness to all of this. There is a growing deception and it is being accepted in previously unimaginable places and by previously unimaginable people. Ancient mysticism with some new lipstick is mainstreaming. Mystery Babylon has always been with us but she appears to be making an end times run for it. One might call it a Hail Mary pass.

Revelation 17

The Scarlet Woman and the Scarlet Beast

¹ Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me,^[a] “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, ² with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
³ So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.^{[b] 5} And on her forehead a name was written:
MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

⁶ I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And when I saw her, I marveled with great amazement.

Remind you of anyone? She is more pervasive than we imagine and always has been since the days of Nimrod (OK Eve but it was not called Babylon then.) It is man seeking to be God, man seeking other gods, man seeking other paths to God. Babylon’s emphasis is on man and not God. God or god or any system is only significant as it benefits man. Some want to restrict Mystery Babylon to the Catholic church. This seems myopic and naively restricted. Babylon as a secular system and Mystery Babylon as a religious system has always permeated earthly systems and life since the fall of man. One could say it is the earthly system.

The Biblical world view is that man is only significant as he benefits God.

Oh, how we resent that approach. God has all the money, all the power, all the glory and we want some. What kind of God would demand anything from us. Doesn’t He have enough already? Is he some kind of dictator? Is He an egomaniac demanding that we worship Him? If He were any kind of decent God at all he would have formulated the world so we all had equal possessions. Not equal opportunity. That would not suffice. He should have arranged for us to all have the same money, power, fame … all the important stuff. We want some great collectivist utopia provided by God.

So instead of receiving instruction from the inventor of the machine, we insist on throwing the manual in the trash heap and operating this complicated machinery our own way. Instead of quietly sitting on the potter’s wheel while he shapes a beautiful vessel, we lurch and duck and fight. We are a pot wanting to shape ourselves.

Job 38

The LORD Reveals His Omnipotence to Job

¹ Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:

² “Who is this who darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?

³ Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me.

⁴ “ Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell Me, if you have understanding.

⁵ Who determined its measurements?
Surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?

⁶ To what were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,

⁷ When the morning stars sang together,
And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

What about all the starving people? What about those hurting masses?

Why on earth do we even ask that question? Do we personally hold some human power or possess some vast riches that can address the world’s problem? If so then please, by all means, use your power and riches for the good of mankind. Our first concern should be our personal right standing with our Creator, Yahweh, the God of the Bible. As we live out our life in right standing with God through the sacrifice of God’s “only begotten unique” son Jesus (Jn 3:16), His Holy Spirit will guide us into doing that which He requires of us. Is providing for the poor something we should do? Of course it is. That instruction has already been written down for everyone to plainly see. All Scripture has been given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible has volumes speaking of how to live.

This is getting long winded, relevant but long winded. The point being that if we understand a “man is created to please God” correct construct, we are less apt to fall prey to deception. If we believe God is all about pleasing man, providing for man’s ease and happiness, then we are wide open to humanistic deception. Mystery Babylon will be ever so appealing to us as it incorporates "Christianity" into it's language.

President Obama had it wrong, Hillary was chatting with the elohim (dead in this case).
Oddly enough I find President Obama's humor his most endearing quality. I despise the man's politics. I thought this was quite funny. I wish he had understood the correct reference.

Nancy Reagan was on the Astrology path how severely is debated. How much poison does one need to be serious is a valid question.

What is Unity?

What is Unity?: "Unity is a positive, practical, progressive approach to Christianity based on the teachings of Jesus and the power of prayer. Unity honors the universal truths in all religions and respects each individual's right to choose a spiritual path."



What path are you taking to God?

This all may seem old news and unimportant. My recent conversation with an old Moody graduate, pastor's son, book publisher says differently. I was shocked at how politically correct his Christianity portrayed itself. He obviously felt superior because of his past religious associations and intellectual accomplishments. A new religious system may not openly confront Jesus Christ. They are more apt to incorporate Jesus into or under their big blanket of political correctness and inclusiveness. They will visit the Holy Land, be baptized in the Jordan, and tearfully tour the ancient sites. But their Jesus will not have been raised from the dead and he is not the only Son of God. Don't ask me how that works for them but it does. We have first hand experience.

Every tenth Chinese is Christian | Världen idag

Every tenth Chinese is Christian | Världen idag:

Today, two Christian faiths are allowed to operate within carefully prescribed limits: the Catholics, who number about six million, and the Protestants, who operate under the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Their numbers are estimated at 21 million – about the population of Australia. All other Christian associations are illegal.

Recent surveys calculate the number of Christians worshiping independently of the State churches in China to be as high as 100 million. That means that almost one in every ten Chinese may now be a Christian, making Christianity bigger than the 74 million-member Communist Party.

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Way too early for Americans to be comparing ourselves to Communist China, Mao's Cultural Revolution and any upcoming purge or pogrom? Maybe. But a bed rock of the current house church structure in China was established by Watchman Nee and his Little Flock. I am struck by the flourishing of Christianity under persecution in China. But is this always the case. Was it so in Russia? Nee's grass roots Christianity seems unstoppable. Huge cathedrals in Russia today are basically museums and they emptied easily under old edicts.

Watchman Nee fanatically opposed denominational-ism. He opposed laity/clergy divisions. The Little Flock apparently had no need for church hierarchy because they directly followed the Lion of Judah.

Will we need Gorilla Christianity in our future? Or possibly you have not noticed that if you hold opinions contrary to our current socialist administration you are on the terrorism watch list.

Hedgecock seeks popular uprising

Who She Is Not

This lady deserves your respect and loyalty and labor but:
She did not die for you.
She can not redeem you.
She will not escort you into the kingdom which is to come.

This is the one you seek.

Throwing a Tea Party

Did you attend your Tea Party? How did you feel about it? I went. Legislative eyes are always busy counting numbers (votes) so showing up affects outcomes and attitudes. I don’t like the way America is heading on several levels and I would like to see the direction altered. But political involvement always brings questions to my developing Christian mind.

Does God set up every government?

Daniel 2:21 (Amplified Bible)

²¹He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding!^(A)

Perhaps this means that God only sets up some kings not all kings.

Are elected presidents the same as kings in God’s eyes?

Romans 13:1-7 (Amplified Bible)

Romans 13

¹LET EVERY person be loyally subject to the governing (civil) authorities. For there is no authority except from God [by His permission, His sanction], and those that exist do so by God's appointment.^(A)

²Therefore he who resists and sets himself up against the authorities resists what God has appointed and arranged [in divine order]. And those who resist will bring down judgment upon themselves [receiving the penalty due them].

³For civil authorities are not a terror to [people of] good conduct, but to [those of] bad behavior. Would you have no dread of him who is in authority? Then do what is right and you will receive his approval and commendation.

⁴For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, [you should dread him and] be afraid, for he does not bear and wear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant to execute His wrath (punishment, vengeance) on the wrongdoer.

⁵Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God's wrath and escape punishment, but also as a matter of principle and for the sake of conscience.

⁶For this same reason you pay taxes, for [the civil authorities] are official servants under God, devoting themselves to attending to this very service.

⁷Render to all men their dues. [Pay] taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.

Are we talking government in general? Every government? Only good government?

A serious Bible student can go around and around on this subject. In another place Paul instructed us to obey government so that we can lead peaceful lives. But what if the government forbids that which God commands. We have Biblical examples of government commanding the gospel not be preached or false gods worshiped. God’s view on these things are clear, government or not, we obey God. This may mean being thrown into a seven times hotter furnace.

In a democracy we presumably have “a say” in how things are run. This is both good and bad in some people’s opinion. How much effort and emphasis should be placed on temporal structures? Some say we can do both, walk and chew gum at the same time. Some say that efforts to shape government detract from a Christian’s commitment to God and efforts in God’s direction. This may presuppose preaching the gospel and accepting the gospel is God’s primary concern currently. Does God even care what form of government we have?

Democracy and capitalism is preferred because it allows for greater prosperity and personal freedoms to personally carry out the plan of God. Socialism is bad because it shifts the burden of personal responsibility to the state, concentrates corrupt power centers and stifles economic growth thus robbing recourses needed to carry out the plan of God. Is this the argument in some inadequate nutshell? Certainly the situation is more complicated. But America’s founding fathers understood the corrupting influence of power and attempted to legislate against it, decentralizing government as much as possible. Socialism naturally centralizes power. These are all good arguments in my opinion.

But in another sense I see following Jesus Christ as primarily an individual journey, a pilgrim’s progress. God is responsible for shaping nations. We are responsible for recognizing what God is doing and following it (plus tending the garden). One thing God is doing is changing individual lives. He is revealing Himself to individuals by His Holy Spirit. Some hear Him and respond (if you are Arminian), some were created to hear Him and can’t avoid responding (if you are Calvinistic). But either way God is in the business currently of calling individuals out of the masses and He is assembling a people to call His own. We understand that our individual relationship to God is a high priority with God, therefore we assist others with their relationship with God. He told us to make disciples, right? We fit into what God is doing currently.

What else is God doing that we can and should fit into? The world is filled with books and voices persuading us on this issue and that issue, planting god flags on every issue imaginable. We can’t possibly spread ourselves thinly enough to individually commit to every issue even if all those issues were important to God. So we are back to what do we personally know God is doing. We know two already, our own relationship to God and helping others with their relationship. Beyond that I couldn’t speak for you.

We often ask God “whose side are you on.” This is the question Joshua asked the Captain, Prince, Commander of the Lord’s host in Joshua 5:13. This Captain commanded Joshua to remove his shoes, declared the ground holy and accepted worship. Who do you think he was? His answer was “neither.” He was not on either side. God is on His side. He is creator of all. He makes all the rules and those rules are perfect. There is only one relevant question, “are we on God’s side.” Now with that right question various answers on how we are on God's side will be appropriate depending on where God has seen fit to place you today. For Joshua at that moment the right thing was to picket the place and watch God bring down the city walls. Now walk in and take over. There must be a lesson in there somewhere.

And you thought this was going to be easy?

Twilight's Last Gleaming - 66/40 - K-House

Twilight's Last Gleaming - 66/40 - K-House

Many are delighted to proclaim the "fall" of the USA. Whether this fall is overstated or not remains to be seen. However you cut it this country is in huge financial trouble. Chuck Missler has ideas and insights that are worth considering. Go to the site quickly because the download will not be around forever.

You can also access them on OnePlace for a longer time. Starts April 13.

NOAH'S ARK FOUND (in the Netherlands?)

MAN BUILDS REPLICA OF NOAH'S ARK (by exact scale in Bible) - Salvation By Grace - Care2.com

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No matter how you cut it, or how big a cubit was, this baby is Big and Huge.

Grieve for the few or grieve for the many

Family of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp, Owner of the Nation's Largest Privately Owned Abortion Chain, Dies in Montana Plane Crash: "Some of you may have seen the major news story of the private plane that crashed into a Montana cemetery, killing 7 children and 7 adults.

But what the news sources fail to mention is that the Catholic Holy Cross Cemetery owned by Resurrection Cemetery Association in Butte - contains a memorial for local residents to pray the rosary, at the 'Tomb of the Unborn'. This memorial, located a short distance west of the church, was erected as a dedication to all babies who have died because of abortion.

What else is the mainstream news not telling you? The family who died in the crash near the location of the abortion victim's memorial, is the family of Irving 'Bud' Feldkamp, owner of the largest for-profit abortion chain in the nation."

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At times BHT feels vindicated when people "get what they deserve." But we all deserve damnation for there is no good thing in us as sinful man. All praise be to the Lamb that was slain, whose sacrificial blood washes away our sin. There but for the grace of God go I. Our life is hid in Christ before a perfectly just God who would otherwise be unable to tolerate our filthiness.

That may be too Christianese for some, too much the language and jargon of Christianity. But it is not the language that people oppose, it is the concept ... the truth of it. Only when you change the language sufficiently so as to remove the true redemptive Christ and man's own wickedness from our vocabulary will the world be satisfied with your language. Fallen man will never be comfortable with the language of the gospel until and unless the light of the Holy Spirit shines upon him, revealing the truth.

Maranatha

Just Fun

Have You Seen Mary Lately?

BHT has met people who have visited Marian Apparitions. They had positive experiences it seems and are following the same Jesus I follow (the people I know). One even had a Medjugorje Visionary stay in here home, they are friends. But I am not certain all Mary followers are following this same Jesus. After doing a little research BHT decided to avoid the Mary road. Being a stickler on things being Biblical, BHT can not move that direction.

Not wanting to offend our Catholic friends I find this is a tough subject to approach. But there are some creepy things about these apparitions. Supernatural is not a problem for me. As an old Pentecostal/Charismatic, the supernatural is more attractive than intimidating. But there are buzz word concepts that make a Bible believing Christian’s hair stand on end when they study the backgrounds and agendas of the Marian Apparitions. Worshiping anything or anyone besides the one true God is one. (Yes, most of us see God as Triune Father, Son and Holy Spirit but we think that is still one.) Having any mediator between God and man other than Jesus is another. Any spirit or entity calling attention to itself, requiring or accepting worship is another. The Mary apparitions all seem to violate these. But wait, there is more.

Bible prophecy is robust with predictions of a coming one world government and one world church (the lady riding the beast in Revelation). There is a commonality within Marian Apparition messages. She is going to bring peace on earth uniting all nations and religions. Wow, she is not afraid of goal setting. How is she going to bring Islam and Catholicism together? Quite easily according to some.

Here is a place to download a pdf of “Queen of All,” a book laying this all out. On this same page are audio links of interviews with the author. This is all very interesting.

Link: Eternal-Productions

Link: Topical Study Queen of Heaven

Link: Don't miss the video (This can be choppy depending on bandwidth)

To avoid deception it helps to know the common themes of deception that have developed over the years. I don’t mean among Catholics but general Luciferian deceptions. Following is by no means a complete list. Remember the old adage “Fool me once”? I like “There is a sucker born every minute.”

1. Unifying nations /world domination (from the time of Babel onward)
2. Unifying religions / many paths to God
3. Intensifying man’s inner light thus achieving divinity (May the force be with you.) I am a god in the making. Give me a bite on that apple. Let me show you a secret.
   
4. Reincarnation (If at first you don’t succeed.)
5. Alien seeding of life (and you mistook us for God)
6. God is universal / in everything / energy (definitely not a person)
7. The Bible's way is good but adding "this" will be even better.
8. Save the planet (new you say ... nope, age old Gaia worship)
   

Global Warming Classroom

Global Warming Classroom: "Eighty percent of the American population now believe that man is responsible for global warming. Emerging science, however, is providing important new under-standing of this issue. Yet, this information is not getting out to people, especially to our school children."

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Home schoolers can use this info.
You may wish to listen to Dr. Michael Coffman here: http://www.futurequake.com/Audio/FQShow150.mp3

Conspiracy Nuts

PID Raido Link For some more fun listening.

Remember to use the Third Lens of Biblical Prophecy to view things clearly as per Joel Rosenberg.

Here, There or In the Air

1-7 The PRE - WRATH RAPTURE of the Church
2-7 The PRE - WRATH RAPTURE of the Church
3-7 The PRE - WRATH RAPTURE of the Church
4-7 The PRE - WRATH RAPTURE of the Church
5-7 The PRE - WRATH RAPTURE of the Church
6-7 The PRE - WRATH RAPTURE of the Church
7-7 The PRE - WRATH RAPTURE of the Church

Makes me want to buy his book but for $17 hard cover, probably not. It is $13 new and $7 used on Amazon, so maybe.

I have a feeling we will be hearing much more about this in the days and months to come as the world heads down the drain (better get at your "best life now" business in a hurry). BHT is leaning toward pre-wrath/post-something. Many of my favorite teachers are pre-trib but so be it. Reading early Church Fathers gives me the impression they expected the church to witness the man of sin and experience the trouble surrounding him. Yes some interpret the exact opposite from the same writings so it is not always an easy conclusion. The early church expecting to see big trouble along with the structural contortions one must use to arrive at pre-tribulation theology pushes me away from a pre-tribulation position. But both sides have convincing arguments.

People on both sides of the issue are trying to understand it correctly. This is nothing over which to fight or get all bent out of shape. Much like the young vs old earth question (it was just made to look old ... please), the subject is interesting but not deal breaking. It is a great source of income for those writing books ... it keeps them off the streets.

All views feel their particular slant on rapture timing is essential for Christian preparedness. Pre-trib. keeps you on the edge of your seat expecting each day that Jesus may return. Posters feel their view of going through a time of trouble sobers the Christian mind and encourages us to "prepare." As a practical matter one could believe in pre-trib. Then, if we see God win a war in Israel; a peace treaty in Israel brought about by some smooth talker, the temple being rebuilt, or any of the various signs, we can adjust our views accordingly. What exactly are the Post people doing to "prepare" that any Bible beliving, Christ following Christian is not? If the problem is not being serious about one's faith, I suspect our position on the rapture is not the core problem.

While reading early church fathers another theme jumps out at me. They were concerned with how Christians lived their lives and they saw a connection with the way one lives and one's salvation. (Legalists rejoice!) Arriving at a cheap grace position from early church writing (the Bible included) is difficult. Just thought I'd throw that in for free. Hey, I don't like it either but it is hard to ignore. I would much rather simply say a little prayer and be done with it. But how does that square with the "good fight of faith"?

Edit: Once Saved Always Saved Special
Revelation 3:3 (To the church at Sardis)

Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. ⁴ You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. ⁵ He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

I assume if one's name can be blotted out of the Book, one's name was originally in the Book. So we now have eternal insecurity? (Who said this was simple?)

Someone said, "I don't know the answer but you are asking the right question." Asking the right questions suggests we are concerned about the right things. Our concerns reveal where our heart is. If our hearts are right we are more apt to do what is right. So put down that deck of cards ... just kidding. It's the old legalism slipping in. But perhaps they were asking the right questions. Yes, I know ... there is more to it, there always is.

Are You Confickered

Conficker Eye Chart
Go here and check it out. Most computer viruses worth their salt will block access to anti-virus sites, the theory behind this simple web page.

Israel's Recent History

(go to WebRadio)

Zola Levitt has a long but interesting video on Israel here.
Shalom!

The Bible Simply Copies Other Religions

“I used to believe in the Bible until I found the Epic of Gilgamesh and his story of the flood. I realized that the Bible is only a copy of other religions.” Have you heard this objection to believing in the Bible? Some find the similarity of some ancient stories to some Biblical accounts convincing proof of Biblical non-originality. Commonly people simply read about the ancient texts in some work which is attempting to discredit the Bible.  Actually reading the ancient texts (translated of course) would be helpful. There is a world of difference in the non-Biblical accounts and those found in the Bible. Non-Biblical account are filled with egotistical fantasy.  There is no replacement for reading something yourself.

Why would we be surprised to find common references to ancient happening across cultural lines. Great Flood accounts exist in most if not all cultures. Would this not validate the flood? Would it not lean more toward a validation of the Bible than toward invalidation? So it is with other similarities.

Gilgamesh is no mystery to students of Scripture. Biblically his reference is Nimrod. Dr. David Livingston has a good article entitled “Who Was Nimrod.” Possibly the grave of Gilgamesh has bee found. No one says if anyone was home.

Actually reading the documents people compare to the Bible is always eye opening. So it is with the Koran and all the rest.

The Universe is 13.73 +/- .12 billion years old! | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

The Universe is 13.73 +/- .12 billion years old! | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine: "WMAP Results

A lot of this information was determined a while back, just a couple of years after WMAP launched. But now they have released the Five Year Data, a comprehensive analysis of what all that data means. Here’s a quick rundown:

1) The age of the Universe is 13.73 billion years, plus or minus 120 million years. Some people might say it doesn’t look a day over 6000 years. They’re wrong.

2) The image above shows the temperature difference between different parts of the sky. Red is hotter, blue is cooler. However, the difference is incredibly small: the entire temperature range from cold to hot is only 0.0002 degrees Celsius. The average temperature is 2.725 Kelvin, so you’re seeing temperatures from 2.7248 to 2.7252 Kelvins.

3) The age of the Universe when recombination occurred was 375,938 years, +/- about 3100 years. Wow.

4) The Universe is flat.

5) The energy budget of the Universe is the total amount of energy and matter in the whole cosmos added up. Together with some other observations, WMAP has been able to determine just how much of that budget is occupied by dark energy, dark matter, and normal matter. What they got was: the Universe is 72.1% dark energy, 23.3% dark matter, and 4.62% normal matter. You read that right: everything you can see, taste, hear, touch, just sense in any way… is less than 5% of the whole Universe."

--

Read the entire article, quite interesting and fairly simple. Understanding or accepting that God chose such a fascinating method of creation limits God in some way for some people. They would rather view a God who waived some magic wand producing everything instantaneously and unexplainably. Well, in a way He did in Big Bang fashion. In BHT's eyes, the God who can orchestrate this vast creation, micro-tuning it over billions of years (as a sort of pastime hobby) is mind blowingly huge. God said (in the Bible) that if we looked at nature we would see Him. Sure enough, the more we look the more we see ... God.

In case you missed it, 95+% of the universe is made up of "stuff" that no one can see and no one understands. Just in case you believe "they" have everything pretty much figured out. But a lot is being understood and it is all amazing.

Take a gander at just the "little" Milky Way Galaxy.
Check out the Hubble Site.
It could be wrong. (But never small)

However God did it, I am impressed.

Epicenter a BigHuge Pick

As Mr. Rosenberg says, looking at history and current events through the third lens of Scripture brings much of the confusing and senseless into focus. “Epicenter” does well explaining how this works. In today’s messy world a little focus is a good thing. Viewing the world through politics and economics alone blurs the picture of today’s events.

The chapter on church growth in the Islamic world is a bonus. I have heard previously about Muslim conversions but never as effectively told and compiled as  in “Epicenter.” This is not just another Muslim bashing book. Hope is revealed in what is otherwise a hopeless situation. Not a business as usual kind of hope but Kingdom of God kind of hope.

I think it is an important work. No new revelations are revealed on Ezekiel’s prophecies for those already familiar. But those prophesies are effectively applied to current events … a third lens. I have never seen them explained and applied more clearly. Even if you choose not to read his other fiction books, this one is good choice.

Better Way To Read The Bible In One Year

The Blue Letter Bible website has a wonderful way of easily listening to and reading the Bible in one year.

http://www.blueletterbible.org/reader/daily/index.cfm

This site is packed full of teachings and resources.