063 Wonderful Counselor

What many people don't know about the Bible is that it contains hundreds of ancient prophecies, written hundreds of years before they were being fulfilled. Of course, there are those who claim that the entire Bible is a fraud, just like they would have us believe that God is an invention of man, instead of the other way around, but I covered that earlier.
One of the ancient prophecies I'm referring to, is the one by the prophet Isaiah from around 700 B.C., which we also included in our Christmas card, shown in our Christmas post below:
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).
In this, one of the most beautiful prophecies about Jesus' birth, Isaiah describes a child that would be born, although at the same time it would be "The mighty God, The everlasting Father," etc.
Most Christians refer to Jesus also as "Wonderful," and some, thankfully, still consider Him the Prince of Peace (not the champion of warmongers), but the one thing I'm particularly thankful for this morning, which unfortunately is the one attribute that is not so avidly recognized by most of His believers, is that Jesus is also the most perfect Counselor one could possibly have.
I personally love communicating. Especially about spiritual and heavenly things. And the neat thing is, so does the Lord. But it seems that in most cases, He needs to trick us into accepting, receiving, or even becoming aware of most of His attempted communications with us.
Still, the majority of believers consider prayer to be their monologue directed at God. "After all," they figure, "He said His piece, and whatever He had to say, in the Bible." And then He quit talking ever since...

A mute God, instead of a Counselor. There are even some catholics who are smarter than that. One of them is Richard Rohr, the Franciscan who puts it so wonderfully in his book "Radical Grace:" "Unless we can presume that the Lord is speaking right now, how can we believer that He ever spoke? To have an attitude of faith is to hear the Lord speaking everywhere and all the time, in the concrete and ordinary circumstances of our lives."

There are many Promises in the Bible in which God tells us that He would counsel us, if we care to listen. God's phone number, Jeremiah 33:3, for instance, says, "Call unto Me, and I will show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."
In the Psalms He promises, "I will guide the with Mine Eye," or elsewhere, "thou shalt hear a word behind thee, saying, 'This is the way...'" or "Knock and it shall be opened unto you," "Acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths."
In other words, if you have a little time on hand, but no cash to spend on therapists or counselors who will "lead thee in the paths" of Nietzsche and Freud, try the best Counselor of all times. In fact, He's so good at it, advertisement for His services was already written 700 years before He was born.
Try a little hearing from Heaven, and see what it can do for you!

Happy Christmas to Y'all!

Happy Birthday, Wonderful Counselor!

062 Inconvenient Truths

Last night, under the motto, "better late than never," we watched Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth." A bit late, since I have developed a natural distrust toward politicians in general, but during the course of the film I couldn't help but imagining what a different place this world might be right now, if Al Gore would have won the presidential elections in 2000...
Being a creationist, it may sound odd for me to say that I would have preferred a president who believes in Evolution to one who even passed a bill in favor of creationism in parts of his country, but I kept saying, "This man is intelligent." I mean, he's actually capable of formulating entire grammatically correct phrases in a row without problems. Not to mention the actual sincere concern not only for his own country, but the entire planet, which one can tell is real by a look into his eyes, and not some permanent hideous smirk of one who knows he's only in power because of nasty trickeries, deceptions and frauds.
It confirms what I've been saying throughout this blog, such as in my articles about Gandhi or Yusuf Islam, better known as the former pop star Cat Stevens: It doesn't matter what somebody claims to believe, actions speak louder than words.
Or what I've said about the Pharisees: the religious leaders of Jesus' day basically believed or professed to believe the same things Jesus did, they read the same Scriptures and called the same God their Father.
But Jesus corrected them, and told them, that's what they thought, but in reality they were children of the Devil.
It doesn't matter if one believes or claims to believe all the right things in their heads. If their heart isn't right, it's of no avail. "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Mt.7:20).
I recently discovered a wonderful web preacher, who pretty much happens to defend the same point as I, that many people who call themselves Christians, but in reality give ear to doctrines that "tickle the ear" are simply sincerely deceived, and subject to the spirit of witchcraft, and that they may have another thing coming...
It's kind of encouraging to know that I'm not the only lunatic on the web preaching such things, although my degree of lunacy probably goes a few degrees further than that of Monica Dennington.

So, the gist is, even if George Bush really believed what he claims to believe in, (which I personally doubt, but even if he did,) I believe the world would have been better off with Al Gore for president. But I suppose, this world isn't destined for any genuine and lasting improvement or salvation brought by our own hands, because the point God is precisely trying to make is that no matter how many good intentions there may be, we're just going to make a mess of things without Him. In fact, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions,"
"and many there be which go in thereat" (Mt.7:13,14), (not to mention those with less than good intentions).

On the other hand - being the skeptic I am, especially when it comes to politicians - perhaps the whole things is just part of the plan of making Christians - and especially Creationists - look so stupid that it won't be hard to convince the rest of the world that they'd all be better off without them.

61 Happy Christmas!

Even though Christmas may not be what it once was or should be, it's always an occasion to remind the world of what life - not just Christmas - is all about.

We wanna wish you a merry Christmas from the bottom of our hearts.

60 The Infiltration of the Church - "Many Shall Cleave to Them With Flatteries" (Dan.11:34)

Recently we saw a movie I didn't particularly like, nor would I recommend for anyone to undergo the agony of viewing it, since it wasn't exactly edifying, but nevertheless, it kept me thinking for some reason. The plot: An Irish Mafia boss raises a kid to become his spy with the local police force, while at the same time his gang of criminals is being infiltrated by a less than lucky cop. In other words: a bad guy pretending to be a good guy who spies on them and betrays them, vs. a good guy pretending to be a bad guy. Both get killed in the end, and you feel like the one deserved it, but the other didn't.

It kept haunting me, though, and naiv as I am, I just can't help not believing in coincidence...

My personal - howbeit deceased - "guru" once wrote: "It's funny we never hear much about Judas in the churches, when they're so full of people just like him." I know, that hurts. No, this isn't going to be another attempt at writing my first politically correct blog, either.

But as it is, religious people have a a notorious history for rejecting the good guys who come to them and tell them the truth, while they usually receive with open arms the false prophets with their gospels of peace. False prophets were always more popular than the real ones, although it was usually the real ones who were labeled "false prophets" by the majority during their lifetimes. But history told the tale. There were hundreds of prophets prophesying peace and safety during the days of Jeremiah, the solitary voice proclaiming the downfall of Israel, who was tossed in the dungeon for his "heresies," but when he was pulled out of the hole, his "heresies" had been fulfilled.

One such modern day heretic was the former witch and Illuminist John Todd, who, during the 70s, claimed that the church was being heavily infiltrated by witches. Not many believed him. And I doubt many people will pay attention to my saying "I believe he was right."

You see, I just don't believe in coincidence. Why did I see that bloody movie around the same time I come across the voice of Rebecca St. James on some web radio station, inviting people to join her on the "Presidential Prayer Team"?

Now, I know that many folks sincerely believe that the president - Lord, bless his soul - is a genuine Christian. But then, not many folks are into using the gifts of the Spirit these days, such as the gift of discernment. Nor are they into Scriptures like "He that liveth by the sword shall also die by the sword," or "love your enemies." All they know is, "The Bible says, 'God bless America!'"

They're also not into "Insider" information (what they term "conspiracy theories") about Skull & Bones, the Illuminati & the guys who really run and ruin their country, in efforts to establish Papa Bush's long awaited wonderful New World Order.

So, they may all wholehartedly join Rebecca St.James - a Christian singer, - judging by her accent - probably from a country where she wouldn't have aspired anywhere near such heights as "the Presidential Prayer Team" with Christian music - in their prayers for their "Christian" president and his troupes that he's sending to slaughter the "wicked" Muslims. After all, didn't God command the Israelites in the Old Testament to wipe out all the Canaanites?

True. But a lot has happened since then. For example, God - the great I Am, Who created the earth, became flesh - a human being, and "dwelt among us," and preached a new gospel, namely that we were to love our enemies and convert them, instead of slaughtering them.

The problem is that people who are into power don't appreciate that kind of message. And that's why they reject Him. Then and today. Whenever He sends a messenger that gives them the Words of God for today, they do the same to him, as Jesus prophesied.

While the false prophets are being hailed and honored and treated like superstars. Has God all of a sudden become the God of the mighty, the powerful, the gun slingers and warmongers? Since when? Did I miss something?

Or did you miss something? - Namely the part of the Bible that's called The New Testament?

There's a new deal up, folks, and it's not "an eye for an eye" anymore, much less "ten thousand eyes for an eye," but it's the much less popular gospel of "love thy neighbor as thyself," and "love your enemies."

Apparently the history of the infiltration of the "good guys" by the bad guys goes back a long way: the popes who sent their crusaders off to slaughter the early Muslims probably also had their "Presidential Prayer Teams." And the Inquisition had their own "War on Terror" and "Patriot Act" and "Homeland Security" going on all along.

It's just that we thought we weren't living in the Dark Ages anymore.

That's really what we thought.

059 The Leaven of the Pharisees

If you type "leaven of the Pharisees" in your google bar, you'll come up with nearly as many results and definitions of the term, as there are denominations and churches. For the fundamentalist hardliners, the Pharisees of today are represented by the catholic church, whose members, again, have their own definitions.

I find the leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees to be much closer to home than the other side, the other denomination. The leaven of the Pharisees is a sin we have all committed, especially the most righteous among us. It is the sin that nailed our Savior to the cross: Self-righteousness.

It's the audacity of thinking we have the right to judge another, blatantly defing Jesus' own commandment He gave us to "judge not that ye be not judged" (Matth.7:1). But we go ahead and do it anyway. We go around and call others "fornicators" and "adulterers" because they live together "in sin" without a marriage license.

We go around and tell others the Satanic lie that they can lose their Salvation if they don't watch out and stop sinning, quoting the only verse most Christians ever memorize on Salvation (Phil.2:12): "Work out thine own Salvation in fear and trembling" (Ahhh, it feels so good to cause others to feeeaaaar and trrrremmmmble, doesn't it? - So who's the pervert here?).... Of course, totally ignoring the dozens of Scriptures that make it quite plain that Salvation is a gift of grace, only to be obtained through faith, and without works whatseoever. What Paul was referring to in the verse above, is what we make out of our Salvation in this life, and what kind of a life we build on the foundation of the new life in Christ. But our eternal Salvation is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8,9), and if God is Love (1John 4:8), then He won't jerk that gift away from His child everytime he sins.

Besides, sinning is something we all do a lot more often than we like to admit. Those self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees of today are just trying to make it easier on themselves by re-defining sin: you are a sinner because you're not married, and I'm not, because I go to church on Sundays and have a marriage license. According to Jesus, everyone who even so much as looks at a woman and desires her in his heart, has already committed adultery (Mt.5:28). Now, the only sort of (male) people I know of who can withstand that natural urge God built into a healthy man's system, are homosexuals.

The leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees is the audacity to put oneself above another and say, "I am good and you are bad, because I go to the right kind of church, and my belief system is the right one." Jesus certainly didn't fit into the belief system of the Scribes and Pharisees, and likewise He could walk past any of those supposed followers of His today, who claim to be so much better than everyone else, and they wouldn't even recognize Him. They'd be the first to accuse, resist, persecute and judge Him again.

The leaven of the Pharisees is the audacity of anyone (even indirectly) saying to any "illigitemate" child, "The world would have been better off without you, because you were born in 'sin'."

It is the audacity of self-righteous church Christians all over the world who refuse to accept divorcees in their midst.

They are totally out of touch with God. They are Paulites, not Christians, and at the same time ignoring Paul's own warnings not to become followers of his, nor of Apollos, nor of Peter, but of Christ. And, of course, at the same time, blatantly ignoring the gist of Paul's epistles, which is to make clear that Salvation is by grace, and that "the fruit of the spirit is LOVE... against such there IS no law!" (Gal.5:22,23).

They miss the point of the whole story, starting with Cain (who thought he could win God's favor through his own works) and Abel (the prototype of the victims of the do-it-yourself religionists of all ages).

No matter how much those self-righteous little Scribes and Pharisees of today try to make life impossible for their fellowmen, "there IS no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1), as much as they're trying to prove the opposite!

They're only heaping up greater condemnation upon themselves (James 3:1). It's that kind of people who make Christianity a grim and bitter choice for those who would like to enjoy life a little bit.

No wonder there are so many Satanists and witches. With so many modern Scribes and Pharisees around with an attitude of, "If you don't accept my religion and live according to my rules, you're going to burn in the fires of hell forever and ever," they probably figure, "Okay, so I'm going to burn in Hell then, as long as I don't have to be a self-righteous prig like you!"

Just as the Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day relied on Moses, and called themselves Moses' disciples (John9:28), entirely missing the whole point, as Jesus pointed out when he said, "Had ye believed Moses, then you would also believe Me, because he spoke of Me" (John5:46), so the modern day Pharisees rely on Paul, utterly oblivious to the point Paul was trying to make, and becoming the very people of whom Paul prophesied: "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you" (Romans 2:24), referring to precisely the type of people who dare to judge others (2:1).

No wonder Jesus warned us of that kind of poison. It's the very stuff that turns hundreds of people against the true God by the hour, landing more people in hell - thanks to those "dedicated Christians" - than Satan could achieve by any other means.

No wonder Rick Joyner saw Satan's armies riding on the back of Christians. They're his greatest tools, and they certainly deserve his gratitude.

As far as Jesus goes, they should remember that the very way they treat even the least of His brethren is the way they're treating Him.

I can see a lot of red faces in the not too distant future. Red with shame.

Selected Scriptures About the Pharisees:

Watch "Overcoming the Religious Spirit" by Patricia King & Faisal Malick