Tumgik
#All the many false Denominations using Christ
Note
ugh not to be one of those people who go around correcting people on the internet (except I guess I am—how embarrassing for me, sorry) but Jehovah’s Witness are a Christian denomination; they believe in Jesus as the Christ, and that salvation is only available though Jesus Christ, and are attempting to follow Jesus Christ’s instructions per their understanding of the Gospel—like, you don’t have to agree with their interpretations but they are in fact as much a Christian denomination as any other…
Hard, hard, pass anon. Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that Jesus is God. Instead they believe Jesus is Michael the Archangel, a created being. That alone is enough to make their entire religion false. It cannot save you.
They also reject the personhood of the Holy Spirit. They believe that salvation comes through good works. They do not even believe that Jesus was crucified, but put on a stake. They don't believe that Jesus was bodily resurrected, but resurrected as a spirit. They have many other beliefs like progressive revelation that allows them to have their end times doomsday cult stuff. They believe only 144,000 people will ever make it into the true heaven.
Unfortunately on top of these heretical beliefs they also are a cult which is controlled by their Watchtower Organization which is highly controlling of JW's and elevates their own words to the status of the Bible. They use cult tactics to retain and recruit members. They encourage people to use shunning tactics against family members who left the group.
despite certain aesthetic and cultural (eg. conservative, moral) similarities to Christianity, they are not a legitimate denomination at all because they do not have the gospel and they don't worship Christ as God.
136 notes · View notes
sovaghoul · 3 months
Text
Categories
This post is less opinion and more general information, concerning categorical terms and their usage.
🕯🌒🌕🌘🕯
🔮 Pagan vs. Wiccan
All Wiccans are Pagan, but not all Pagans are Wiccan. The same way that all flowers are plants, but not all plants are flowers.
Many use the Christian denomination model as a comparison (e.g.: all Methodists are Christian but not all Christians are Methodist), however this is a false analogy; Methodists and all other Christians conceive of and worship the Divine under the same name, they all ultimately originate from the same group of people (that is, the Apostles and other Jews who followed Christ at the time He was living), the same geographical location, and the other beliefs and the services of these various denominations share many additional similarities.
The same cannot be said of the full spectrum of Paganism. Some follow a specific cultural pantheon, such as Celtic, Norse, Greek, etc.. Others do not ascribe to one pantheon, instead following whatever Gods call to them regardless of Their cultural origins.
Additionally, there is often variation in the ways in which these Gods are honored. Wiccans, for example, hold their rituals within an energy circle, calling on the four Quarters (compass directions) to watch over their sacred space and also utilize certain tools for specific purposes within their rites. In contrast, Asatruar (followers of Asatru, an attempt to reconstruct the original ways in which Norse Gods were honored) hold what are called “blots” (rhymes with “coats”) in which they share food and drink and toast the Gods, usually without other formalities.
Then there are traditions from other parts of the world as well, which all have Deities and traditions that are very distinct from any European-derrived Pagansim, such as the African diaspora religions (Voudun, Santeria, Candomble, etc.). So, Paganism as a whole is far more diverse than Christianity, and so using that analogy is limiting the scope.
🕯🌒🌕🌘🕯
🔮 Pagan vs. Heathen, eventual blasphemy
Most Asatruar and some other groups prefer the term “Heathen” to Pagan. Originally, the two words meant essentially the same thing; the common people of the land. Pagan comes from the Latin paganus, which means “country-dweller.” Heathen means “someone of the heath, the countryside.”
The words came to be derogatory with the Christianization of the Roman Empire. The soldiers used the word paganus to refer to those civilians living in outlying regions who still worshipped pre-Christian Deities and were not citizens of the Empire. Additionally, heathen originally carried conotations of the land being uncultivated (rural, still wild), which, when applied to people and their beliefs, became a negative rather than simply a descriptor (similar to "hillbilly" or "redneck" in modern America). Eventually, to be a Pagan or a Heathen became an undesirable, and then blasphemous, thing as Christianity began to take a stronger hold over Europe, and it was decided that the pre-Christian Deities were false and/or demons in disguise.
From what I’ve seen, one of the reasons for preferring Heathen over Pagan, is the reputation some of modern Paganism has earned, as being all "love and light,” the flighty and almost ditzy Hippie Chick stereotype. They feel that modern Paganism too often ignores the darker/"dangerous" Deities and practices in our collective pre-Christian paths, wanting to see the older Gods through a Christianized, dualistic lens of “good vs. evil.” Most Pagans and Heathens come to their religion partly out of a want to escape that kind of duality and an edict to display a "pure" sort of morality. While that isn’t my particular situation, I can understand the sentiment.
So even though the two words meant similar things originally, today people generally prefer one or the other, and we need to be mindful and respectful of that.
🕯🌒🌕🌘🕯
🔮 Pagan vs. Neo-Pagan, other divisions
This is becoming largely a matter of personal choice and opinion, whether to call one’s self a Pagan or a Neo-Pagan. There are those who would say that Paganism encompasses all religions and spiritual paths of non-Abrahamic origin (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), and that putting “Neo” in front of it just means it’s a more modernized take on something older, or “New Paganism.” This definition of Pagan would then include Asian Traditions such as Shinto, Hinduism, and Buddhism; Indigenous Traditions like those here in the Americas, or in Africa (and those paths that grew from them, such as Santeria and Voudun), the Traditions of Pacific Islanders, or the Aboriginal Peoples in Australia. However, most of these Indigenous peoples object to being called Pagan, seeing modern Paganism as wholly distinct from their enduring traditions.
Additionally, many Indigenous paths are closed systems, meaning they are only open to people of those cultures, and if you are not, you must be invited to learn by someone who is. In the case of African diaspora religions, they grew as a direct result of slavery and racial oppression. Taking from these peoples’ spiritual and cultural traditions without express permission is called cultural appropriation, and it is (thankfully) becoming more and more taboo in the general Pagan community. So, referring to those paths as Pagan, may be offensive to those who follow them, and just like those with a preference for the term Heathen, it’s important to respect that.
Some choose to divide the whole of Paganism into three levels:
Paleopagan, those that have an constant, uninterrupted line of followers back to their origins, such as the aforementioned Asian Traditions
Mesopagan, attempts to re-create or revive otherwise Paleopagan religions that can sometimes blend Abrahamic teachings as well
Neo-Pagan, any path whose origin seems to lie in comparatively modern times, specifically within the last century or so, but is usually influenced by pre-Christian belief systems and customs
By that definition, Wicca is usually considered Neo-Pagan, with the possible exception of British Traditional Wicca. You can read more about these distinctions here. A caution though, this is the personal website of a very blunt and opinionated Pagan author. While I wanted to illustrate his divisions, I do not agree with or endorse all of his views. I am merely sourcing these terms.
But generally speaking, whether you call yourself Pagan or Neo-Pagan is entirely up to you, and most other people in the general community won’t bat an eye either way.
🕯🌒🌕🌘🕯
🔮 Witch vs. Pagan, Witch vs. Wiccan, Witch vs. warlock
All Wiccans are Witches, but not all Witches are Wiccan. Some Pagans are Witches, and some Witches are Pagan.
The only requirement for being a Witch is that one practices Witchcraft, which is a skill set that generally includes working Magick and casting spells in some form. Some Witches are religious/spiritual/theistic about their Witchcraft, while others are not (yes, there are atheist Witches). One can even be a Christian Witch, or Jewish Witch.
To be a Wiccan Witch, one must simply practice one’s Witchcraft within a Wiccan framework. All Wiccans are indeed Witches, because even the act of ritual is a Magickal act according to Wiccan teachings; Magick is integral to the practice of the religion.
A side note, though, that historically, Magick was always done within a religious context. It’s only been within the last century or so that it’s been possible to divorce the idea of doing some forms of Magick, from religious concepts. Indeed, Magick did and still does involve an appeal to some unseen force or another. Nowadays though, for some, “unseen forces” do not necessarily equate to “Gods,” and so therefore can be seperated from religion in their view and way of practice.
There are those who falsely believe that the term “warlock” means “male Witch.” This is incorrect. “Warlock” is an old Socttish word that means “liar/traitor/oath-breaker,” not very flattering things at all. Witch is a gender-neutral word, and comes from the Old English verb wiccian, meaning “to practice Witchcraft. Wiccian did have gendered forms, wicce (wee-chey) for women and wicca (wee-cha) for men, but over time we’ve lost wicce, and wicca became gender-neutral (similar to saying "mankind" to refer to all humans). So, Witch simply means “someone who practices Witchcraft,” regardless of their gender. Some people today who use “warlock” say they are reclaiming it, the same way Witch has been reclaimed. But “warlock” was never a positive or even neutral word, so there is nothing to reclaim it from. It has always been negative and pejorative.
🕯🌒🌕🌘🕯
🔮 Traditional vs. Eclectic, or Wicca vs. Neo-Wicca
Wicca can generally be divided into these two categories, but in recent years it has become more expansive.
Traditional Wicca usually involves an Initiation ritual for new members, a (usually) three-level Degree structure, swearing an Oath of secrecy to the Gods, and dedicated, intense, Coven-based study and practice under the guidance of one’s Initiators. Much of Trad Wicca traces back, through lines of Initiation, to Gerald Gardner’s New Forest Coven in England, and this “family” of Traditions is referred to as British Traditional Wicca, or BTW.
There are some Traditions that do not directly trace back to Gardner, i.e. the founders were never Initiated into a BTW line, but were instead influenced by the public knowledge of structure and belief, and formed their own practice based on that. A set of practices are usually considered a Tradition when three “generations” of Covens have maintained the same practices. These Traditions, to my mind, are in an in-between place, not BTW, but also diverging from Eclecticism into something more established.
Eclectic Wicca then is usually practiced by Solitaries, is often self-taught through books and the internet, and, like the non-BTW Trads, draws inspiration from the public forms of Traditional Wicca. However, it also incorporates anything else the practitioner may wish to include, regardless of source or origin. The degree of Eclecticism varies; for example, some choose to frame their practice within a certain culture, such as Celtic, Norse, Egyptian, etc., while others do not.
There has been a push in some online circles over the years, to distinguish Traditional and Eclectic Wicca more concretely. This movement proposes calling only the BTW forms Wicca, and the rest, Neo-Wicca. As was discussed above, this would just mean “New Wicca,” just as Neo-Pagan means “New Pagan.” There is resistance, however, as some feel it is derogatory and dismissive. Others believe it satisfies a very real need to distinguish between the groups in a clear and concise way. Some have proposed referring to Eclectic practices as Dedicated Religious Witchcraft instead, so that Gardner’s original form is respected, while still acknowledging that there is a departure from that system.
I don’t know how much this debate is still going on. I don’t know how much it comes up offline. I don’t know how much it actually matters. Whatever someone else calls their practice of Wicca doesn’t much affect mine, so long as they are not intentionally spreading inflammatory misinformation.
Next post: History
10 notes · View notes
Text
Timothy Francis LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins have had an insurmountable impact on modern Christianity, and some of you aren't ready to have this conversation.
For those who aren't aware, these two men are the authors of the Left Behind series of books, which has 16 books, 5 movies, and a children's book series, that follows a group of people from the Rapture, onto the end of the Tribulation period, where Jesus comes back for a mighty war to wipe out the forces of Satan.
This book series was arguably the next most popular book, next to the Bible, and still is, for many Christians. Enter any thrift shop, and you're guaranteed to find at least a few of these books in the used books section.
These books are essentially AO3 fan-fiction where the authors took vague symbolism from AD 81–96, and applied it to modern geo-politics, and invented a whole storyline to fit the two author's views on things such as Judaism, Catholicism, the United Nations, Liberal Secularism, and other concepts that are either not in the Bible, or are completely different from our modern understanding of it (Judaism has evolved from the times of Jesus for example).
This book series took what was essentially a fringe view from the 1800s, that's not even held by a lot of denominations today, and made it mainstream and easy to market through average level prose.
So, how has one series that is really only known for shitty Nick Cage films, and books that aren't really seen outside of church libraries affected non-Christians globally?
Well, global warming for example. Many, many, people think that because "Jesus is coming back soon" that we don't need to do anything to prevent the destruction of the world we live in, because it's all going to be gone in a few years anyways, so why should I care?
They often cite the book of Genesis, where God pledges to never kill the world again with water, and by their logic, the ice caps can't be melting because God promised to never flood the world again.
Many policy decisions also center around this, such as global support for Israel by Conservative and Liberal (yes, even Liberals, who are often Christian too) parties, as there's this ongoing belief that one must support Israel, as they're a vital part in "End Time's Prophecy", and that any day now, the Anti-Christ will arise in the Middle East, preform miracles, and be declared the Messiah (falsely), which then starts the war of Gog and Magog, with Russia, Syria, and other countries around the globe partaking in it.
Name any modern shitty policy, and it can be traced back to the concept of the Rapture. Abortion? Anti-Trans/Gay laws? Gun control? All of these have links to Pre-Millennial Dispensationalism.
Some scholars have written on this, such as Bart Ehrman when he wrote the book Armageddon, but I have yet to see any scholar write about the more nitty gritty stuff that you see from pastors and random schmucks on YouTube, that I've seen growing up in a family that believes in this stuff.
Hard to believe that a letter written about a conspiracy theory back ~1950 years ago, is being used to backslide human rights and throw gas on the extinction of life on the planet.
Thanks John Nelson Darby!
4 notes · View notes
Text
Any "Christian" denomination/movement that advocates or preaches a different Jesus, uses a different "Bible", Gospel, way of salvation than what's in the Holy Bible is a false Jesus, "Bible", Gospel, way of salvation etc. It's an attempt from Satan to confuse, distort Christianity and to pervert the actual WAY, TRUTH & Life Of Jesus Christ, of The Gospel, of God's Word. Keep watch and make sure nobody deceives you in these (last) days. Read the Holy Bible and truly seek Jesus Christ with all your heart, He'll reveal Himself when you do so. For those in the faith, hold onto the truth that is shared through the Word of God by the Holy Spirit. There are many false teachers and prophets and let me ask you, where are they infiltrating? THE CHURCH, they're the WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING! THEY'LL COME WITH DIFFERENT DOCTRINES CAUSED TO DIVIDE AND LEAD THOSE WHO ARE LEARNING/DON'T READ THEIR BIBLES ASTRAY. BE STEADY IN YOUR FAITH, SPEND TIME IN GOD'S WORD AND HIS PRESENCE. DON'T FALL AWAY.
9 notes · View notes
Text
Tumblr media
Intensely Desperate
“When You said, “Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need],” my heart said to You, “Your face, O LORD, I will seek [on the authority of Your word].” Psalm 27:8AMPC
Have you ever desperately needed God? I looked back over my history as a believer. There were many times I ‘needed’ God. But only a few times, memorable times, where I was intently desperate in my need of God in my situation.
Back in 2000 I had a period of fasting and prayer because I wanted to know Him more intimately, to see His glory. Immediately after this, I was confronted by doctors announcing I had lung cancer. The prior fasting held me steadfast in faith, believing God was big enough to heal. He’d settled the healing in advance with a miracle. I required His Presence.
One time, I was totally desperate before God. Lou wasn’t born again. His worst habits were full-blown antagonistic to me, as a believer. I became desperate to see Lou saved and delivered. My life felt hopeless if God didn’t intervene. Crying many tears, begging God, knocking on His door like—Luke 7-9ESV “…he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.” Persistence also, Luke 18:1-7, I was persistent in begging God, ‘save my husband.’ God heard and answered prayer.
Twice we almost lost everything financially. Once three months in arrears in all our payments; the mailbox continually filled with notices; collectors calling on the phone. Desperate before God, I cried out with the burden so heavy, I began fasting along with praying. My goal — show Lord God how desperate I was. Yahweh met me with— “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” Ephesians 3:20KJV. Then He fulfilled the promise tripling Lou’s income twice during a nine week period.
A second time, traveling to keep our marriage and family together, while Lou worked far from home upended our finances my intense and persistent begging God caused Yahweh to give me another promise— “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.” Psalm 91:14KJV He answered prayer by giving Lou a promotion, pay raise, with compensation for all his expenses. Again, God dramatically answered prayer.
Each of us can get caught up with different Christian walks of the faith. The ‘faith walk’ is taught with small variations in many churches. Meanwhile mainstream denominations tell us the ‘faith’ movement is false. Without this faith teaching, we’d have no revelation for expectancy to receive anything from the hand of God.
Faith teaching or no faith teaching I want you to know one thing— one main ingredient— NOTHING REPLACES INTENSE DESPERATION. God is like every father— He hears His babies cries. He knows which cry is distress and which cry is for attention. If His baby is fasting, it’s a sign of desperation.
When His baby is crying out, declaring His Words over and over, His baby— “…who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him [inquire of and for Him and require Him by right of necessity and on the authority of God’s word].” Lamentations 3:25AMPC. This gets God’s attention.
Are the needs of your life desperate before God? Desperation brings quicker answers. It’s your choice. You choose.
LET’S PRAY: Most High God, I have great need, necessity, requiring Your healing power to be fulfilled in me. Your body of readers have great need, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.
by Debbie Veilleux Copyright 2023 You have my permission to reblog this devotional for others. Please keep my name with this devotional, as author. Thank you.
5 notes · View notes
Text
Tumblr media
Daily Devotionals for April 13, 2023 Proverbs: God's Wisdom for Daily Living Devotional Scripture:
Proverbs 14:12(KJV): 12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14:12(Amp): 12 There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it are the ways of death.
Thought for the Day
This verse speaks of deception because choosing what only appears to be the right way can lead to death. Deceived people accept as truth what is a lie. Deception is the first thing Jesus warned against when the disciples asked what would be the sign of His coming at the end of the world (Matthew 24:4-8). We live in the last days. We must heed Christ's warning to beware of deception. False gospels are being preached and many precious Christians have been deceived and are involved with counterfeit gospels.
Man is a spiritual being created to worship God. If he does not worship God, he will worship something else; whether the demons of false religion, money, relationships, or his intellect. Religion is Satan's counterfeit of the knowledge of God. True faith is not following a set of rules; it is a way of life that flows out of a relationship with God. Satan uses religion to enslave billions worldwide. The strands of truth woven into false religion make them sound convincing, and many even mention Jesus. Satan does not mind this as long as the truth about Jesus is not taught. Many cults deceive people through demonic feats, taking advantage of man's craving for the supernatural.
Participation in false religions represents millions of people's earnest attempt to fulfill deep and legitimate needs of the human spirit, which many seem not to have found in established churches (Matthew 7:13-14). One of the most dangerous lies is that all religions lead to heaven; no matter which god you serve: whether it be Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, or Christian deity, it is all the same. This is false teaching. The Bible tells us there is only one way to heaven: believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. All other gods and religions are false. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6).
Whoever accepts Jesus as Savior is assured of eternal life. The Holy Spirit will always attempt to lead people out of the bondage of false religion. God will answer the prayer of any honest seeker. We should not condemn but love and pray for anyone whom we know is involved in a false religion. Satan has blinded them, but God loves them and desires that they come to the knowledge of the truth. Within Christianity, God's church is not a particular denomination or building. The true church is made up of all believers in Christ from all ages, and the true Kingdom of God is within. Satan seeks to lead people down any path except the one that leads to life in Christ.
Prayer for the Day Dear heavenly Father, thank you that my name is written in the Book of Life. Lord, I pray for all who do not know You as the true and living God. Reveal Yourself to them so that they too, might have eternal life. Lord, deliver those who are in any form of deception that keeps them from knowing You. Father, I also ask that You keep me free from error. Deliver me from all pride and deception. Lord, reveal Yourself to all those who sincerely desire to know the true God. Lord, bless and keep my family and friends on the path of truth. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
From: Elder Steven P. Miller @ParkermillerQ, Founder of Gatekeeper-Watchman International Groups Jacksonville, Florida., Duval County, USA. Instagram: steven_parker_miller_1956, Twitter: @GatekeeperWatchman1, @ParkermillerQ, https://twitter.com/StevenPMiller6 Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/gatekeeperwatchman, https://www.tumblr.com/gatekeeper-watchman Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElderStevenMiller https://www.facebook.com/StevenParkerMillerQ #GWIG, #GWIN, #GWINGO, #Ephraim1, #IAM, #Sparkermiller,#Eldermiller1981
3 notes · View notes
hiswordsarekisses · 2 years
Text
Tumblr media
“A New Day: It is evidently clear that, that which has identified itself as "church" is going through monumental upheaval.
Just like in the days of John the Baptist, there is massive migration from the institutional church with large number of believers turning away from traditional/ organizational church to find organic community that is bound up with authentic expression of Christ where every member functions under the Lord’s direct headship (rather than the headship of men). This is God’s ultimate intention concerning His Ekklesia.
Note, by "institutional church," I am not just talking about the traditional mainstream denominational churches such as the Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran etc, but I am referring to all those churches, whether Pentecostal, Charismatic, Apostolic, Reformed or such that operate primarily as institutions or organisations that exist above, beyond, and independent of the members that populate them.
These churches have gravitated towards programs and rituals more than relationships and community. They are highly structured, typically building-centered organizations regulated by set-apart professionals ('ministers' and 'pastors') who are aided by volunteers (laity). They require staff, building, salaries, and administration. In these institutional churches, congregants watch a religious performance once or twice a week led principally by one person (the pastor or minister), and then retreat home to live their individual "Christian" lives.
As the great migration picks momentum, many nervous institutional church leaders with obvious vested interests are responding to this exodus from their buildings and organisations by saying that people are losing interest in God and becoming "worldly.
However, nothing can be further from the truth, this migration/ turning the back on the institutional/ organizational church is not the same as turning away from God or rejecting the faith.
In reality, believers are coming to a grim realization that by and large the churches they have been involved with have been in the numbers game and not the community game.
And the numbers game happens to be drenched in Babylonian value systems, with many of the so called men of god pre-occupied with acquiring personal power via ecclesiastical forms, hierarchy and titles. These pseudo leaders use their position to acquire money and power, some even deliberately distort the Word of God and use blatantly false teaching for financial benefits.
The truth is, the original Ekklesias were just simple informal believing communities that functioned much like extended families. The reason we cannot find information about the early church’s organizational structure is because the early church was not an organization. The reason there are no guidelines for running a church board meeting is because there were no church boards. This is also the reason why the requirements for church elders were only about equiping and training believers (like parents would instruct their children), not about running programs. Because the church was never intended to become a program but a family.
The Ekklesia was originally intended to be a spiritual family, plain and simple. And the apostles continually reiterated this vision— "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers" (Gal. 6:10). Selah! Acts 2:44-47 (NET)
All who believed were together and held everything in common, 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need. 46 Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, 47 praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved.” (Daniel Njuguna)
8 notes · View notes
arieladkins · 2 years
Text
🎭The 400 False Prohets of Baal
GOD the CREATOR LORD knows his own inspired and anointed verses written in the Holy Bible and rejects the 5000 Satanic Verses and says although the Holy Bible is damaged like that, it's still a guiding light with the Words of God on how to avoid the 5000 false verses that has sent many people to sheol hell-fire.
The Bible teachers, leaders, bishops, the Pope and Rabbis don't know the difference between the words of God and the words of the Devil that they willingly eat up like a goat and spit out as false words in the people's ears and face. God the Creator is good though and stands at the threshold of righteousness to say, the Holy Bible is not pure and to seek him for direction of true words.
The congregations and their ministers say not so and that the Holy Bible is infallible and if there's 5000 Satanic verses, they're just errors and misprint. That response however is just to justify them in their sins and deny that God himself speaks to differentiate between his anointed and inspired words and the corrupted ones.
One of the most memorable False Prophet encounters goes way back in 1 Kings 18 with the 400 false prophets of Jezebel and Baal that was against the 1 prophet of God so named Elijah the prophet.
In the days when the church of true Israel was at Shiloh, there was a wicked woman named Jezebel who paid 400 false prophets to lie to Israel. All 400 ate at her table as to say they were all nasty ass kissers of the wicked queen. It's like that today and worse because the LGBT spirit has taken over the false prophets and made them not just ass kissers but lickers of entrails. They tell the people what they want to hear, not what God says. Then to cover themselves, the pastors throw stones at other ministers as to say, we're not as bad as them.
God wasn't fooled then and not today, but has said, leave the sinking ship of Jesus the corpse and his anointed in python oil Christ. Just walk away in the direction of the light of God the LORD as though you're having an NDE experience.
To further fool the congregations, the 400 put heavy burdens of laws on the congregation that were forgotten by God or didn't exist at all. With them, they hold the people's feet over the fire of damnation and demand offerings, tithes and gifts to not fall in the pit they dug. They use Gods name from the Holy Bible and stand on the pedestal also known as the pulpit to accomplish this feat.
These are the top three forgotten by God laws and part of the 5000 added verses the false prophets use to capture the people.
1. Communion - (also known as the Eucharist to Catholics and Byzantine Orthodox). This is their best bait bread that's called the body of Christ. God says it's a form of cannibalism. (On a note here is that Russia and Ukraine are both Orthodox and Eucharist eaters yet have no mercy and love at all.)
2. Tithes - (10% of all income to the denominational church is mandatory for members). The Christian Church uses this one Old Testament verse in Malachi 3:8 to rob the congregation blind in God's name.
3. Water Baptism - (Is full immersion in water or sprinkling holy water on one's face.) Some churches are really zealous and go to Jerusalem to baptize in the Jordan River. Is that the Jordan of true Israel though? It don't matter really because WATER BAPTISM was replaced by the fire baptism of the Holy Ghost as written in Acts 1 Mathew 3:11 Luke 3:16. "John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost and fire." The water baptism mantra is based on one cut your own throat verse in Acts 2:38 and be like, go down in the water in Jesus name while dry, and come up wet with horns and a tail like the Devil.
Out of all the outdated old laws of true Israel and the 5000 added verses themselves, the denominations of the Christian Church favorite is water baptism that they say is an essential act to show one's commitment to the Christian faith. Although water baptism is just go in the baptismal pool dry and come up wet with tail like the Devil.
Yet they disregard the New Covenant of true salvation that is repentance for the gift of the Holy Ghost to cease from sin immediately. The bishops and pastors don't care nothing about what God has said though. They just want a commitment of support and in some cases make the baptized member sign a contract to pay 10% of income (tithes and offerings) to the church. They swear to hell that this is the way to go.
No wonder John the Baptist called the people vipers while he was baptizing them in the Jordan River. John the Baptist is dead, and Elijah lives to say, the people are still serpents and vipers that go to hell in the baptismal pool. The truth is that water baptism is null and void in the new Covenant of Grace and Truth.
Salvation of the Soul is to repent and cease from sin immediately for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then believe the Gospel of God the LORD. First, that he himself descended from heaven and walked on water to Galilee. Then God kept the Passover and offered his body as a last burnt sacrifice for the sins of the people.
The New Testament of the Holy Bible would read that way if it wasn't corrupted, damaged, defaced and changed in a span of 2000 years by multiple revisors.
God the Creator LORD never died at all and is the perfect Savior. This one LORD said it himself in Isaiah 43:11, "I am the Lord and beside me there's no other savior." The same LORD who saved the sons of Israel out of Egypt.
Today, the Saints and Christians don't know the God of Israel, Abraham, Elijah, Moses, David and the 12 Apostles. No they don't! Their savior is unknown to the fathers. A savior who has a name that's beneath every name, Jesus the son of the dead. Being dead and alive at the same time like the Walking Dead means Jesus has to die again like Lazarus did. Will Jesus be a corpse forever to walk around the graveyard with holes in his hands like a Zombie? If so, then he has to be stopped by Archangel Gabriel and Abraham Von Helsing.
True Israel had an original Messiah (Savior) God himself, who gave them ancient laws that were written by his finger and made up the Old Testament. This Messiah is the same God of the Apostles who wrote the New Testament. Neither people ever used the term "if it's in the Holy Bible, it's true".
Sure enough the Holy Bible is full of truth, but there's equal lies in there too. No doubt, the Saints have gone astray by the revisions of the Holy Bible and their false prophets sell a Jesus that doesn't even exist. Daniel 7:25
To this day, the curse of Elijah is written hard on the walls of Old Jerusalem against the 400 prophets of Baal and Jezebel until today. Spiritual murderers who are marked with the mark of Cain and are pursued by blood until they repent.
The 400 prophets in this 21st. century are the evangelicals, Catholics, Pentecostals and Apostolics who push Jesus and his anointed in python oil half Christ (Baal).
So, in these last days, you better forget about building a temple that can fall tomorrow. Instead, do what's written in Joel 2:17. Go back to the beginning and give back the people's money. Then throw yourself at the altar of God who sits on the throne of life and repent for your life. But first say sorry to those you have given to the Devil or looked the other way when you could have saved them.
Don't come to the altar without doing that first because the Devil will claim you right there and take your hope and life to the destroyer. If you clear yourself, then God is very merciful and available at this altar that is in all of us.
Confess that you are a sinner and don't tell God that you are a Minister or Pastor or Rabbi, but in great humility set your heart on repentance for your sins with all your heart. Make sure you take off that long religious dress and suit, so you don't resemble the 400 false prophets of Jesus and Christ or the Pontifex and his pedophile priests.
Let us all use these sample words to God: "Lord I have committed spiritual crimes against your name of God the LORD. I don't want to die Lord because my sins would follow me to the other side of the grave where there is no forgiveness or rest. I don't want to go to hell fire God! Please forgive me! I want to be forgiven by your atonement, remission and redemption because you oh God, didn't die, could not die, but only suffered for us in a son of man. Also, you, oh God, don't have nothing to do with death, but life and I want to live!"
If any minister of any religion or any member of the congregation repents like this, they will be following king David who was a sinner that repented to the point of ringing the bells of heaven in Psalms 32. The act of repenting has always been the way of Gods leaders as written in
Joel 2:17.
"Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, cry between the porch and the altar and let them say, save your people, O LORD. Don't give true Israel and the congregation of Saints and Christians to the gates of death where no one comes back from. That it should be said, where is their God?"
Joel 1:9, 1:13 "Stand up and cry for your transgressions, you Evangelists. Howl for your sins, you ministers of the altar. Come, lie all night in repentance, you ministers of my God. For the meat offering and the drink offering is withheld from the house of your God."
Daniel 9:24 "Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city. To finish the transgression and to make an end of sins. To make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness. To seal up the vision and prophecy and prophecy and anoint the Most Holy.
🎼
2 notes · View notes
donveinot · 2 months
Link
0 notes
childofchrist1983 · 7 months
Text
Tumblr media
For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? what shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. - 1 Corinthians 11:19-22 KJV
In the beginning days of Christianity, the people would still gather in the synagogues on Saturday Sabbath, to listen to the reading of the Torah and the prophets. On Sunday, the first day of the week, they would assemble at the homes of the leaders for a celebration of the LORD's Supper and to share the Gospel and parable stories as well as any letter of instruction or other news. Paul is telling the Corinthians that their behavior at the Sunday gathering is inappropriate. They were not supposed to be coming for a free meal, but to break the bread and drink the cup in remembrance of Jesus Christ's command at the Last Supper.
Many denominations have a Eucharistic service either every Sunday or once a month to remember the Last Supper, and to break the bread and drink the wine. This service is very similar to the bread and wine that are blessed at the Friday night Shabbat services in Jewish homes and is also part of the Passover service at the Seder. The Corinthians were abusing this practice and Paul was calling them out. He warned those who were to blame that God would not be happy with their behavior and that if they were eating and drinking in an unworthy manner they were bringing judgment upon themselves. God is offended - and all true Christians should be as well - if someone makes a mockery of a sacred religious rite in our Christian faith. If we are offended, imagine God's affront at those who were making a mockery of Him, of His Holy Word - the Holy Bible, and of the LORD's Supper. We are offended when He is mocked and when we who worship and serve Him are mocked. May we never mock God or anyone who leans on, serves and worships Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ in Truth and love!
Thank God for His strength and guidance when we are faced with sin. Thank Him for His mercy and grace. Through Bible study and prayer, God reveals His wisdom and guides us to see opportunities to grow closer to Him and grow spiritually. He gives us direction to live our lives according to His Holy Word and will. We must make God top priority everyday! May we be motivated to spread God's Holy Word and Gospel Truth to all the Earth, knowing that it is the only hope of all those lost in their sins. Let us not hold out a false hope for men to be saved without the Gospel, but instead, strive to do our part to get the Gospel out to a lost and dying world.
Leaning on Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ through prayer and His Holy Word and Spirit strengthens us and our knowledge and wisdom about God and His Gospel Truth, exposing these imposters. May God help us to seek and lean on Him daily to gain the strength, wisdom and spiritual discernment needed to expose Satan and his imposters who seek to destroy us and God's ultimate Truth. Everyday, we must remember to share Jesus Christ's Gospel Truth with the world and to thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for the grace that He poured out for us on the cross at Calvary. He has freed us from the burdens of sin and from the eternal damnation of Hell. In all we say and do, may all praise, honor and glory always be given to Him and His Kingdom of Heaven.
With renewed minds, hearts and wills, let us serve Him humbly and faithfully out of pure love and grateful rejoicing. May He remind us of His presence and to remain at peace, fully knowing that all will be well because He is always with us. Let us seek Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ today and everyday with all our heart and being, looking for His love, light and will for our lives with each step we take. Let us seek to please Him with our thoughts, words, and deeds and seek to advance His Kingdom of Heaven and His glory with our lives. Let us seek Him from a pure and humble heart, and when we so seek, we believe Him and His promise that we will find. May He help us all to be more sensitive to the teaching ministry of His Holy Word and Spirit, relying on Him and allowing Him to speak to us and guide us every step of our Christian journey.
God gave us the Holy Bible - His living and Holy Word - to let us know of Him and His abiding love and care as well as guide and prepare us for all our lives. May He help us encourage one another as we continue our walk with Him and our duty to Him daily. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for being present for all our new beginnings and all our lives. May He redirect any anxiety we feel as He provides countless opportunities for growth and change. May we humble ourselves before God always, asking Him to forgive our sins and make our hearts and lives anew through His Holy Word and Spirit. May He help us make Him and His Holy Word top priority, so we can grow spiritually and grow in our relationship with Him as we apply it to our daily lives. Thank God that we can focus on Him and everything about Him, for that is what keeps us sane and at peace. May our words and actions always be a reflection of Him and His Holy Word and Spirit and will.
May He help us to always walk in His grace and Holy Spirit, not by our own measure. May He give us the humble humility to know that our freedom and eternal salvation is found only in Him, so that His grace may sustain us, and we may never lose sight of His love and light and mercy. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for calling us to Him and to serve Him. May He equip us to do all that He has called us to do so that as He works through us, He may use us to produce fruit, to reach others, and to encourage all brothers and sisters in Christ. May He work all of these things in us and through us for His Kingdom and His glory. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all His creation, for His miraculous ways and for everything He does and has done for us! Keep the faith and keep moving forward in your walk with Jesus! He loves us and He knows what is best for us. Seek, follow and trust in Him - Always!
Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Word and for sending His Holy Spirit so that we might have His grace, not only to awaken us and transform our hearts in our spiritual rebirth and guarantee our eternity with Him, but to also call upon Him whenever we are in need. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all the reminders of His love and mercy and faithfulness within His Holy Word. He is bigger than any challenge or circumstance in our lives. Knowing this within our minds and our hearts, nothing can deter our faith in Him and His Truth. May we all accept Him and His eternal gift of salvation and ask that He would transform our hearts and lives according to His will and ways. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Spirit who saves, seals and leads us. May we always thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His almighty power and saving grace. For He is our strength, and He alone is able to save us, forgive our sins and gift us eternal salvation and entry into His Kingdom of Heaven.
May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world daily. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Holy Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful LORD, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!
Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!
0 notes
the-hem · 8 months
Text
The Wise and Foolish Builders. From Matthew 7:24-27.
Tumblr media
At the time the Gospel of Matthew was written, 85 CE there weren't any Christian Seminaries or theological denominations, just hints of a new way to think about the passage of the Christ through Jerusalem 55 years before. So instead of looking at the Script like modern Christians we need to look at it like period Jews.
Combatting the false faith Saul of Tarsus (d. 68 CE) created, the one that lauded human sacrifice was a top priority of Saint Mark in 70, and Matthew came next. Saint Luke, which has even more references to Judaism came next, the Gospel of Saint John the most sophisticated of them all was drafted in 100 CE.
As for the Parable of the Builder of the House, in order to understand why Jesus elaborated on top of traditional Judaism we need to resort to the foundation and see how He extended it. Afterwards any dissonance between the way Saul of Tarsus spoke of it and how modern Christians think can be assessed.
The word house has many meanings:
"How do we look at our houses? Do we only see the external—physical residences with roofs and walls—or are we in touch with the inner home, the deeper, spiritual purpose of a house? Are our homes intimate and personal, or are they places of architecture, furniture, and gadgets? Are we fixated with superficial glitz, or do we understand that home is a safe haven, a sanctuary for our family, and a place of love, safety, and security in which to raise the next generation?
Do we have houses or households? Is our house, in fact, a home?"
Houses in Judaism are places where education in the Torah is brought. Jesus said a house is built when one put these words of mine into practice.
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 
25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 
26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 
27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
What is the rock the practical house of faith is built up on? Rocks in Jewish tradition are inert, inanimate objects that can be brought to live through sentience. From Chukat, Numbers 20:2-12.
"The congregation had no water, so they assembled against Moses and Aaron."
"The people quarreled with Moses, saying, 'If only we had died with the death of our brothers before the Lord. Why have you brought the congregation of the Lord to this desert so that we and our livestock should die there? Why have you taken us out of Egypt to bring us to this bad place; it is not a place for seeds, or for fig trees, grapevines or pomegranate trees, and there is no water to drink'…
"G‑d spoke to Moses, saying, 'Take the staff and assemble the congregation, you and your brother Aaron, and speak to the rock in their presence so that it will give forth its water. You shall bring forth water for them from the rock, and give the congregation and their livestock to drink.'
Lest the Words of God are spoken to us when we are on the verge of adulthood, the house on the rock does not produce water, it does not develop the intuition needed to fathom the role of the God of Israel in fabricating life on this world and why this means He has the wisdom and authority to ask certain things of us.
Persons who build houses on the rock do not fall subject to the Flood, the results of persons and governments who are incapable of curbing violence, poverty, the failure of basic economics strategies and social unrest. This is what is meant by verse 25.
For a proper understanding of the House of Sand we need to turn to the Gematria, which returns a value of 7970, ז‎טז‎אֶפֶס‎, zetzeps, = "oliver flowers overlaid in gold." Which we just covered in the Melachim.
זהה
It's not clear whether the verb זהה (zaha) or זתת (zatat) ever existed but if it did it probably meant to emerge fresh or bloom (it does so in cognate languages). Note that a flower contains a plant's reproductive organs and by displaying its flowers a plant indicates its willingness and readiness to reproduce. In our modern times flowers have managed to attain a kind of romantic innocence but their native function and original symbolism is that of sexual union (which is why dudes bring flowers), or rather more general: the willingness and ability of being fruitful.
צפה
Verb צפה (sapa) speaks of covering, whether a literal covering of an item with an overlay like gold or the figurative covering of watchman's surroundings by his watchful gaze. In cognate languages this verb also means to hope.
= A house without hope. Without the "inner sanctum, overlaid in gold" a soul that is teaching its owner how to find God, the house will succumb to whatever threatens it:
v. 27, 66-99 ו‎וטט‎‎‎ "hook and vette."
Hooks are ways mankind draws down what is needed from heaven in order to build up:
That the Creator values our world and our work to improve it is a motif that resounds throughout the prophets and rabbinical writings.
“Not for desolation did He create it,” says the prophet Isaiah, “He formed it to be settled.”6
Living in an age when war and conquest was glorified, Isaiah describes an era of the future when all nations that “beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”7
An ancient Midrash teaches “All that G‑d created, He made to be improved.”8
The letter Vet also called beis, comprises the angles of approach to the House:
The design of the beis, the second letter of the alef-beis, com­prises three lines: two horizontal and one vertical. These three lines represent the directions east, south, and west. The hori­zontal line on top represents the east.
The vertical line is the south, and the horizontal line below is the west. The design of the beis is similar to the path of the sun, which rises in the east and sets in the west.
The Midrash2 states that the letter beis is similar to the construction of the world. A contemporary illustration of this is offered by geologists. When you look at the earth, you see that there are land masses to the east, west, and south. Even beneath the ice cap of the South Pole, one finds the continent of Antarctica. But beneath the frozen mass of the North Pole, there’s nothing. The north is “open.”
The immediate lesson we derive from the beis is that the world was created incomplete. The job of humankind is thus to complete Creation by perfecting it. We do this through our good deeds and by making the world a better place to inhabit.
Furthermore, north represents evil, as it states:3 “From the north the evil will be released upon all the inhabitants of the land.” G‑d’s declaration is in direct response to Jeremiah’s vision of a bubbling pot whose opening is from the north, a vision that portends the destruction of the first Holy Temple. Babylon, the nation that destroyed the First Holy Temple, in fact, attacked from the north.
Understanding that the north represents evil is not enough: we have an obligation to fight to overcome this evil. We also need to recognize that the “open” side, this northern aspect, exists within the individual as well as from without.
In a per­son, this is called the yetzer hara—the evil inclination, which tempts and cajoles us to sin. The only antidote is to strive to perfect oneself, which in turn contributes to the perfection of the world. This correction, or tikkun, of oneself—and hence the world—is embodied in the design of the letter beis.
So if we want a perfect world we must build the right house one that endure the downpours and eventually overcome them with all the sacred aspects of a Godly nation.
Jesus knew what was coming His way and why. Even still He hoped His Disciples and the rest of the world would end up practicing the Torah and spare His life. That certainly would have made sense, and why not explains the existence of the Gospels.
0 notes
wolint · 1 year
Text
FRESH MANNA
BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS
Matthew 7:15-20
False prophets abound in our generation today, these are prophets who spread false teachings or messages while claiming to speak for God. False prophets function in their prophetic role illegitimately or through deception.
The Bible denounces false prophets for leading people astray.
Jesus said to beware of them in our text because as we know, wherever the true way of God is taught, there will always be false prophets and teachers who disguise themselves as genuine prophets to mess with the truth.
Jeremiah 14:14 describes false prophets, whom God calls liars and if we’re bible scholars, we should know and recognise their characters.
The Lord gives us an important insight into false prophets in Jeremiah 23:21–33, “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran, not to save souls, but to profit themselves.
I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied, they never received the word at my mouth; yet they went, publishing their deceits, and pretending them to be revelations from God. Sounds familiar?
This is the face of many churches and ministries today, even people who don’t belong to any denomination have labelled themselves prophets of God, dispersing false doctrines gained according to Isaiah 8:19-21, from the familiar spirit and mediums to deceive God’s people but the Lord is not pleased with this and condemns them.
1 Kings 22 tells of the difference between a true prophet of God and a false one. Jehoshaphat wanted a true prophet to speak into his and King Ahab’s mission to retake the city of Ramoth in Gilead. Jehoshaphat rightly suspected the predictions of victory from Ahab’s 400 counsellors to be false prophets who didn’t have the spirit of God. These false prophets merely said what the king wanted to hear and collected their salary from the royal treasury.
Unlike Micaiah, whose words came to pass, proving him to be the true prophet of God with the Spirit of God.
Like Ahab, this generation only wants to hear what pleases them as 2 Timothy 3:2 warns that the time will come (is now here) when men will not hear the practical truths of the Gospel when they will prefer speculative opinions, which either do no good to the soul or corrupt and destroys that wholesome doctrine of "deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow me," which Jesus Christ gave in Matthew 16:24-26.
Jesus teaches about false prophets in His Sermon on the Mount saying they are recognized by their fruit.
Do people pick mangos from orange trees or bananas from plantain? Every good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit. All false prophets according to Ezekiel 22:28 professes themselves to be a prophet of God but have been unfaithful in the discharge of their office, they will soothe the people in their sins and pretend to have oracles of peace and safety, speaking even when the Lord had not spoken to them.
Beware of false prophets! Some seek to hear from a “prophet” before they take any step, well, according to 1 John 4:1, don’t believe every prophet to be a man sent of God. Put these prophets to the test, as instructed by 1 John 4:1. Try them by the Spirit and word of God because a true prophet’s teachings should be consistent with Scriptural doctrines and truth. Beware of false prophets!
PRAYER: Lord, deliver me from every false prophet of this time, trying to manipulate me from the way of righteousness to wickedness in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.
Shalom
Women of light international prayer ministries.
0 notes
destinyimage · 1 year
Text
Star Prophecies: Seeing God’s Signs in the Heavens
Message from the Editor:
Prophetic signs in the stars? Isn’t that astrology? No. Not even close.
If you remember, Jesus himself tells us that God speaks through prophetic signs in the sun, moon, and stars (see Luke 21:25). Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Yet we do need to be careful about falling into the dangers of astrology. This is where a book like Looking Up can provide teaching and direction.
When I heard about Troy Brewer’s new book, Looking Up and realized it was about stars, I was immediately intrigued. After I read it, I was blown away. Ever since I was a child, I’ve been obsessed with the stars, galaxies, and space. And this message is a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of the connection between the stars, the fall of man, and redemption through Jesus Christ.
Troy presents a unique and compelling interpretation of biblical passages related to the fall of man and redemption, weaving in scientific explanations of celestial events such as eclipses and the Earth’s tilt. His teaching style is clear and easy-to-understand, making the complex concepts accessible to readers of all levels of knowledge. Moreover, he explains the connection of prophetic signs in stars and numbers, shedding light on these ways God is declaring His power and glory every night.
I highly recommend Looking Up to anyone interested in a deeper, biblical understanding of the prophetic signs of the stars. Troy presents a powerful and enlightening perspective on this topic that will leave readers with a deeper understanding of their faith and the role of the stars in the grand narrative of salvation.
Look up, friends!
Joel Marzzarella
Editor of the Destiny Image Magazine
One day, we will all stand before God and the books of our hearts will be opened (Daniel 7:10; Revelation 20:12).
All that is written within us will be revealed and read out loud to the Glory of God. So the thing that you need to know is this: Before the Word was written in our hearts, it was written in the Bible; and before the Word was written in the Bible, it was written in creation.
This is the jaw-dropper for many Christians who don’t read their Bible or refuse to search out the things in it they don’t understand: A big part of the written Word in creation is what the Bible calls the Mazzaroth (Job 38:32) or Mazzaloth (2 Kings 23:5). It’s what the Greeks call the Zodiac, and that my friend, is what this book is all about—the Mazzaroth. We will debunk the teaching of the Zodiac and even take it back for King Jesus, so stay with me!
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.
Psalm 19:1-3
God is speaking and one of the endless number of His voices is the signs in the heavens. It’s never been a taboo subject in the Kingdom but the body of Christ has been driven away from this prophetic word by denominations, church boards and Christians who want to save other Christians from the heart of Jesus Himself. You are just going to have to get past all of the witch hunters and really go after God if you are going to enjoy this revelation.
The Zodiac: The Greatest Deception of Our Time
The devil has led more people to hell through the twisting of God’s story in the stars than almost any other false teaching. What we know today as the Zodiac is his big rip-off of God’s great revelation of Himself and His dwelling place in the heavenly realm. The horoscope? It’s the devil’s sick version of the prophetic voice of God as told in the New Testament:
But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
1 Corinthians  14:3
We were made with a homing beacon to remind us this rock is not our home. We were made to look to the heavens for the answer to who we are and why we are here.
He has put eternity in their hearts….
Ecclesiastes  3:11
/*<![CDATA[*/ (function () { var scriptURL = 'https://sdks.shopifycdn.com/buy-button/latest/buy-button-storefront.min.js'; if (window.ShopifyBuy) { if (window.ShopifyBuy.UI) { ShopifyBuyInit(); } else { loadScript(); } } else { loadScript(); } function loadScript() { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.async = true; script.src = scriptURL; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(script); script.onload = ShopifyBuyInit; } function ShopifyBuyInit() { var client = ShopifyBuy.buildClient({ domain: 'nori-media-group.myshopify.com', storefrontAccessToken: 'd4019987e189be3ec0cf97ea37531adb', }); ShopifyBuy.UI.onReady(client).then(function (ui) { ui.createComponent('product', { id: '7249085759672', node: document.getElementById('product-component-1673901252528'), moneyFormat: '%24%7B%7Bamount%7D%7D', options: { "product": { "styles": { "product": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "max-width": "calc(25% - 20px)", "margin-left": "20px", "margin-bottom": "50px" } }, "title": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "color": "#000000" }, "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px", "padding-left": "26px", "padding-right": "26px" }, "price": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "color": "#444444" }, "compareAt": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "color": "#444444" }, "unitPrice": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "color": "#444444" }, "description": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" } }, "contents": { "button": false, "buttonWithQuantity": true }, "text": { "button": "Add to cart" }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto", "Droid Sans" ] }, "productSet": { "styles": { "products": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "margin-left": "-20px" } } } }, "modalProduct": { "contents": { "img": false, "imgWithCarousel": true, "button": false, "buttonWithQuantity": true }, "styles": { "product": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "max-width": "100%", "margin-left": "0px", "margin-bottom": "0px" } }, "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px", "padding-left": "26px", "padding-right": "26px" }, "title": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", "font-size": "26px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "price": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "18px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "compareAt": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "unitPrice": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "description": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "14px", "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto", "Droid Sans" ] }, "option": { "styles": { "label": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" }, "select": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" } }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto" ] }, "cart": { "styles": { "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px" }, "title": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "header": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "lineItems": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "subtotalText": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "subtotal": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "notice": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "currency": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "close": { "color": "#4c4c4c", ":hover": { "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "empty": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "noteDescription": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountText": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountIcon": { "fill": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountAmount": { "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "text": { "title": "Checkout powered by Faith & Flame" }, "googleFonts": [ "Droid Sans" ] }, "toggle": { "styles": { "toggle": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", "background-color": "#ffb400", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" } } }, "googleFonts": [ "Droid Sans" ] }, "lineItem": { "styles": { "variantTitle": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "title": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "price": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "fullPrice": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discount": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountIcon": { "fill": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantity": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityIncrement": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityDecrement": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityInput": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" } } } }, }); }); } })(); /*]]>*/
When we look up, we’re supposed to be looking for Jesus in the supernatural. Instead, we settle for what we can see in the natural. The Word warns against worshipping the stars and looking to them as an oracle to plan and live out our lives by. The stars are very poor “gods.” The Bible is very clear: to worship created heavenly bodies is wicked and God considers it idolatry (2 Kings 23:5; Deuteronomy 4:19).
If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God, in transgressing His covenant, who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded.
Deuteronomy  17:2-3
Mockers and scoffers, the ancient mystics, magi, false prophets—and after them, the Greeks—had no prophetic revelation of the story, especially where the story began and where it ended. They may have recognized there was a story in the heavens, but could they understand that story without knowing the author? Daniel makes is clear the answer then and now is, “No!”
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.”
Daniel 2:27-28
Those who put their trust in the Zodiac, the predictions of astrologers, or the “wisdom” of the horoscope are on shaky ground for sure. The Word says delving into these dark practices and listening to these deceptive voices first steals your peace of mind:
Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the Gentiles are dismayed at them.”
Jeremiah 10:1-2
Then, these false prophecies lead to judgment:
You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; let now the astrologers, the stargazers, and the monthly prognosticators stand up and save you from what shall come upon you.
Behold, they shall be as stubble, the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame.
Isaiah 47:13-14
And finally, worshipping the heavens—the Sun, Moon, stars and signs within them—leads to death.
“At that time,” says the Lord, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves. They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought and which they have worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth.”
Jeremiah 8:1-2 NKJV
My friend, do not fear the signs in the heavens or Jesus’ story in the stars that we are about to uncover, or recover! The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, and he’s used the Zodiac to accomplish this for far too long. It’s time for the people of God to stop hiding from the Mazzaroth and the signs within it, and take back this life-giving revelation from the witches and New Age mystics. The signs in the heavens have always been, and will always be, the story of Jesus.
How the Book of the Heavens Works
The prophetic story of redemption that is told through the heavens is played out for us visually, dramatically, and progressively, and can only be learned through dedication to the Author Himself. This is how all prophetic things work. Let’s unpack this a little bit.
Once you understand that the Word was written in the heavens before it was written in the Bible, you must begin to understand how to read it. Here are three important keys to understanding how to read the written language in the heavens:
It is prophetic
It is visual
It is rotational and progressive
It is Prophetic
Prophetic things are deep for a reason; they have to be searched out. The Lord desires intimacy and relationship. That’s why your interest and passion for knowing God through His creation in the night sky is a key qualifier for this prophetic revelation. The prophetic can’t be taught. It must be caught!
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Proverbs 25:2 NKJV
You don’t understand prophetic things unless you are committed to searching them out. This is what separates the merely curious from true seekers. Be a seeker. Act like a king and search out the matter.
On a more practical note, there are summer constellations and winter constellations. Some are very easy to recognize and some require some skill sets. At whatever level you want to read and interpret the signs of the heavens, there are some things you have to know. The first one—and a big one—is this:
The pictures match the names of the stars within the constellation.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Psalm 19:1
The heavens are the broad spectrum and the individual constellations and stars are they rails this revelation runs on. God named the stars. Just like ours, their names are a testimony that tells a story.
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing.
Isaiah 40:26
He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.
Psalm 147:4
Like I said in the introduction, the ancient names of the stars can still be found today in both Arabic and Hebrew. They are named to give the details of the story. The prophetic numbers associated with stars also reveal details of the story. As part of God’s design, they vary in light-years (distance) and in luminosity. These numbers have a role to play in the story as well. Search out the matter. In the Bible, not only are the words prophetic, how the words are written is also prophetic and must be fulfilled. Jesus said in Matthew 5:18,
For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Just like that, not only does the message of the constellations prophesy Jesus our Redeemer, how they are placed from our perspective adds depth and meaning to the revelation.
It is Visual
The signs in the heavens are prophetic pictures. Prophetic pictures are very symbolic. When God does prophetic things through pictures and still visuals, they have to be likened unto something else. Think of Jesus telling a parable. It’s not hard, but the seeker has to be intentional. God has equipped us with a human brain that naturally connects the dots. When you look up at the night sky and see a constellation, you can’t help but see the outline of an image. God made our brains just two days after He made the heavens for, among other things, prophetic signs for us to see and decode.
Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years.”
Genesis 1:14
Since we are talking about connecting the dots, He has also given us the person of the Holy Spirit to help us find meaningful patterns and sound conclusions in otherwise meaningless noise. It is a scientific fact that predators are confused by patterns. It’s why zebras have stripes. I think the difference the Holy Spirit makes within us separates us from brute beasts. It also causes us to see the patterns instead of being confused by them. God can engage our primitive brains with supernatural understanding through prophetic pictures in the stars. He has been broadcasting His deepest truths through the things He created.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.
Romans 1:20
Mystery Solved: The Beginning and the End
The story in the heavens is not only prophetically progressive, it is a rotating story. It is always the same with the exception of comets, planets, eclipses, and otherwise unscheduled events. This is why you need to know where the story starts and where it ends. Where does a kid jump on this merry-go-round? The Greeks and the astrologers have it wrong. They can study it, but they just can’t get it because there is a blessing in getting it and they refuse the blessing because they deny the Creator.
Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Romans 1:21
The Greeks who created the Zodiac and peddle the horoscopes that control people’s lives say it begins with Aries and ends with Pisces. That’s not the way it was meant to be. Prophetic stories and timelines are discovered prophetically (1 Chronicles 12:32) and these jokers have no prophetic revelation because the Holy Spirit doesn’t live within them. The grand drama of the heavens has begun with Virgo for thousands of recorded years. When you compare Virgo to the other eleven signs, this is only place it can start. The story of redemption unfolds with the promised Redeemer as the seed of the woman in Virgo, then progressively moves all the way to the Lion of the tribe of Judah coming back for His Bride in the sign of Leo. It starts in Genesis and ends in Revelation!
To prove this was His original intent, God has provided a testimony to preserve His Word that all the world knows about. It is called the Sphinx. Connected to the Great Pyramid, which is an ancient astral structure, the Sphinx is also known as one of the twelve ancient wonders of the world. The word sphinx means “bind together” or to “bind closely together.” It is designed to show us where the story begins, ends, and begins again. The sphinx has the head of a woman and the body of a lion! It is screaming to all the world throughout all ages that the story begins with Virgo and ends at Leo. Bullinger tells us in The Witness of the Stars that at the giant Zodiac surrounding the Temple of Esneh in Egypt, a sphinx is actually placed between the signs of Virgo and Leo. Boom! There it is. Who can argue with the Sphinx?
/*<![CDATA[*/ (function () { var scriptURL = 'https://sdks.shopifycdn.com/buy-button/latest/buy-button-storefront.min.js'; if (window.ShopifyBuy) { if (window.ShopifyBuy.UI) { ShopifyBuyInit(); } else { loadScript(); } } else { loadScript(); } function loadScript() { var script = document.createElement('script'); script.async = true; script.src = scriptURL; (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(script); script.onload = ShopifyBuyInit; } function ShopifyBuyInit() { var client = ShopifyBuy.buildClient({ domain: 'nori-media-group.myshopify.com', storefrontAccessToken: 'd4019987e189be3ec0cf97ea37531adb', }); ShopifyBuy.UI.onReady(client).then(function (ui) { ui.createComponent('product', { id: '7249085759672', node: document.getElementById('product-component-1673901129010'), moneyFormat: '%24%7B%7Bamount%7D%7D', options: { "product": { "styles": { "product": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "max-width": "100%", "margin-left": "0", "margin-bottom": "50px" }, "text-align": "left" }, "title": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-size": "26px", "color": "#000000" }, "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px", "padding-left": "26px", "padding-right": "26px" }, "price": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-size": "18px", "color": "#444444" }, "compareAt": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#444444" }, "unitPrice": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#444444" }, "description": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" } }, "layout": "horizontal", "contents": { "img": false, "imgWithCarousel": true, "button": false, "buttonWithQuantity": true, "description": true }, "width": "100%", "text": { "button": "Add to cart" }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto", "Droid Sans" ] }, "productSet": { "styles": { "products": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "margin-left": "-20px" } } } }, "modalProduct": { "contents": { "img": false, "imgWithCarousel": true, "button": false, "buttonWithQuantity": true }, "styles": { "product": { "@media (min-width: 601px)": { "max-width": "100%", "margin-left": "0px", "margin-bottom": "0px" } }, "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px", "padding-left": "26px", "padding-right": "26px" }, "title": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", "font-size": "26px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "price": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "18px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "compareAt": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "unitPrice": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "15.299999999999999px", "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "description": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif", "font-weight": "normal", "font-size": "14px", "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto", "Droid Sans" ] }, "option": { "styles": { "label": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" }, "select": { "font-family": "Roboto, sans-serif" } }, "googleFonts": [ "Roboto" ] }, "cart": { "styles": { "button": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "background-color": "#ffb400", ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, "border-radius": "25px" }, "title": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "header": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "lineItems": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "subtotalText": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "subtotal": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "notice": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "currency": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "close": { "color": "#4c4c4c", ":hover": { "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "empty": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "noteDescription": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountText": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountIcon": { "fill": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountAmount": { "color": "#4c4c4c" } }, "text": { "title": "Checkout powered by Faith & Flame" }, "googleFonts": [ "Droid Sans" ] }, "toggle": { "styles": { "toggle": { "font-family": "Droid Sans, sans-serif", "font-weight": "bold", "background-color": "#ffb400", ":hover": { "background-color": "#e6a200" }, ":focus": { "background-color": "#e6a200" } } }, "googleFonts": [ "Droid Sans" ] }, "lineItem": { "styles": { "variantTitle": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "title": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "price": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "fullPrice": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discount": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "discountIcon": { "fill": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantity": { "color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityIncrement": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityDecrement": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" }, "quantityInput": { "color": "#4c4c4c", "border-color": "#4c4c4c" } } } }, }); }); } })(); /*]]>*/
0 notes
billionier · 1 year
Photo
Tumblr media
#GoodNewsMustTravelFast🗣️📖🚀🌎. THE DOMINION OF THE KINGDOM Daniel 7:22, 27 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. There aren't any need for analysis or perusal views on the matter of the Kingdom. The everlasting Kingdom reigns by power, authority and dominion. 1 Corinthians 4:20 For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. When someone has power, he does not give suggestions, he issue command. In Yoruba proverb it is rendered "Ōba Kii daba, asē l'oba pa." Meaning 'A king does nothing than but give command.' Power is one of the virtues of the Kingdom. The Church, must stay focused and redefine what he stands for and stop playing religion. I have witnessed some trend over the years about the unthinkable stand of the Church of endorsing political candidates during campaign and electioneering period. Many uncensored prophet gives predictions about who will become what and at the end this political juggernaut will tactically want to go against the Church. The Church is not a political confederacy, he is a spiritual compass to the world. Let's take our stand! I believe that the BODY OF CHRIST shall be in charge of every sphere of government before the return of JESUS. I'm sick and tired of denominational hangover of Churches, for how long are we going to rally on false represention of the Kingdom of God. The KINGDOM OF GOD, is not about nomenclature, it is about influence and unprecedented impact we have all across the street, hamlets, towns, cities and giving meaning to the lost SOULS around us. One of the sayings of Jesus that always set me up on the GO is Luke 15:7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth... The matter is, HOW MANY SOULS HAVE REPENTED THROUGH YOU? Are you giving JOY to HEAVEN? ARE YOU A BONAFIDE SOUL WINNER? (at Victoria Island, Lagos) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm0iYLqDpnx/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
0 notes
andrewuttaro · 1 year
Text
How the book came to be
Tumblr media
On November 9th, 2022 “How to catch feelings for Jesus” was published via Wipf and Stock Publishing. This book was the fruit of a two year labor of love for me. It was a passion project during the COVID19 pandemic but that was merely the circumstance that gave me the time and focus to produce it. This book is the culmination of something welling up in me for years, before I ever started the typing. It is a deeply personal spiritual journey as well as an examination of broader cultural, sociological and religious influences on this whole idea of relating to Jesus Christ. At the center of it is a tension between the Jesus I met, and the one others told me about. The gulf between the two was always troubling to me.
There was always an awkwardness to it: even on that car-ride home from a summer camp in fourth grade I remember rather flippantly saying to myself that I would give Jesus a try. Ten-year-olds don’t often grasp the gravity of things, particularly when you grow up with the privilege of a safe home, good education, and the life opportunities I did. Nonetheless the ensuing years, through adolescence into adulthood and up to my present, Jesus took my awkward yes and returned to me tenfold the blessings of a relationship. The awkwardness of it never went away however and that became a question in itself for me to ponder.
I was blessed enough to be free from religious abuses, Catholic guilt, and any cultural war narratives in my early years believing: so I like to think my faith in Jesus was never predicated upon any false assumptions about what it needed to be. While I credit this as a reason my faith sustains me so integrally as an adult, there was a learning process there. What was lacking in my practices on a social awareness level in spite of the blissful belief of my youth? Service trips and social teachings matured my faith but still did not clear out the awkwardness of it all. There were bigger realities to wrestle with in that regard. I looked to the bigger picture beyond the Church building or even the soup kitchens and thrift stores that formed me.
That was the year I graduated from college and became a Youth Minister. That year was 2016: a year that featured about half a dozen flashpoints in my own life matched by a crazy national environment. That bigger picture I needed to understand started coming into stark relief.
Oftentimes followers of Jesus Christ, of many stripes across most every denomination, will mistake diminishing cultural preference for persecution. As a result Christians in the United States of America have increasingly associated themselves with people and tactics that don’t do any favors for the message of the one they claim to follow. Far from truly persecuted in this country, Christians have made the religion, and the one at the center of it, less appealing to those who would be otherwise persuadable. This is against the preexisting backdrop of increasing secularization and a Catholic Church of mine that carelessly squandered any cultural authority it might have still possessed in crisis after self-inflicted crisis. The Sex Abuse scandal rightfully made it the punchline of ubiquitous jokes for as far back as I can remember. The scandal itself exposed just how poorly professing believers in Jesus Christ drop the ball on accountability and basic human dignity in the truly horrific cases. Chapters 3 and 6 deal with these and a constellation of other issues in the Christian world: a Crisis of Christianity today. The corruption of power indeed doesn’t stop at the Church doors. How could anyone approach the true Jesus with this as their context?
As I explored all of this Jesus spoke to me through that bigger picture. What if, through my own experience however flawed that maybe, I tried to provide some kind of step-by-step guide on how to get to know the Jesus I believe really reaches out to us in spite of how his less savory followers portray him? That idea floated around in my head innocuously for years until the chaos of 2020. In Chapter Six of the book I talk about how a series of inklings from God helped me get some critical graduate work done the winter going into that year before the pandemic shut everything down. Though 2020 was scary throughout, that little helping hand turned my eyes back to Jesus and my faith grew deeper once again that spring. By the summer I started writing the book I am now blessed enough to see published.
As I make clear right off the bat in the introduction: I have no special, privileged knowledge you couldn’t find without a focused enough google search. I am no guru, and this is not a self-help book. The polemics of Christian spirituality is nothing I am even particularly qualified to speak on, I am no Priest, deacon, theologian or professor… though my wife says I behave quite like an encyclopedia sometimes. The idea of this book as I wrote it in the step by step format was to provide everyday people with a roadmap to loving Jesus or “catching feelings” for him. The hope there being that my own reflections on Jesus and what he stands for could provide the blank spaces for the reader to fill in their own answers to how they might find Jesus. We’re all different but the living Jesus relates to us in ways that are personal and do make sense if only to us.
One piece of proverbial wisdom shared with me and many others along those lines is: “caught not taught.” That is faith in Jesus is something we catch more than we are simply taught. This truism popular among Youth Ministers made its way into the title of the book as you may have gathered. Good youth ministers hope to teach less than they simply want to create the conditions necessary for one to catch Jesus. Christian apologists the world over miss the point when our witness becomes solely an academic matter. This book is my effort to simply create the conditions necessary for the reader to catch feelings for Jesus.
As anyone who believes in something bigger than themselves often do: I wondered how much God called me to this. Was he pushing me to write this book? Was it my own inspired work? One thing I learned in my years of relationship with Jesus and particularly in the years writing this book is that the best answers we get from God are not the simple yes/no binaries. No, God is often found in the messy middle where answers take the form of the face of the downtrodden, the overlooked outgroup, and the personal revelations we strain to constitute in any clear words whatsoever. Is this book something God had a purpose for me to write it? I don’t know: that’s for you to answer. I pray you find it worth your time.
“How to catch feelings for Jesus” is available online through Wipf & Stock, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere books are sold online. Reach out to me if you need a discount code before the New Year. Stay tuned to this blog for more content from the author and weekly reflections every Friday.
0 notes
god-whispers · 1 year
Text
dec 15
chrislam
what is it? chrislam is a movement, hoped by some to be the answer for the ongoing clash between the west, which is predominantly christian, and the middle east, which is predominantly muslim.  though a form of it reportedly began in nigeria and is not new, it is a new movement in the United states.  several protestant denominations have adopted this effort in the name of “love thy neighbor” and to promote an ecumenical, or unified, reconciliation between christianity and islam.
how does the movement work? chrislam is trying to focus on a connection between the bible and the koran.  in the attempt to blend these two religions, chrislam has itself become a new religion of sorts.  some churches have been joined by others in placing the koran next to the bible in the church pews.  then there is a reading from both text, both being recognized as holy text.
chrislam has grown dramatically and now has infected many hundreds of churches and denominations across america.
what does God say about this? when examining what God says about the merits of chrislam, it is first important to clarify of which god we are speaking.  allah is the god of islam and not the same deity as the God of christianity and judaism.  christianity declares the Son of God, Jesus, to be God incarnate in human form.  in christianity, the deity of Jesus is non-negotiable, for without His deity, Jesus’ death and resurrection would not have been sufficient to be the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world (1 john 2:2).
islam adamantly rejects the deity of Jesus christ and says allah has no sons (surah 72).  the koran declares the idea of ‘Jesus is God’ is blasphemy.  furthermore, islam denies the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.  islam’s name for Jesus is isa.  the Jesus or isa in the koran is not the same Jesus as in the bible.  islam views isa as a prophet who was appointed by allah to prepare mankind for the coming of mohammad.
matthew 6:24 and luke 16:13 say “no one can serve two masters.”  exodus 20:5 tells us that we are not to bow down, serve, or worship any other god. “for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God...”  James 1:8 also tell us that “a double-minded man will be unstable in all his ways.”
chrislam will be debunked by many while others promote its efforts.  so the question may be “which god will you serve?” Jesus proclaims “I am the way, the truth and the life.  no one comes to the Father except through me” (john 14:6).  this is the foundation and rock of salvation.  those who have jumped on the bandwagon of chrislam have the misguided notion that the church must adapt to a changing society.  this is false; the church was never called to adapt to society, but to adapt to the teachings of Jesus Christ.  we are to love one another with the love of Christ, but not to forsake Him in the process.
1 john 2:22 states, “who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the christ?” 1 john 4:3 says, “and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.  and this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.”
the blending of these two religions is not compatible and both christians and muslims should reject it.
we have all sinned and deserve God’s judgment.  God, the Father, sent His only Son to satisfy that judgment for those who believe in Him.  Jesus, the Creator and eternal Son of God, who lived a sinless life, loves us so much that He died for our sins, taking the punishment that we deserve, was buried, and rose from the dead according to the bible.  if you truly believe and trust this in your heart, receiving Jesus alone as your Savior, declaring, "Jesus is Lord," you will be saved from judgment and spend eternity with God in heaven.  there is no murky water here.  there is no mixing of faiths to make a new world religion.  of that we have been warned.
chrislam - the merging of the two main religions will soon encompass them all and everyone must decide where they stand.  i'm sure each of the dedicated ones are convinced they have the truth.  just be sure.  be very sure.  then defend it to the death.  not the death of others as some would have it.  defend it to your own death.  "knowing that i am appointed for the defense of the gospel" (phil 1:17), i choose Jesus, come what may!  all of us called by His name are appointed to this task.  how well we do it will be recorded in God's book!
0 notes