"Blood in, Blood Out"

Isn't it interesting that at various times something from the outside, some sort of outside influence or condition, may reflect a certain story or passage that we might be reading in the Bible at the time? A case in point, for me, happened just a few days ago. When I returned home from being out and about, a postcard greeted me at the door. It was left in the door by Victory Outreach in Victorville. The card was promoting an event, a live drama called "Blood In, Blood Out." Judging from the pictures on the post card and this note, "To join the Mafia, you kill....To leave the Mafia, you die" one can assume that this production must have something to do with leaving the "Mexican" Mafia and the brutal lifestyle that it represents.

What was so interesting to me in receiving this post card when I did is that I was reading Acts chapter 9 at the time and reading about the conversion of Saul from early church persecutor to becoming the staunch preacher he was to become.

What's so interesting about that you might ask and what's the connection.

Well, after Saul received his sight and began preaching in the synagogues that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, folks began to take notice; those who remembered him as the one that destroyed many of those that called on Jesus in Jerusalem and those that were convicted by the truth of Saul's words and preaching of Jesus Christ as Messiah.

Verse 22 tells us that as Saul increased more in knowledge and understanding and began to be more and more empowered, he also began to perplex and confuse the Jews and cause an uproar amongst them by "proving" that Jesus was indeed the Christ. In fact, the uproar was evidently so great and so powerful in piercing their hearts by Saul's preaching that they sought to take Saul's life.

Hopefully, by now, you can see the connection. Just as it was in Saul's day where going against the grain and speaking out against what was considered to be true at the time by the religious leadership was seen as punishable by death, so the same goes on today, when trying to leave a powerful criminal enterprise like a gang, in this case, the Mexican Mafia is punishable by death.

Saul began preaching the "real" truth; that the Messiah had indeed come and came in the form of a man named Jesus Christ, with such power that he began to cut the hearts of the so-called religious leadership of his day so much to actually want him dead.

In fact, I was struck so much by the connection between this post card from Victory Outreach and these events that surrounded Saul some 2000 years ago, that I noted in my Bible by verse 23 "Blood In, Blood Out."

Through Saul's exhortation and preaching he was able to clearly demonstrate that Jesus was the Messiah spoken of in scripture, so much so that the "shot callers" in the Jewish priesthood wanted him dead.

Fortunately for Saul, by the power of the Holy Spirit, he had become a member of the only "gang" that matters.....the "Royal Priesthood" of Jesus Christ and His family.

Israel at 60, Give or Take a Few Thousand Years

This happens to be the title of an article that appeared in both the Israel National News in April and today on the American Thinker website that was written by Steve Feldman and Robert Sklaroff of the Philadelphia District of the Zionist Organization of America.

Unfortunately, this article contains the most glaring error that can ever be made with respect to Abraham and the Nation of Israel - namely the insistence that Father Abraham was a Jew. Clearly, from any honest recollection of the truths offered in the Bible or the Hebrew Torah we can, with the utmost assurance, insist that Abraham was not a "Jew." Now in general, while I agree with the overall summation made by the authors of the article - that the Nation of Israel is well over 60 years old, in fact thousands of years old, I disagree (obviously) with the assertion that this Nation only includes only the actual blood decedents of Father Abraham.

The modern State of Israel is a secular state based on the model of Roman Civil Law that has been in existence for thousands of years and adopted, in fact, by virtually every nation/state in the world. So to insist, as many do today, that God will save this secular nation, outside and apart from what has already occurred in history and what we are assured of will again happen in the future through what the Apostles wrote is just not sound Biblical teaching.

Another point in the article that is a completely misleading is the writers insistence that the first "Jew" to set foot in Israel was Abraham when he purchased the grave for Sarah. This is woefully inaccurate. Actually, Abraham set foot in Canaan (which was occupied by the Israelites after crossing the Jordan during Joshua's day) when he was instructed by God to leave the land he was in for Canaan. - Genesis 12:1-12. Later, after a famine in the land, Abraham left and went to Egypt. After being kicked out of Egypt for lying to Pharaoh about Sarah, Abraham went back to Canaan. In fact, the Bible tells us Abraham went back to the place where he had originally built an alter to the Lord when he first entered into Canaan. - See Genesis 12:8 and Genesis 13:3-4.

The Bible goes on to tell us in Genesis 13 that from where the altar was, in the plain of Moreh, Abraham moved to the plain of Mamre, which is near Hebron, where he built another altar. - Genesis 13:18. Hebron is smack-dab in the mist of Israel, both in Abraham's day and still to this day! This is where God made His famous promise to Abraham (Abram) that He would provide Abraham all the land that he saw.

"For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto The Lord." - Genesis 13:15-18 KJV

The fact as to why the authors of this piece didn't add this information into their article, or just didn't know these facts, is anyone's guess. But to me it is a bit distressing and I cannot honestly believe that no one in the modern, secular nation State of Israel didn't call them on it! These are Bible basics and I would imagine, for those that are claiming the promises God made to Abraham, they would know a little bit more about them.

Intelligent Design?

I loathe the term "intelligent design." In all reality it has got to be one of the poorest ways to describe creation that anyone could utter. Not to mention it's a term that singlehandedly belittles the Creator to the point of trying to attach to him our limited understanding of things around us.

Think about it. Calling God "intelligent" is the equivalent of calling the Grand Canyon a pothole. It's a description that completely underestimates actual reality. God is so much more than what any human notion could possibly even begin to describe. If you really want to know the complexity involved in trying to describe what God is, or what God resembles, read Ezekiel chapters 1 & 2. It is extraordinary to even think that God would have a mere mortal man attempt such a description in the first place and yet Ezekiel seems to pull it off quite well. I fully expect God to be just as Ezekiel attempted to explain Him...sort of, I think!

In the book of Isaiah God tells us in no uncertain terms "For my thoughts [are] not your thoughts, neither [are] your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For [as] the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8-9. I don't look at this statement from God as being aloof or arrogant as much as I see Him putting truth, understanding, knowledge and wisdom in proper perspective. That is to say His perspective compared to our perspective. I mean really, can anyone imagine, in their finite minds, what it must be like to frame the heavens, to create the forces that would hold the universe together, or create the marvelous workings of the human body? In this light "intelligent" almost seems like an insult.

One of the most comical, and yet serious, passages of the Bible has to be when God finally has it up to here with Job and the Sunshine Boys and lets both barrels loose in what has to be the single best undressing of human logic and thought in the Bible in Job chapters 38, 39 & 40. Yikes! Every time I read this section of Job my mouth is literally on the floor! I try to imagine what it must have been like for Job. "I...I...I...well, I...I...umm, well I...I...er, umm...I..." You get the point.

Yet, even with all of this, God still promises us that when we seek Him with all of our heart, we will find Him. - Deuteronomy 4:13, Jeremiah 29:13. God is so good that He even encourages us to "reason" with Him! - Isaiah 1:18. He will even reveal Himself and His ways to us through His spirit. - 1 Corinthians 2:11-13.

If I can let me leave you with this thought. If God spoke the worlds into existence, how much actual designing took place? Paul puts it this way - that the things we see were not made of things that do appear.

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." - Hebrews 11:3

Abraham the Gentile

How many times have you heard someone call Abraham a Jew? And yet, it almost goes without saying that one of the most fascinating, indeed awe inspiring, glimpses into Bible prophecy can be found in the story of Abraham - the gentile. The story of Abraham is a story for anyone and everyone that places their trust in Jesus. When you examine this story of Abraham it is, in all reality, the story of the gentiles and how the gentiles are saved.

First the basics. Abraham was a direct descendant of Noah's son Shem. We know that the whole world was populated from the offspring of Noah. Shem we are told in Genesis 10:21 was father of all the children of Eber, who was the father of Abraham. Eber then is really the father of Hebrew nation; this means that Abraham his son was a Hebrew and not a Jew. Jews didn't come along until Abraham's great-grandson Judah began to have children of his own.

According to the Strong's Concordance the word Hebrew means: "a region across" which fits perfectly when we are told that Abraham was from Ur of the Chaldees in Genesis 11:31. The area of the Chaldees was located between the Tigris and Euphrates in what is commonly known as Mesopotamia. I'm offering all this information to point out that Abraham was a gentile, no matter how we look at it, but that's not the fascinating part. This is. That very same promises that God gave to Abraham are available to us! In fact, those promises, which were accepted by Abraham by his faith in God are the same promises we receive from God and accept by faith.

In Romans 4 Paul asks us to consider father Abraham and that his justification, if it was through works, would have given him something to boast about - but not before God. Abraham was not saved by works. Paul tells us plainly that Abraham believed God and his belief was reckoned to him as righteousness. Paul goes on to explain to us that if we work then the wages we earn are not a gift but what is due to us (Romans 4:4) whereas if we trust the one who "justifies the ungodly" then our faith is reckoned for righteousness, just like Abraham (Romans 4:5). To confirm this point Paul quotes David in the Psalms (Psalms 32:1-2).

This is getting good!

Now, Paul asks rather pointedly, "How then was it (faith) reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised?" Another way we could look at this question is this, was Abraham reckoned unto God before he was "set aside" by God or after? And the answer Paul? "It was not after, but before he was circumcised." (Romans 4:10).

What a tremendous blessing this is giving us! That God accepts our faith, even before our hearts are fully circumcised (See Romans 2:28-29) just as He did for Abraham. What a wonderful way to see the picture of God building trust with us!

Paul tells us that Abraham "received circumcision" as a sign or seal of the righteousness which he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them" (Romans 4:11). What Paul is illustrating for us is that "the promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they should inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith." (Romans 4:13). No covenant, or special dispensation, but by faith alone. And this is exactly how we receive the promises that God makes to us! Not through the law, but by the "righteousness of faith." No covenant, or special dispensation, but by faith alone! Paul goes on to tell us that if those that adhere to the law are heirs, then "faith is null and the promise of God is void."

Paul tells us plainly in verse 16, "That is why it (the promise) depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants--not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all..."

So the promises that God made to Abraham, that were counted to him as righteousness due to his faith, are ours to claim as well! Paul tells us that, "It will be reckoned to us who believe in him that raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was put to death for our trespasses and raised for our justification." (Romans 4:24-25).

Wow!

The very same promises God made to Abraham belong to us as well. We will be reckoned by our faith in Him that raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead! What an awesome promise and an awesome glimpse as to how this prophetic vision, expressed first in the gentile Abraham, is now available to both Jew and gentile that accept the God that raised Jesus from the dead. As our faith is counted for righteousness in God so too is our faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:26).

Something that illustrates this point for us and solidifies the truth of this promise made to the gentiles is the story of the tremendous faith displayed by the centurion that led to the healing of his servant in Matthew 8:5-13.

He didn't question, he just believed. He just had faith. As a result, Jesus makes an absolutely staggering comment regarding the faith of the gentiles, "I tell you, many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth." Matthew 8:11-12.

The promise here is obvious. The gentiles, those from the east and from the west, will sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of Heaven based on their faith and trust in Jesus Christ the Messiah while those that do not display faith in the Messiah by placing their trust in Him will be on the outside looking in.

There is much to learn from the faith of Abraham the gentile.

Ecological Dimension of Sunday?!

The following was taken from a post made at Advent Talk an online Adventist discussion forum. I thought it was relevant simply because it illustrates very well what the lack of any adherence to the moral laws of God will eventually bring. Already we can see great strides being taken to legislate Sunday observance in contrast to Sabbath solemnity.

This actually quite relevant to the topic of dispensationalism because the ship of the dispensational mindset is generally without course nor rudder in the sea of sound doctrine and scripture. All the while, as dispensationalist's consistently and blindly gaze at the wrong horizon of the secular, modernistic State of Israel (built on the image of neo-pagan Roman civil law), the ecumenical world movement is quickly creeping up behind them. The minions don't see Rome because they aren't looking at Rome and their pastors, who very much teach solid Jesuit eschatology, happily lead their flock astray.

It will only be a matter of time before some catastrophic event such as an economic meltdown, a massive terrorist attack or environmental disaster will cause the supposed necessity of a legislated worldwide day of rest.


Ecological Dimension of Sunday?!

In a homily in Vienna, Austria, recently, Pope Benedict XVI highlighted the threat that hovers upon the environment and Creation in general, stressing the necessity to pay greater attention to, what he called, “the ecological dimension of Sunday”, the day when the Church thanks God for the Creation. He said: “At a time when creation seems to be endangered in so many ways through human activity, we should consciously advert to this dimension of Sunday too”.

This “ecological dimension” of Sunday is a new language by which the Pope tries to show the Vatican’s leadership in a global campaign to “save the planet” (see http://zenit.org/article-20450?l=english). Wouldn’t that be what some are calling “ECOmenism”?

But in a theological perspective, we see in the papal discourse a clear distortion of the real meaning of the Sabbath institution: he points to Sunday as a day to celebrate creation, which doesn’t match the biblical teaching, for that role is assigned to the seventh-day Sabbath as being the “memorial of creation”.

According to the Genesis creation record, on the first day God was acting in His work, as Creator, and only on the seventh-day He rested, blessed and sanctified the day (Gen. 2:2, 3). So, this twisting of meanings is certainly a subtle change of the Bible’s teaching and symbolism on the subject of what constitutes the institution to remember the Creator and His creation.

In the USA, on the other hand, campaigns stressing greater respect for Sunday and the 10 Commandments are under way. A “10 Commandments Commission” was formed to promote a “10 Commandments Day” (which is being set for the 1st Sunday of May) under the command of influential Evangelical leaders, such as James Dobson, Benny Hynn, Charles Colson, Pat Robertson, Don Wildmon and a good number of others (see: http://www.ldausa.org/index.cfm and http://www.tencommandmentsday.com/).

The promoters of these significant campaigns understand that the moral and spiritual decline of the great North-American nation (and all over the world) is due to the failure of society to consider seriously these divine principles, which seems a good thing, but that implies serious dangers for religious freedom. Such initiatives could lead to having religio-political systems influencing the government to dictate norms according to the expectations and interpretations of these leaders. History teaches us a sober lesson that when there is a mix of religion and politics, minorities are always hurt. . .

In an interview on May 18, 2005 to the program “Fresh Air”, of the NPR network (National Public Radio), that covers practically the entire country, Dr. James D. Kennedy, influential minister and evangelist who had an intense radio and TV activity before passing away in September, 2007, said openly that the principle of separation of Church and State in the USA is an error that goes against the ideals of the Christian founders of the nation, and should be simply discarded. This is a very worrisome notion. His interview can be heard through the following link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4656600).

We understand through the study of Bible prophetic statements that the final events on this planet will have much to do with the Sabbath/Sunday question. It will be the definition of who will bear the seal of God, and who will receive the “mark of the beast”. And that the obligatory character of total suspension of activities on Sundays is not a new idea we can see just recalling the “rehearsal” of that during a very serious crisis in recent decades--the oil embargo of the 70’s. What day in the week was affected by those politico-economical developments of the time? The older ones remember the gas stations closing on Sundays in many countries throughout the world.