The Stock Market Warnings

If you have watched the stock market drop 410 points on the Dow today and hopefully have been able to watch it come back up, were you concerned? If is important to pay attention to the signs built into the economy, It is even more important to pay attention to the signs or warnings built into the Word of God. Isaiah 1:15-20 reads,“So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight. Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.
“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool. “If you consent and obey,
You will eat the best of the land; “But if you refuse and rebel, You will be devoured by the sword.”
Truly, the mouth of the Lord has spoken." NASB95)

If our nation does not stop aborting millions of children, God will not answer our prayer for the  nation because we have so much blood on our hands. He will turn us over to judgment. As you pray on Saturday, pray for God to bring conviction on the nation for its sin and this atrocity. As you pray, are you making any preparations for your family? Remember, it does not matter how much money you have if there is nothing left to buy. These last days are important times for Christians to be alert. We need to fight becoming deceived by those who only want our money, time, and influence. We need to devote ourselves to pray, the knowing the Word of God, and to being ready to meet needs for our families and those around us even if it is inconvenient to us.

Cults Revival in Closing

Imagine a pyramid where the preponderance of the pyramid is comprised of people who are the base. Imagine the top of the pyramid is taking advantage of those on the bottom. Those on the bottom do not know what those on the top really believe. Those on the top take their money, their time, and their influence to create a powerful organization that they control. They are willing to let the bottom the pyramid believe what they will, but are watching for those who are like minded to move up through the organization. Famous and powerful people have been a part of their organization, presidential candidates, evangelists, you name it. But these people obviously do not believe what the apologists say the national organization believes. It is confusing why those people are saying such things about their organization. Well, it should be confusing, because they have not been told the truth.

I hope that this incongruity would cause those who are in the bottom of the pyramid to investigate what is being said about those at the top. The North American Mission Board has done exactly that with it's website: www.4truth.net On the left side is a menu that includes the heading New Religions and Cults. When you choose the group you are interested in make certain that you examine titles in the site that compare biblical teachings with the cult teachings. There are so many websites that add to these kinds of information including Southern Baptists like John Ankerberg, and many others.

Last, keep in mind who is more likely to lie to you. If a person has nothing to gain, but much to lose for sharing information, why would they do that? If they could just keep their mouth shut and go about their business, but they risk many things to share information- give thought to this fact.

"Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Proverbs 27:6 (NIV)

 

Freemasonry and Herschel Hobbs

One does not have to study very long to discover that Freemasonry claims a close connection and affinity "...with the Essenes, Gnostic's, and other mystical orders" see page xiv of the introduction of the Monitor of the Lodge, Grand Lodge of Texas (1982). I would now simply point out what they hold to be true and compare that the whole counsel of the Word of God in the Old and New Testaments. That should not be upsetting to Masons since the advertisements on the websites for most grand lodges now declare that Masonry is not a secret organization. That is hard to imagine, though, since the monitors have the word "secret" and "sacred" referring to their teachings, throughout. For this reason I will use a few quotes in context. The quote above is where they connect themselves to the Gnostic's. Herschel Hobbs warned about Gnosticism, or believing in having a special knowledge about God that supersedes all other revelations, in his commentary on the Gospel of John and the Epistles of John, Hobbs notes:

 "It was a vicious system that cut squarely across Christian truth. Warnings against it are reflected in John's writing...the movement beginning in the first century that degraded the deity, person, and work of Jesus Christ. No apostle felt more strongly about the false claims of the Gnostic's than did John. It is interesting that Freemasonry talks about the Holy Saints John when John the Baptist was pointing to Jesus as the one who would come to take away the sins of the world. He was pointing to Jesus. The Apostle John wrote to condemn Gnosticism which Freemasonry proudly adheres itself to, so that they lies of the Gnostic's about Jesus would be overcome.

Is that a problem? Gnostic's believe that there is the one true archetype of God and that all other gods, including Jesus, were simply a Demiurge (second level god who operates in the physical realm making things etc.)while the one true God is unknowable. However, we know that Jesus is presented in John chapter one as the Word one with the Father as eternal God. Colossians 1:15-20 says of Jesus:

     He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

16     For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

17     He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

18     He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

19     For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him,

20     and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995, S. Col 1:15-20

For the Gnostic, they choose to believe that Jesus as the image of the invisible God is a secondary god. Krishna is a secondary god. So, as Masons, the ones that have been told what is going on; have attained to the knowledge. These enlightened Masons believe that they have stepped past the secondary gods of all of the world religions, and through their esoteric (only for a special few) knowledge, are praying "through" all of these secondary gods to the Great Architect of the Universe who is the one true unknowable God. They are knowing him through the geometry of the universe and the contents of the universe that reveal him through order. You see Hobbs says that this Gnosticism reduces the work of Jesus from the truth that no one will go to the into the after life to any location but hell, unless they go through Jesus. It reduces the work of Jesus to the same level of any other secondary god. So when we as Christians say that everything that exists, exists by the word of His mouth, and that all other gods are false (including their philosophical concept of a grand architect of the universe), we are told that we are too sophomoric to understand.  So if you are a Gnostic you believe that out there in the universe (and beyond) is a Great Architect of the Universe that is the true unknowable God that Jesus was simply trying to point us toward. He is not that God revealing Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When Jesus says, If you have seen the Father, you have seen me", He did not prove His deity, He reduced the Father to a secondary god as well. The triune God, to the Gnostic's is secondary to the unknowable Great Architect of the Universe.

I hate to tell you this, but you need a shot at getting this right. There is a reason that Jesus does not appear in your Texas monitor. You will find Jehovah, and you will find other designations. You can look in other writings and find "Christ", or "the Lion of the Tribe of Judah", but you will not find Jesus presented as the only way of salvation and the only way to God. Those Masonic articles that Larry Kunk referred to at the Grand Lodge websites are prepared to explain away those familiar titles. "Christ" as a title would be Jesus for the Christian, a Christ or messiah that has not shown up yet for the Jews, the Mahdi for the Muslim, or Krishna for the Hindu. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah is Solomon or David for the Jew, and can be any other kind of messianic character for other world religions. If you are going to make it to heaven based on the merits of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, that means you are going based on the "good example" of these various saviors.

Freemasonry is willing to let you stretch to get there in your own assumptions, but the special "esoteric" knowledge that they have is just old philosophy from the time of Plato and Aristotle that has been turned into a "religion" for those who are on the "inside" in Freemasonry. Still within the introductory pages of the Texas Monitor on page xi in full paragraph two in their own words, the material in the monitor is used in conjunction with esoteric work (shared from mouth to ear- later in the book) to get the the work of the Lodge done, as it were.

I know that there are all kinds of Christian images in Freemasonry, but as Gnostic's by declaration, these images are from a secondary Demiurge god. As a Freemason, either they believe this, or they believe that Jesus is just another name for the one true God like Allah, and Krisha, etc. If you don't believe any of that, then join Herschel Hobbs and leave gnosticism behind; especially those of you that are just finding out what is going on. If you stay, you will be leaving Freemasons all over the world with the impression that if they faithfully hold to the masonic teachings they will make it to the Great Architect of the Universe and his lodge. You know that is not true. The monitor says over and over that the Lodge is holding to the Holy Scriptures, and the bible (lower case) etc... Keep in mind that the book that is on the so called altar can be the holy book of any religion on the planet.

Freemasonry is simply a way to integrate all world religions into one. The Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of all Mankind break down because of sin. We died as a result of sin, and the Bible (upper case) says that Jesus had to pay the penalty for our sin so that we could be adopted. Christians are not just more of the brotherhood of man. Because of sin, the Bible now identifies two groups on the planet: the children of God who have received Jesus in John 1:12 and everyone else that are identified as the children of the devil. Jesus says in John 3 that those who have not believed in Him are condemned already. Esoteric, gnostic philosophy with stole Christian terminology can not do for anyone what Jesus has done. Stop trying to get people into the lodge for the glory of the lodge. Come out of the lodge because of the warning of Jesus (it is His word) about world wide religion in Revelation 18. The Harlot of Babylon is all of the religions of the world pulled together until anti Christ gets through with her and destroys her so he can declare himself to be God, (also instead of Jesus). This is what the passage says about that kind of religion,

"I heard another voice from heaven, saying, 'Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995, S. Re 18:4-5

Anyone that has read Herschel Hobbs knows that he believes in the exclusivity of the Triune God and the completed work of Jesus to save those who will be saved. Without Jesus, not a Christ or a Lion of a Tribe, without Jesus- no one will make it to Heaven.

  

Part Four-Reaction to Larry Kunk’s Presentation on Free Masonry

Someone might ask if a Mason should be a member of Christian church. I think the question is whether anyone in a Masonic type organization, who now knows the truth that has been revealed, ought to stay in that Masonic organization. To stay regardless of the truth that has been revealed would show what is most important to them, not their church and relationship with Jesus, rather their fraternal organization. Since the presentation shows that there are people who are teaching false concepts of God in most every state, national, and international level of the Masons, it is time to leave these organizations as true followers of Jesus. It is not a matter of whether a Mason should be in the Christian church, but whether a true born again Christian should be in the Lodge. We cannot afford to be taken advantage of by people who believe that we are all praying to the same god who only has different names. This is just the tip of the iceberg of these false teachings. Any truly Christian church could not say that it is right to have someone on their church rolls that truly and personally believes that Jesus and Krishna, and Osiris of ancient Egypt are all the same god with just a with a different name. I doubt that most of our local Masons believe these lies and for that reason they should leave the lodge and similar secret societies.
So, as your pastor, what am I hoping will come of all this? There is not one person in our church that I would like to see leave. Not one. What I do want to see is the Word of God being upheld, salvation by grace and not by works being upheld, and the truth that there is only one God who reveals Himself as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and who is not the same god of the other world religions with only a name change. I want people to know that Jesus is not just one of the saviors, that there is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved (see Sunday night’s message about many saviors). I want people to know that if they think they can do the works of their lodge or group and make it heaven without having Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord, they are being deceived. If a person really believes what the official Masonic leadership materials has taught, they cannot maintain that Jesus is the only way to God. What is a pastor supposed to do?  He cannot stop preaching or having speakers that speak the truth of the scripture. Pastors will stand before God, including those having taken the easy way out. Those unwilling to deal with truth issues will be revealed to be false shepherds. If pastors stop preaching about adultery, lying, divorce, etc. because someone might be made to feel uncomfortable, we will have nothing else to preach but happy ear tickling messages that do not address God’s concerns for us. When we take away the ministry of the Word to reveal our sin, we are not going to be able to escape our sin. It may be uncomfortable to point to specific groups who have a false teaching about God, or false doctrines, but it must be done from time to time for the sake of our children and our grandchildren. No one heard any speaker, including myself or our church members say that we should hate any of these people. The opposite is true. Every presentation warned about the reality of hell for any person that does not accept the true Jesus as He has been revealed in the Word of God. What could be more loving than to let people know who and why they need to be reaching these groups of people who are being lied to by their very own leaders.

 I hope that everyone will take the time to watch the presentations. If you did not get one  during each service, you may get a DVD of the Sunday services, or watch them online at the church website. If the DVD from Sunday is difficult to understand, or if you cannot see the content on the screens, the same presentation Larry gave Sunday morning is available in PDF format in the church office on a CD. He also distributed a DVD on Sunday night of a previous lecture he gave on the same subject of the false Masonic way of salvation. Having this material will help us to avoid the misunderstandings that the enemy wants to use to keep us from carefully examining the truth.

Part Three- Reaction to Larry Kunk’s Presentation on Free Masonry

I have a tendency to believe that many men in our area are in the Masons and similar organizations because they have not looked closely enough to understand what they are being told. I believe from discussing this with non Mason men from our area, that being a Mason was a way to move up in certain companies or work groups. It was a way to be known and have the approval of other men. For many, it was a matter of doing what their fathers and grandfathers had done. I think the Christian  men who joined probably interpreted the strange rituals to fit into their Christian understandings. I do not think that most of them ever were exposed to the true beliefs of the Masonic Lodge on the governing level at the Grand lodge of each state. For these men, I think it was like a fraternity, and a way to have a favored status with another group of men. I believe these men were being taken advantage of. I believe their dues and their influence was being stolen for the good of an organization that does not believe what they personally believe if they are truly born again believers in Jesus Christ.
For example, in Tal Davis’s message about the Mormons he said that most Mormon’s do not know what the hierarchy of the Mormon church believes. They do not know that Mormon doctrine teaches that there are men who attained to godhood, all over the universe, who are now running their own planets. These average Mormons in our neighborhoods do not know that their leaders believe that a Mormon can do the right works and become a god of his own planet someday. By the works that Mormons would do, he would cease to be a man and become a god. This is just one of their beliefs that astounds most people when they become aware of it. When Tal made that presentation, he did not know who in the congregation might be a Mormon. He did not do anything but make a presentation of the truth of Mormon teaching that most Mormon’s aren’t even aware of. Larry Kunk did the same thing. He did not come with a vendetta against anyone, since he had been in a false teaching organization himself. Larry came with research that was supported by scores of former Masons. At another website, Ex-Masons for Jesus, www.emfj.org are many stories from people who have discovered the truth of how they were being taken advantage of by the governing organization and those who have their own agenda.

The material on Sunday was handled the same way the material was handled for every other meeting of the Truth About Cults Revival.  There was no way to address this issue without someone being offended. I, Larry, or Tal could have talked about the false teachings of any other group on the planet and would have gotten very little negative response. But, no one likes being deceived. Larry Kunk did not like it, and I do not like it. But good, truly Christian people have been deceived and this Masonic issue is just another example. The goal of the presentation was to give everyone the opportunity to walk through the issues before being made aware of the non-biblical teachings of Masonry. That was the only way to keep people from addressing the issue with pre-determined conclusions. Larry presented his material with a passion that goes beyond my personal experience. Larry says he has seen many people hurt by members from within the secret fraternal organizations who did not like the fact that someone had spoken out against, not individuals in their organization, but the organization itself. I assured him that this would not be the case here in Orange, Texas. Don't let the emotions of this event take your attention away from the truth of the evidence in the presentation. Examine the documents in the CD's of the presentation. If you picked up a DVD, or watched his presentation on the website, and you cannot make out the material on the screens during worship, please come by the office and get one copy for your family.

Part Two- Reaction to Larry Kunk’s Presentation on Free Masonry

What I found interesting about Larry Kunk is that he came from a similar organization as Freemasonry. He did not say that he was better or different than anyone that was in a secret fraternal society. He admitted that he had done things worse than most people in other secret fraternal societies would ever do. So, this man is revealing research that he has gotten from, in this case, the Masons own monitors, manuals, as selective readings from their own websites. Larry did not make up the research. Our own deacons sat and held the monitors of Masonic organizations from all over the country. They read the very pages that Larry presented by power point on Sunday morning and Sunday evening. They had the opportunity to question the validity of what they were seeing on the pages of all of these monitors. One deacon asked why so many of the monitors were old. I knew the answer to that question was not about them being outdated in Masonic thought. Masons are very proud of the age of their beliefs. In the Texas Monitor of 1982 in the “In Perpetual Memorial” section on roman numeral page five (v.) it acknowledges the grand lecturers from 1837 through 1895 (on the next page). In the “Preface” on Roman numeral page ten (x.) within the second paragraph it says, “We have relied almost entirely on the works of Brothers William M. Taylor, Sam R. Hamilton and Jewel P. Lightfoot with Lightfoot’s Manuel of the Lodge as the primary basis for our work. This is, in essence, little more than a minor revision of the enlightened work of Brother Lightfoot.” The Lightfoot Manual for the Texas Grand Lodge was written in 1934. The age of the material in the presentation Larry gave (from the 1990’s to the 1921 and possibly older) was not the real issue.

 I am convinced that the strong reaction by some who did not even see the material presented at LCBC is based on assumption that everyone who is in the Masons now and those who are loved ones who were in the Masons in the past could not have possibly believed anything wrong. Remember, all of us are vulnerable to being deceived by people, organizations, governments, and principalities and powers of evil. People get in organizations that use them for their influence and money. The fact of the matter is, I don’t think that most Masons, even those who have progressed to higher positions, have realized what the Masonic teaching is truly pointing to. I think they believe that the good deeds that their lodge has done indicates the desire to do good to all people. I think that some of the things they say in their lodge meetings, and the things that some of the Masonic groups for women and children hear in their meets are Christian songs and imagery.  I also believe that the materials being used are being understood by the participants as being about Jesus even though He is not being mentioned by name. (Don't mistaken the name "Christ" as being about Jesus alone since every religion can have their own messiah or Christ) That is why I think that many of these men, women, and children have been tricked into being a part of an organization that does not believe what they believe. Based on the material from the monitors and readings, those who wrote many of them clearly believe that we all pray to the same God no matter what religion we follow. I doubt that the man in the local lodge believes that the other Masons around the world who are praying to Krishna, or Vishnu, or Allah are praying to the same God that he is praying to when he prays to Jesus. The fact is, Masonic teaching holds that this is the truth. When Masons are praying, their written materials indicate that they are praying to the same single only existent god which they all know by a different name. Let me give you a few questions to consider if you were speaking to a Mason that is not one of your own well known and loved friends:

1. Is it true that there is only one God? ( you would certainly hope that they would say yes)

2. Is God a spirit? (this is also a very simple question that they should say yes to if they are a mason)

3. Is it true that all men worship the same God using a variety of names? (Larry’s presentation shows the problem with saying yes to this question)

4. Is Vishnu, a god that Hindus worship, the same spirit that you pray to at the lodge? (The Masons you know may not believe that, but the Masonic teachings affirm it to be true)

5. If you do not believe number 3 or 4 then why would you stay in an organization that teaches these things are true?

It seems that this is the main point of their faulty concept of God, but it is only the tip of the iceberg of their false teaching.

Part One- Reaction to Larry Kunk’s Presentation on Free Masonry

I would agree with those who were in the Sunday morning worship that Larry does not have my preaching style. Some have said that he was too harsh in his presentation. I suppose that LCBC has had pastors in the past that had that kind of preaching style. You would not know that unless you have been here quite a long time. It would be obvious to say that his presentation was too long to be received as a normal Sunday presentation. For this Larry apologized and promised that he had never gone that long in the past. For some, it seemed that Larry was saying that everyone who is in the Masons is headed to hell. I know that this is what the devil wanted everyone to hear so that they would be very upset. Let me reprint the statement that he actually made.

“It impossible for a man to embrace the foundational teachings of Freemasonry and Christianity at the same time” Sunday morning slide 108. That means if a person claims that there is only one god and everyone in the world worships the same god just with a different name, that person cannot also be a person that also believes that Jesus is the one unique son of God who reveals the Father to us. They cannot believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. They cannot believe the verses that Larry showed that all of the other Gods of the nations are demons. You cannot have it both ways. The presentation for Sunday night was showing that if a Mason truly believes that Jesus is one type of a savior and that Osiris of ancient Egypt is another and the Masonic “Hiram Abif” is another, that person who truly believes that Jesus is not the one and only savior cannot be saved by Him. Everything that Larry presented was based on scripture that was not taken out of context. Everything was carefully referenced. I do not like the preaching style that uses little diplomacy, but many of us remember the day when all preaching was like that- truthful but hard.

 I will acknowledge that many do not care for the times when we compare the Word of God to false doctrine. There are many groups, denominations, and world religions that we must acknowledge are teaching falsehood. It is not likely that we will protect anyone from these false teachings or false gods unless we refer to the organizations that are caught up in these teachings. We talk about sin every Sunday. There is no greater sin than presenting a false god or a false gospel that causes everyone who believes their lies to go to hell. This is not a happy message, but one that Jesus dealt with regularly. No one talked more about hell and false teachers than Jesus For this reason, I must say that the reaction to the presentation on the Masonic teachings has been amazing to me. Never have I seen so much happen behind the scenes in spiritual places in all my years in ministry. I have never experienced this level of emotion and turmoil on something that I did not even preach. No one has asked me yet if I even believe everything Larry Kunk presented. If you were wondering why Larry’s presentation was to be given without any “warning” as to the subject, it is for the reason that people everywhere he speaks respond so sharply to dig in their heels before even listening to his presentation. Larry reflects that most of the people who have reacted the strongest to the presentation are people who have not even heard it. It is that prejudice against the subject no matter what his research would reveal that he is trying to avoid. Larry indicated that when people don’t want to know what will be said simply because of their personal association with an organization, or a family association, it makes it difficult for him to share that information with people who have open minds. By showing the biblical issues first and giving a theoretical situation for everyone to consider using a completely different group of people (Islam), it is possible to see the problem before facing the evidence about the false teachings of a different organization (in this case, the Masonic lodge). When he lost his ability to reveal truth without emotions clouding the facts, we lost the ability to examine the truth together without impartially. Part Two is coming!

I Have Faith- I Don't Need To Prepare Future Provisions

I used to live in that world, too. You know how much I believe the Word of God is true and realistic, not simply the greatest ideals in history. What I have discovered is that God expects us to use the skills and intelligence He has given us, to do what every generation before ours learned to do. I know that our nation was founded by people who believed the Bible. If they had not been men and women of faith, they would not have believed it possible to pull away from the most powerful nation in the world at that time (England) and establish the colonies as a free nation. But, here is what you need to know about these people. With the exception of a few wealthy people and city dwellers, the masses of that day occupied their lives with preparing.

People of great faith were rising each day and eating foods that they had grown in the last growing season. They were eating animals that they were caring for so that they would have food in the days ahead. In the Spring they planted and raised crops so that they would have food in the summer to eat fresh,and food to can and store for the fall, winter, and spring of the next year. This has been the process that the world has gone through in a cycle for centuries. They did not think they were violating scripture by growing food and putting it away. They thought that the people who did not prepare were violating scripture by being lazy and not providing for their families. They recognized that the food they had was a blessing from God. They were aware that there could be years of famine or pestilence. These same people were reading their Bibles and seeing men like Joseph from the Old Testament laying aside food for the future. They did not think less of him for that.

So what happened? Prosperity and convienience! We have become convinced that full grocery stores and regular pay checks are what should be expected. If we think otherwise, we are perceived as a negative person who does not have faith. Isn't it sad that we can be so accustomed to a way of life that did not exist a few generations ago, that we would forget what the biblical generations were doing when Jesus told them not to worry about tommorrow? He was not telling them to stop making preparations for food for the year ahead. He was telling them not to make this the primary reason for life. They, and we, are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and know that He will add the other things. Don't stop providing for yourself and your family. Stop wasting your time worrying about it and get to work. Remember what Paul said, "If they won't work they should not eat!"

What opportunities have you had at LCBC to make preparations so far? We had the Crisis Preparation Event in April. We made the church aware of a group purchase of a water filtration unit for your home called a Big Berkey, and we are inviting people to get started on some long term food storage. It is not too late to store some supplies. The table with the one gallon shiny cans will have a sign up sheet for those who would like to get started in this process. In a time of crisis it is aways best to be in the position that Paul shared with us from the words of Jesus, "It is better to give than to receive".

A Sovereign God and Death

Let’s talk about it. I just finished watching the story, “Flame On”, about the death of the son of J.J. Jasper on KLOV radio. It is a compelling story and it speaks of the sovereignty of God. I believe in the sovereignty of God even more than the sovereignty worshippers. To me, God is so sovereign, in His Word, that He can use His foreknowledge of man’s response to Him to make a decision about what to do with that man before the man is even born. For some, that means that God was dependent on the man to show Him what to do. But we know that God made the man and gave Him a free will, just like Adam and Eve. Yes, God knows what the man or woman will do, but He does not make the choice for them. He is powerful enough and so omniscient as to be able to sovereignly work His will while still giving us a free will. My God is bigger than their God.

So, God knows the length of our days. I know that is true. But J.J. and his wife tell of a friend that says that it would not have mattered if they had carried there son around on a feather pillow all day, he still would have died. Is that true? 2 Kings 20:1-11 is one story from the Bible where God’s prophet tells the king: God says to get ready for you are about to die. Look at these verses-

“In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’ ”

2     Then he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying,

3     “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4     Before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him, saying,

5     “Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.

6     “I will add fifteen years to your life, and I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.” ’ ”

7     Then Isaiah said, “Take a cake of figs.” And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.

8     Now Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What will be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the Lord the third day?”

9     Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that He has spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten steps or go back ten steps?”

10     So Hezekiah answered, “It is easy for the shadow to decline ten steps; no, but let the shadow turn backward ten steps.”

11     Isaiah the prophet cried to the Lord, and He brought the shadow on the stairway back ten steps by which it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.

So, God was so sovereign that He knew that Hezekiah would pray and cry out to Him; or God is not all knowing. Without this prayer and crying out to God by Hezekiah, he would have died. God knew that he would cry out and pray and so God sent the prophet back not only to let him know about the additional 15 years, but to even give the king a verifying miracle for his miracle. Somehow God changed the natural path of the sun or the earth to make the sun go back on the steps. If asking for the miracle was not enough, Hezekiah also asked for a miracle to prove that what God had promised would come to pass. Now all of this comes from an Old Testament king that does not have Christ in his life or the power of the Holy Spirit. Hezekiah prayed to a sovereign God that had already announced his impending death and he was granted two miracles- 15 more years and a confirming miracle that required the alteration of the laws of nature. God knew about the additional 15 years that would come because of Hezekiah's prayer and weeping. This is not a surprise at all for an all powerful, all knowing, sovereign God.

March 1st Jerusalem Part Two

After Jesus had been taken by the temple guards to the home of Caiaphas for the mock trial that would happen there, it is believed that Jesus was taken to the basement of the home while the counsel made a plan to do Him in. In the Psalms and in Zechariah there are messianic verses about being alone in a pit while He would wait to die. This pit was a cistern in Caiaphas’ basement. The picture is from the floor of the cistern looking up through the hole they used to lower Jesus in and then take Him out. You might be able to see a Byzantine era cross carved on the side of the hole. He would have been waiting here after His disciples had abandoned Him, and His back had been beaten with sharp reeds, splashed with salt water, and then covered with olive oil. All of this before the Romans ever got to see Him. The last picture is the floor inside Antonio’s Fortress at the Temple mount. This is the actual floor layer where Jesus would have been beaten by the Roman soldiers. As we stood on this spot, away from the crowds, in the silence of the moment, it was easy to imagine the scene from the Passion of the Christ when Jesus was beaten, had His beard ripped out, and was mocked by the Roman soldiers. His blood was spilled on this stone floor, and all along the path to Calvary. Why did He do it? He did it so that you and I could be redeemed from the penalty of our sin. He did it because He loves us. He did it for His Father in Heaven to restore the fallen creation. Jesus is coming again to receive His reward for what He has done to save us. He will come in the air with His bride, and make His true triumphal entry- and if you are a true believer, you will be there too.

Jerusalem March 1st Part One

Today we left our hotel for the old city and started in a graveyard on the Mount of Olives cross from the Temple Mount looking over toward the Eastern Gate. It is the famous picture that includes the Islamic site of the Dome of the Rock (not included). The picture is of the wall on the eastern side, where Jesus is going to come when He returns in the sky with His bride and the angels. His white robe will be bloody with the wrath He has poured out on those that have persecuted and martyred the Jews and Christians who belonged to Him. He will stop His horse on the Mount of Olives and when He dismounts the mountain will split in have from north to south creating a new valley and a new river. In the picture you may notice all of these white things on the ground by the gate. Those are the graves of Moslems that were put there to make the site unfit for a holy man like Jesus to come through. How foolish to think that if Jesus is truly the Messiah that this will be able to stop them. Notice that they have also blocked the eastern gate shut. That was foolish as well since Saladin the Magnificent who had the city walls restored in the 16^th century did not put the gate back where the original gate was placed. If you look to the left there is a small structure with two Islamic arches. It is believed that the original gate is right about there and from 11 to 18 feet underground. You might be looking on from your horse as the Mount of Olives splits apart and a river gushes across washing away the cemetery and removing the dirt down to the original eastern gate- just a thought.

On the Mount of Olives is the Garden of Gethsemane. You will notice that these old trees have new branches on them. The trees were dead as far as anyone knew, since they had been dated back to the time of Christ. The new growth started in 1948 when Israel became a nation again. It sounds kind of unlikely, but good miracles always sound unlikely; don’t they. We had a special time as a group in the garden with singing and scripture readings. We divided up to pray by the olive trees in a private garden area that our tour had the honor of using. It was very moving for everyone to think that we were praying where Jesus had prayed on the night before His crucifixion. Even the clover that grows in the garden area is special. If you take a close look when you pick it, it has little random red specks on it like it had been splashed with the blood that Jesus sweat as He prayed about the cup He was about to bear for you and me.

Monday February 28th Part Two

From here we continued on to Nazareth, which is a city that is large and predominately controlled by the Moslem population of the area. The traffic in the old city was very difficult, but our driver eventually go us to the site of a synagogue which was also built over the site of the synagogue that was in operation when Jesus was growing up there. Just outside of town we saw the mound and ruins of the town where Jonah was born according to 1 Kings 14:25. We entered the valley of Megiddo often referred to as Har- Megiddo. Sound familiar? You guessed right- the valley of Armageddon from Revelation 16:16. This valley is 20 miles long and 10 miles wide. The name actually comes from the city of Megiddo further down the road. This was a city that was occupied by Canaanites until the city was destroyed. Many years later Solomon had the city rebuilt as a military outpost in the north for one of his chariot units. The spring that God used to test the men of Gideon for battle was along the road. God used the spring Herad to see how many of the men would remain to fight with Gideon. Those who lapped the water like a dog were sent home and those who cupped it in their hands to drink while still holding their sword were kept. Three hundred men were left from 32,000 so that the battle could be won by the Lord and it would be a miracle that would bring Him glory. We arrived at Mount Carmel and had the opportunity to go up to an observation level to see the main area of the valley of Megiddo, or Armageddon.   Right in the middle of this vast valley in front of us was a landing field for Israeli fighter jets. We were told that the landing field “moves” so that it is not a stationary target. The jets do not take off from that field either. In the interior of the hillsides the jets emerge full speed into the air. This is a beautiful agricultural area just like the rest of the Galilee region. But the Word of God says that it will be the most horrific battlefield in history. The description is given as having blood in the valley to the depth of the bridles of the horses. Our guide is convinced that the time is short. One of the requirements is that the Euphrates River by dried up so that the kings of the East may come. He said that the Moslem nations have already build a dam and may dry up the Euphrates at will. He also believes that the Kings of the East do not include China (usually included because of their enormous army). He believes that the army foretold will come from the Islamic nations that have more than 600 million citizens in the neighborhood of Israel already. That would mean that the changes in the middle east area preparing the area for leadership that will once again move for the annihilation of Israel- a radical Islamic promise. Certainly we will have much more to talk about, but it is the end of a very long day as Liz and I sit in our hotel room at the Ramada Inn, in Jerusalem.

Monday February 28th Part One

This morning we left Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee headed to Capernaum. On the way, we stopped at Tabka, the site of Jesus feeding the 5000 men plus many more women and children. They believe that this was the site because this was the main area of the Lake that had grass on it during that period of history. This story from Matthew 14:19ff. talks about the grassy area where Jesus would do His miracle. Notice the difference between this and the miracle of the 4000 plus in Matthew 15:32 where Jesus does not want to send the people away because it has been three days and it is such a desolate place. That miracle would have happened on the east bank of the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum instead. This also seems to be the site where Jesus met Peter and the other disciples after the resurrection where He restored Peter with the questions, “Peter do you love me?” You remember that the disciples had gone fishing and had a miraculous catch at the instruction of someone that was cooking breakfast at the shore.

We moved on down the road a short distance to the location of ancient Capernaum. There we saw a synagogue from the 4^th century that was almost entirely toppled, but beneath its foundation was the foundation of the synagogue where Jesus had read from Isaiah. Jesus basically headquartered his ministry from this city. In Matthew 4:12 ff. you see this location as the fulfillment of the prophecy listed from Isaiah 9:1-2. Capernaum gave Jesus time to relate to the gentiles because there were many gentiles in the city whom He could teach along with the Jews to which He had been sent. The man in this picture is our 70 year old tour guide that has been leading tours for 40 years and fought in the 6 day war of 1968.

Last Posts of Sunday

In the city of Tiberius is a large facility for baptizing people in the Jordan River. People are offered the opportunity to be baptized by leaders in their group if they like. First, Gwen decided that she wanted to be baptized in the Jordan River. She then was joined by Bobby and Liz. If the video clip would run, you would hear Liz scream when she come up from the water. I was wearing waders and it was cold. I suppose that’s what happens when you are baptized outside in February, in northern Galilee! Internet speeds are too slow to send video now. Maybe from Jerusalem where we will be going tommorrow. Lots of pics and videos from all of the places mentioned. Have to wait to send them along.

Sunday continued

We moved further north toward the ancient city of Dan up in the mountains. This part of the country has seen most of the war over the years since 1948. One was specifically, the Yom Kippur war of 1973, was war that was fought against unbelievable odds. The Israeli’s had less than one hundred tanks in the area and held off or destroyed over 500 Soviet tanks being driven by Syrians. The Israeli’s fought without night vision for three solid days without additional food or water. The location of the battle is called the Valley of Tears. We saw a movie about this miraculous event at the kibbutz that served us lunch. A kibbutz is an agricultural cooperative that also branches out to serve as restaurants and other tourist needs. We moved on to Dan and saw the water source for the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. This was an incredible alpine looking area with cold water from the snow melt of Mount Hermon running through in streams all around us. King David wrote Psalms about his experience in this area when he reflected on his experience near Mount Hermon. Among the verses would be Psalms 42:6, 89:12, and 133:3; and David’s experiences range from depression to celebration. As we traveled higher we were on the Damascus road, the same road where Saul, soon to become the Apostle Paul, had his saving encounter with the risen Lord. As we approached Mount Hermon, the wind picked up and the temperatures dropped. It is believed that here Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John, with Moses and Elijah attending from Heaven. We came to the highest point as we drove past Israeli soldiers and tanks overlooking the country of Syria and a large Syrian city that lay just below their outposts. But, even here, there grape vines, and apple trees woven into the scenery of kibbutz facilities and designated mine fields. But now it is time to go back down below sea level to our hotel in Tiberius. Yes, the Sea of Galilee is also below sea level, just not as far below as the Dead Sea.

Sunday, February 27^th

This morning we left our hotel and walked about 100 yards to our boat that would carry us across the Sea of Galilee to the “Jesus Boat” exhibit. It is called the Jesus Boat because it was a normal sized fishing boat from the general historical period of Jesus. No one really believes it was a boat that He actually spoke from or rode in. It was chilly and a little cloudy with some haze, but it was truly a beautiful experience. The group leaders decided that I should share the experience of Jesus being asleep in the boat during the storm (see Matthew 8:23-27). There was a lot of pre recorded music like How Great Thou Art and other favorites as we travelled along. It was very moving. Then came the moment for the dance of celebration; a moment that Bobby and I watched from a distance. I hope I can get the video clip to work for you.

The Jesus Boat exhibit was very interesting and if you Google it you can learn a great deal about the discovery, preservation, and display of this fishing boat. This boat moved around the lake 2000 years ago, and was floated again, out of its tomb, coated in foam to the location where it was carefully preserved. But today was a running tour so off we go.

Everywhere we look we see the fulfillment of prophecy about God restoring the land to its bounty in the end times- but only for His people. The produce is incredibly varied and is growing everywhere- even in former mine fields.

We went to the Mount of Beatitudes to see the natural amphitheater that was this beautiful hill side on the Sea of Galilee. We had scripture readings and prayer as we overlooked the sea. There is a church there that has each of the Beatitudes written in Latin on large signs around the inside of a beautiful dome with a blue and gold mosaic ceiling. We could not stay long, so we were off to Hazor. This city was a major Canaanite city, a regional power, where many children were sacrificed to the false gods of this nation. Some were burned with fire to the false god Molech. Others were sacrificed to  Baal or one fertility god or the other. Joshua came along and killed the inhabitants and burned the city to the ground. A current archaeological dig has discovered the layer where all of the ashes of the city were found. Solomon later had the city restored, and there were walls and columns unearthed that are there for all to see. The Bible is true. The stories are true. The God of the Bible is true.

Saturday 26th Sabbath Day cont.

Next we went to Qumran where the Essenes, a group of Jews that were committed to austere living and mental and physical purity were hiding in the desert mountains. The Essenes had one among them that stayed for two years and then left on his mission. This former Essene went about preaching of the coming Messiah and eventually had his head cut off while in prison. Yes, you guessed it- John the Baptist. The group evacuated the approaching Roman assault on Israel. They decided that it was too dangerous to take all of their sacred writing so they hid them in jars in the caves. Well, they never came back for them because they likely were killed. After World War II was over, a shepherd boy was throwing rocks into the caves while he watched his sheep and goats. He heard pottery break and we now have what is known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The site for the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist was near the city of Jericho which is nowhere near the Sea of Galilee. This spot on the Jordan River is across from the Mount of Temptation in the Judean mountain wilderness west of Jerusalem. Jesus was a long way from Nazareth when He was baptized. The Jordan River was very muddy in this location, so no one wanted to get in. The tour guide told us that this is the same location that the children of Israel crossed into the land of promise under the leadership of Joshua. The scripture says that the river was at flood stage but God told them to stick their foot in as they carried the Ark of the Covenant across and the river would temporarily dry up. They did what God said and the whole nation crossed over on dry land. A representative from each tribe stacked up a large stone to show where God had done this miracle. So, Jesus chose to find John and be baptized on the same spot.

Saturday 26th Sabbath Day

Last night at 6 p.m. the Sabbath started in Israel. It is strange what happened next. The elevators went into a Sabbath mode so that they would stop at each floor without anyone having to work by pushing a button. Coffee was not available in the dining room for fear that someone would bring dairy near the meat and cause a Sabbath catastrophe. You had to go to the lobby for coffee, and you could not bring it back into the cafeteria. All of the stores closed, or at least all of the stores that wanted to make the orthodox Jews happy. One Jewish man did not have his little cap (I am so tired I cannot remember the word for it right now) so when it came time to pray over the Sabbath meal he put his napkin on top of his head.

We left the Dead Sea resort and drove a short distance to Masada. This was a mountain fortress which was built by Herod the Great. Yes, the same Herod that had the second Temple renovated; the Temple that Jesus visited during His life on earth. Apparently, Herod was afraid that Cleopatra would convince Anthony to come over to Israel and get rid of Herod. So Herod created a fortified city on top of a hill that was over one thousand feet tall on its tallest side. This was one of his palaces, but more like a really great hiding place. When the Jews rebelled against Rome after Christ’s return to the Father, A man named Judah of Galilee brought the rebellion to Masada and wiped out the Roman garrison there. He put his nephew Elizar in charge. The rebellion was religious in nature with the Jews looking for the opportunity to restore the nation of Israel to its former glory. To make a long story short, Rome came to do away with the problematic Jews by destroying Jerusalem in 70 A.D. and then had to finish off the rebellion by retaking Masada. After a long and futile siege, the Romans build a dirt ramp up the 300 foot side of Masada using Jewish slaves that the rebels would not kill. When the night came before the fall of Masada, the group committed not to become slaves or have their children and women used physically so they made a pact that each man would kill his own family and then the other men would kill each other until all that was left was one man who would end his own life. They destroyed everything but the food to keep the Romans from having an easy time re-establishing the fortress. They left the food so that the Romans would know how well God had provided for them. Basically, they robbed the Romans of the very things they were hoping to gloat over and inflict on the people. It is a real hero story among the Jews that have been persecuted for centuries.

Some More of the Trip to the Dead Sea

Here are some more pictures from the Tabernacle model.

After about two hours on the road we came to an area at the southern end of the Dead Sea that is called the Mount of Sodom. Our guide, Avi, told the group that there are no remains that have ever been found for the cities of Sodom or Gomorrah. The area is a waste land, but areas, not to far away, have lush greenery like Sodom and Gomorrah had when Lot chose to go that way for his territory and Abraham headed west. The hotels in the Dead Sea area are also resort hotels and it seems to be a weekend spot for Israelis who keep the Sabbath here by eating well though cooking nothing on their own. In the dining area everything is kosher but delicious. They go to Sabbath services in the hotel. Liz and I went with others to float in the Dead Sea. We did not see them, but Bobby and Gwen Borel also went for a float. We were not able to get Nelda into the water but her sister Pamela did go in. The worst thing to forget when you go for a swim is some kind of foot protection from the rocks on the water’s edge. When you lay back into the water, you might as well be sitting in a floating lounge chair. Bobby said that he went out standing up until the bottom went away and he was still floating upright with the water even with the middle of his chest. He said he was “bobbing”. The water was fairly clear, but seemed like it was oily though it was really minerals that were feeling. The water in the shower helped get the mineral off, but even that water was “salty”. The only drinkable water is in bottles. Jesus is, as the water of life, was reinforced by the surroundings where water was everywhere, but none of the water was “pure”. Pure water had to come to us from outside of our world.

From Eliat to the Dead Sea

Today we awoke again in Eilat, Israel, had breakfast and then headed to an aquarium facility that was built into the shore line of the Gulf of Eilat (or the Gulf of Acaba if you live in Jordan) This gulf is actually a part of the greater Red Sea. Then we headed north toward the Dead Sea. The first stop was at the area that King Solomon operated as a copper mine. The Egyptians had also been in the area, but Solomon consolidated power over the area during his reign and the kings of Judah controlled the port of Eilat and the copper mines to the north of Eilat until they became so wicked that God allowed their enemies to be victorious over them. We visited a actual size replica of the Tabernacle while in this desert park area. Our tour guide took us through the Tabernacle to explain how each part of the Tabernacle was a type or image of the Christ or Messiah. Our guide was a Christian so the Messiah she was pointing to was the true Messiah- Jesus Christ. If you would like to see the website and read the storyline you can go to www.berean-to-berean.com . This was the most meaningful part of the trip so far. Take the time to go to the website and enjoy the message. How we would have loved to take you from one part of the Tabernacle to the next to hear this message of why Jesus is the only door, the only way, the bread of life, and among other things, the light of the world. We learned about the ancient copper mining process and photographed a result of the work referred to as Solomon’s Pillars. The whole time we were surrounded by desert mountains reminiscent of Mount Sinai (though that mountain was 200 miles away in current Egyptian territory). During the day we looked over the border into Egypt, but no one seemed to be interested in going there. After leaving this park area we headed on toward the Dead Sea.

Out of Israel and into Jordan to the Ancient city of Petra

Wow, what an incredible day Thursday has been. It is 9 p.m. and you all are just getting done with lunch. We got up this morning and travelled to the Jordanian border at Acaba. Acaba was one of the first cities to fall from the Ottoman empire during World War II. The British took the city with the help of some of the Arab tribes. The story is told in the movie, Lawrence of Arabia. Acaba was once the location of the Israeli fleet during the kings period after Solomon. Solomon had copper mines in the area. After presenting our passports to Israeli’s three times, and the Jordanians three times just to get into Jordan, we were on our way with a Jordanian tour guide. We travelled down a major highway that the United States paid for to get weapons to Saddam Hussein when we were helping them fight the Iranians back in the 1980’s. We eventually came to the King’s Highway which is the same Kings Highway mention in the Old Testament. We were officially wandering in the same wilderness as the Israelites when they were on their way to the land of promise. I think they would have been jealous of our tour bus. When we arrived at the modern city of Petra there were five star hotels and such but it was still a mountainous desert. All of southern Israel and Jordan  is a desert that has mountain ranges like the Mountains of Edom that over look Eilat. The ancient city of Petra was rediscovered in the 19^th century by the modern world after it had been closed by an earthquake back in 700 A.D. The city was a travel stop between Syria and Egypt and the tribe that created the city ( the Nabataean’s) carved all of the structures out of the sandstone. Eventually they were influenced by Greek and Roman architecture and famous citizens of those empires that visited them. Their influences resulted in a synthesis of architectural designs. The trip was about a mile and a half downhill past many sights you saw if you watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The trip back up was another thing altogether. Some of the less able in our group rode “chariots” down and back, but the LCBC crowd walked it both ways. I hope you enjoy the pictures. We have video that we will try to successfully upload as soon as possible.

What Arabs Were Doing in the Desert Near The Time of Christ

Wow, what an incredible day Thursday has been. It is 9 p.m. and you all are just getting done with lunch. We got up this morning and travelled to the Jordanian border at Acaba. Acaba was one of the first cities to fall from the Ottoman empire during World War II. The British took the city with the help of some of the Arab tribes. The story is told in the movie, Lawrence of Arabia. Acaba was once the location of the Israeli fleet during the kings period after Solomon. Solomon had copper mines in the area. After presenting our passports to Israeli’s three times, and the Jordanians three times just to get into Jordan, we were on our way with a Jordanian tour guide. We travelled down a major highway that the United States paid for to get weapons to Saddam Hussein when we were helping them fight the Iranians back in the 1980’s. We eventually came to the King’s Highway which is the same Kings Highway mention in the Old Testament. We were officially wandering in the same wilderness as the Israelites when they were on their way to the land of promise. I think they would have been jealous of our tour bus. When we arrived at the modern city of Petra there were five star hotels and such but it was still a mountainous desert. All of southern Israel and Jordan  is a desert that has mountain ranges like the Mountains of Edom that over look Eilat. The ancient city of Petra was rediscovered in the 19^th century by the modern world after it had been closed by an earthquake back in 700 A.D. The city was a travel stop between Syria and Egypt and the tribe that created the city ( the Nabataean’s) carved all of the structures out of the sandstone. Eventually they were influenced by Greek and Roman architecture and famous citizens of those empires that visited them. Their influences resulted in a synthesis of architectural designs. The trip was about a mile and a half downhill past many sights you saw if you watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The trip back up was another thing altogether. Some of the less able in our group rode “chariots” down and back, but the LCBC crowd walked it both ways. I hope you enjoy the pictures. We have video that we will try to successfully upload as soon as possible.