Rapture Madness

The apostle Paul warned that one of the prophetic signs of the end times will be the increasing embrace of false doctrines by a large segment of the Church.

Here’s Paul’s prophecy concerning false doctrine in his first of two letters he wrote to fellow apostle Timothy: “The (Holy) Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1)

Paul followed up that prophecy with an additional prophecy concerning false doctrine in his second letter to Timothy: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2Timothy 4:3-4)

While false teachings have plagued the Christian Church since its beginning 2,000 years ago, Paul warned that bogus doctrines that would masquerade as biblical exegesis will invade the church in the very last days preceding the return of Jesus Christ.

While we can give many examples concerning the false teachings that have been promoted within Christendom during the past 50 years, perhaps none has been more popular than the Rapture.

What is the Rapture? The Rapture involves the biblical revelation that Christ will rescue His church from the world just prior to God’s judgment upon the entire planet. Christ revealed that He will indeed return for His true church at some point before He officially returns to destroy the Antichrist and his world government, and then establishes His millennial kingdom on earth.

Christ said this: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” (John 14:2-4)

While many scholars have interpreted that passage to be the Rapture, it also reveals that Christ has made heaven the abode of all true believers in Him. And all true believers will be taken into heaven at the Rapture to be spared the wrath of God that’s going to devastate the entire earth.

However, the question that begs an answer is this one: When is this Rapture going to take place? That’s a question that biblical scholars have debated for centuries and it’s a question that has an easy answer. Unfortunately, there are many Christians who don’t like that answer and instead, have come up with a different and very wrong answer.

The Rapture is going to take place very close to the end of what the Bible identifies as the Tribulation period. What is the Tribulation period? It is a seven-year period during which a global government will be under the control of the dreaded Antichrist. It’s important to understand that this global government will be in existence for a period of time before the Antichrist eventually takes control of it. (Daniel 8:19-27)

What is the significance of this seven-year period? It represents the final seven of 490 years on God’s prophetic clock that are reserved for judgment of the earth. (Daniel 9:24-27)

When did this 490-year period begin? It began when Persian ruler Darius II signed the decree in 445 B.C. to allow the Jews to return to Israel from captivity that began in 586 B.C with Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion of Jerusalem.

When was this prophetic clock stopped? It stopped after Christ appeared in Israel and was then crucified for the sins of the world. But when will this final period begin? It will begin when the Antichrist appears and assumes control over a world government. During that period, the Bible reveals that Christians will be severely persecuted throughout the world.

However, a growing and popular movement (Pre-Tribulation Rapture) within Christendom has taught that Christ will remove His church via the Rapture just prior to this seven year Tribulation period. The evidence they cite for this belief points to Christ’s statement that “no one knows that day or hour” (Matthew 24:36) concerning the Rapture.

Pre-Tribulation Rapture proponents use that scripture to claim that Christ revealed a Rapture that would take place before the Tribulation period. They reason that if Christ waited until after the Tribulation period began, everyone would know when He was returning.

There are several problems with that reasoning, including the fact that it isn’t biblical. First of all, how can pre-trib proponents be absolutely sure that anyone will expect Christ to return after the Antichrist begins persecuting and slaughtering Christians? Many professing Christians will lose their faith and stop looking for His return.

Secondly, Paul revealed that the Christian church would indeed be around when the Antichrist appears and takes control of a world government. That’s something that pre-trib proponents deny.

But here’s what Paul wrote: “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3)

If the Rapture is to occur prior to the Tribulation period, then the church won’t be around when the Antichrist appears. Paul clearly states that the church will be around when this evil ruler appears.
Furthermore, Christ also revealed that He won’t return for His church until the very end of the Tribulation period.

Christ stated: “At that time the sign of the Son of Man (Christ) will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” (Matthew 24:30-31)

But doesn’t this contradict Christ’s claim that no one knows the day or hour of His return? No it doesn’t because all Christ reveals in that statement are the events describing His return, but not the day nor the hour. We learn of the approximate time of His return based upon the events going on in the world, but we never learn of the exact date. Nor can we.

Furthermore, if the Rapture is to occur prior to the seven-year Tribulation period, then there won’t be any Christians left on the earth for the Antichrist to persecute. Remember that the apostle John revealed that “He (Antichrist) was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them.” (Revelation 13:7) 

Nearly 600 years prior to John’s prophecy, Daniel also revealed that he (Antichrist) “will oppress his (Christ’s) saints…The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and a half a time.” (Daniel 7:25)

Pre-trib proponents claim that these saints will be “Tribulation” saints that will become Christians after the Rapture takes place. They claim that the Rapture will convince these people that the Bible accurately predicted this event and they will become Christians.

But that claim is just an attempt to explain the persecution of Christians that will take place during this seven year period. The Bible makes absolutely no mention of the ungodly coming to Christ after an event such as the Rapture. In fact, the Bible reveals that the whole world will embrace the
Antichrist as the messiah because this man will possess supernatural powers to perform miracles.

What’s bad about Pre-Tribulation Rapture theology? If it isn’t a salvation issue, then what makes it so dangerous? What makes it dangerous is its false promise that Christians will escape the Antichrist and his persecution via the Rapture.

The Bible makes no such promise. Furthermore, when the Antichrist appears and begins persecuting true Christians, many will believe the Bible to be a fraud and they will lose their faith. Unfortunately, they will find out that they willingly embraced false doctrine that told them what their itching ears desperately wanted to hear.

Racists of All Colors

Rev. Jeremiah Wright (above) and Donald Sterling

You're probably wondering what racism has to do with biblical prophecy that concerns the last days preceding the return of Jesus Christ?

Let the apostle Paul explain it through a prophecy he revealed that's contained in the second of two letters he wrote to fellow apostle Timothy nearly 2,000 years ago: "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,  treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people."  (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Part of the increase in wickedness that we've been witnessing in these last days is the increase of racism. And racism is a broad, two-way street that's traveled upon by people of all colors, not just whites as powerful leftists and their media puppets claim.

Racism happens to be one of the most brutal insults that human beings heap upon each other. It's disrespectful, demeaning, dehumanizing and even sacrilegious because it defames a person who's been created in the image of a Holy God.

Recently, America's Marxist media chose to accuse two white men of making highly inflammatory remarks against African-Americans. 

The first man was Nevada cattle rancher Cliven Bundy who's become the center of a major controversy because he's refused to remove his cattle from federal land that he allegedly hasn't been paying grazing fees to use. When the ultra-liberal New York Times sent a reporter to interview the rustic, uneducated rancher, the reporter got Bundy to shove his boot deep into his mouth.

Bundy remarked (accurately) that African-Americans have seen their quality of life deteriorate considerably since they decided to hitch their corporate wagon many decades ago to the Democratic Party and its godless policies. 

Unfortunately for Bundy, he's a rube who doesn't express himself very eloquently. When he attempted to reason that African-Americans had stronger family values and better morals during the days of slavery and Jim Crow than they do now, he sounded as though he was advocating for a return to slavery. He wasn't but the New York Times succeeded in painting Bundy as a typical racist, redneck hick who hates the federal government.

Then there are the remarks attributed to Donald Sterling, the owner of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers. Sterling allegedly went on a racist tirade a few weeks ago during a conversation he had with a girlfriend when he allegedly excoriated her for promoting her associations with blacks via Instagram. 

What seems to have gotten Sterling's ire is the fact that his girlfriend--V. Stiviano--took pictures with Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson. The Lakers and the Clippers are bitter rivals and you can probably understand why Sterling was upset that his girlfriend was publishing pictures of herself with Johnson on the internet.

But is Sterling truly a racist? If he is then he might as well sell his team because very few people will want to work or play for him after his comments were published. And since the majority of NBA players are African-Americans, then Sterling is toast.

Typically, after Sterling's comments were made public, President Barack Obama offered some sanctimonious remarks condemning Sterling: "When ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don't really have to do anything, you just let them talk. That's what happened here." 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/27/us/nba-team-owner-alleged-racist-remarks/

While Obama said the right thing, he shouldn't be the spokesman for race relations in America. Not only does he employ racists within his own administration (Eric Holder) but he was a member of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ for 20 years.

Chicago has thousands of good African-American churches. However, Trinity United wasn't one of them, at least not under the leadership of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, an arch-racist and a close friend of fellow racist Louis Farrakhan. Wright promoted Black Liberation Theology, which is the brainchild of James Cone and the first cousin of the incendiary ideology promoted by the Nation of Islam.

And so, if Obama wants to have a discussion about racism, then he can start by explaining why he sat in the pews of a racist congregation for 20 years. Or, why he embraced the radical ideology of Harvard Professor Derrick Bell who espoused the super-racist Critical Race Theory.

Racism comes in all colors. And sadly, it's becoming more prevalent in the prophetic wicked times we're living in. And it doesn't figure to end until Jesus Christ returns.

True Saints and False Saints

Catherine Laboure: A Roman Catholic Saint

According to the Random House Dictionary, a saint is: (1) any of certain persons of exceptional holiness of life, formally recognized as such by the Christian Church, especially by canonization; (2) a person of great holiness, virtue, or benevolence, and (3) a designation in certain religious groups applied by the members to themselves.

But how does the Bible define a saint? According to the Bible, a saint is anyone who is a true follower of God and a born-again believer in Jesus Christ. 

For example, Hannah, the mother of the prophet Samuel wrote this concerning God's protection of his people: "He will guard the feet of his saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness." (1 Samuel 2:9)

King David wrote this concerning God's righteous people: "As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight." (Psalm 16:3)

David also wrote this: "Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime." (Psalm 30:4-5)

And the prophet Daniel wrote this concerning the people who will inherit the kingdom of heaven upon the return of Jesus Christ: "But the saints of the Most High (God) will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever--yes, for ever and ever." (Daniel 7:18)

Samuel and David lived 3,000 years ago while Daniel lived about 2,600 years ago. There was no church then. And yet they referred to God's true people as saints.

Unfortunately, saints are now considered legendary religious figures who served in such venues as the Roman Catholic, Coptic and Orthodox churches. Often, miracles are attributed to them. They are considered by many professing Christians to be closer to God than the average person and thus deserving of recognition, honor and worship.

In the Roman Catholic lexicon, a saint cannot be a living person. The person must be deceased before he or she can be considered for beatification. And the beatification process is a lengthy one.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm

What Roman Catholic beatification does is promote idolatry under the guise of honoring the servants of that church.

By taking the biblical designation for true, living servants of God and bestowing it upon dead Roman Catholic religious figures, the Catholic Church encourages its members to pray to and worship fallen human beings which is a violation of the second of the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6)

The Bible warns us that we are to worship only God who consists of the Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. In a conversation Christ had with Satan who offered him the kingdoms of the world in exchange for his worship, Jesus said this: "Worship the Lord your God and serve him only." (Luke 4:8)

As such, we are forbidden from praying to church-appointed saints, Mary or to any human being. That constitutes idolatry. And those who practice idolatry--even out of ignorance--will not go unpunished by God.

This weekend, the Roman Catholic Church is set to canonize Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII. That will add to the growing list of church-appointed saints that Catholics are encouraged to pray to and worship.

And that will further underscore that the Roman Catholic Church is the identity of the mysterious whore of Babylon that the apostle John saw in his vision he received from God 1,900 years ago that's recorded in the Book of Revelation. (Revelation 17)

From Heaven to Hell

The dream of atheists

The recent Easter weekend in Chicago had a familiar ring to it: violence, carnage, shootings and death. When the weekend finally ended, a total of 37 people had been shot and nine people were dead.

From chicagocbslocal.com: On Sunday night, (April 20) five children were injured in a drive-by shooting near Marquette and Michigan on the South Side. An 11-year-old girl was shot in the neck and taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, police said. A 15-year-old girl, who had a gunshot wound in her right arm, also was taken to Stroger.

And there was more: A 14-year-old girl was shot in the abdomen and taken to Comer Children’s Hospital in serious condition, police said. A 14-year-old boy, who was wounded in his left leg, also was taken to Comer. A 14-year-old girl later walked into Saint Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center with a graze wound in her buttocks, police said.

And more: On Sunday afternoon, a shooting left two men dead in South Lawndale. About 1 p.m. Sunday, an orange Hummer blocked a Lincoln Navigator head-on at the corner of 28th Street and Sawyer Avenue, Chicago Police at the scene said. Two people with guns then stepped out of the Hummer and fired nearly a dozen bullets at the Navigator, right under a police “blue light” camera. 

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/04/21/7-dead-37-wounded-in-weekend-shootings/

Naturally, Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy blamed the violence on lax gun laws. He and his boss, Mayor Rahm Emanuel never fail to repeat the liberal mantra that guns are the cause of Chicago's violent city streets. Tougher gun laws are needed, they repeatedly say after another deadly weekend.

And yet, Chicago has some of the strictest handgun laws in the United States. And the city has had those laws for many years. And still, the bullets fly and more people die.

Chicago doesn't have a gun problem--it has a moral problem. Like many cities and towns throughout America and the world, an increasing number of its citizens no longer fear God nor have any respect for His laws and commandments. 

And the real tragedy of that reality is that some of Chicago's most violent neighborhoods happen to be home to many churches, from simple storefronts to elaborate buildings. Obviously, those churches provide little--if any--moral influence on the streets.

The simple reason why those churches and many others throughout the world are no longer able to influence their surrounding communities is because they're dead. They've made themselves irrelevant by failing to contend for the faith that the apostle Jude urged the early church to do unceasingly 2,000 years ago. (Jude 1:3)

And the Christian church's failure to heed Jude's words isn't a recent malady. The church began turning away from the Bible in the late 19th century to embrace humanistic ideologies (psychology, evolution) and the ecumenical canard that all religions are valid and lead to God.

While the Christian church went to sleep, godless humanists began taking over the culture by peddling atheistic evolution as the natural explanation for the presence of life on planet earth. The humanists took over schools and gained influence in academia, popular culture, the media and politics. 

Millions of young minds were poisoned with the lie that human beings were nothing more than the end product of millions of years of random evolutionary forces. Life became cheap and meaningless. Human life was no longer viewed as created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), but was considered just one step beyond primates.

With that prevalent worldview, it wasn't a surprise that moral depravity began to sweep across the world like a flood of sewage. Without the fear of God and knowledge of His laws, many people saw no moral accountability for there actions. 

Thus, moral restraints were cast off and all sorts of depraved behaviors that had been condemned by earlier generations were now openly practiced and celebrated. The apostle Paul perfectly explained what happens to people when they reject God: "Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.  Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 1:28-32)

And so, when Garry McCarthy and Rahm Emanuel want to blame guns for the bloodshed on Chicago's streets, they need to read Romans 1:28-32. Chicago doesn't have a gun problem--it has a moral problem. And passing more gun laws isn't going to solve that problem.

He is Risen

The empty tomb

For true Christians, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the second greatest event that occurred in the history of the world.

What was the greatest event? It was Christ's death on Calvary's cross for the sin of the world. That occurred three days before Christ rose from the dead.

Why was Christ's crucifixion at Calvary the greatest event in human history? Because it opened the door to eternal life for every human being that would put their faith in that propitiatory sacrifice for their sins. 

That sacrifice, which perfectly demonstrated God's great love for His rebellious human creation was summed up by Christ Himself during a conversation he had with a Pharisee named Nicodemus: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

And to further prove that love, God raised Christ from the dead. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ became the ultimate guarantee of eternal life for every person who truly confesses Christ as Lord. Not maybe or probably, but definitely. 

The apostle Paul explains it: "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (died) For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:20-22)

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is an actual historical event that was witnessed by over 500 people. It wasn't some fairy tale concocted by Christ's disciples in order to promote a fledgling new religion as many people throughout history have claimed. 

Contrast the Resurrection with Islam's claim that Muhammad rode off to heaven on a white stallion from the site of the al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Not one person ever claimed to have witnessed that event. And yet millions of Muslims believe it happened without any evidence to prove it.

The evidence for the Resurrection? It's overwhelming. So overwhelming that some of the greatest legal experts throughout history have blessed it. 

For example, Lord Darling, a former Lord Chief Justice in England stated: "In its favor as a living truth there exists such overwhelming evidence, positive and negative, factual and circumstantial, that no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring a verdict that the resurrection story is true." 

John Singleton Copley (Lord Lyndhurst, 1772-1863) who was a solicitor general of the British government and attorney general of Great Britain, said this: "I know pretty well what evidence is; and I tell you, such evidence as that for the Resurrection has never broken down yet." 

And J.N.D. Anderson, a former dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of London, chairman of the Department of Oriental Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies and director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London, said this: "How then can the fact of the Resurrection be denied? Lastly, it can be asserted that men and women disbelieve the Easter story not because of the evidence but in spite of it."

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ validates Christ's claim that he alone is "the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the (Heavenly) Father except through me." (John 14:6) 

And the Resurrection invalidates all world religions as dangerous canards that deny the reality of Calvary and the Resurrection. Those who follow such religions will pay a steep price in eternity.

The reality of the Resurrection can't be denied. That's what the focus of Easter should be about rather than chocolate eggs and cuddly rabbits. That's the stuff of fantasies and fairy tales. 

However, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is for those who choose to live in the real world.

Michael Bloomberg's Hell

Dreaming the impossible

Michael Bloomberg believes that if heaven really exists, he's a lock to get in.

That's because he truly believes that his wealth, intelligence and personal accomplishments have guaranteed him a place in paradise.

Here's what he said recently: "I am telling you, if there is a God, when I get to heaven I'm not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It's not even close."
http://www.nationaljournal.com/politics/michael-bloomberg-i-have-earned-my-place-in-heaven-20140416

I have some bad news for the former mayor of New York City. Unless he's confessed Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, he's not going to heaven. And his wealth, accomplishments, charity and intellect won't buy him even a minute in paradise.

Of course, like many of folks throughout history, Bloomberg is trusting in himself to earn his place in heaven. He truly believes that he's highly favored by God because of his vast wealth and his political accomplishments.

However, unless he wakes up from his powerful delusion before he leaves this world, Bloomberg is going to find out that he was living a lie once he enters eternity.

And when he gets to eternity, he's going to discover that there are no second chances. It'll be too late. Like multitudes before him who died outside of Christ, Bloomberg will find himself in hell. And he'll go straight in without being interviewed.

Bloomberg's problem isn't about religion. I realize that he's Jewish, but being Jewish is no excuse for rejecting Jesus Christ. Selfish pride is what prevents people such as Michael Bloomberg from giving their lives to Christ.

Like millions of people, Bloomberg rejects Christ because he doesn't want to admit that he's a fallen human being who's separated from God because of his sins and condemned to eternal damnation without atonement for those sins. He's convinced himself that he can gain eternal life through his good works and financial success.

But that's a deadly assumption. Concerning those who would trust in themselves and their own deeds to gain eternal life, the apostle Paul said this: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Concerning those who believe that they can buy their own real estate in heaven through their vast wealth, Christ said this: "Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." (Luke 18:25)

Michael Bloomberg doesn't have to become poor to gain eternal life. He doesn't have to stop his philanthropy or curtail his political activism.

He just needs to rid himself of his pride and admit that he's a sinner who needs atonement for his sins by recognizing and confessing that Christ died for those sins on Calvary's cross 2,000 years ago.

If he does that, he'll truly go straight into heaven once he leaves this world. And he'll be able to skip the interview process as well. 

Bad Moon Rising?

The dreaded blood moon

According to Jesus Christ, one of the prophetic signs of the end times will be the appearance of false prophets who will announce that "the time is near" (Luke 21:8) concerning His return.

Certainly, various false prophets have boldly predicted the Rapture over the past two centuries, only to lose all their credibility when the event failed to occur.

The most recent example of that occurred three years ago when a false prophet named Harold Camping claimed that the Rapture was going to take place on May 11, 2011.

May 11, 2011 came and went, but no Rapture occurred. Camping reasoned that he miscalculated the date and he reset it for October of that year. When October came and went without a Rapture, Camping was dismissed as just another false prophet.

Many folks also remember the infamous Mayan calendar controversy that allegedly predicted the end of the world on or around December 21, 2012. Even many so-called Christians allowed themselves to be taken in by that bogus prediction. December 21, 2012 came and went and the world continued on.

And who can forget the infamous prophecy that was supposedly revealed by an obscure 12th century Irish archbishop and Kabbalist named Malachy?

Malachy's prophecy purportedly predicted that 111 popes would sit on St. Peter's throne after Celestine II (1143) before the final pope, who Malachy allegedly named as Peter the Roman would appear and then the end would come.

When Pope Benedict--who was the 111th pope--announced his resignation in February 2013, many folks--including professing Christians--actually anticipated that a pope named Peter the Roman would be named as Benedict's successor and Christ would return shortly thereafter.

Instead, Pope Francis became the 112th successor to Celestine II and the world has continued on as usual.

Now, a new mania is spreading across much of the Christian world, and this craze involves a series of blood red moons that are scheduled to appear in the next few years, beginning tomorrow (Tuesday, April 15, 2014).

The moon's reddish appearance is caused by a total eclipse of a full moon by the earth. This isn't unusual--it's occurred frequently throughout history.

However what's significant is the fact that biblical prophecy reveals that one of the signs announcing Christ's return will be the appearance of a blood moon.

The scripture is contained in a prophecy revealed by the Lord to the prophet Joel approximately 2,700 years ago. Here's what Joel wrote: "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophecy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." (Joel 2:28-31)

Joel's mention of the blood moon concerns the day of Christ's return. While we are getting close to Christ's return, the appearance of the blood moons in modern times may or may not mean anything.

Before Christ returns, several prophetic events must still occur. These events include: (1) The rise of a one-world government; (2) a new cashless global monetary system; (3) the appearance of a counterfeit global religious revival; (4) the construction of a new Jewish Temple in Jerusalem; (5) the appearance of the dreaded Antichrist and (6) the worldwide persecution of true Christians.

Christ won't return until all of these events have taken place. That's not my opinion--that's what biblical prophecy reveals.

And so, despite the appearance of blood moons, Christ isn't coming back just yet. Oh yes--there was one more thing that Christ warned about concerning those who ignore biblical prophecy and claim that His return is imminent: "Do not follow them." (Luke 21:8)

Reform Islam? Not Likely

The fantasy of doing the impossible

According to those who think they know more than they actually know, Islam is simply a religion that's in need of reform.

We're told that once those reforms are put in place, then Islam can truly become the "Religion of Peace" that its founder Muhammad intended for his fledgling faith back in the 7th century.

A woman named Ayaan Hirsi Ali knows a thing or two about Islam's current state of affairs. She was born a Muslim; grew up under the oppression that women are subjected to in the Muslim world and she underwent a medical procedure called FGM that stands for female genital mutilation.

The FGM procedure involves removing a woman's clitoris so that she's unable to enjoy sexual relations. FGM is a barbaric procedure that's practiced mainly in the Islamic world in order to subjugate women to their husbands.

And while Islamic men can enjoy all the sex they want with as many wives as they want, women must remain faithful to but one husband and cater to his ravenous sexual desires. A women who's even suspected of being unfaithful to her husband can be beaten or even executed without being able to defend herself.

As most folks know who still think for themselves rather than allow others to perform that task for them, Islam is and has historically been the enemy of women.  And yet we're repeatedly told by the leprous Obama Administration that conservatives, i.e. Christians, are the mortal enemies of women.

Ali knows otherwise. She was recently scheduled to speak at Brandeis University and receive an honorary degree from that institution when Muslim activists and liberals, who have become the grateful stooges of Islamic propaganda groups such as CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) pressured the university to cancel her speech and rescind the degree.

Here's a portion of what Ali was supposed to say at Brandeis: "In Saudi Arabia, there has been a noticeable rise in the practice of female genital mutilation. In Egypt, 99 percent of women report being sexually harassed and up to 80 sexual assaults occur in a single day...In Iraq, a new law is being proposed that lowers to (age) nine the legal age at which a girl can be forced into marriage."

Ali then went on to say this: "Is the concept of holy war compatible with our ideal of religious toleration? Is it blasphemy--punishable by death--to question the applicability of certain 7th century doctrines to our own era? Both Christianity and Judaism have had their eras of reform. I would argue that the time has come for a Muslim Reformation."

Although Ali certainly knows a lot more about Islam than I do, I would respond by saying that the Christian reformation was made possible because of the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church that strayed from the Bible and perverted the Gospel. That's what led a Catholic Monk named Martin Luther to launch what became known as the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.

In order for Islam to be reformed, the Koran would have to be rewritten. The verses that mandate the brutal treatment and subjugation of women to men would have to be revised or completely removed.

And that will never happen because Islam teaches that anyone who alters a verse or removes even a single word from the Koran must be put to death. So, Islam can't be reformed.

Rather than trying to change a religion that can't be reformed, I would suggest that women such as Ali who were brutalized by Islam come to Jesus Christ to find their true freedom they'll never experience in Islam.

Christ said this: "So, if the Son of God (Christ) sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)

Indeed. Not only free of your sins by putting your faith in Christ's death on the cross for those sins, but free from the bondage of world religions that brutalize women in the name of their gods.

Symptoms and Causes

Franklin Regional High School: Not a knife free zone

No doubt, Alex Hribal will now be examined by an army of psychiatrists after he went on a rampage recently (April 9) at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville Pa., stabbing 22 of his classmates, some critically.

No one knows what set the 16-year old student off. Many of Hribal's friends and classmates describe him as a normal teenager who blended in with people, got good grades and showed absolutely no inclination for violence.

Until Wednesday. Hribal didn't fit the stereotypical mold of a loner-loser who was bullied by older kids and had trouble fitting in. He had no previous history of drugs, gang activity, run-ins with the police or confrontations with family members, neighbors or other kids.

And yet for whatever the reason, Hribal succumbed to evil and lost control of himself. And because of that, his life will forever be changed along with many of his victims.

Certainly, Hribal was motivated by evil. And whether that motivation came from exposure to violent video games, involvement in Satanism or some other form of the occult, or from the depraved violent culture that is delivered to young people today via social media, Hribal allowed himself to be consumed by some form of spiritual darkness.

And that's the real motivation behind the growing violence and depravity that's sweeping across much of the world like a flood of sewage. 

You can pass ever more restrictive laws that restrict access to firearms, and you can install more surveillance equipment that eradicates what little privacy we have left in the name safety and security, but that will never eradicate the presence of evil. Because evil resides in the hearts of all fallen human beings. (Jeremiah 17:9)

Franklin Regional High School is a gun free zone. And yet those who reject God; His commandments and His transcendent moral laws to embrace evil will manage to find a way to satisfy their lust for violence, even if they can't get a gun.

Alex Hribal tried to satisfy his evil desires through knives. Will knives soon be regulated like guns? 

Those who deny the presence of evil in the human heart will continue to affix blame for violent incidents such as the Franklin Regional High School rampage on just about anything except evil. 

Sadly, that incident underscores yet again what happens when a society turns away from God and chooses to find its own solutions for problems that can only be solved by turning from sin and being born again into eternal life by faith in Jesus Christ.

And sadly, the incident that took place at the Murrysville, Pa. high school underscores yet again that we are living in the terrible times that the apostle Paul prophesied of 2,000 years ago. (2 Timothy 3:1-5)

Money For Nothing and Your Checks For Free

"Money, it's a gas; grab that cash with both hands and make a stash...I'm in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set and I think I need a Lear Jet."--Pink Floyd, Money

Pat Robertson "speaks to money" and indeed it comes. But not from angels or the heavenly realms. Rather, it comes from the pockets of all those well-heeled and empty-headed admirers that hang on to Robertson's bizarre ramblings like wash on a clothes line.

Fred K.C. Price drives a Rolls Royce because, according to the charismatic preacher, Jesus Christ and his disciples showed him the way to live the good life here on earth. Kenneth Copeland "named it and claimed it and we got it. We blabbed it and grabbed it and still got it. Hallelujah! And our bills are paid!" zedekiahlist.com

And John Avanzini marvels at Christ's wardrobe that, according to the preacher, would've been the Pierre Cardin and Yves St. Laurent of his day: "John 19 tells us that Jesus wore designer clothes. Well, what else you gonna call it? Designer clothes-that's blasphemy. No, that's what we call them today. I mean, you didn't get the stuff He wore off the rack. It wasn't a one-size-fits-all deal. No, this was custom stuff. It was the kind of a garment that kings and rich merchants wore. Kings and rich merchants wore that garment." wordpress.com

For the record, chapter 19 of John's gospel details the Roman soldiers dividing up Christ's clothing at his crucifixion, most likely for souvenirs rather than for any monetary value the garments may have possessed. John's gospel never mentions where Jesus shopped and purchased his clothes so we don't know whether Christ wrapped himself in Gucci or Giorgio Bissoni of his day, or in the ancient world's equivalent of T.J. Maxx.

However, we do know that Christ spent a great amount of his time during his ministry in ancient Israel talking down such nonsense about material possessions and clothing while talking up such topics as eternal life, repentance, and redemption from sin. Here's an example:"Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?" (Matthew 6:25)

Christ went on to say that "the pagans run after all these things" (Matthew 6:32) and if those "things" were the things that pagans embraced 2,000 years ago, then they are the same things that modern pagans embrace. That raises an important question: Are those who are known as prosperity preachers in the modern church the equivalent of the greedy and idolatrous pagans that Christ denounced? In the words of an unknown philosopher, "if the shoe fits, then wear it."

And so, it fits Rev. Price who cruises Hollywood Blvd. in his Rolls Royce, bought and paid for by his lemmings who fill his Los Angeles, Ca. church every Sunday to be inspired by deep thoughts such as this one: "You can talk about me all you want while I'm driving my Rolls Royce that's paid for, and I got the pink slip on it. Bad mouth me all you want. Don't hurt me in the least. Doesn't bother me. It's a whole lot easier to be persecuted when I'm riding in my car and I got the pink slip than it is when I'm riding in a car and owe my soul to the company store." Frederick K. C. Price | Apologetics Index

And the shoe fits mega-prosperity preacher-celebrity star Joel Osteen who instructs his growing flock to stop waiting for the kingdom above to come and instead, build themselves an earthly one. But don't call Osteen a prosperity guru because that's not what he claims to be. 

However, if it looks and quacks like a duck, then it's probably a duck. From an interview with the Christian Post, Osteen reveals his true colors: "You know, I don't consider myself a...I don't really know what the prosperity gospel is. The way I define it is that I believe God wants you to prosper in your health, in your family, in your relationships, in your business and in your career. So I do...if that's the prosperity gospel then I do believe that." Does Joel Osteen Consider Himself a Prosperity Preacher? | Christian Research Network

While God may want us to prosper financially and do well here on planet earth, he also wants his servants such as Osteen to preach the genuine gospel of salvation by faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ rather than preach irrelevant and unbiblical gospels. 

These were the instructions that Christ gave his disciples shortly before he returned to heaven: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:18-20)

One of the things that Jesus taught his disciples was that money was a false god that many worshipped as an idol. Here's what Christ stated: "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Matthew 6:24)

Osteen however, serves money by making wealth accumulation the major part of his message. In fact, he spends so much time instructing his followers to pursue wealth through a thinly disguised prosperity-positive confession message, that he can't distinguish between genuine Christianity and the counterfeits. During an April 29, 2012 interview with CNN's Ashley Lillough on the program Situation Room, Osteen declared Mormonism to be genuine Christianity: "Mormonism's a little different, but I still see them as brothers in Christ."

Osteen is one of those false prophets that the apostle Paul warned would appear in the last days and become popular by telling folks things they want to hear: "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths." (2Timothy 4:3-4)

The Prosperity Gospel is an abject myth because it doesn't work. It is a con game played by garishly-dressed ministers who wrap themselves in opulent luxury while their followers often struggle mightily just to make ends meet. In fact, these ministers prosper mainly because they're able to convince their followers to send them lots of money.

Stop and think about this; if the prosperity gospel really works as promoted by ministers such as Copeland, Price and Osteen, then why do they continually ask their followers to send them the cash? Because the prosperity gospel doesn't work. 

You can name and claim wealth and material goodies all you want, but that's not going to happen. And you can command God's angels to bring you the bacon--green style--but that's not going to happen. You can have faith in your own faith and really be convinced that you can acquire whatever your greedy heart desires simply by believing that, but that's not going to happen either.

What is going to happen is that your wallet will be lighter because you'll be financing some entertainer-con artist-preacher's Rolls Royce or his vacation home in Machu Picchu, Peru. A wise old preacher once said that just as suckers need sticks, con artists need suckers they can stick it to. 

For too many years, too much of Christendom has been populated by too many foolish and biblically ignorant folks who have gotten stuck with empty promises and equally empty wallets because they willingly allowed themselves to be fleeced by slick-talking prosperity preachers.

But the Prosperity Gospel thrives only because it offers the utopian promise of quick and easy cash or material goodies through some spiritual formula. Pat Robertson claims that in order to obtain prosperity, one need only learn God's spiritual laws. If that sounds like religious science, it is. Nowhere does the Bible reveal any such laws that anyone can learn to make themselves rich. Rather, the Bible condemns the love of money as greed and equally condemns anyone who teaches that the Gospel is just a spiritual means to the prosperous end of opulent wealth.

The apostle Paul was well acquainted with the prosperity preachers of his day and he warned early Christians to keep their focus on the cross rather than on money. Paul wrote: "If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain." (1Timothy 6:3-5)

Paul's admonishment is a spiritual rebuke against preachers who hang guilt trips on those who fail to prosper because somehow they just don't buy into the prosperity message. Thus, one of the worst forms of blasphemy against a Holy God is to pervert his message by claiming that He condemns people who fail to obtain the so-called good life here on earth. If there truly is a good life here on earth, it is found only in eternal life through Christ and not in material possessions.

Paul continued: "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." (1Timothy 6:6-10)

If the Bible clearly condemns greed as just another form of idolatry, then why does the Prosperity Gospel continue to flourish? For two reasons: (1) Many professing Christians simply don't know what the Bible teaches regarding money, and (2) the false Prosperity Gospel sprang from a teaching Christ gave concerning asking and receiving from God that was taken out of context. 

Here's what Christ said: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find it; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door will be opened."(Matthew 7:7-8)

Though that sounds like Christ encouraged us to ask the Heavenly Father for money and material goods, that isn't what he meant. Then just what did he mean with those statements? He meant that we are to ask the Father for the gifts of wisdom, knowledge and discernment concerning spiritual affairs, and we are to offer intercessory prayer for others. If Christ was truly teaching the prosperity gospel, then why did he end his teaching with this statement? "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:11-12)

Christ clearly taught that we are to pray for the salvation and needs of others. The foundation of the Gospel is built on self-sacrifice and generosity towards others. However, the Prosperity Gospel inverts the genuine biblical gospel by making ourselves the main recipients of God's blessings. If Christ truly promoted the Prosperity Gospel then that would've been consistent with His other teachings. However, in an earlier teaching he debunked any notion of a prosperity gospel with this message: "So do not worry, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink'? or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well."(Matthew 6:31-33)

Sadly, prosperity preachers and their adherents don't seek God's kingdom nor his righteousness. Rather, they only seek the rewards that come from the kingdom and God's righteousness. Even worse, these false teachers present a phony Christ who came not into this world in the form of a humble servant to take away our sins by His death on a Roman cross, but rather to show us the way to the good life in a fallen world.

If the Prosperity Gospel is truly biblical and meant for God's people, then Christ's disciples and the early apostles were completely ignorant of it. That means that either they didn't understand what their Lord taught in regards to money and wealth, or they understood it completely and recognized that the love of money was nothing but greed.

In his epistle to the early church at Ephesus, Paul warned that no greedy person would gain eternal life. Paul wrote: "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them."(Ephesians 5:5-7)

Do not be partners with whom? With prosperity gurus such as Gloria Copeland, the wife of Kenneth Copeland. Here's what she teaches in regards to wealth accumulation, which, if true, would put nearly every financial consultant and wealth counselor out of business: "You give $1 for the Gospel's sake and $100 belongs to you; give $10 and receive $1000; give $1000 and receive $100,000. I know that you can multiply but I want you to see it in black and white and see how tremendous the hundredfold return is." Prosperity Gospel - Another Gospel

Who do you give the $1, $10 or the $1000 to in order to get your fabulous return? To God? No, to Gloria and Kenneth. But don't waste your time sitting by the mailbox (or going online with your bank if you have direct deposit) waiting for that check with the fantastic return because it's not coming. You're far better off giving that money to a reputable charity or to someone truly in need rather than to some charlatan that uses the bible to get into your wallet or bank account.

Meanwhile, Joel Osteen, who repulses at being considered a modern version of one of those money-changers that Christ evicted from the ancient Jewish Temple, has this advice for you:"God wants to increase you financially by giving you promotions, fresh ideas and creativity...It's going to happen...suddenly your situation will change for the better...He will bring your dreams to pass...you must start boldly confessing God's word, using your words to move forward in life, to bring the great things God has in store for you." Joel Osteen and The Prosperity Gospel

But first, show him the money. Send your dollar, or $10, or $100 or whatever. And buy Joel's books because they provide a great education on how to get rich without getting an education or working hard and investing wisely. In fact, if Osteen or K.C. Price or Kenneth and Gloria Copeland can do it, then so can you. If you can buy yourself some TV time and start a direct mail campaign--who knows?--the sky's the limit. It's a great way to get rich without really trying and it's like buying the winning lottery ticket every time.

P.T. Barnum was indeed correct. There are suckers born every minute. Too bad for him that more of those suckers found their way into churches instead of into the circus. If he could do it all over again, I'm sure that Barnum would've bought himself a bible and a $6,000 Armani suit and let the good times roll on the backs of those suckers

America's Up and Down Religions

Full and empty houses of worship

If pictures say a thousand words, then the pictures displayed above speak volumes about the spiritual condition of the United States, circa 2014.

Certainly, you can easily find empty sports stadiums where bad teams toil (see Chicago) just as you can find mega-churches overflowing with thousands of worshipers. Unfortunately, both the former and latter examples are becoming harder to find.

And ironically, despite the tough economic times, many folks still seem to find the big coin to attend the big outdoor secular churches where they can worship their favorite professional athletes.

Even more ironically, in troubled economic times where the CEOs of large corporations are ridiculed for their lavish compensation packages, professional athletes who are ridiculously overpaid are routinely given a pass because they serve as religious figures who are worshiped by adoring fans.

One such athlete is Zack Greinke, a pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers who is being paid $28 million this year (yes, you read that correctly) to throw a baseball. 

Greinke is certainly a good pitcher. He won the American League's coveted Cy Young Award in 2009 as a member of the then lowly Kansas City Royals. He's always been considered among baseball's elite pitchers. However, he's never won 20 games in a season and he's never been to the World Series, although that's not necessarily his fault.

And yet not too many folks are wailing about Greinke's obscene compensation package. Nor are they complaining about the myriad of other professional athletes who rake in the big coin. 

And why not? Because professional athletes make people feel good when they excel at their professions. And that motivates people to worship professional athletes. That's called idolatry and idolatry is an abominable sin in God's eyes, no matter whether the idols are made of stone or flesh and blood.

Fallen human beings create idols out of many other human beings besides professional athletes. Rock stars, television and movie celebrities and even politicians are often worshiped as deities. And that's as evil as it is wrong.

The first two of the Ten Commandments tell us this: (1) "You shall have no other gods before me." (2) "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:3-6)

Sadly, biblical prophecy has warned us that two of the signs concerning increased wickedness in the end times would be the increase in greed and pleasure-seekers. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) 

Greed and the desire for unrestrained pleasure inevitably lead to idolatry. And we don't have to look very far to realize that end time prophecy is being fulfilled when we see just what people are worshiping these days. And the venues they're worshiping their idols in.