Truce? 11/27/12

November 27, 2012

There are so many different views about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  I have been Watching Prophecy in the News for quite some time now and I always like to hear what Gary Stearman has to say.  He is a Bible scholar, in my opinion, and he relates what is happening in Israel to scripture in a way that’s easy to understand.  Some of his guests have ideas that I don’t agree with and I don’t come as firmly down on a pre-trib view as Gary does.  I find him to be a humble man with great knowledge.  This doesn’t mean he is correct in his views, but I like his manner and what he has to say always interests me.  In this short podcast, he explains why Israel is so important and points out some of the latest developments in the Middle East.

CR

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Posted by Chris

America Is A Frog In A Pot Of Slowly Heating Water That’s About To Boil

November 19, 2012

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this old analogy in the past couple of years, but I think it fits our situation well.  A short article by Charlie Daniels gives quite a few reasons why the frog may be about to die.

“It’s hard for us to understand what happened to the America where unborn life was once respected and protected, where marriage existed only between a man and a woman and was considered sacred and where no self respecting person would ever stand in front of a television audience of millions and tell them it was her right to have her contraception paid for out of the public coffers.”

CR

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The Annual Day of Atonement

November 19, 2012

I have reached Leviticus 16 in my personal study of God’s Word.  With what is happening now in Israel, I thought a couple of quotes about this important chapter in the Bible would be appropriate.  Both quotes are taken from Halley’s Bible Handbook.

CR

The Divine Origin of the Sacrificial System

“God placed the system of sacrifices at the center and heart of Jewish national life.  Whatever its immediate applications and implications may have been to the Jews, the unceasing sacrifice of animals and the never-ending glow of alter fires were without doubt designed by God to burn into the consciousness of the people of Israel a sense of their deep sinfulness.  They were also, for more than a millennium, a picture that pointed forward to the coming sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  The Levitical priesthood was divinely ordained to be the mediator between God and the Hebrew nation through the bringing of animal sacrifices.  But those sacrifices were fulfilled in Christ.  Animal sacrifices are no longer necessary.  Christ Himself is our Great High Priest, the only Mediator between God and humanity, as Hebrews 8-10 makes very clear.  Thus Christ is both our Sacrifice and our High Priest, our Mediator.” (1)

The Annual Day of Atonement

“The annual Day of Atonement (still celebrated in Judaism today in modified form and known by its Hebrew name, Yom Kippur) fell on the 10th day of the seventh month (Tishri).  It was the most solemn day of the year.  Each time, the removal of sin was only for one year (Hebrews 10:3), but it pointed forward to its eternal removal (Zechariah 3:4, 8-9; 13:1; Hebrews 10:14).

“After the sacrificial goat had been offered, the high priest laid his hands on the head of the scapegoat, confessing over him the sins of the people.  The goat was then sent away into the wilderness, bearing away with it the sins of the people.  This ceremony was one of God’s historical foreshadowings of the coming atonement for human sin by the death of Christ.” (2)

(1)  Halley’s Bible Handbook, Zondervan, 2000, Pg. 158

(2)  Ibid, Pg. 160

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Posted by Chris

UC Irvine Student Government Approves Anti-Israel Boycott

November 16, 2012

“Even as missiles launched from Gaza are killing innocent Israelis, there is no rest for the anti-Semitic, Israel-bashers at the University of California, Irvine. On Tuesday night, the student senate passed a non-binding resolution requesting that the school divest from eight companies currently doing business with the Jewish State.”

The anti-Semitism that was alive and well in America in the pre-WWII era is evidently re-emerging.

CR

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A GENERATION THAT DID NOT KNOW THE LORD

November 16, 2012

You can read Dr. Andy Woods article entitled “There Arose Another Generation After Them Who Did Not Know the Lord”: A Post Election Analysis here.

I think Dr. Woods gives a good description of the state of America in 2012.  It is not a rosy picture.

CR

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Posted by Chris

Egypt PM to Visit Gaza in Support of Hamas Against Israel

November 15, 2012

This is the latest story I could find out of the “new” Israeli conflict as I make this post.

The story reminds me of a Biblical prophecy.  It is from the book of Ezekiel and goes like this:

“Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee.

“And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the lord; because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it.

“Behold, therefore I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.

“No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.”

-Ezekiel 29: 8-11

Has there ever been a time in Egypt’s history when it was not inhabited?  I don’t know of such a time.  So, unless I am ignorant of a historical fact, the prophecy is futuristic.  Will the current conflict lead to such an “event?”  Only time will tell.

CR

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Posted by Chris

Thoughts on the Election of 2012

November 15, 2012

I found this statement  by James White at Manny’s blog Cracked-Pot.  I could not have said it better.

CR

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Dinosaur Bone Tissue Study Refutes Critics

November 15, 2012

“Original dinosaur tissues in fossil bones are probably the most controversial finds in all of paleontology. Secular scientists have difficulty interpreting them. They debate whether the tissues are real, based on laboratory-measured tissue decay rates, or whether the tissue decay rates are real, based on plainly observed tissues.”

Read the rest of the article by Brian Thomas M.S. here.

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Posted by Chris

The Role of Human Government

November 14, 2012

Jimmy DeYoung is a prophecy teacher whom I listen to once in a while.  The man knows his Bible.  I agree with much of his take on government here.  I’m not so sure about his view of Daniel 7 and I am surely not certain that the “false church” will be headquartered in Rome, Italy.

It is clear there will be a “taking away” event.  Many call it the rapture.  The main reason I believe in this event comes from the words of Jesus in Matthew 24.  I hope that Mr. DeYoung is right about the possibility of the rapture happening at any time.  I agree with him that there will be a 7 year tribulation and a Millennial kingdom.  I lean towards the pre-trib view of the rapture but don’t hold a solid position on the topic.

With the recent events in the Middle East, those of us who are interested in Bible Prophecy are watching the events surrounding Israel closely.

God has made a commitment to the people of Israel.

“The Lord Jesus is called ‘shomer Yisrael, the one who guards Israel’; this Keeper never slumbers and never sleeps, but is always on duty. Psalm 121:4.”

May God Bless the descendents of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

CR

2 Comments | Bible Prophecy, Commentary, News, The Middle East, theology | Permalink
Posted by Chris

Perilous Times and Perilous Men

November 14, 2012

Reposted from the Cracked-Pot.

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanders, without control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

Perilous, chalepos; Strong’s #5467. Harsh, savage, difficult, dangerous, painful, fierce, grievous, hard to deal with. The word describes a culture that is barren of virtue but abounding with vices.

The Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy and us to continue our walk in Christ, standing fast in the face of increased evil. Now as then, people are characterized by all kinds of self-centered and unnatural perversions. Some will speak Christianize to maintain an outward pretense, but all the while refusing the reality of what the Christian faith expresses.

The power denied by them is the heart of Christianity—the fact of a risen Redeemer, the truth of the inspired (God breathed) Word of God and the indwelling and overflowing of the gift of the Father, the person of the Holy Spirit; who works within believers and transforms their lives to image of Christ.

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Posted by Chris

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