September 2015

(Written by Daymond Duck)
There have been several good articles, pro and con, about upcoming events to watch for in Sept. 2015 (blood moons, Sabbatical year, Shemitah, etc.). To be honest, when these good articles came out I just skimmed over many of them. But I now realize that the list of things to watch for in Sept. 2015 has surpassed my ability to keep up with all of it.

So here is a list I made for myself. It is not my purpose to comment on the relevance of any of these things. But it is my purpose to have a calendar of events that I can refer to. Also, understand that because a Jewish day ends at sundown (not 12 p.m.) and because there are questions about the accuracy of the Jewish calendar some of what is being reported could be wrong.

Body, Soul and Spirit

(Written by Jack Kelley)
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and lays bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrew 4:12-13)

Some people view the soul and body interchangeably, while others think soul and spirit are equivalent terms. But as believers we should think of the soul as the conscious part of us, composed of mind (intellect), will, and emotions. It's the part of us that makes choices and controls our behaviour by giving orders to the body. Our spirit is the subconscious part, an internal advisor to the conscious soul.

God is Love.....God is Righteousness

(written by Peter Voigt)

Love and righteousness are two of God’s attributes or if you want to say, part of God’s character. The two attributes of God seem to contradict each other, on one side He loves everybody and on the other side He is just and judges sin and disobedience.
Many people, even some Christians say, if God is love, how can He send people to hell and to everlasting condemnation.

At first let me explain the two attributes one by one. The bible says in 1 Cor. 13:4-7:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrong. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres.”

Tribulation and Wrath

(Written by Jack Kelley)

Recently I was reading a new book on Revelation by an author who subscribes to the pre-wrath Rapture position. I don’t recommend this or any other mid-Trib, pre-Wrath, or post-Trib book. I only read them myself because my belief in the pre-Trib position is solid enough to not be shaken, and I feel the need to know about the current thinking on other positions in case I’m asked.

When you depart from a literal, contextual interpretation of Scripture, as you have to do when you're trying to justify the other rapture positions, anything becomes possible. For that reason some of these books, like the one I just read, are so far off the mark as to be ludicrous. But there are two things they all seem to have in common. One is their confusion about the difference between tribulation and the Great Tribulation and the other is the meaning and duration of the phrase “Wrath of God.”

God’s Plan in a Nutshell

(Written by Jack Kelley)

You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were blameless in your ways until wickedness was found in you (Ezekiel 28:12, 15).

There is nothing in the Bible to tell us when the angelic realm was created. However, Job 38:4-7 speaks of the angels shouting for joy when God laid the Earth's foundation, so they had to have been created before earth existed. Neither is there a mention of the timing of Satan’s rebellion.

All we know for sure is it had to have preceded Genesis 3, when the serpent convinced Eve to disobey God. Satan was already God’s adversary by then, although there's no mention of his rebellion in connection with the creation. For this reason, I’ve concluded it also happened before the creation story begins.

The Bridegroom and His Bride

A picture of Jesus and His Church
(Extract from harvardhouse.com)
Understanding ancient Jewish wedding practices makes the meaning of Scripture clear. The wedding is a picture of the covenant Jesus made and reveals His plans to return for His bride, the church. The people of ancient Israel understood what Jesus was going to do because they understood the model of the wedding. The analogy between a wedding and Christ and the Church is described in Ephesians 5:31-32.

Let me show you the practices of an ancient Jewish betrothal and wedding and how Jesus has fulfilled the betrothal portion of the wedding and how He may fulfil the remainder when He comes again for His bride, the church.

Playing Chess with the Devil

(Written by Todd Strandberg)
I have always been terrible at the game of chess. It's not that I don't understand how the game is played--I perfectly understand the rules and moves. The problem is my inability think ahead. If I make a move on the board that seems to be prudent, three moves later, it usually turns out to have been a fatal mistake.

When I play against a computer, I normally get beaten like a rented mule. The only way I've been able to win at the game is by cheating. I have one program that allows me to turn one of my pawns into an extra queen. Sadly, even with this unfair advantage, the devilish program still finds a way to overcome the shortfall and checkmate me.

Chess is often depicted as a sport for wimps, but this label is incorrect. A son once asked his dad why chess is not an Olympic game. His father’s response was brief and to the point: "Chess is not a noble sport. When you play chess, your object is to crush the opponent's mind. In today's world, a man's mind is his most precious commodity. Proving to your opponent that his most precious commodity is useless can be devastating for him."

Will the USA stab Israel in the back?

(from Bare Naked Islam)
BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA reportedly plans to stab Israel in the back by voting with Israel’s enemies at the UN

In keeping with the administration’s apparent strategy of alienating the one real ally his country has in the Middle East, reports are surfacing that Barack Hussein Obama is close to stabbing the Jewish state in the back in international diplomacy.

Breitbart  Several cabinet ministers inside Israel’s government claim that Obama has formally notified Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. may plan a major break in relations with the Jewish state.

The U.S. would reportedly start voting with Israel’s enemies at the United Nations if the Jewish state does not capitulate to various Obama administration diktats. Such demands would pose existential risks to the survival of the Jewish state, such that no elected Israeli leader could possibly accept them.

The Return Of The Medes

(Written by Jack Kelley)

"See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold. Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants nor will they look with compassion on children. Babylon, the jewel of kingdoms, the glory of the Babylonians' pride, will be overthrown by God like Sodom and Gomorrah. She will never be inhabited or lived in through all generations; no Arab will pitch his tent there, no shepherd will rest his flocks there." (Isaiah 13:17-20)

 If you've been following the news in the Middle East, you know the Kurds are having a very difficult time lately.  Although the majority of Kurds are Muslim, the Islamic State considers them to be idolatrous and has threatened them with extinction.  An example of their plight is the city of Kobani on Syria's border with Turkey.  Surrounded on three sides by IS fighters, the Kurdish city desperately needs help.  But Turkey, whose army is camped just across the border on Kobani's fourth side, won't help because, for reasons you'll see below, they don't like the Kurds.  And since the Kurds have been on Syria's side against IS other countries won't help for fear of inadvertently helping Syria. This is the latest in a long line of struggles the Kurdish people have endured in their effort to reclaim the national identity and homeland they had in ancient times.

Are Roman Catholics Christians?

(Written by Matt Slick)

Are Roman Catholics Christians? They are if they have trusted in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of their sins. However, if they believe they are saved by God's grace and their works, then they are not saved--even if they believe their works are done by God's grace--since they then deny the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice.

Being a Christian does not mean being a member of the Roman Catholic Church. It means being a member of the body of Christ, which is accomplished by faith and trust in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of your sins. It means you do not add your works to His work. Sincerity doesn't forgive sins. Membership in a church doesn't forgive sins. Doing works of penance doesn't forgive sins. Praying to Mary doesn't forgive sins. Forgiveness is received in the faithful trust and acceptance of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. You must trust Jesus, God in flesh, for the forgiveness of sins--not a man-made ritual and certainly not the catholic saints. Even though the Roman Catholic Church affirms the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and His physical resurrection, it greatly errors in its doctrine of salvation by adding works to salvation.

The Second Coming

(Written by Jack Kelley)
At the time of the 6th Bowl judgment, Satan will send 3 demonic emissaries with miraculous powers to persuade all the Kings of the Earth to gather their armies at Har Megiddo, known to us as Armageddon (Revelation 16:14). Mt. Megiddo overlooks the plains of Jezreel in central Israel, where the world's armies will come together for the battle of Jerusalem, less than 100 miles to the south. The anti-Christ will invade Israel and set up headquarters in Jerusalem (Daniel 11:41-45).

According to Zechariah ….the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. (Zechariah 14:2)

Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights in the day of battle (Zechariah 14:3).

In Revelation 16:14 John called this the battle on the great day of God Almighty, and it will all be over in less than one day. Jesus said, "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24:42) Let's see if we can piece the various scripture references together to make some sense of the chain of events.

The Connection between the 3rd and the 4th Trumpet

The Third Trumpet

Revelation 8:10-11

And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

As the star enters our atmosphere, it begins to burn, to break up, affecting a very large area of land and especially the lakes, rivers and streams. This will cause a chemical change making the waters bitter. The star is called “wormwood.” Wormwood was a type of wood growing in the Middle East that had a very strong and bitter taste. The star is called wormwood because of the affect the star has on the water. It makes the water like wormwood, bitter, but it appears that while the wormwood is not poisonous, this star will poison the water because those who drink this water die. Thus one-third of the fresh water supply of the Earth is made unfit for human consumption.

The Condemnation of Israel

(Written by Tucker Whitaker)
Quite frankly, as a preacher-teacher of God’s Holy Word and a student of biblical eschatology, even though I am fully aware of end-time prophecies and God’s plans for the church, Israel, and the nations—I am sickened by the anti-Semitism which daily grows more virulent in the world. Merely about one month ago  in my article titled, “Anti-Semitism”  I established biblically Israel’s covenant right to exist in the land—which God promised to them for eternity. I will not here repeat that article, but invite you to revisit it, or read it for the first time.

In response to what is now thousands of rockets fired on Israel and its citizens by the terrorist organizations Hamas, and the Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have made a military incursion into Gaza to eliminate that continued threat. In the most unusual display of humanitarianism in the annals of warfare, the IDF announced by telephone, and leaflets, where their airstrikes would take place, and since the incursion, have repeatedly warned civilians and non-combatants to move away from the areas of attack. Hamas however has given no such warnings of their rocket attacks on the citizens of Israel, and continually use their own women and children as human shields. For this incursion in defence of its citizens and sovereignty, the Nation State of Israel is being vilified around the world.