The Old Rabbi’s Vision

(Written by Cynthia Nuara)

---

There is a buzz in the Christian world concerning a rabbi who died almost eight years ago. He claimed to have seen the Messiah in a vision, and what the Messiah supposedly had to say to him.

A book and video documentary were released in November about this Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri and his vision, which Kaduri said would come to pass after the (then) prime minister of Israel’s death. That prime minister was Ariel Sharon, who was just pronounced to be close to death on January 1, 2014 after kidney failure and given no more than a few days to live. Sharon has been in a comatose state for eight years, as long as the rabbi has been dead.

The Bible does say in Acts 2:17, “And in the last days it shall be,” ‘God declares,’ “ that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.'"

It Doesn’t Matter WHAT You “Think!”

(Written by Donna Wasson)
None of us are infallible. Not even Pope Frances. Obviously. We all hear people say things that we know are incorrect, but we’re able to pass it off as a verbal gaffe and not worry about it. After all, we’re human and make mistakes, right? But when a couple of renowned Bible teachers make a statement that is not only, in my humble opinion heretical but dangerous, we are obligated to stand up and say something.                

On September 27, 2013, radio talk-show host Brannon Howse of Worldview Weekend, a Biblically based talk show, had Dr. Jimmy DeYoung as his guest. In part of the interview, Howse asked Dr. DeYoung if he remembered a huge controversy some time ago, involving a statement made by John MacArthur, Pastor of Grace Community Church in California.

Time is Almost Up

(Written by Donna Wasson)
I honestly wonder how many more of these articles I’ll have a chance to write before life as we know it changes forever. Christians everywhere are sensing that the time of God’s judgment on this earth is upon us. Even unbelievers instinctively ‘know’ in their gut something BIG is about to happen.               

The Lord is going to shake this earth with Holy fury. The wickedness of mankind is a stench in His nostrils and He’s had enough. Mankind has ignored the warnings of impending judgment that He has broadcast the last several years. They include an undeniable increase in the number and severity of earthquakes, animal deaths, record setting storms, devastating tsunamis, destructive tornadoes, bizarre sinkholes, not to mention volcanoes all over the world that have lain dormant for centuries, are erupting. And to top it off, don’t forget the sharp degradation of morality in every society.

Is There a Second Chance?

(Written by Jack Kelley)

If you believe as I do that the Bible teaches the rapture of the Church will occur before Daniel’s 70th Week begins then you’ve no doubt wondered what will happen to those among your friends and family who will miss it. Will they get another chance to be saved?

 

Those Who Are Perishing

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendour of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (2 Thes. 2:7-12).

Stupid or Just Plain Evil?

(Written by Donna Wasson)

I want you to pay very close attention to what I have to say in this article.  It is VITAL that you open your eyes and the eyes of your loved ones to the heretical teaching that is SO prevalent in the church today. I am utilizing information from an excellent video produced by Reformed Apologetics Ministries called, Joel Osteen: Satanist? His occult/witchcraft/New Age teachings.

               

Time to spread the gospel to those who are blind and lost is running out, therefore I’m not going to mince words. There is a group of very successful, high-profile so called ‘preachers’ who teach falsehoods and twist scripture to make it fit their teachings;  people such as Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, Robert Schuler (retired), T.D. Jakes, Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, Rick Warren and others. Quite frankly, and this is fact—NOT my opinion: they are leading millions of followers straight to hell!  Is that clear enough?

The Jewish Feasts and the Rapture

(from GotQuestions.org)
Question: "How did Jesus fulfill the meanings of the Jewish feasts?"

Answer: The way in which Jesus fulfilled the Jewish feasts is a fascinating study. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the Jewish prophet Amos records that God declared He would do nothing without first revealing it to His servants, the prophets (Amos 3:7). From the Old Covenant to the New, Genesis to Revelation, God provides picture after picture of His entire plan for mankind and one of the most startling prophetic pictures is outlined for us in the Jewish feasts of Leviticus 23.

The Hebrew word for “feasts” (moadim) literally means "appointed times." God has carefully planned and orchestrated the timing and sequence of each of these seven feasts to reveal to us a special story. The seven annual feasts of Israel were spread over seven months of the Jewish calendar, at set times appointed by God. They are still celebrated by observant Jews today. But for both Jews and non-Jews who have placed their faith in Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, these special days demonstrate the work of redemption through God’s Son.

Is Jesus God In Human Form?

(Written by Jack Kelley)
Recently my belief that Jesus is God in human form was challenged again.  This has happened to me several times in the past and while I've laid out the Biblical basis for my belief in several articles I've never specifically addressed the common objections others have put forth. In this study I'll do just that.

But first I want to lay a brief theological foundation that in my opinion proves that Jesus has to be God in human form. In fact I think it will demonstrate that if Jesus isn't God then none of us is saved.  It's based on three points.

1.      All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
2.      Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin  (Hebrews 9:22)
3.      A righteous man for an unrighteous mankind (1 Peter 3:18)

What's Going On In Damascus?

(Written by Jack Kelley)

The city of Damascus is mentioned 60 times in the Bible from Genesis 14:15 to Acts 22:10.  Abraham's chief servant, Eliazer, was from Damascus and Paul spent his first days as a Christian there.  According to Flavius Josephus, Damascus was founded by Uz, the son of Aram who was the patriarch of the Aramean people.  Aram was the 5th son of Shem, and Uz was the first son of Aram. (According to Job 1:1, Job was from the land of Uz.)

 

Throughout its history Damascus has been conquered many times. Most notably by the Israelites (1000 BC), the Assyrians (732 BC), the Babylonians (605 BC), the Persians (530 BC), the Greeks (330 BC), the Nabateans (85 BC), the Romans (63 BC), the Byzantines (634 AD), the Mamelukes (1250 AD) and the Ottoman Turks (1516 AD). But the city itself has always survived and is now claimed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.           

Several of these conquests are referred to in the Bible. 2 Samuel 8:6-7 describes David and the Israelites. Parts of Isaiah 17 involve the Assyrians, Jeremiah 49:23-27 is about the Babylonian conquest and Zechariah 9:1-2 was fulfilled by Alexander the Great.   

Becoming who we are!

(Written by Jack Kelley)

If you like, you can think of this as a follow up to our study titled OK, I'm Saved.  Now What? Having shown that once we became a believer all the sins of our life were forgiven at the cross, and the Lord not longer counts our sins against us, we now turn to the logical follow up question.  How should a believer respond to such an incredible gift?

Paul devoted much time to describing the appropriate response to the free gift of eternal life and it's summed up in his admonition “Only let us live up to what we've already attained” (Phil 3:16). By the wording he used we know this is not something we do to achieve or maintain our salvation. He said we've already attained that. We do this as an expression of our heart felt gratitude for having been given the gift of eternal life.  Make no mistake here, as unbelievers we were surely destined for the fires of hell.

Ok, I am saved. What now?

(Written by Jack Kelley)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17).  Only let us live up to what we have already attained (Phil 3:16).

These two verses summarize all that the New Testament has to say about life after salvation.  Once we're saved, God sees us as a new creation.  Note the use of the past perfect tense in these verses; the old has gone, the new has come, we have already attained.  We  don't make ourselves into a new creation, we have been made into a new creation.  It's not a process we undertake through hard work and self-sacrifice.  It's not even something that happens over time through careful submission to the prodding of the Holy Spirit.  It has already happened.  Hebrews 10:12-14 clearly states that the Lord's once-for-all-time sacrifice has made us perfect forever. (Has made, not is making, or will make.)

REBUILDING BABYLON: Prophetic significance?

(Written by Joel C. Rosenberg)

Bible prophecy indicates that in the End Times, the nation we know today as the Republic of Iraq — known variously in Scripture as Babel, Babylon, Babylonia, Mesopotamia and Shinar — will emerge as the global center of wealth, power and terrible evil. Eventually Iraq will pose a direct and existential threat to the State of Israel, particularly during the Tribulation.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein and his regime in 2003, Iraq has not been a regional threat, much less a danger to Israel. Some have assumed, therefore, that Iraq would no longer play a major role in Middle Eastern or global affairs in the future. But such a conclusion would be a mistake. As I wrote about in my first non-fiction book, Epicenter, those who read, understand and believe Bible prophecy have been watching for Iraq to: 1) begin rebuilding its offensive military capability; 2) begin rebuilding its economy; 3) continue rebuilding the ancient city of Babylon into a major center of commerce and tourism.
Interestingly, all three developments are currently underway.

Messianic Prophecy In The Old Testament

(Written by Jack Kelley)
In the time after their sin and expulsion from the Garden Adam and Eve must have felt incredible despair. They had experienced life both before and after the curse, the only ones to do so, and had first hand knowledge of the difference. And what a difference it was. Even the part of it we can relate to had to have been devastating.

For example suppose that one day you were the resident manager of the world’s richest and most luxurious estate, with all of its comforts and privileges, and the next you were a poor hardscrabble farmer, at the opposite end of the economic and social structure. And that was just the beginning. How about no longer being immortal, no longer one with your Creator in spirit.

What really happened at Christmas?

(Written by Jack Kelley)

In the past I’ve made the case that Jesus probably was born sometime in September. If that’s the case then what really happened in December? Is Christmas just the result of overlaying Christian beliefs on a formerly pagan holiday as some believe, or is there more to it?

Happy Hanukkah

To find the answer we begin with a look at the Jewish Feast of Hanukkah. Maybe you’ve heard the story of Hanukkah, but if not here’s a brief summary. In 165 BC, during the time of the Maccabean Revolt, the Jews recaptured their desecrated Temple from Syrian dictator Antiochus Epiphanes and undertook a rebuilding and cleansing process to make it fit for worship again. (Angry with the Jews and defiant toward God, Antiochus had captured the Temple, sacrificed a pig on the altar, and erected a statue of the Greek god Zeus in the Holy Place requiring everyone to worship it on pain of death. This outrageous act rendered the Temple unclean and became known as the Abomination of Desolation.)